The possessor of an extremely euphonious name, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov wrote extremely euphonious music. Scheherazade is a three-movement orchestral suite based on One Thousand and One Nights; I had the pleasure of learning and performing it when I was a member of the Oxford University Orchestra, in 2009-2010.
It was one of the best orchestras I've ever played in, and consequently one of the best musical experiences of my life.What I particularly remember is that the OUO woodwind players (that is, the instruments who sit at the middle of the orchestra--flute, clarinet, oboe, English horn, bassoon, etc) were excellent. Student and amateur orchestras will often have a lot of decent string players (enough to drown fumblers like myself out) by virtue of the fact that lots of people learn to play these instruments. (To be fully accurate, I should say that lots of people learn to play the violin; amateur orchestras typically aren't overrun with violists or double bassists.) Fewer people have the opportunity to learn to play woodwind instruments, they are difficult to play well, and orchestral woodwind sections are usually very small. Which is to say that any mistakes of timing or intonation woodwind players make are much, much more exposed than similar sloppiness by string players. Classical composers often write important melodies or harmonies for woodwind instruments, so it really makes a difference when the players are good.
There's so much amazing writing for woodwinds in Scheherazade and for the whole orchestra. I love the violin solo in the first movement...the whole piece is just so fun much to hear. It's even more fun to play. When I was in OUO, the viola section sat in the middle of the stage, between the cellos and violins, and in front of the woodwinds. Being a violist in our performance of Scheherazade was like being in the centre of the sea.
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