Program Notes - Scheherazade! Hamburg, Germany / May 7, 1. Vienna, Austria / April 3, 1. Brahms composed this merry work as a gesture of thanks for a degree granted him by the University of Breslau. His ironic sense of humor led him to make it as jolly and informal as the university was conservative and stuffy. He conducted the premiere himself, in Breslau during January 1. The faculty frowned; the students laughed. The bustling introduction appears to be original Brahms. The main section is founded on four traditional German student songs. After a soft timpani roll, the brass proudly proclaim We Had Built a Stately House. This is followed in turn by Most Solemn Song to the Father of the Country (a heartfelt tune first heard in the strings); What Comes There From on High (a satiric ditty on the bassoons); and at the climax, regally clothed in the largest orchestra Brahms ever used, Gaudeamus igitur, a solemn medieval hymn in praise of student life. Piano Concerto No. Program Notes::Scheherazade. You are here: Home / Program Notes::Scheherazade. Written by Ronald Comber. Scheherazade Suite, Op.35 Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Rimsky-Korsakov’s glittering showpiece Scheherazade transports you to the exotic. Download Program Notes. NIKOLAI RIMSKY-KORSAKOV (1844-1908) Scheherazade. BIPO, Sascha Goetzel Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade. NIKOLAI RIMSKY-KORSAKOV (1844–1908) Scheherazade op.35*. Rimsky-Korsakov, Nikolai Scheherazade op.35: IV. E- flat Major, K. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozartb. Salzburg, Austria / January 2. Vienna, Austria / December 5, 1. Viennese audiences loved Mozart for his piano playing above all. One way in which he responded to this preference was to compose 1. Nos. 1. 4 to 2. 5, between February 1. December 1. 78. 6. They are deeper in feeling, broader in scope and richer in color than any written before. In years to come, they would serve as models of their kind, ones to which Beethoven, Brahms and other similarly high- minded composers would turn for inspiration. They were usually premiered at subscription concerts designed for his own financial benefit. On the surface, his life at that time must have seemed bright and successful. Emperor Joseph II had personally commissioned what proved to be Mozart’s masterpiece of comic opera, The Marriage of Figaro (he composed this concerto while he was working on it). Earlier that year, Joseph Haydn, the most esteemed composer of the day, had told Mozart’s father Leopold that he considered Wolfgang, “the greatest composer I know either personally or by reputation.”But signs of the tragic fate that lay in store for him were already making themselves felt. Viennese taste was moving away from him, aggravating his perpetual inability to manage his finances. Together with increasing ill health, this would make the remaining six years of his life a long descent into catastrophe. Some of his newest works failed to find favor, such as the superb Piano Quartet in G minor. Designed as the first of series of quartets commissioned by the publisher Hoffmeister, its lack of sales led to Mozart’s releasing Hoffmeister from their contract. At the same time, he begged the publisher for a loan, writing frankly, “I need it very badly just now.”He completed this concerto on December 1. He played the solo part at the premiere himself, either on that same day or shortly thereafter. He hoped that it would help reverse the decline in his fortunes.
To this end, he made it less personal, more “listener friendly” than such recent creations as the Piano Quartet. The result was an expansive (it is the longest of all his concertos) and truly glorious work. Dolltopia rimsky- korsakov: dutoit (scheherazade/ russian practical law office management rimsky- korsakov. The final tutti of Scheherazade is a prime example of this. Rimsky-Korsakov's non-program music. Wikimedia Commons has media related to Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. It did not, alas, have any lasting effect upon his declining fortunes. Both of the themes upon which the first movement is based are exceptionally gracious; the second bears an added degree of winsomeness. The slow movement, the most remarkable portion of the concerto, offers marked contrast. Set in a minor key and featuring muted strings, this theme and variations are not merely melancholy but border on authentic tragedy. To Mozart’s surprise, it made such a deep impression at the premiere that the audience demanded an encore. The concluding movement is a relatively relaxed affair by Mozart’s standards. The recurring refrain resembles a country dance, heavy- footed but mischievous. Recalling Concerto No. Mozart interrupts its progress with a self- contained episode, a restrained panel in the style of a minuet. Scheherazade, Op. Nikolay Rimsky- Korsakovb. Tikhvin, Russia / March 1. Lyubensk, Russia / June 2. Surely it was destiny that led Rimsky- Korsakov to compose a piece inspired by the Arabian Nights legends. He spent decades acquiring the necessary skills to do the material justice, above all a mastery of colorful orchestration and a flair for composing sweeping, exotic melodies. During a summer holiday in 1. Russian countryside, he set down the music that had been burning feverishly within him since the previous winter. Three weeks was all the time he needed to finish Scheherazade to the very last note. Like many composers who write music inspired by outside sources, he suggested that audiences not listen too closely for specific events in the music. He gave each movement a subtitle, but then removed them; but he did include in the printed score the following introduction, drawn from the original stories: “The Sultan Shakriar, convinced of the falsehood and inconstancy of all women, had sworn an oath to put to death each of his wives after the first night. However the Sultana Scheherazade saved her life by arousing his interest in the tales which she told during the 1. Driven by curiosity, the Sultan postponed her execution from day to day, and at last abandoned his bloodthirsty design.”The orchestration of Scheherazade is masterly, drawing from what is a not particularly large ensemble the maximum in color. Much of this brilliance is achieved by continuously dotting the score with passages for solo instruments. The suite is bound together by a recurring motive, a bewitching melody sung by the solo violin: the voice of Scheherazade. The first movement gives a strong impression of the sea, complete with the swell of ocean breezes, the roll of the waves and the adventurous call of foreign ports. Rimsky- Korsakov knew such an atmosphere well, having served in the Russian navy for several years. His voyages brought him as close to us as Niagara Falls. At the start of the second movement, Scheherazade’s theme again declares, “Once upon a time..” Solo bassoon launches the tale, sinuously, like the chant of an ancient storyteller. A war- like fanfare introduced by trombones and tuba plays an important role in the fantastic proceedings. The third movement can’t be anything but a love scene. A dance, tinged with light percussion, appears at the core. The Scheherazade violin theme puts in an appearance, leading to a brief, ecstatic climax – a first kiss? The central dance theme returns, warmed by recent experience, before the tranquil close. The Finale will really get your blood racing. It opens with alternations of furious orchestral outbursts and passionate violin solos. Rimsky- Korsakov then kicks off a boisterous carnival, where themes heard earlier in the suite jostle for attention. At the height of festivities we appear to return to the sea, sailing majestically until a colossal climax is reached. The Scheherazade theme returns one last time, keening softly in the heights to close her storytelling – for tonight..
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