Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (1844–1908) was a prolific composer of orchestral works and many other forms of music, including chamber works and art songs. He also wrote many operas, excerpts from which are featured in this collection.
Contents include the famous orchestral interlude The Flight of the Bumblebee as well as the suite from The Tale of Tsar Saltan. This fanciful opera was based on Aleksandr Pushkin's poem, "The Tale of Tsar Saltan, of His Son the Renowned and Mighty Bogatyr Prince Gvidon Saltanovich and of the Beautiful Princess-Swan." Additional selections include the suite from another work inspired by Pushkin's poetry, The Golden Cockerel, a controversial satire of the disastrous effects of the tsarist regime. Nikolai Gogol's Evenings on a Farm Near Dikanka served as the basis for Christmas Eve, a tale of magical doings on Christmas Eve. The final suite is Dubinushka, Op. 62, a work rooted in a song the composer overheard protesters singing during the 1905 revolution. Musicians and music lovers will appreciate this inexpensive collection of popular works, all reproduced from authoritative sources.