Favourite of Marie-Andrée Benny - Principal Flute of the OM

The coup de coeur of Marie-Andrée Benny

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade

My first encounter with the work…
I discovered this piece when I was a teenager in the middle of a romantic crisis. It was at a concert given by the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal at the Joliette cathedral. I can still remember the intense emotions I felt. Then I got a recording on a vinyl LP by who knows who and I just about wore it out. The magnificent theme for the violin, the cadenzas (especially the flute’s, of course), the sense of melody, the virtuosity, the exoticism – it all combines to make this work irresistible.

My favourite passage
The last movement is a pretty wild ride. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it!

Listen…
This version with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra at the Salzburg Festival in 2005 under conductor Valery Gergiev.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQNymNaTr-Y&ab_channel=Jose

Marie-Andrée Benny is one of the highest-profile flautists in Quebec. Praised by critics for her rich and woody sound, sensitivity and musical insight, she will soon begin her 20th season as principal flute of the OM under the leadership of Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

She has also held the same position with the Orchestre symphonique de Laval (OSL) for 20 years. Invited by Quebec’s most prestigious ensembles, she has performed as a soloist with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (OSM), Les Violons du Roy, I Musici de Montréal, the OSL, the McGill Chamber Orchestra and the Grands Ballets Canadiens.

After graduating from the Conservatoire de musique de Québec at the age of 17, she won the top awards of the OSM, Festival de musique du Québec and Canadian Music Competition. She also received a Canada Council grant to study in Paris. An enthusiastic educator, she has the privilege and pleasure to teach the most talented members of the next generation at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal.