The Flight of the Bumblebee

E647212

The Flight of the Bumblebee is a famously fast and virtuosic orchestral interlude from Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera "The Tale of Tsar Saltan," often performed as a standalone showpiece.

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Observed surface forms (1)

Surface form Occurrences
Flight of the Bumblebee 2

Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf musical composition
orchestral interlude
associatedWith speed
virtuosity
basedOn The Tale of Tsar Saltan NERFINISHED
characterAssociated Prince Gvidon NERFINISHED
commonlyArrangedFor clarinet
orchestra
piano
saxophone
trumpet
violin
xylophone
composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov NERFINISHED
countryOfOrigin Russian Empire
dateOfComposition circa 1899–1900
firstPerformanceInWork The Tale of Tsar Saltan NERFINISHED
genre classical music
hasRecording numerous commercial recordings
influenced popular culture depictions of fast music
key A minor
languageOfWork none (instrumental)
movementType orchestral interlude
narrativeFunction depicts the flight of a bumblebee
notableArrangementBy Leopold Auer NERFINISHED
Rachmaninoff for piano transcription
Sergei Rachmaninoff NERFINISHED
notableFeature commonly performed outside the full opera
frequently arranged for solo instruments
often used as a virtuoso showpiece
opera The Tale of Tsar Saltan NERFINISHED
originalContext opera
originalMedium opera orchestra
partOf The Tale of Tsar Saltan NERFINISHED
period Romantic era
publicationYear 1901
publisher Belyayev (original opera score)
technicalCharacteristic continuous semiquaver motion
rapid chromatic passages
virtuosic
tempoCharacteristic very fast
typicalDuration about 1 minute
about 2 minutes
usedAs concert encore piece
demonstration of instrumental agility
technical showpiece in auditions
workNumberInOpera orchestral interlude between scenes

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Bumble Boogie basedOn The Flight of the Bumblebee
this entity surface form: Flight of the Bumblebee
Bumble Boogie musicAdaptationOf The Flight of the Bumblebee
this entity surface form: Flight of the Bumblebee
Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov notableWork The Flight of the Bumblebee