Which composer wrote a work based on One Thousand and One Nights?

Which composer wrote a work based on One Thousand and One Nights?

• A. Prokofiev
• B. Mussorgsky
• C. Rimsky-Korsakov
• D. Tchaikovsky

Answer: (B)

A key example of turning One Thousand and One Nights into orchestral storytelling is Scheherazade, a suite that vividly evokes the tales as told by the storyteller herself. Rimsky-Korsakov crafted this lush, color-filled work to paint scenes from the wanderings and adventures within the Nights, including the sea voyage of Sinbad and the many evocative episodes in Baghdad. The music uses exotic scales, bright orchestration, and memorable solo lines (notably the violin representing Scheherazade’s voice) to create a continuous, cinematic arc that mirrors the storytelling frame of the tales.

Other composers in the list are known for masterpieces in different domains: Prokofiev for works like Romeo and Juliet and Peter and the Wolf; Mussorgsky for pieces such as Pictures at an Exhibition; and Tchaikovsky for ballet and symphonic works like Swan Lake and the Pathétique. None of these are tied to a work based on the One Thousand and One Nights in the same iconic way as Scheherazade is for Rimsky-Korsakov.

So the composer most closely associated with a work drawn from One Thousand and One Nights is Rimsky-Korsakov, through Scheherazade.