Rimsky-Korsakov. Scheherazade.
Basically there’s this Sultan who thinks all women are unfaithful and kills his wives after one night. (Preventative medicine maybe?) But his newest wife, Scheherazade, is pretty fond of not being dead and also happens to be an incredible storyteller. She manages to keep telling stories for 1,001 nights (because Arabic nobility can go FOREVER without sleeping).
Epic. Epic. Epic. Everybody’s doing Cadenzas all over the place. The listener is put in the position of the Sultan as Rimsky-Korsakov uses gorgeous, winding melodies to keep the tales spinning forward. Scheherazade is represented by the solo violin (d’uh).
Enjoy! I have to write an essay about this piece now. I just love music school!
