A Violinist's Perspective on Scheherazade

Our forthcoming concert will include one of the most enduring 19th century orchestral works - Rimsky-Korsakov's epic Scheherazade. Based on the tales of The Arabian Nights, the role of the story-teller Scheherazade is represented by a solo violin, with her quasi-improvised theme being repeated frequently throughout the work.

Our leader, Hannah Thompson-Smith, will perform this role in our performance, and she told us why she loves the piece:

Throughout my playing career, Scheherazade has always been one of those pieces that I have heard on the radio or in concert numerous times, but I have never been given the opportunity to play it until now. I am therefore delighted that I am now finally able to play Scheherazade!

Scheherazade is one of the most famous violin solos in orchestral classical repertoire. It is well known for its stirring melodies and colourful and unique tonal combinations within the orchestra. Scheherazade is highly enjoyable to play and showcases the violins capabilities superbly when depicting the voice of Scheherazade herself. The solos are almost like miniature cadenzas taken from violin concertos and interspersed within the piece. The solos range from beautifully written lyrical and flowing melodies to the virtuosic, sautille string crossings to triple and quadruple stops. All very challenging passages, but very affective if mastered!

As well as the excellent writing for the violin, I highly enjoy the pure drama of the piece! It is of course programme music which tells the story of Scheherazade entertaining the Sultan with her different tales. I enjoy playing the role of her through the violin as I am able to express the many different emotions, she is conveying though her story telling with much freedom. There are no rules, and no right or wrong way to interpret the music and the solos. It is a matter of personal interpretation on how one perceives the voice of Scheherazade speaking at the time.  To play in this free and improvisational style is so uplifting I am looking forward to playing it in the concert!

Scheherazade, along with MacCunn's overture The Land of the Mountain and the Flood, and Borodin's Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor, will be performed by Hallam Sinfonia at St Mark's Church, Broomhill on Saturday 20 June at 7.30pm, conducted by Jon Malaxetxebarria. Tickets and further information are available here.