Scheherezade (Rimsky-korsakov)

Glenn Dicterow
VIOLIN
 VIOLIN

about the artist

Violinist Glenn Dicterow has enjoyed a storied career. The concertmaster of the New

York Philharmonic for 34 years, an all-time record in that major orchestral position,

he became the first holder of the Robert Mann Chair in Strings and Chamber Music

at the USC Thornton School of Music in 2013. In the Fall of 2022 he will become the

holder of the Jascha Heifetz Chair in Violin at USC.. Dicterow performs as a soloist

with orchestras around the nation and beyond, while participating in musical

festivals and chamber music, teaching in musical academies and leading

masterclasses around the world, while adjudicating competitions, among a plethora

of musical assignments in a “second act” easily as active as his much lauded years

with the Philharmonic. His shelf of recordings is endless, as the Philharmonic’s

Concertmaster, in a large array of solo assignments, both of the great romantic

concerti and of the 20th Century classics that he has championed, and in a wide

range of chamber music.

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What is the story you’re trying to tell with this piece?
The story of Scheherezade comes from the collection of folk tales from the Middle East titled
Arabian Nights, or One Thousand and One Nights. In it, a powerful sultan learns that one of his
many wives was unfaithful to him, so he executes them all one-by-one, until he encounters
Scheherezade. She entrances the sultan with gripping stories, and on every night that she does so,
he spares her life. This continues for over one thousand nights.

Dicterow has performed this piece countless times, yet he strives to make each rendition different,
spontaneous, and intriguing with his choices of colors.

How do you prepare yourself for the first solo?

Dicterow finds that the orchestra usually inspires him for his entrance! The purity of the sonorities
and beauty of the harp allow his mind to wander toward a spontaneous interpretation. Since this is
the first story Scheherezade tells the sultan, it must be very mysterious while leaving room for
contrast in the later solos.

Depiction of
Scheherazade and
the sultan by Iranian
painter Sani ol molk
(1849-1856)

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How do you approach legato and phrasing in the

opening?

There is a method of hiding the shift to third position that Dicterow discovered, though it is

somewhat unusual (if you choose to begin the solo starting on the third finger.) By playing the third

note (E) with the fourth finger, we can eliminate the shift. When the theme comes back at a later

time (e.g., measure 73,) be free to use a different set of fingerings. Perhaps this time vary it with a

little slide.

The A minor arpeggio (second half of m. 14) is written as equal notes, but Dicterow sees an

opportunity to bend time here. He’s inspired by the phrasing of jazz singer Frank Sinatra (as well as

Tony Bennett and Barbra Streisand, all three of whom he’s worked with). They were able to take a

metered melody and tell a different story with it every time. Be spontaneous and play with time

throughout the solo lines, especially when there is not a strict rhythmic structure in the orchestra

part.

Dicterow finds that adding portato to this phrase can create more interest. We don’t only sing with

vowel sounds (legato) but also with consonants (portato). Portato resembles spoken speech, and it

is a special expressive quality. Many great violinists from the French school (including Fritz Kreisler,

Nathan Milstein, and Jascha Heifetz) used portato extensively in ways that are harder to find these

days.

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The opening solo violin line is played with arpeggiated chords in the harp, therefore, tuning the high
E at the entrance is difficult but essential. Always practice this opening with a ringing open A string.

How do you decide where and how to apply rubato?

Applying rubato is usually an intuitive process; “when you get there, you know what fits.” Listen to
the singers mentioned previously (Frank Sinatra especially!) and look for places to add that
freedom to your own playing. “Every violinist plays these notes differently, but the ones you
remember are the ones that play it personally and tell a story.” If you ask a jazz player where they
apply rubato, they probably don’t work it out in advance. Classical players work from written or
printed notations, but it’s not enough to simply execute what’s on the page. We have to be
expressive beyond what’s written.

Each solo is more assured and louder than the previous one. You can take the most time for the
very last solo, since it’s the goodbye between Scheherezade and the sultan.

Some of the smaller solo parts in the middle (e.g., letter C, m. 94) are played with rhythmically strict
orchestra parts at the same time, so they must be exactly in time, contrary to the solo at the very
opening. How can we make it sound interesting when there is little freedom in the timing? Consider
different fingerings for different colors, and create different nuances with variations of bow speed.
Experiment with shaping and varying the dynamic within a general dynamic level.

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How do you create colors with the bow?

Changing the speed of the bow is an important way of creating our desired range of colors. For the
first F♯ at letter C, use a faster bow for a distinguished sound. Another important aspect is dynamic
level. Play toward a desired goal within a phrase, both with your tempo and volume, but take care
not to stray so far from the printed page that the conductor gets mad! The more bow you use, the
more the overtones will travel (this is especially true in the second extended solo beginning on a
B).

Using jazz to explore rhythmic freedom

Close your eyes and imagine how a passage can sound without disturbing the rhythm around you.
In a jazz format, the bass and drums show the beat so that the soloist has the flexibility to venture
away from the beat. Dicterow strongly recommends listening to jazz players, though it doesn’t
necessarily need to be a jazz violinist. Jazz musicians have an impeccable sense of rhythm and are
still able to be free without disturbing the groove.

That said, if you’re new to this piece, certainly practice with a metronome. However, once you’re a
little bit comfortable, see if you can hold the first note of these two solos slightly longer and make
up that time on the next notes. Any disciplined passages should be in time but still interesting.

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Second movement

The entrance at the beginning of the second movement is the most difficult. Dicterow prefers not

to slide into the second note, although some people play it that way. He also goes to a harmonic at

the end of m. 3, with a very slight slide using the third finger, introducing a more personal flavor.

The original slurs over each triplet in m. 4 may sound busy and not very clean. By adding separate

bowing and portato to the cadenza, it becomes more playable and avoids sounding the left-hand

maneuvers. Adhering to the urtext is important for many players, but ultimately finding ways to

project well in a large hall and make it sound good is more important. It’s crucial to play the last

measures of this cadenza in tune. The key is finding efficient and effective fingerings that work for

you. Prepare the frame of your hand ahead of time and find little points to hold on to that will

ensure your success. Watch the video to see where Dicterow plants his hand for stability.

How do we practice this second major solo to build

consistency?

Practice this solo as legato as you can. The main challenge is moving from one fingering to the next

and morphing between fingerings. Don’t think about positions; your hand has to be supple enough

to morph between positions without noticing. Dicterow tells his students that imagining shifting

positions like gears on a car will not lead to successful fiddle playing. The fingerboard is one big

position, and the hand should know where to go. Even if the bowing will later change, you want to

practice hard spots like this in a way that gives the left hand as much challenge as possible.

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Freedom on the violin comes from security. On his first recording of this work, Dicterow played a
slide from the E to the high C-sharp. By his third recording, he was no longer playing a slide. If it
doesn’t hurt the music, adding a slide can help us feel more secure, so there’s nothing
fundamentally wrong with it.

This passage will never sound right until the hand becomes relaxed and supple. The left hand must
first learn to feel secure playing this legato.

Third movement

The long solo in the third movement appears out of a held note from the clarinet (Dicterow begins
with an upbow), so try and blend with that tone color. His fingerings prioritize musicality and
variety.

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For these ricochets, Dicterow controls the first two notes of the upbows. He then eliminates the

last one on the downbow. From letter L (m. 146) onwards, the stroke shouldn’t be over-controlled,

but instead thrown. Playing too exact can sound like a bowing exercise and rob the music of its

mystery and imagination. At some points, the orchestra is accompanying you, but even then, you

must play in time “without sounding like you’re playing in time.” The clusters of notes can come

slightly late, and the result is usually fine. The sound of the ricochet is reminiscent of the balalaika,

a Russian stringed instrument , or the strum of a guitar. Dicterow proposes an idea he borrowed

from violinist Sidney Harth, which is to do a small retake with the bow and articulate the note for

the start of the ricochet. Watch him demonstrate it in the video! You have the authority to draw the

tempo back significantly at the cantabile, con forza solo that follows.

Any advice for someone trying to project their

ricochets?

The speed of the ricochet shouldn’t be too slow, or it will become mundane. The fifth note of

ricochet is especially important since it launches the upbow. Give the bow a little nudge with the

index finger on the upbow. On the downbow, you’re working with gravity, but the speed of the arm

on the upbow needs to be carefully controlled. The rate of ascent is greater than the rate of

descent.

The soloist/concertmaster is completely responsible for staying in time. The conductor will not

follow you here, much like the old days during Heifetz and Milstein’s career. Heifetz even once told a

conductor, “stay in time, and I’ll work around you.”

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Fourth movement solo

The solo violinist’s first phrase happens twice, so don’t make each one sound the same. (Dicterow
often doesn’t sustain the double stops the second time.) Enter with a fairly big sound, despite the
piano marking. To sound even fuller, for the molto crescendo at the end of m. 8, he adds two voices
underneath the E minor arpeggio.

Dicterow breaks up the triple stops into two and two, since any alternative doesn’t quite have as
full of a sound. However, for the final two G major chords, he plays the 32nd chord on an upbow, all
three notes together, and breaks the last one with a sforzando.

The next solo segment has almost a Spanish flavor reminiscent of Rimsky-Korsakov’s Capriccio
Espagnol. The sixteenth triplet chords marked with wedges will have to be played together. The
bow should hover close to the strings. The chords marked with accents will be broken.

He stretches the long E even longer the second time. The key to practicing this passage is to
isolate the thirds and get those in tune. Perhaps the harder part is playing both Es in tune. Keep the
left hand relaxed and stay clear of the E string.

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Octaves

Dicterow sometimes adds slides between the A, C, and E octaves. These slides, in addition to
vibrato, can help the notes feel connected.

Playing any piece of music aims to make it sound as good as possible. If this means moving away
from something the composer wrote to get the same or an even better effect, we can do that once
we’ve practiced the piece as written enough. For example, Dicterow chooses to leave out the
upper note in the second octave (E), enabling a fuller, more connected sound.

For the four-note chords after the octaves, be sure to re-assert the upper two notes of the chord
with increased bow speed.

Dicterow often hears this fourth-movement solo played out of tune. Listen intently to every interval
and adjust them until they sparkle (don’t try to play anything well-tempered).

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Final solo
There’s nothing sneaky about this solo; at this point, Scheherezade is confident about her value in
the eyes of the sultan. Your entrance should be full-bodied. Many concertmasters will try and play
this entire passage as solid notes instead of harmonics, and while this might work with one violinist,
the first two violinists on the first stand must play the last E together (and the odds of getting high
Es precisely in tune are practically zero). Still, Dicterow will fade out at the sustained high E to let
his partner take it before fading back in before the lower notes. Be sure to play strong when you
come in for the very last entrance.

Finally, Dicterow prefers to follow some concertmasters from the previous generations and turn the
last arpeggio into a continuous ascent. He also plays the very last note, the long and sustained high
E, with a harmonic. This innocent quality appeals to him over a solid note with vibrato for the
ending.

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