Symphony: Let her story captivate you as it did the sultan

Sounds like Scheherazade could have used a marriage counselor.

The legendary Persian princess became engaged to a sultan who executed all of his wives after their wedding night. Scheherazade kept her head because she captivated the sultan with her spellbinding storytelling.

Her story also fascinated Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, whose symphonic masterpiece “Scheherazade” is on the Omaha Symphony’s program this weekend at the Holland Performing Arts Center.

Rimsky-Korsakov used the orchestra to create vivid sonic characters. A sinuous melody played on solo violin depicts the princess. The sultan’s wrath is heard in an onslaught of brass and strings.

Omaha Symphony Music Director Thomas Wilkins said his interpretation is based on these characters.

“The sultan is an absolute beast, so we play his music with force and virtuosity,” Wilkins said. “Scheherazade’s music, on the other hand, is totally sensuous.”

The story that Scheherazade relates to the sultan is about Sinbad’s adventures on the high seas. Wilkins based the rest of his program of the theme of water.

The concert will open with Respighi’s “Fountains of Rome,” a sparkling tribute to the Eternal City’s four famed fountains. Benjamin Britten’s “Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes,” meanwhile, is a psychological journey through stormy emotional seas.

Aside from the water theme, Wilkins said all the music on this weekend’s program has one other thing in common.

“It’s all beautifully scored for orchestra,” he said.

Contact the writer:

444-1076, john.pitcher@owh.com

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