Alexander Dargomyzhsky (Feb. 14, 1813 - Jan. 17, 1869) was a Russian composer, educated in St. Petersburg. He was a talented amateur musician, and in 1833 he met Mikhail Glinka, who helped motivate him to compose more. He would go on to be the bridge in Russian opera, beween Glinka  and Pyotr Tchaikovsky. He wrote several operas, but with little recognition until the 1860s, in Belgium.

Bolero is a work for orchestra written in the late 1830s, written in simple triple time, like most boleros do. It opens up very declamatory, and the woodwinds and pizzicato strings go in to a theme with a moving bassoon line underneath, before the strings return to arco. The mood then changes as the key modulates to major in a new section. There are several different themes that present themselves before returning back to the pizzicato theme and then major key section again. The orchestra comes to a half-close,  and there is a solo flute part that makes it's way up a scale and comes down by half steps before the piece goes into the busy, exciting ending. This work is always moving, much like the bolero dance!

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Here's a recording of this work for you to enjoy!

USSR State Symphony Orchestra