Before the story starts, Rimsky-Korsakov introduces us to the two main characters: the Sultan and

Scheherazade. The menacing theme in the opening introduces the Sultan and his all mighty
temperament. After a few quiet chords, Scheherazade, embodied by the solo violin, enters the scene
with her gracefulness and wisdom. The first story, The Sea and Sinbad’s Ship, begins with the ebb and
flow of the sea in the strings. This movement is derived from the story of Sinbad the Sailor, an ever-
wandering traveler. On each journey, Sinbad always encounter troubles and convinced that he would
die, but his faithfulness to Allah always come to his aid. The music embodies the story well. It starts off
rather calm, but then trouble hits as the music intensifies. As the storm passes, the music settles down
as Sinbad found his way out of the storm.

The Sultan seems to grow restless of Scheherazade in the fourth movement, as we hear both of them
arguing back and forth. The Sultan continues to be commanding, and Scheherazade, despite the pending
threat of death, resolutely refuting the Sultan. The final story begins with The Festival in Baghdad.
Rimsky-Korsakov marks the festivity using the Tarantella, a vigorous dance from Sicily that it is said that
one could dispel insect bites when dancing to it. The maniacal music of the festival is intertwined with
visits by the previous themes of the second and third movement. The music continues to spin more and
more out of control until it reaches a grand chord signaling the return of Sinbad and the Sea from the
first movement. The music ebbs and flows until it crashes as The Ship Goes to Pieces on a Rock, taking
Sinbad with it. We are now left with the Sultan and Scheherazade, but this time the Sultan, deeply
moved by her 1001 stories, is now more subdued with his theme played more softly, and
Scheherazade’s theme appears again and then together with the subdued Sultan. As Scheherazade has
her last words, the music ends peacefully with the two characters now living happily ever after.