A counterpoint to tale of downtrodden women
Violinist Leila Josefowicz performs Canadian premiere of ‘dramatic’ Scheherazade II
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov wrote a lush, romantic symphony, “Scheherazade,” in 1888, about a queen who escaped death by inventing the Arabian Nights stories that entertained the king.
A 2012 exhibit in a Paris museum about those tales and their threatened author affected another composer, John Adams, much differently.
“It appalled me how most of the women were treated in these stories,” says Adams, adding Scheherazade herself is not a romantic character but a person under the thumb of a “warped, murderous husband.”
So he decided to compose a modern-day response, “Scheherazade II,” evoking “women under threat for their lives,” he says in the program notes for the Wednesday-Thursday performances by Leila Josefowicz.
He wrote the work specifically for the Canadian virtuoso, who will be giving the piece its Canadian premiere at Roy Thomson Hall with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, with Peter Oundjian at the podium.
In the “dramatic symphony,” the principal character role is taken by the solo violin with the other instruments being the antagonists.
While Josefowicz studied the challenging work, she received a video link from Adams of the stoning death of a woman falsely accused of burning the Qur’an.
“This was truly reality playing out. It was terrifying,” says Josefowicz. “There are so many more stories. Those stories are brutal.”
When she first read the music, which traces Scheherazade’s difficulties until there is final sanctuary, Josefowicz imagined someone like Pakistani schoolgirl Malala, who was shot by the Taliban and then went on to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
“But people don’t have to have famous stories like Malala.
“They just have a lot of courage in the face of trauma and danger.”
It is up to Josefowicz to perform the story, she says, “I am in a role in this piece — what does it feel like to talk and fight back at a pack of screaming men?”
And, although the work is thoughtprovoking, the music can be enjoyed “just for its sake alone,” she says.
Playing it is a challenge, she admits. “It is a formidable piece. It takes a powerful personality and a powerful player to pull it off.”
The response to its world premiere with the New York Philharmonic in March 2015 was enthusiastic, she says.
“It was a hall of very moved people. It got off to a good start.”
Being able to spend a long time preparing a new work is the key to mastering difficult material, says Josefowicz, who has worked with Adams for 15 years. “Composers who work with me know the best performance is for the piece to be well studied.”
Specializing in contemporary music means that Josefowicz often plays music the audience has never heard before.
“They have to be open-minded and listen with open ears.”
And for her part, Josefowicz says, “I have to be a strong advocate (of the piece) and give a compelling performance.”
She will also perform “Beethoven: Overture to Egmont” and Brahms “Symphony No. 4.” These shows are part of a tour that continues to Ottawa and Montreal. Toronto performances are Wednesday and Thursday at 8 p.m. Go to tso.ca for ticket information.