Programme:

Works inspired by the Near and the Far East

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Josef Suk, Bohuslav Martinů, Maurice Ravel, Carl Nielsen and more

Cast:

Veronika Rovná – soprano
Barbora Seidlová – presenter
Petr Gablas – dulcimer
Tomáš Rossi – drums
Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava
Chuhei Iwasaki – conductor

The Arabian Nights is a Middle Eastern collection of folk tales that shares the frame story of the wise Scheherazade and the cruel king Shahryar. Many artists’ own works were inspired by this collection. The most popular music adaptation is undoubtedly the four-movement suite Scheherazade by Rimsky-Korsakov. Its extent was so large that Mozart had some works of his own that were inspired by the Near and the Far East. Some of them are e.g. the unfinished opera Zaide or The Abduction from the Seraglio, as well as the most popular one – The Turkish March. Turkey is represented by its famous pianist Fazil Say, who is also a composer, and some of his work will be performed this evening as well.

Ravel found his inspiration in medieval music along with Spanish folklore or in the works of Russian authors, especially Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s. Even he has his own Scheherazade, made up of three songs for soprano and orchestra.