Flight of the Bumblebee

Uncommon card · No. 179559

"Flight of the Bumblebee" (Russian: Полёт шмеля) is an orchestral interlude written by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov for his opera The Tale of Tsar Saltan, composed in 1899–1900. This perpetuum mobile is intended to musically evoke the seemingly chaotic and rapidly changing flying pattern of a bumblebee. Despite the piece's being a rather incidental part of the opera, it is today one of the more familiar classical works because of its frequent use in popular culture. The piece is recognizable for its frantic pace when played up to tempo, with nearly uninterrupted runs of chromatic sixteenth notes. This rapidity, measured at 144 beats per minute, evokes the skittish and frenetic activity of a bumblebee. Because of the music's speed and complexity, it requires a great deal of skill to perform and is often chosen by musicians wishing to showcase their ability.

Read on Wikipedia