The Fantasy was actually Balakirev's idea for the young Rimsky-Korsakov to compose. He requested the piece for a concert of pan-Slavonic music he had planned for May 24, 1867, programming his Czech Overture on the same billing. Balakirev also produced the Serbian themes for Rimsky-Korsakov to use in his composition. Rimsky-Korsakov confessed in his autobiography that it was not any feeling of nationalism or pan-Slavism that prompted him to write the Fantasy, but the beauty of the themes themselves. Nevertheless, Balakirev liked the piece, which Rimsky-Korsakov had written rapidly.
| Date of composition | 1867 |
| Premiered | 1867, May 24th |
| Type | Fantasy (Fantasia) |
| Catalogue | Op. 6 |
| Instruments | Orchestra |
| Autotranslations beta |
Nikolaï Rimski-Korsakov: Fantasy on Serbian Themes, Op. 6 Nikolaj Andreevič Rimskij-Korsakov: Fantasy on Serbian Themes, Op. 6 Nikolai Andrejewitsch Rimski-Korsakow: Fantasy on Serbian Themes, Op. 6 |