Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov (1844-1908) loved Russian folk stories, a fact easily validated by his six fairy-tale operas.  He based his 1880 overture SKAZKA (FAIRY TALE), Op. 29, on the prologue to Alexander Pushkin�s poem Ruslan and Lyudmila.  His friend and fellow composer Balakirev disliked it so much that the composer nearly destroyed it, but later changed his mind, recognizing its colorful inventiveness.  Rather than capturing the precise sequence of events in the whimsical tale, in which a cat slinks around an oak tree conjuring visual enchantments, the composer intended to allow listeners to find the character of the poem as their own imagination leads them. Instrumentation: 2+Picc.2.2.2: 4.2.3.1: Timp.Perc(3): Hp: Str (9-8-7-6-5 in set).