Scheherazade

Classical Arizona PBS proudly celebrates an exciting broadcast season of The Phoenix Symphony.

This week, the musicians of The Phoenix Symphony share captivating tales of Scheherazade, woven through music by Russian composer Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov and a journey through the heavens as illustrated by English composer Gustav Holst in his orchestral suite THE PLANETS. The commanding young Russian-born conductor Lidiya Yankovskaya leads the orchestra in a richly satisfying program.

The Phoenix Symphony concert begins with a piece commissioned by the New York Philharmonic to celebrate its centennial anniversary in 1942 – the SECOND ESSAY by American composer Samuel Barber.

Scheherazade is an adaptation of ONE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS – the story of the Sultan who was so enraged by his cheating first wife that he decided to execute his subsequent wives each morning after the wedding. But along cane Scheherazade who outsmarted him by weaving such intricate and engrossing stories – and leaving them Unfinished — for 1,001 nights that he finally gave up on his plan.

Lidiya Yankovskaya is a remarkable young talent – a serious student of piano, voice, and dance from early childhood who came to the United States in 1995 as a refugee to pursue her dreams. She not only earned her conducting degrees here, she also founded the Refugee Orchestra Project, whose mission is, “ … to demonstrate the vitally important role that refugees from across the globe have played in our country’s culture and society.”

There’s also an encore presentation of THE PLANETS by Gustav Holst featuring Colombian conductor Lina Gonzalez-Granados, commander of the mission to take us to explore Mars, the Bringer of War … Venus, the Bringer of Peace … Mercury, the Winged Messenger … Jupiter, the Bringer of Jollity … Saturn, the Bringer of Old Age … Uranus, the Magician … And finally Neptune, the Mystic.