Scheherazade by Rimsky-Korsakov

Lots of good ones...two of my favorites;

Reiner/Chicago (Living Stereo)
Kondrashin/Concertgebouw

Enjoy!

Reiner/CSO on RCA, as recommended above.

agree with the reiner/cso version...superb

I agree that Soulbrass' selections are excellent, but for sheer beauty don't miss Beecham's version. Maybe not quite so much drama.

For excitement, Stokowski/LSO on Cala, though the over-the top Phase 4 sonics will never win any audiophile awards for refinement. The Cala issue is greatly superior to any previous CD issues.

In my opinion, the best three versions have already been mentioned. Reiner is more conventional and dynamic, Stokowski with the London Symphony is dynamic AND ravishing and Beecham is somewhere in between the other two. You can't go wrong with any of them.

I love this piece, and haven't heard a bad one. Some are better than others,but I can't get enuf.

In terms of recording, the 1993 DG CD (Myung-Whun Chung and Orchestre de l'Opera Bastille) is really good - probably one of the best recorded CD's I own. I only bought it since they have part of it on the Burmester test CD (#3), which I really enjoyed. When I went to buy the Scheherazade CD, I was surprised at the price - $32 - someone must be buying it. But I did, and it did not disappoint. It also comes with The Firebird.

My favorites from performance standpoint are Boston Symphony - Ozawa conducting, and the above cited Reiner.

For me this is one of the best I've heard Rimsky-Korsakov* - Vladimir Fedoseev* - Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra* – ScheherazadeLabel:JVC – VDC-519, 1984One of the first every CDs I bought.

I've just bought Mackerras 1990 version on the strength of the comments here, and it's not a patch on the JVC one. Very brassy, which is OK, but the violin is weaker and less emotive.

My guru says:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIG97J0_bvA

I think it's Reiner on RCA.

Cheers

Some very good versions mentioned. For pure passion and abandon befitting the score and its ethnic provenance, nothing beats Valery Gergiev’s rendition with the Kirov Ballet Orchestra on Phillips. Outstanding!

The Analogue Productions remaster of Fritz Reiner and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra;

https://store.acousticsounds.com/d/91663/Fritz_Reiner-Rimsky-Korsakoff_Scheherazade-Hybrid_3-Channel...