Opening Weekend: Xian Conducts Scheherazade

Mexico’s most celebrated composer today created her Kauyumari based on an ancient rite of her homeland, which starts with a whisper and becomes a whirling, joyous dance.

Mozart at his sunniest, and pianist Inon Barnatan turns this elegant piece into poetry with his “penetrating musicianship” (BBC Music).

Rimsky-Korsakov’s heroine Scheherazade—here in the voice of the solo violin—tells tale after tale of adventure, beginning aboard the pirate Sinbad’s storm-tossed ship.