Klaidi Sahatçi, 1st concertmaster of the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, on his relationship with "Scheherazade".
"Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's 'Scheherazade' is one of the most important works for a concertmaster and is part of the standard repertoire for our position. A fairy tale, playful and sensual. It tells us a story and evokes images in our minds.
I had the honour of playing it a few years ago under Lionel Bringuier. I was a bit nervous at the time, because it harbours some challenges: It's not a violin concerto where the division of roles between concertmaster and soloist is clear. The 'Scheherazade' presents me with the musical task of making the motif, which is repeated so often, as interesting as possible. It's like in the kitchen, you have to be careful to combine the flavour and all the ingredients in a balanced way, it's all about balance.
Getting creative directly from the orchestra requires the freedom of the soloist, I have to leave my function as orchestra leader in a flash. Musically, I am staging a woman here, a seductress, which requires a particularly bold mind. I imagine the elegance of a ballerina, with a pinch of eroticism thrown in.
When I was preparing for my audition, my reference recording was a version by the then concertmaster of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. I am now very pleased to be able to incorporate what I have learnt and new ideas into my first own recording. Tackling this wonderful task with Paavo will be marvellous. We have a similar idea of creativity and will certainly find a common language."
Recorded by Melanie Kollbrunner
Translated with DeepL.com
