"Flight of the Bumblebee" is a musical interlude from Act 3 of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's opera The Tale of Tsar Saltan, but it's more often heard out of that context, as a show-stopping bravura showpiece or encore, designed to put a musician's skills on display.
Enter Paul Merkelo, principal trumpeter of the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal for over two decades. Here, he teams up with pianist Janelle Fung to put his spin on "Flight of the Bumblebee."
"In this version, Paul has decided to double-tongue the 16th notes to give it a more driving and frenetic sound," says the video's introductory text.
Mission accomplished! Watch below:
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