Rimsky-Korsakov - Scheherazade (2024 Remastered / Leopold Stokowski, London Symphony Orchestra)

• I. The Sea and Sinbad's Ship: Largo e maestoso, Allegro non troppo
• II. The Legend of the Kalendar Prince: Lento, Andantino, Allegro molto, Con moto
• III. The Young Prince and The Young Princess: Andantino quasi allegretto, Pochissimo più mosso, Come prima, Pochissimo più animato
• IV. Festival at Baghdad. The Sea. Ship Breaks upon a Cliff Surmounted by a Bronze Horseman: Allegro molto, Vivo, Allegro non troppo maestoso

The story of Scheherazade forms the framework of the Thousand and One Nights, long popular in Russia, when in 1888 Rimsky-Korsakov chose four of its most respectable tales as the basis for his symphonic poem. In the preface to the original score, he described this famous story:

Sultan Shakriar, betrayed by his first wife, decided to take revenge on women in general by marrying and executing a new bride every day. Eventually, it was Scheherazade's turn, who saved her own life by telling the sultan fairy tales and adventure stories every night, forcing her husband to beg her to continue the next night. She kept up her storytelling for 1001 nights, during which she demonstrated an extra commitment by giving birth to the sultan's three sons - and was finally pardoned.

The composer later withdrew this preface, explaining that he only wanted to give the listener's imagination a slight boost, without arousing too much interest in the work's program. Nevertheless, he revealed that the first movement tells the story of the Sea and Sinbad's Ship; the second is the Tale of the Calendar Prince; the third describes a love scene between the Young Prince and the Princess; and the fourth is a Festival in Baghdad, ending with the Sea and the ship sinking on the rock.

The already exotic Eastern setting of course offered a splendid opportunity to perform with an orchestra, and, as Scheherazade vividly demonstrates, Rimsky-Korsakov was one of the masters of 19th-century orchestration. All the main melodic instruments are treated as solos, a novelty that the musicians who gave the first performance clearly appreciated, as they constantly interrupted rehearsals to applaud the composer...

Stokowski's recording is one of the best in the discography. The conductor plays the card of erotic voluptuousness, exacerbated opulence of sonorities and contrasts. What a delight! Very fine sound recording, despite some saturation in the tutti passages.