"Flight of the Bumblebee" is a very well-known piece of music. It was composed by Nikolai Rimski-Korsakov in 1899-1900. Originally, it was part of an opera called The Tale of Tsar Saltan.
In the opera, a magic Swan-Bird changes the Tsar's son into an insect so that he can fly away to visit his father (who does not know that he is still alive). This music was used to end the scene. (See wikipedia for more information.) Today, "Flight of the Bumblebee" is played on all kinds of instruments. Professional and amateur performers like to show off their technical ability and speed. Although it looks like they can do it so easily, it sometimes takes them years of slow practice and slowly increasing the speed to be able to play the piece at the speeds they choose. Here is pianist Yuja Wang playing "Flight of the Bumblebee". Her speed and accuracy are incredible. She not only plays all the notes, she is able to make the melody sound louder than the other notes. This is very difficult.
Click the link below to see a 16 year-old playing on the marimba. The marimba is an instrument that is set up much like piano keys, but you strike it with a mallet. Flight of the Bumblebee on Marimba
Sometimes, in the busyness of our lives, we just need a quiet, relaxing moment with music. I recently came across the music of Brian Crain, and his music is very beautiful and relaxing.
As early as six years old, Brian would walk around whistling tunes. When his parents asked him what tune it was, he said he had made it up. He continued to whistle his tunes, even after his parents bought a piano and gave him piano lessons. Brian lost interest in the piano because he wanted to play baseball. His dream was to become a professional baseball player. He worked hard, but that dream never became a reality. From time to time he would sit at his piano and compose songs. Finally, his family suggested that he record his music. From that point on, Brian became a composer. (Learn more about Brian on his website.) Here is one of Brian's pieces called "Rain", composed for piano and violin. He has put the music with video of Earth from the International Space Station. Look at how all the cities show up as bright spots on the ground! The part with all the green light is the Aurora Borealis (Northern lights).
