Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s symphonic poem Scheherazade is based on One Thousand and One Nights, also known as The Arabian Nights, and combines the composer’s imaginative melody lines and uniquely colourful orchestrations with exotic sounds from the East. Shortly after completing Borodin’s opera Prince Igor (Borodin had died in 1887 leaving the opera unfinished), Rimsky-Korsakov began to write his new work, which he completed in the Summer of 1888. It is divided into four main movements, although each one is divided up into smaller sections. Each of these movements was given a title, although in later years the composer dispensed with these so that the listener could enjoy the music free from any specific story. Of course following Rimsky-Korsakov's death, and over time, these titles have been restored. 

 

This new arrangement includes sections of music from each of the four main movements making this an enjoyable, if somewhat truncated, symphonic poem for brass band. 

The movements are: 

1. The Sea and Sinbad's Ship

II. The Story of the Kalandar Prince

III The Young Prince and Princess

IV. Festival of Baghdad, The Sea and The Ship Breaks Up Against a Cliff.