Scenes de Ballet was written by Aleksandr Glazunov (1865-1936) in 1894.
Although the title says "Ballet", it was written for string orchestra. Most of the movements are ballet-style dances.
"Scenes " consists of eight songs including I. Préambule, II. Marionnettes, III. Mazurka, IV. Scherzino, V. Pas d'action, VI. Danse orientale, VII. Valse and VIII. Polonaise. I selected four (Préambule, Marionnettes, Pas d'action, Polonaise) and shortened each one to emphasize musical characteristics and adapt to various performing situations.
Glazunov's writing style is a mixture of Russian Romanism and musical nationalism. This collection shares many lyrical and romantic melodies. Especially the fifth movement (Pas d'action) gives the impression of his "Autumn" from "Four Seasons" and affects audiences similarly. Subsequent works "Raymonda" and "Four Seasons" are an extension of this suite.

This arrangement for band was commissioned by Chiba Nihon University Daiichi Junior & Senior High School in 2014 and originally written for full instrumentation band.
In 2020, it was re-edited for small band, for Shiki Junior High School.
My first arrangement kept the original keys of A and D major. This version was changed to keys with flats, to be more compatible with band instruments.

(Makoto Onodera)