Search - Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Igor Stravinsky, Fritz Reiner :: Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade; Igor Stravinsky: Song of the Nightingale

Amazing Scheherazade

James | Somewhere | 01/03/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In this review, I will mainly be talking about the recording of Scheherazade on the album. While the Song of the Nightengale is a very good piece, and this is an excellent recording of it, but if you are buying this album, it should be for this amazing-dare I say difinitive-recording of Rimsky-Korsakov's greatest piece.



Fritz Reiner and the Chicagoans really outdid themselves here. Every member of the orchestra plays with inspiration, fire, and technical mastery. The solos are all amazing, especially Sidney Harth's beautiful playing of the prominent violin solos.



Some will say the first movement is taken too fast by Reiner. Don't listen to them. Reiner's tempo is almost right on Rimsky-Korsakov's marked tempo, so everyone else plays it too slow. The faster tempo brings the movement to life. You will feel Sinbad's ship braving a massive storm, tossing around in the relentless waves of the sea. With a slower tempo, this feeling is completely lost.



Beecham's recording is NOT better than this one.



The narrative of the piece is based on the stories told to the Sultan by Scheherazade during her captivity. Each movement is loosely based on one of the stories. The violin solos that reappear throughout the piece represent Scheherazade. The theme is not followed closely enough to take away from the form of the music, but enough to really draw you in to the piece. The orchestra changes their style according to the theme well.



The last movement is especially exciting. Legend has it that, after spending all day recording the first three movements, the orchestra nailed this movement on the first take. The climax, where the main theme from the first movement returns, is truly explosive.



Basically, this is one of my personal favorites in my collection. I don't think it would be stretching it too much to say this is one of the greatest recordings ever made, and definitely the greatest recording of Scheherazade."

One of the best to consider.

Carlos Quintero | Caracas, Venezuela | 10/26/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"


This is a wonderful account of sherezade. Magnificent performance

that could stay in the top 3 greatest recordings, besides Beecham and

Markevitch. This is an accurate recommendation."

Dissapointed in the sound.

Boston Jim | Carlsbad, CA United States | 05/03/2008

(2 out of 5 stars)

"I am not a classical music buff but I bought Scherezade on a London Phase 4 lp by Leopold Stowkowski and the London Symphony Orchestra back in the 60's. It is one of my favorite albums. I haven't been able to find that version on CD so I decided to buy Reiner's version and Eugene Ormandy's version to see if either were close to Stowkowski's interpretation. I was very disappointed in this version. The quieter passages are so low that you have to raise the volume to hear them and then lower it again for the louder passages. Also, the violin solos, which I feel are the most beautiful parts of the piece, are difficult to hear unless you really raise the volume. The violin solos represent Scherezade and should stand out. The Eugene Ormandy version has much better sound and comes much closer to Stowkowski's version."