Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov: The Flight of the Bumblebee
for Chamber Orchestra

Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908) was a prolific composer of operas, finishing The Tale of Tsar Sultan in 1900. The Flight of the Bumblebee is the most well known passage in the score, and has been arranged for numerous instrumental forces.  In the opera, the piece occurs when Prince Gvidon agrees to be turned into a bumblebee by a magical swan, whose life he had saved. This arrangement for chamber orchestra follows the basic thematic structure of the work, but with new harmonies, rhythms and instrumentation.

Available to purchase from Aria Editions here

Instrumentation: flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, horn, trumpet, trombone, violin 1, violin 2, viola, cello, double bass, xylophone (13 players)

Listen to a performance of this arrangement here:

The Flight of the Bumblebee (1'24)