[Sax.4]Flight of the Bumble-Bee/Rimsky-Korsakov | Arr. Eiji Umeda

Composed by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844–1908)

Flight of the Bumblebee is an orchestral piece that appears in a scene from Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera The Tale of Tsar Saltan. In the story, Prince Gvidon is magically transformed into a bumblebee and flies away to visit his father, who lives far away. The music vividly depicts this fantastical moment of flight.

Although the piece lasts only about a minute and a half, its whirlwind tempo and continuous stream of sixteenth notes brilliantly capture the frantic motion of the buzzing insect. The melody itself is quite simple, yet its uninterrupted flow demands exceptional technical precision and concentration from the performer.

Originally written as an orchestral interlude, the piece has since been arranged for a wide variety of instruments—including violin, piano, and woodwinds—and is now celebrated worldwide as a virtuosic showpiece. Its dazzling speed, combined with the vivid color and fluid motion characteristic of Rimsky-Korsakov’s music, continues to captivate audiences to this day.