Scheherazade: A retelling for our times | City of London Sinfonia

Four writers join City of London Sinfonia to retell stories from One thousand and one nights, the book that inspired Rimsky-Korsakov’s work.

DBC Pierre, one of the most distinctive novelists of our time, counts Scheherazade as one of his favourite pieces of music. He is joined by poets Daljit Nagra, Ruth Padel and Hanan al-Shaykh to share a contemporary, original take on the timeless stories that captured Rimsky-Korsakov’s imagination.

One thousand and one nights is likely one of the best-known collections of stories in the world, and one that has captivated authors, artists and musicians for centuries. While rooted in Arabic culture, the stories have a universality that captivates us all. This concert presents a retelling by authors and writers from a range of backgrounds from diverse UK voices to the Arabic world, alongside Rimsky-Korsakov’s well-loved music.

Rimsky-Korsakov wrote his own retelling of One thousand and one nights, taking the name of the heroine Scheherazade as his title and inspiration. The music, while not attempting a direct telling of the stories the movements are named after, is full of the colours and sounds that Rimsky-Korsakov imagined from the stories in One thousand and one nights.