Antonio Pappano, Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia - Rimsky-Korsakov: Scheherazade, Op. 35 - Mussorgsky: Night on Bald Mountain (2024)

Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade and Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain are two of the most popular works in the Russian repertoire. Programming them together as Music Director of the Orchestra and Chorus dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Sir Antonio Pappano reminds us of the links between the two composers. At the same time he gives us a rare opportunity to hear both of Mussorgsky’s versions of the devilish Night on Bald Mountain – one for orchestra and one for orchestra and vocal forces (as conceived for the opera The Fair at Sorochyntsi). “Mussorgsky’s writing creates a bite that is very unusual for the time when this music was composed,” says Pappano. “It is bare and unadorned, with a stark rawness.” By contrast, he describes Rimsky-Korsakov’s iridescent symphonic suite Scheherazade as “a superb showpiece for the orchestra,” adding, “It is especially in the score’s more transparent and singing moments that the orchestra’s quality is really key. Italian orchestral musicians are known for their singing sound and style, so I find this piece to be ideal for the Santa Cecilia Orchestra.”