by Mike Telin
“When I think of introducing the classical music that we love to young kids, Scheherazade is one of the first pieces that comes to mind,” Cleveland Orchestra Assistant Conductor Vinay Parameswaran said during a telephone conversation. “Rimsky-Korsakov’s music vividly tells the story and it’s so easy to latch onto its dramatic elements. And if you’re hearing an orchestra for the first time, you get a sense of all the colors and sounds that it can produce.”
On Sunday, March 11 at 3:00 pm at Severance Hall, Parameswaran will lead a performance of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade in a Cleveland Orchestra Family Concert with Enchantment Theatre Company. The production takes the audience to exotic lands on Sinbad’s ship with the help of costumes, magic, and puppets. Tickets are available online.
Parameswaran said that pairing the music with acting, dancing, and visuals adds a beautiful narrative element that helps to tell the story without any speaking. “The great thing is that the audience will be able to hear Scheherazade without interruption, so they will get a sense of the combined music and drama.” Prior to the performance, the orchestra will play excerpts from what the audience will hear.
The conductor said that Enchantment Theatre Company is wonderful at tying together musical stories with acting and movement. “The first time I worked with them was in a concert at my previous job in Nashville, when we performed Firebird. It was a highlight for me because of the great music, but I was really taken by how the Company was able to engage the audience, even the five- and six-year-olds. That’s what’s key with this production — it is for everyone.”
What is Parameswaran’s favorite part of Scheherazade? “The shipwreck during the finale. That’s the part that I’m always drawn to.”
Two other great Russian works — Glinka’s Ruslan and Ludmila Overture and Rimsky-Korsakov’s Flight of the Bumblebee — will also be performed on the program. “The Orchestra is going to get a workout,” Parameswaran said with a laugh.
Published on ClevelandClassical.com March 6, 2018.
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