Alan Gilbert

Music Director

SCHEHERAZADE
A Musical Fantasy

School Day Concerts 2013

Resource Materials for Teachers
Education at the New York Philharmonic

The New York Philharmonic’s education programs open doors to symphonic

music for people of all ages and backgrounds, serving over 40,000 young
people, families, teachers, and music professionals each year. The School Day
Concerts are central to our partnerships with schools in New York City and
beyond.
The pioneering School Partnership Program joins Philharmonic Teaching
Artists with classroom teachers and music teachers in full-year residencies.
Currently more than 4,000 students at 16 New York City schools in all five
boroughs are participating in the three-year curriculum, gaining skills in
playing, singing, listening, and composing. For over 80 years the Young
People’s Concerts have introduced children and families to the wonders of
orchestral sound; on four Saturday afternoons, the promenades of Avery
Fisher Hall become a carnival of hands-on activities, leading into a lively
concert. Very Young People’s Concerts engage pre-schoolers in hands-on
music-making with members of the New York Philharmonic. The fun and
learning continue at home through the Philharmonic’s award-winning website
Kidzone!, a virtual world full of games and information designed for young
browsers.
To learn more about these and the Philharmonic’s many other education
programs, visit [Link]/education, or go to Kidzone! at [Link] to
start exploring the world of orchestral music right now.
The School Day Concerts are made possible with support from the Carson Family Charitable Trust and
the Mary and James G. Wallach Foundation.
Additional support comes from the Mary P. Oenslager Student Concert Endowment Fund and the
Oceanic Heritage Foundation.
This guide has been made possible through an endowment gift from Lillian Butler Davey.
MetLife Foundation is the Lead Corporate Underwriter for the New York Philharmonic's Education
Programs.

CREDITS

Writer: Richard Mannoia, New York Philharmonic Senior Teaching Artist

Contributors: Evangeline Avlonitis, Teacher, PS 165

Elizabeth Guglielmo, Assistant Principal, Supervision – Music and Art, Bayside High School

Editors: Theodore Wiprud, New York Philharmonic Vice President, Education, The Sue B. Mercy Chair
Amy Leffert, New York Philharmonic Assistant Director of Education

Design: Ted Dawson Studio

Welcome
to your School Day Concert!

T
he lessons in this booklet work together with the School Day Concert itself to
enable your students to put their ears to good use in the concert hall. They will
learn to notice, to describe, to compare and contrast. Treating a major musical
work as text, they will explore how various musical elements can suggest
narratives. Learning historical context, they will discover how different cultures can enrich
each other. They will enter into a thrilling world of sound – some of the most colorful
music ever composed – empowered to make their own sense of what they hear.
This booklet is divided into four Units, each with its own number of Activities. Each
Activity is presented with an approximate timing, and every teacher can adjust the
lesson plans according to their students’ background and abilities. Elementary Extensions
suggest ways to take each concept further at the grade-school level. Middle & High
School Extensions provide ways to challenge those at the secondary level and/or
students studying music.
To help you implement the Units presented here, we also offer a teacher workshop where
our Teaching Artists will guide you through the lessons. It is important that as many
participating teachers attend as possible.
Expect a dynamic and challenging experience at the concert, where everything will be
both live and projected on the big screen. To make the most of the opportunity, play the
enclosed CD for your students and carry out as many of the lessons in this book as you
can. Enjoy the lessons, indulge in listening, and have fun at your School Day Concert —
see you there!
Theodore Wiprud
Vice President, Education
The Sue B. Mercy Chair
School Day Concerts
FOR MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL TEACHERS
Teacher Workshop: Concert:
Thursday, April 11, 2013 Thursday, May 23, 2013
4:00–6:00 p.m. 10:30 a.m.

FOR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL TEACHERS

Teacher Workshop: Concerts:
Wednesday, April 10, 2013 Thursday, May 23, 2013
4:00–6:00 p.m. 12:00 p.m.
Friday, May 24, 2013
10:30 a.m. and 12:00 p.m.
FOR TEACHERS IN THE SCHOOL PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM
Teacher Workshops: Concerts:
Monday, April 8 and Friday, May 24, 2013
Tuesday, April 9, 2013 10:30 a.m. and 12:00 p.m.
4:00–6:00 p.m.

All Teacher Workshops take place at Avery Fisher Hall

Helen Hull Room, 4th floor
132 West 65th Street, Manhattan
 The Program
Case Scaglione, conductor
Theodore Wiprud, host
NIKOLAI RIMSKY-KORSAKOV Selections from Scheherazade, Op. 35 (1888)
The Sea and Sinbad’s Ship
The Kalendar Prince
The Young Prince and the Young Princess
Festival at Baghdad
YOUNG COMPOSERS Suite of New Works (May 23, 10:30 a.m.)
Aiyana Tedi Braun (Age 15, Haverford High School) . . . . . . .Memories in Sand
Jack Gulielmetti (Age 17, The Calhoun School) . . . . . . . . . . .Shades for Orchestra
Tengku Irfan (Age 14, Professional Children’s School) . . . . .Keraian
VERY YOUNG COMPOSERS Selection of New Works (May 23, 12:00 p.m.;
May 24, 10:30 a.m. and 12:00 p.m.)
Ashanti Espiritusanto (Age 10, P.S. 165) . . . . . . . . . . .Notes of Musical Coolness
Aaron Fig (Age 10, P.S. 199; Bank Street School) . . . . .In the Town and by the Ocean
Graydon Hanson (Age 10, P.S. 187) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Glash — Lunar Eclipse
Mia Micic (Age 10, P.S. 24) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Raft Dino Spies
Hawa Sakho (Age 11, P.S. 59 graduate) . . . . . . . . . . .Eagle to Tou et Bleu
Cassandra Stevens (Age 11, P.S. 199) . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Remembered Souls

Credit Suisse Very Young Composers

C reated by the New York Philharmonic’s Young Composers Advocate

Jon Deak, Credit Suisse Very Young Composers (CS-VYC) enables
students with or without musical background to compose music to be
performed by Philharmonic musicians. Very Young Composers serves fourth-
and fifth-graders as an after-school program for the Philharmonic’s School
Partnership Program schools; middle-schoolers in the Composer’s Bridge
program at Avery Fisher Hall; and children and teens in countries around the
world where the program has been introduced. In every locale, Very Young
Composers culminates in astonishing works revealing the power of children’s
imaginations. Each year, over 100 new children’s compositions are played by
ensembles of Philharmonic musicians – or by the full Orchestra at these
School Day Concerts. For more information, visit [Link]/vyc.

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 Young Composers in New York City

T he Philharmonic’s Composer’s Bridge program is designed

to help middle school students interested in serious study of
composition make the transition to a variety of New York City
programs. The New York Youth Symphony's Composition
Program, formerly known as "Making Score," is the first series of
workshops in the country for young musicians to explore the world
of composition and orchestration. The sessions explore the musical
thought of a wide variety of composers, with a focus on
instrumentation and orchestration. The Juilliard Pre-College
Division offers small group composition classes for students of
elementary through high school age who exhibit the talent, potential,
and accomplishment to pursue a career in music. Face the Music,
the only student ensemble in New York City dedicated to performing
music by living classical composers, was founded in 2005 with eight
students with unique passion for experimenting with music. The
ensemble has now grown to more than 120 teens and pre-teens
from over 40 elementary, middle, and high schools from across the
New York City area. To find out more about these programs, visit
[Link], [Link], and
[Link].

Teaching and Learning in the Arts

The Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in the Arts is a guide for arts
educators in New York City public schools. The Music Blueprint defines five
strands of learning, all addressed in these Materials for Teachers. In the course
of these lessons, your students will make music, develop musical literacy,
explore connections with other disciplines, get information about careers in
music, and of course take advantage of an important community resource, the
New York Philharmonic.
As the Common Core assumes center stage in education, the School Day
Concert and these lessons specifically focus on the idea of music as text, and
music’s close connections with literary and historical texts.

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 Scheherazade
A Musical Fantasy
One Thousand and One Nights — a rich treasury of
ancient tales written in Arabic — has thrilled people
the world over with its amazing stories of Aladdin, Ali
Baba, Sinbad, and hundreds more. All the stories in
the collection are told by Scheherazade, a clever
woman who preserved her life each night by keeping
her murderous husband in suspense for the outcome
of another tale. This framing story of Scheherazade
has its origins in Persian legend, and the stories
themselves were compiled over hundreds of years in manuscripts found all
over the Middle East, and eventually in translations in Europe.
The Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844–1908) was only one
of many creative artists — authors, filmmakers, even video game and hip-hop
artists — whose imaginations have been fired by One Thousand and One
Nights and by the heroic figure of Scheherazade, a woman whose wit and
intelligence saved her life and many others.
Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade is one of the most beloved and most colorful
works in the orchestral repertoire. It represents an ideal synthesis of the
composer’s two opposite tendencies. Early in his career, before he had
received formal training, Rimsky-Korsakov achieved renown for exciting music
drawing on Russian folk song and folk tales. As such he was part of the
“Mighty Handful” of nationalist composers that also included Musorgsky,
Borodin, Balakirev, and Cui. When Rimsky-Korsakov was appointed to teach
composition at St. Petersburg Conservatory, he found it necessary to study his
craft systematically for the first time in order to stay ahead of his students, and
at this time his own music took on a formal classical tone. With Scheherazade
and other works of the 1880s, he found an ideal synthesis of fantasy and form,
shaping wondrous stories in music through inventive thematic development
and in clearly structured symphonic movements..
Because the composer leaves details of the stories to the listener's
imagination, Scheherazade asks the listener for active participation. What
stories will you imagine when you hear the work’s vivid themes — the haunting
violin solo that represents Scheherazade, the storyteller; the fearsome
trombone motive that represents the cruel Sultan; the mysterious bassoon
melody of the Kalendar Prince; the lilting love melody of the Prince and
Princess? What techniques does Rimsky use to fire up our imaginations?
How do imagination and technique support each other? What can students
learn from the storyteller Scheherazade, and from Rimsky’s musical depictions,
for their own writing and creative expression?

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Unit 1

Scheherazade
and Storytelling
The exotic legend of Scheherazade captured the
imagination of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and inspired him
to write one of the most beloved pieces in the orchestral
literature. Discover amazing Scheherazade, a character
of exceptional beauty, intelligence, bravery and the power
to tell some of the world’s most brilliant stories.

2013 SCHOOL DAY CONCERTS 5

 Activity 1

Traveling with Rimsky-Korsakov (10 minutes)

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov was a composer who loved to travel. He grew up in

Russia hearing stories from his older brother who was a seafaring explorer, and
fantasized about traveling the world like him. Nikolai eventually joined the navy
and traveled to far-off lands like Spain, Italy, and Brazil. During this adventurous
time he fell in love with the sea and exotic faraway places.
Discuss with students: Where are some places you’ve traveled? What is a
faraway place that you’d like to travel to someday? Why? What interests you
about that place? What is your fantasy of this faraway place? What’s so
exciting about traveling to new places?

Middle & High School Extensions

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov was one of a group of composers during the late 19th
century known as the “Mighty Handful.” He and the other composers in this group
(Balakirev, Borodin, Cui, and Musorgsky) were very nationalistic, i.e., very proud
of their country. While he was very patriotic and proud of his Russian heritage,
Rimsky-Korsakov was also enchanted by Central Asian and Middle Eastern cultures.
• Read a brief biography of Rimsky-Korsakov and indicate on a map:
• Russia (his homeland)
• Turkey (a place he traveled)
• Iran, formerly known as Persia (Scheherazade’s homeland)
• Ask students to name a culture other than their own that they admire or
are curious about, and tell why. (What do you admire? What are you
curious about?)
• Now have them indicate on a map where they were born, where they are
now, and where they would like to travel to learn more about another culture
they admire or are curious about.

Activity 2

Exploring Arabian Inspirations (15 minutes)

When Rimsky-Korsakov traveled to Turkey he became inspired by the exotic

sights and sounds he encountered there. He heard traditional Arabian music
and was inspired to compose his own music about Arabian culture.
Listen to an Arabian music excerpt (Track 5)

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Ask students: How would you describe this music? How is it different from
music you know? How might it be similar?
Discuss with students: What do you know about the cultures of Arabia, Persia,
and the Middle East?
Some prompts to stimulate the conversation:
• Our story takes place in two areas: Iran, which was once known as
Persia; and the Arabian lands, both the Arabian Peninsula and countries
in North Africa.
• Let’s brainstorm and come up with what we know/think we know/
want to know about these very rich cultures and countries.

Elementary Extensions
Search for images to see how Persia and the Arab countries are alike and how
they are different. The languages, clothes, religion, food, and geography of these
two areas are similar and different. Make a Venn diagram to find the differences
and similarities of the two cultures.

Activity 3

The Story of Scheherazade (10 minutes)

Rimsky-Korsakov discovered the Persian legend of Scheherazade, the brilliant

story-telling princess. He was inspired to write an orchestral fantasy based on
Scheherazade and her stories. Read the following synopsis of the
Scheherazade legend:
“Once upon a time in Persia there lived a strong and powerful Sultan. The
Sultan loved two things: incredible beauty and exotic stories. Although this
king was very strong, he had a broken heart and was very sad. The Sultan
was lonely without a wife, but was afraid that a new wife would break his
heart again. To solve this problem, the sultan’s assistant, the Vizier, thought
of a wonderful plan: marry a new girl each night and at daybreak behead
her! The Sultan agreed that was an excellent plan and would indeed keep
his heart from getting broken. And so for many, many nights the king would
marry a new girl and send his new wife away the next morning.
“As more and more young women went to the palace and never returned,
the Vizier’s very own daughter decided she needed to do something. Her
name was Scheherazade, the most beautiful and enchanting girl the king
would ever meet. Reluctantly, the Vizier followed her wishes and presented
Scheherazade to the Sultan. The Sultan was very pleased when he saw
beautiful Scheherazade and again the wedding ritual began. However,
2013 SCHOOL DAY CONCERTS 7
 Scheherazade was not just beautiful, but very smart, too. She knew that the
Sultan loved stories so she planned to weave an incredible tale, but would
time the story just right so at sunrise she would stop at the most exciting
part! The king was so mesmerized, her plan worked and he kept her alive
another night. Scheherazade continued telling her stories for a 1,001
nights! By then the king had fallen in love and his broken heart had
completely healed. He and Scheherazade were married and her enchanting
stories are still retold today in the famous collection called One Thousand
and One Nights.”
Reflection questions:
Based on this story about Scheherazade, what kind of woman was she? Which
characteristics helped to save her life? (intelligence, cunning, imagination, wit,
etc.) Do you think Scheherazade was an ingenious woman? Explain how and
why? Was the king a mean-hearted or misguided man? Pick one adjective and
give reasons to support your answer.
Reflect on the qualities of a good storyteller. What makes a great story? How do
you think Scheherazade told her stories for 1,001 nights?
Elementary Extensions
Brainstorm with students: Have you ever been in a tight spot? Have you ever had
to think on your feet? What options did you have? Were you impressed with
your own inventiveness and prowess?
• Look at creative solutions to problems in nature. Suppose you were
camping and you encountered a bear – What would you do? What
options for survival would you have? Run? Stay still? Play dead? Study
the amazing adaptations of animals and ways they have evolved to save
their skin. For example, the glass lizard breaks off its tail and runs away,
the puffer fish blows up, the squid shoots black ink to confuse its
predators and get away.
• Check out the wonderful book What Do You Do if Something Wants
to Eat You? by Steve Jenkins (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2001).
• Also worth reading: The Barefoot Book of Princesses by Caitlin Matthews
(Barefoot Books, 2004), a collection of princess stories from around the
world in which princesses find themselves in situations in which they must
be very resourceful. Do a comparative study of their strengths,
weaknesses, and situations. Pose the question, “What would you do
under similar circumstances?” to explore empathy and putting yourself in
someone else’s shoes.

8 2013 SCHOOL DAY CONCERTS

Middle & High School Extensions
Extension Activity 1:
Below is an account of the conversation between Scheherazade and her father
as she prepared to marry the Sultan and knowingly put her life in danger
(excerpted from the New York Philharmonic Digital Booklet included with iTunes
album, recorded live September 28–29 & October 2, 2012, Avery Fisher Hall at
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts; Alan Gilbert, conductor).
The following passage from One Thousand and One Nights reveals how the
brave and clever Scheherazade resolves to stop the Sultan from taking a new
bride each day only to execute them the next.
One day, when the grand-vizir was talking to his eldest daughter, who was
his delight and pride, Scheherazade said to him, “Father, I have a favor to ask
of you. Will you grant it to me?”
“I can refuse you nothing,” replied he, “that is just and reasonable.”
“Then listen,” said Scheherazade. “I am determined to stop this barbarous
practice of the Sultan’s, and to deliver the girls and mothers from the awful
fate that hangs over them.”
“It would be an excellent thing to do,” returned the grand-vizir, “but how do
you propose to accomplish it?”
“My father,” answered Scheherazade, “it is you who have to provide the
Sultan daily with a fresh wife, and I implore you, by all the affection you bear
me, to allow the honor to fall upon me.”
“Have you lost your senses?” cried the grand-vizir, starting back in horror.
“What has put such a thing into your head? You ought to know by this time
what it means to be the Sultan’s bride!”
“Yes, my father, I know it well,” replied she, “and I am not afraid to think of it.
If I fail, my death will be a glorious one, and if I succeed I shall have done a
great service to my country.”
“It is of no use,” said the grand-vizir, “I shall never consent. If the Sultan was
to order me to plunge a dagger in your heart, I should have to obey. What a
task for a father! Ah, if you do not fear death, fear at any rate the anguish you
would cause me…”
But the maiden absolutely refused to attend to her father’s words, and at
length, in despair, the grand-vizir was obliged to give way, and went sadly
to the palace to tell the Sultan that the following evening he would bring him
Scheherazade...
When they were alone, Scheherazade addressed her [sister, Dinarzade]
thus:

2013 SCHOOL DAY CONCERTS 9

 “My dear sister; I want your help in a very important affair. My father is going
to take me to the palace to celebrate my marriage with the Sultan. When his
Highness receives me, I shall beg him, as a last favor, to let you sleep in our
chamber, so that I may have your company during the last night I am alive. If,
as I hope, he grants me my wish, be sure that you wake me an hour before
the dawn, and speak to me in these words: ‘My sister, if you are not asleep, I
beg you, before the sun rises, to tell me one of your charming stories.’ Then I
shall begin, and I hope by this means to deliver the people from the terror
that reigns over them.”
In light of the conversation above and Scheherazade’s actions, how does
Scheherazade redefine the identity of a princess? [The traditional princess
would probably wait for a male hero to save her from her predicament.
Meanwhile, Scheherazade crafts and executes a plan that effects social change.]

Extension Activity 2:
Show articles and video clips to familiarize students with Malala Yousafzai, a
Pakistani high school student and education activist who was shot by the Taliban
(but survived) after she began to rise in prominence, giving interviews in print and
on television.
Discuss: What qualities do Scheherazade and Malala Yousafzai share?

Extension Activity 3:
Discuss with students: If you were the casting director for a movie being
made about Scheherazade today, who would you cast as beautiful, charming
Scheherazade, and who would you cast as the stern, powerful Sultan?
Why? Select a song that is popular today to be the movie’s overall theme song
– why did you select that song? (e.g., “One More Night” by Maroon 5)

10 2013 SCHOOL DAY CONCERTS

 Activity 4

Listening to Scheherazade and the Sultan (10 minutes)

Brainstorm a list of feelings that Scheherazade might experience as she
weaves her tales for the Sultan and also how the Sultan might react or treat
Scheherazade. How might music sound to represent these feelings? (Consider
musical elements such as tempo, dynamics, instrumentation, rhythm, and
melody.)
Listen to and discuss the following excerpt which represents the characters
Scheherazade and the Sultan (Track 6)
Which part do you think is Scheherazade? The Sultan? What do you know
about those two characters that makes you say that? How does it match,
musically?

2013 SCHOOL DAY CONCERTS 11

Unit 2

Imagination and the

Arabian Nights
One of listening’s great pleasures is allowing
your imagination to run free with the music.
Each movement of Scheherazade is connected
to a story from One Thousand and One Nights,
but Rimsky-Korsakov wanted his audiences to
indulge in fantasy inspired by his music rather
than the original stories.
 Activity 1

Getting to Know the Tales of Scheherazade (10 minutes)

Scheherazade told many tales in One Thousand and One Nights, but Rimsky-
Korsakov thought of a way to suggest the whole range of them in four
movements (large separate sections) of his piece Scheherazade.
Discuss the following background on the characters and situations Rimsky-
Korsakov evoked in titling his four movements.

1. The Sea and Sinbad’s Ship

The brave Sinbad is a sailor who sets out with his great ship on seven wild
adventures at sea. Shipwrecked each time, Sinbad finds himself in faraway
lands of magical creatures where he fights monstrous beasts that guard their
treasure and meets mighty kings who lavish him with expensive gifts. Each
time, he returns back with his newfound wealth to his home in Baghdad.
Between voyages, Sinbad grows restless with his leisurely life and always seeks
a new adventure out on the high seas.

2. The Legend of the Kalendar Prince

The Kalendars were a type of fakir, roving monks who turned up at Eastern
courts and bazaars. In this story, a prince is tired of living his routine life in a
palace and wants to go out to experience life in the exciting city. He does this
by disguising himself as a mysterious old Kalendar who could do magic tricks
and tell someone’s fortune in exchange for some food or a gold coin.

3. The Young Prince and the Young Princess

Here is the story of Prince Ibrahim who falls in love with a portrait – a picture of
the most beautiful girl he has ever seen. As hard as he tries, Prince Ibrahim
cannot stop thinking about the girl in the portrait. Though he has never met her,
Ibrahim is determined to find out who this girl is and sets off to find her. After a
long search through all the villages in the land, he finally comes to another
castle just like his own. Inside the castle walls he finds the beautiful girl in the
picture – Princess Jemilah. Ibrahim tells Jimelah how much he loves her and
she is impressed by how long and earnestly he has searched for her. They fall
in love and marry.

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 4. The Festival at Baghdad/The Sea and the Shipwreck
The conclusion to the symphonic suite unites many storylines and musical
themes. Baghdad is the home of Sinbad and of many of the characters in One
Thousand and One Nights. In this Baghdad scene we have a brilliant festival —
a celebration of light and dance. We hear the Sultan become impatient with
Scheherazade’s stalling and storytelling. However, as she continues with
another — her most exciting tale yet — of Sinbad and a shipwreck, the Sultan
finally gives in and realizes he has fallen in love with the beautiful, and clever,
Scheherazade.

Elementary Extensions
These four stories, like the other Arabian Nights stories, were derived from
Arabic, Persian, Indian, Egyptian, and Mesopotamian tales, folklore, and literature.
Have students research, identify, and summarize some famous tales or folk
stories associated with their own cultural heritage. Now, imagine that the plot of
Scheherazade were to take place in a different setting – in the context of your
culture, e.g., Puerto Rican Scheherazade, Italian Scheherazade. Which folk
stories from your culture would be the most exciting ones to tell?
Check out the beautiful picture book Sinbad in the Land of Giants by Ludmila
Zenman (Tundra Books, 2001) as a source for creating vivid fairy tale images.

14 2013 SCHOOL DAY CONCERTS

Showcase Your Class Work
at the School Day Concerts!
We invite your students to submit their own responses to Scheherazade. Their
submissions may be featured at the School Day Concerts for all to see and hear!
You may respond to either or both of these options.
1. Portraits of Scheherazade
Invite your students to imagine and create fantasy portraits of Scheherazade, thinking about
her personal qualities and about her Persian culture. You may choose to take a look online
at Arabic geometric designs, fabrics, or Persian miniatures (check them for appropriateness
before showing to your class!).
Photograph or scan a select number of art works. Visit [Link]/sdc and click on “School
Day Concert Submissions” to fill out a submission form,
including permission to exhibit the images and directions for DID YOU KNOW?
uploading your files. One Thousand and One Nights is a
collection of stories complied over many
2. The Thousand-and-Second Night centuries, in Arabic. Within the framing
Scheherazade saved her life each night by creating interest story of Scheherazade, subsequent
and suspense — both in the stories she told and in the way authors inserted folk stories from
she told them. Guide your class, or invite individual students, Arabia, India, Egypt, and Mesopotamia.
to write a story that could qualify as Scheherazade’s After the collection appeared in
1,002nd tale! You may incorporate elements from the story translation in Europe, around 1700,
outlines in Unit 2, Activity 1 (pages 13-14). Your story
European authors inserted additional
should have a segment that can be filmed in 20-30 seconds
Arabic stories in order to bring the
and should be portrayedby your class’s most dynamic
storyteller(s).
actual number to 1,001, including
some of the most famous: “Aladdin’s
Visit [Link]/sdc and click on “School Day Concert
Wonderful Lamp,” “Ali Baba and the
Submissions” to fill out a submission form, including
Forty Thieves,” and “The Seven Voyages
permission to exhibit the video and directions for uploading
your file. of Sinbad the Sailor.”

Middle & High School Extensions

1. Go to: [Link]/works/tales/[Link] and have students read the excerpt from
Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Thousand-and-Second Tale of Scheherazade,” which was inspired by
Scheherazade’s storytelling in One Thousand and One Nights. This passage illustrates the
wild nature of Scheherazade’s far-fetched stories, as well as her vivid imagination.
Use Poe’s writing as an example for students’ own colorful and captivating story that is
chock-full of mesmerizing imagery and fantasy.
2. In Audacity (free download) or another multi-track sound recording program, create a
backing track over which to videotape students reading their own “Thousand-and-Second Night”
tale. Your backing track may feature an excerpt from Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade that
best portrays the character of their story, or any other music they may want to excerpt or create.

2013 SCHOOL DAY CONCERTS 15

 Activity 2

Fantasy and Impressions (15 minutes)

Rather than tell stories exactly, Rimsky-Korsakov wanted his music to create
scenes and impressions of the kinds of stories Scheherazade told. He wrote,
“In composing Scheherazade, I meant these hints to direct only slightly the
listener's fancy on the path that my own fancy had traveled, and to leave more
minute and particular conceptions to the will and mood of each.” This gives the
listener the freedom to fantasize and create his or her own images or story
based on what they hear.
Rimsky-Korsakov evokes vivid images with his dazzling music. What images or
scenes come to mind when you hear:
Sinbad’s ship at sea (Track 7)
The mysterious Kalendar Prince (Track 8)
The Prince and Princess in love (Track 9)
Waves and the wreck of Sinbad’s ship (Track 10)

Here are some prompts to help students support their ideas with evidence
from the music:
“When I hear… I imagine…”
“I envision… because…”
“The music makes me think and feel… because…”
“When the music goes… I feel…”
“The part of the story I imagine is… because I heard…”
“With his music, I think Rimsky Korsakov is trying to create…”
“I was surprised by…”
“I can connect it to…”

Activity 3

Hearing Whole Movements (15 minutes)

Since there are only intimations of story, listening to this music can be an
adventure in which students can fantasize their own stories. Listen to an entire
movement and listen for the “plot” of the music. After listening, share some of
the students’ interpretations of the music. No story they imagine will be wrong,
since the composer only wanted to stimulate the listener’s imagination. Always
encourage students to connect their images to what they hear in the music.

16 2013 SCHOOL DAY CONCERTS

Unit 3
Musical Themes
Rimsky-Korsakov described his
Scheherazade as “a kaleidoscope of fairy
tale images.” One way he creates this
effect is by using and weaving musical
melodies, or themes, throughout the
entire piece, across movements and
from story to story.

2012 SCHOOL DAY CONCERTS 13

 Activity 1

Themes and Character (15 minutes)

In music, a theme is a melodic idea that is memorable and used frequently, or

in an important way. Sometimes themes can represent story elements, like
characters, as in the well-known piece Peter and the Wolf.
Brainstorm traits for one of the characters from the movements and stories
(Scheherazade, the Sultan, Sinbad, the Vizier, etc.) How might your character
be portrayed musically? Choose instruments, range, tempo, dynamics,
articulations, etc. Do you want your theme to portray your character in a
particular mood or situation? How might it sound different?
Students can compose their own theme for one of the characters.
For example:

The Vizier

old respectful loyal nervous

smooth, slow, shaky notes

Activity 2

Melodic Themes from Scheherazade (20 minutes)

Listen to the following excerpts and learn to sing or play the seven main
themes from Scheherazade. (Please note — Rimsky-Korsakov did not name
each theme, but for memory and reference purposes the themes will be
named and referred to as such in the School Day Concert.)

18 2013 SCHOOL DAY CONCERTS

“Scheherazade” theme Track 11

“Sultan” theme Track 12

“Kalendar Prince” theme Track 13

“Announcement” theme Track 14

“Prince and Princess Love” theme Track 15

2013 SCHOOL DAY CONCERTS 19

 “Procession” theme Track 16

“Baghdad Festival” theme Track 17

Activity 3
Using Themes to Create Drama (15 minutes)

Choose a scene from one of the Scheherazade stories to act out or mime.
Use the various themes from Scheherazade (Tracks 11-17) and create a theme
“playlist” to serve as your dramatic soundtrack. A teacher or student can act as
DJ and cue the music to follow the action as your students mime. Throughout
your process ask yourselves: What makes for a good dramatic scene?
How are we being good storytellers? What is it about the music that makes us
connect to our drama? What makes for a good choice of soundtrack?
What might be a surprising or unconventional choice we might make use of?

Middle & High School Extensions

For Scheherazade to preserve her life for 1,001 nights, her stories had to hold the
Sultan’s attention for hours at a time. However, Scheherazade also needed to
artfully set up a “cliffhanger” each night that kept the Sultan looking so forward to
what would happen next that he wouldn’t kill her because he had to keep her alive
to hear more.
You may watch the last minute or so of each of the following Batman videos to
illustrate what a “cliffhanger” is:
[Link]/watch?v=fd4K0WvH8qI (Start at 23:20)
[Link]/watch?v=xo9gN7EmZKQ (Start at 22:46)

20 2013 SCHOOL DAY CONCERTS

 For homework, assign each student one movement to listen to. While listening,
students will identify “cliffhanger” moments in their movement by writing down the
exact time or time range (minutes:seconds) in the movement that tension builds to
a suspenseful moment, e.g., ~0:51 in the fourth movement. After identifying these
moments, students should go back and listen to them with eyes closed and jot
down what they picture happening during these moments.
Additionally, students can look at examples of Persian miniatures and create a
Persian miniature of their own that illustrates the scene they imagined during the
cliffhanger moment in their assigned movement. Students should include a brief
written description of their “cliffhanger” moment below their Persian miniatures.
You may visit the following website to learn about Persian miniatures:
[Link]/exhibit/recent/IndianPersianPaintings/

Activity 4
Ways to Develop a Theme (30 minutes)

Rimsky-Korsakov often uses his themes in different ways to create different

moods, change the scene, or depict a character. Some ways to develop or
change a theme are:
m Changing instruments m Switching meter (groupings of beats)
m Changing tempo (speed) m Varying the rhythm of the melody
m Changing dynamics (louds and softs) m Articulation (smooth, choppy, plucky, etc.)
m Switching mode (major and minor)

Listen to examples of themes changing and discuss how the theme sounds
different. What might this tell us about the characters, mood, or plot of the
stories?”

“Sultan” theme developments:

Track 18
Heard in “The Sea and Sindbad’s Ship” movement, the theme here is broad
and smoldering, with the lowest strings of the violins playing and later joined
by the exotic sound of the oboe. Eventually the theme is repeated faster and
becomes more insistent as each statement becomes higher, louder, and fuller
with the addition of more instruments. In the background is a repeated
undulating pattern played by the cellos that keeps the theme’s energy
building throughout.

2013 SCHOOL DAY CONCERTS 21

 Track 19
From the middle of the “Festival in Baghdad” movement, the Sultan’s theme is
frantic with fast and rhythmic repetitions of the second half of the theme. The
brass are prominent with their forceful and rhythmic interjections of the
beginning of the theme. Listen carefully and you can hear the woodwinds layer
the “Baghdad Festival” theme in the background.

Track 20
This variation takes place at the the end of the “Festival at Baghdad” movement.
The theme is now much slower and calmer with the basses and cellos playing it
rich and smoky in their deepest register. The violins and violas are in the
background with pulsing heartbeat rhythm. Floating above it all is the delicate
and shimmering sound of the Scheherazade solo violin. Some may imagine that
Scheherazade has finally won and the Sultan has finally been placated, his
broken heart mended.

“Scheherazade” theme developments:

Track 21
We are introduced to Scheherazade and her theme in the first movement.
The violin plays the theme in a high and passionate register and delicate
strums from the harp punctuate the solo. Variations in speed, along with lots
of repetition of the second half of the theme, build the intensity and beseeching
quality of the violin solo.

Track 22
Later on in the first movement the violin plays the “Scheherazade” theme, but
passes off repetitions with echoes in the clarinet. A solo cello rises and falls
with smooth lines in the background. The strings pluck pizzicatos to keep a
steady pulse underneath it all.

As your students build endurance, have them listen to whole movements of

Scheherazade. Challenge them to hear all seven themes and hundreds of
Rimsky-Korsakov’s thematic variations and developments.

22 2013 SCHOOL DAY CONCERTS

Elementary Extension
Explore the idea of theme development in literature. Use cumulative books such
as This is the House that Jack Built, The Napping House by Audrey and Don
Wood (HMH Books, 2000), or Bringing the Rain to Kapiti Plain by Verna
Aardema (Puffin, 1992). These books begin with a line which is elaborated and
repeated to construct a story.

Middle & High School Extension

Have students perform one of the themes in Scheherazade on band or orchestra
instruments. Then let students “morph” the same theme in one or more ways so
that it communicates something different. For example, “morph” one of the
themes by:
m thinking of a feeling and trying to communicate that feeling;

m emulating a particular style or time period’s music;

m emulating the music of another culture.

2013 SCHOOL DAY CONCERTS 23

 Unit 4
Orchestration:
Fantasies in Melody
and Background
Rimsky-Korsakov was one the greatest
masters of orchestration. His colorful
combinations of instruments paint
sumptuous images of Scheherazade’s
fantasies through music. From shimmering
flute and harp pairings to the rich blending of
French horns and cellos, the orchestra’s
sound endlessly smolders, whispers, and
sparkles to delight listeners of all ages.

24 2013 SCHOOL DAY CONCERTS

 Activity 1
Exploring Foreground and Background (10 minutes)

Guide students in looking at a picture with a clear foreground and background.

Discuss what students observe. Which parts seem near and which parts seem
far? What is the most important part of the picture? How does the background
add to the overall picture?

Elementary, Middle & High School Extensions

Have students draw a scene from one of the four story-themed
movements, or from Scheherazade’s overall experience with the Sultan,
with a clearly defined foreground and background. When pondering
what to draw, students might imagine some intimate moments:
m the conversation between Scheherazade and her father;

m the wedding of Scheherazade to the Sultan;

m Scheherazade by herself, planning;

m a moment when Scheherazade has completely enchanted the Sultan

with her stories;

m daybreak, the day after Scheherazade’s wedding;

m the day the Sultan finally decides never to kill Scheherazade and,

instead, tells her that he has healed and that he loves her.

Ambitious students might try using a small paper box with three separate
drawings of different sizes that illustrate foreground, middle, and
background.

Activity 2
Creating Musical Backgrounds (20 minutes)

In music, the melody is most often the foreground of the music. In most pop
music the lead singer has the melody and the backup singers are in the
background.
Choose one of the themes from Unit 3 as your foreground melody to sing or
play on the recorder. Once your students can confidently play their foreground
melody, brainstorm ways of creating backgrounds using voices, recorders,
percussion instruments, or other found sounds.
Split the class into groups and try adding different backgrounds to your melody.

2013 SCHOOL DAY CONCERTS 25

 For example, the “Kalendar Prince” theme:

Here are some sample backgrounds your class or ensemble can try singing or
playing. To take it one step further, let students compose their own ostinato
backgrounds.

Share and reflect: How does the feeling, color, or mood change with each
background?

Middle & High School Extension

Improvise singing the “Kalendar Prince” theme, the “Announcement” theme,
and the “Love” theme (page 19) over Cosmic Sojourner’s “Scheherazade,”
from the album Love, Harmony & Beauty, as a background. This listening
example is available on Spotify and YouTube.

Feel free to adapt the rhythm of the melody to the background and to
connect the melody with scalar riffs. How does this rhythmic and harmonic
context change the nature of each melody?

26 2013 SCHOOL DAY CONCERTS

 Activity 3
Listening to Rimsky-Korsakov’s Orchestrated
Backgrounds in Scheherazade (15 minutes)
Rimsky-Korsakov was a master of orchestration — choosing and blending
instruments in interesting ways — and his backgrounds create dazzling effects in
color and mood.
Listen to the many variations of orchestration and background in the “Kalendar
Prince” theme:
Orchestration variation 1 (Track 23)
The first appearance of the “Kalendar Prince” theme features the bassoon
playing in its high register. Extra quick notes ornament the melody and give
the bassoon an exotic and improvisatory Middle Eastern flair. The background
is simple and mysterious, with long, open chords in the double basses.
Orchestration variation 2 (Track 24)
The melody is now at a faster tempo as the horns and woodwind section take
the melody, adding choppy staccato articulation and energetic swells. The
strings add to the energy with their beating pizzicatos and are reinforced by
booming timpani interjections.
Orchestration variation 3 (Track 25)
The piccolo leads the orchestra’s highest instruments in the melody as the lower
string background swells higher and higher, their whirling chromatic scales
threatening to take over the melody’s prominent role.
Orchestration variation 4 (Track 26)
The strings assert the melody with a deep and aggressive sound. The winds,
brass, and percussion all combat the melody with powerful and rhythmic
interjections, only to join forces in sudden and dramatic swells.
Orchestration variation 5 (Track 27)
In its highest register, the flute cries out with an extended version of the melody
and the harp strums along in quick succession. The high strings create a
delicate but agitated background with their bows shaking in soft tremolos that
whisper and sparkle beneath the flute.
Reflection questions: How does Rimsky-Korsakov use the orchestra to change
the sound of his melody? What kinds of interesting instrument combinations do
you hear? How would you describe each background? How do moods and
colors change with each orchestration change?

2013 SCHOOL DAY CONCERTS 27

 Activity 4
Further Orchestration (15 minutes)

Visit Orchestration Station in the Composition Workshop on the New York

Philharmonic’s Kidzone ([Link]) and try the following:
m Have different solo instruments play a melodic theme;
m Combine two or more instruments to create a new color or mood. Students
may blend instruments from the same family, or combine instruments from
different families.

28 2013 SCHOOL DAY CONCERTS

 How to Have a Great Day at the Philharmonic
Before You Come…
• Leave food, drink, candy, and gum behind — avoid the rush at the trash cans!
• Leave your backpack at school, too — why be crowded in your seat?
• Go to the bathroom at school — so you won’t have to miss a moment of
the concert!
When You Arrive…
• Ushers will show your group where to sit. Your teachers and chaperones
will sit with you.
• Settle right in and get comfortable! Take off your coat and put it right under
your seat.
• If you get separated from your group, ask an usher to help you.
On Stage…
• The orchestra will gather on stage before your eyes.
• The concertmaster enters last — the violinist who sits at the conductor’s left
hand side. Quiet down right away, because this is when the players tune
their instruments. It’s a magical sound signaling the start of an orchestra
concert.
• Then the conductor will walk on. You can clap, then get quiet and listen for
the music to begin.
• Each piece has loud parts and quiet parts. How do you know when it ends?
Your best bet is to watch the conductor. When he turns around toward the
audience, then that piece is over and you can show your appreciation by
clapping.
Listening Closely…
• Watch the conductor and see whether you can figure out which instruments
will play by where he is pointing or looking.
• See if you can name which instruments are playing by how they sound.
• Listen for the melodies and try to remember one you’ll be able to hum later.
Then try to remember a second one. Go for a third?
• If the music were the soundtrack of a movie, what would the setting be like?
Would there be a story?
• Pick out a favorite moment in the music to tell your family about later. But
keep your thoughts to yourself at the concert — let your friends listen in their
own ways.
2013 SCHOOL DAY CONCERTS 29
 The New York Philharmonic

T he New York Philharmonic is by far the oldest symphony orchestra in

the United States, and one of the oldest in the world. It was founded in
1842 by a group of local musicians, and currently plays about 180 concerts
every year. On May 5, 2010, the Philharmonic gave its 15,000th concert –
a record that no other symphony orchestra in the world has ever reached.
The Orchestra currently has 106 members. It performs mostly at Avery
Fisher Hall, at Lincoln Center, but also tours around the world. The
Orchestra’s first concerts specifically for a younger audience were organized
by Theodore Thomas for the 1885–86 season, with a series of 24 “Young
People’s Matinees.” The programs were developed further by conductor
Josef Stransky, who led the first Young People’s Concert in January of 1914.
The Young People’s Concerts were brought to national attention in 1924 by
“Uncle Ernest” Schelling, and were made famous by Leonard Bernstein in
the 1960s with live television broadcasts. Today’s New York Philharmonic
offers a wide array of educational programs to families, schools, and adults,
both live and online.

30 2013 SCHOOL DAY CONCERTS

Meet the Artists
Case Scaglione, conductor

A ssistant Conductor of the New York

Philharmonic, Case Scaglione was named the
2011 Solti Fellow by the Solti Foundation U.S. — an honor awarded only
three times in the foundation’s history. He recently finished his tenure as
music director of the Young Musicians Foundation Debut Orchestra of Los
Angeles, where he also founded 360° Music, an educational outreach
program that brought the orchestra to inner-city schools. A frequent guest
assistant and cover conductor with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and
David Robertson, he has also assisted at the Baltimore Symphony
Orchestra and Baltimore Opera, and he has conducted the Los Angeles
Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl alongside Bramwell Tovey. A native
of Texas, Mr. Scaglione received his bachelor’s degree from the Cleveland
Institute of Music. His postgraduate studies were spent at the Peabody
Institute, where he studied with Gustav Meier.

Theodore Wiprud, host

C omposer and educator Theodore Wiprud has led

education at the New York Philharmonic since
2004. He began his teaching career at Walnut Hill
School, near Boston. After directing national
grantmaking programs at Meet the Composer, he
returned to the classroom as a Teaching Artist in New York City schools.
Mr. Wiprud went on to create education and community engagement
programs for the Brooklyn Philharmonic, the American Composers
Orchestra, and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s. At the New York Philharmonic,
Mr. Wiprud oversees programs ranging from the historic Young People’s
Concerts and the Very Young People’s Concerts, to the School Partnership
Program and adult education programs. He has hosted the Philharmonic’s
School Day Concerts since 2005 and the Young People’s Concerts
since 2009.

2013 SCHOOL DAY CONCERTS 31

 School Day Concert CD
Track Listing
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade, Op. 35 (1888)
1 The Sea and Sinbad’s Ship
2 The Kalendar Prince
3 The Young Prince and the Young Princess
4 Festival at Baghdad

Arabic Music Excerpt

5 “Enchanting Magic,” from Mystical Legacies (excerpt). Ali Jihad Racy.

Instructional Excerpts
6 Scheherazade and Sultan (Unit 1, Activity 4)
7 Sinbad’s ship at sea (Unit 2, Activity 2)
8 The mysterious Kalendar Prince (Unit 2, Activity 2)
9 The Prince and Princess in love (Unit 2, Activity 2)
10 Waves and breaking of Sinbad’s ship (Unit 2, Activity 2)
11 “Scheherazade” theme (Unit 3, Activity 2)
12 “Sultan” theme (Unit 3, Activity 2)
13 “Kalendar Prince” theme (Unit 3, Activity 2)
14 “Announcement” theme (Unit 3, Activity 2)
15 “Prince and Princess Love” theme (Unit 3, Activity 2)
16 “Procession” theme (Unit 3, Activity 2)
17 “Baghdad Festival” theme (Unit 3, Activity 2)
18 “Sultan” theme, excerpt 1 (Unit 3, Activity 4)
19 “Sultan” theme, excerpt 2 (Unit 3, Activity 4)
20 “Sultan” theme, excerpt 3 (Unit 3, Activity 4)
21 “Scheherazade” theme, excerpt 1 (Unit 3, Activity 4)
22 “Scheherazade” theme, excerpt 2 (Unit 3, Activity 4)
23 Orchestration variation 1 (Unit 4, Activity 3)
24 Orchestration variation 2 (Unit 4, Activity 3)
25 Orchestration variation 3 (Unit 4, Activity 3)
26 Orchestration variation 4 (Unit 4, Activity 3)
27 Orchestration variation 5 (Unit 4, Activity 3)

32 2013 SCHOOL DAY CONCERTS

CD CREDITS:

Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade, Op. 35

New York Philharmonic; Alan Gilbert, conductor
Glenn Dicterow, violin
Release 2: Alan Gilbert and the New York Philharmonic 2012–13 Season

Track 5 courtesy of Lyrichord Discs New York, [Link].

IMAGES:

Cover: Walter Paget, “The Arabian Nights” (1907); Page 4: Edmund Dulac, “Princess Scheherazade”
(1908), Sani-al-Mulk, “One Thousand and One Nights” (c. 1853); Page 5: Edmund Dulac,
“Supposing me asleep, they began to talk” (1911); Page 12: Edmund Dulac, cover illustration of
Housman’s Stories from the Arabian Nights (1911); Page 17: Anhalt carpet from Iran, Metropolitan
Museum (mid-16th century); Page 24: Leon Bakst, set design for Scheherazade (1910).
[Link]/sdc
[Link]