Scheherazade - Pas de deux

For this review we rest our thoughts on one of the most popular symphonic poem: Rimsky- Korsakoff's Scheherazade. Describing in music the adventures of Simbad the Sailor it is a work of beautiful melodies and endless emotional power. Korsakoff reaches very distant shores of psychological detail and asks from members of an orchestra the same level of performance as from the enssemble itself. Everything he describes is carefully shaped and carved in some of the most beautiful and memorable melodies composed. It is almost like a democratic gathering of the instruments, a medley of concertos for instrument and orchestra. A lot of recordings let you guess how rich and beautiful this work is yet few mange to show it completely.

Listening to about a dozen recordings and couple of live concerts convinced me that if you want to live the full experience of this work you have two options: Sir Thomas Beecham and his Royal Philharmonic Orchestra or Fritz Reiner and Chicago Symphony. They deliver the same complete performance but they do it in such a different way. However you cannot go wrong at all with any of them.

Beecham unleashes the poetry inside like no other, the strings are heavenlish and the solo parts are gorgeous. The musical drama is all there yet he allows time to dream and to taste the delight of another world so beatifully described in the music. Everything bears the mark of his innate elegance but in the same time the characters and their adventures develop with power and conviction. The RPO plays in a different league and the result is an interpretation that completely transforms everything in the listening room. Beecham and his orchestra create a living phantasy world with a lot of misteries and things difficult to understand and yet so more beautiful.


Reiner on the other hand comes to tell with precision and power the drama within this music. The Chicagoans are in perfect shape and play marvelously for him and Reiner uses their capabilities to shape a very articulate music, played right from beginning to end. The dreamery moments are all there in full splendor yet they are just short breaks from the unfolding of the drama. His control over the music is exquisite and he has at hand an orchestra that manages to go all the way effortlessly (at least it seems so) to bring forward with crystal clear logic and conception a very powerfull musical experience.


They are all great moments in recorded music and definitive redintions of this much beloved composition. They differ in character yet they are very similar in effect. If you like Scheherazade you owe to yourself to listen to both of them.