City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade
Colourful. Seductive. Wear sequins.
Who’s on stage
We’re welcoming very special guests the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Or CBSO to be a bit more catchy.
What they’re playing
Rich, colourful and lush, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade ends this concert, a musical telling of the ‘The Tales of the Arabian Nights’. Prokofiev’s ‘Classical’ symphony starts your night – music that’s bright, festive, cheery, and uncomplicated.
Need to Know
Price: £19 – £43
Running time: 1 hour 45 minutes, including a 20 minute interval.
Discounts: Save if you’re local, unemployed, a first timer.
Age: Under 14s must be accompanied by an adult.
Concert progamme: Find you more about what you’ll hear in our free PDF download
What you'll hear
Sergei Prokofiev Classical Symphony (15’)
Camille Saint-Saëns Piano Concerto No. 2 (24’)
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov Scheherazade (42’)
Who's playing
Kazuki Yamada conductor
Hisako Kawamura piano
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra
What’s happening in the music
Prokofiev wrote his first symphony in 1916-17 and for inspiration he looked back to the music of composers like Mozart and Haydn, both around in the 1700’s. He didn’t copy their music note for note, but used it as a starting point, looking at their styles from his 20th century perspective. The result is music that’s fresh, crisp and just immediately likeable.
Figure this
Scheherazade is a firm favourite for figure skaters for some reason. Maybe because it’s glam and showy. Definitely music for sequins. Meryl Davis & Charlie White from USA won Gold dancing to it at the 2014 Winter Olympics.
