Overture Magazine - 2018-19 Season BSO_Overture_MAR_APR | Page 17

“The impetus for Scheherazade.2
was an exhibition at the Institute du
Monde Arabe in Paris I attended in
2012, detailing the history of the
‘Arabian Nights’ and of Scheherazade
and how this archetypal story has
evolved over the centuries. The casual
brutality toward women that lies at the
base of many of these tales prodded
me to think about the many images of
women oppressed or abused or violated
that we see today in the news on a daily
basis. In the old tale, Scheherazade is
the lucky one who, through her endless
inventiveness, is able to save her life.
But there is not much to celebrate here
when one thinks that she is spared
simply because of her cleverness and
ability to keep entertaining her warped,
murderous husband.
“Thinking about what a Scheherazade
in our own time might be brought
to mind some famous examples of
women under threat for their lives, for
example the ‘woman in the blue bra’
in Tahrir Square, dragged through
the streets, severely beaten, humiliated
and physically exposed by enraged,
violent men. Or the young Iranian
student, Neda Agha-Soltan, who was
shot to death while attending a peaceful
protest in Tehran. Or women routinely
attacked and even executed by religious
fanatics in any number of countries—
India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, wherever.
The modern images that come to mind
certainly aren’t exclusive to the Middle
East—we see examples, if not quite
so graphic nevertheless profoundly
disturbing, from everywhere in the
world, including in our own country
and even on our own college campuses.
“So, I was suddenly struck by the idea
of a ‘dramatic symphony’ (borrowing
the term from Berlioz) in which the
principal character role is taken by
the solo violin—and she would be
Scheherazade. While not having an
actual story line or plot, the symphony
follows a set of provocative images:
a beautiful young woman with grit
and personal power; a pursuit by ‘true
believers’; a love scene which is both
violent and tender; a scene in which
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