Learn more about Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade – a landmark piece in descriptive instrumental music.
The sounds of this work are very familiar to music lovers. Not only has the piece itself been a regular item on concert programs the world over from very soon after it was written, but the style and the sound world of Rimsky-Korsakov and his group of Russian Nationalists has been an inspiration for many composers since.
This performance is paired with TarraWarra’s 2017 Estate Pinot Noir, a perfect foil for Scheherazade with its delicious fruit, supple tannins and fine structure.
Did you know?
- Rimsky-Korsakov was a naval officer in the Imperial Russian Navy, and eventually became Inspector of Naval Bands.
- The character of Scheherazade is represented in this work by a solo violin.
- Scheherazade was adapted into a ballet and was premiered in Paris by Ballets Russes – who went on to premiere Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring just a few years later.
Glossary
Arpeggio
A chord broken into a sequence of notes played in a rising or descending order.
Chromatic
A musical scale in which each pitch is a semitone above or below its adjacent pitches.
Motif
A recurring idea in an artistic work, such as a short musical theme.
Ornamentation
Musical flourishes or embellishments that decorate the overall melodic line of a work.
Pizzicato
A technique of playing a string instrument in which the strings are plucked with the fingers rather than played with the bow.
Tritone
Two pitches played simultaneously or consecutively that are three whole tones apart. This combination produces an unresolved sound.
TarraWarra’s 2017 Estate Pinot Noir
The brightness and colour of TarraWarra’s 2017 Estate Pinot Noir is a perfect foil for Scheherazade, with its delicious fruit, supple tannins and fine structure.
