Peter and the Wolf

Sergei Prokofiev

You know how we skip through life and along the way we see or hear things that kind of stick in our minds but eventually get filed away to resurface when you least expect it? Well, not so long ago I was sitting with my sister Pauline watching Red Riding Hood on DVD.  The woodcutter in this particular story was named Peter and she said, “Isn’t there a story called Peter and the Wolf?”

 

This question from my sister reminded me of a scratchy (vinyl) recording I’d heard when I about nine years old.  I think it was in music ♪ class and we had to listen to the record and the way the different instruments portrayed the characters. This memory encouraged me to do a little research into the story and its origins.

The story and the music were written/composed by Sergei Prokofiev who was born in 1891 in Sontsovka, a province of Eastern Ukraine. This guy composed his first piece at the age of five and he started on his first opera at the age of nine. In 1904 Prokofiev was successful in gaining entrance to the Saint Petersburg Conservatory. After finishing his studies, he travelled to the US and started a successful solo career in New York. Prokofiev composed a lot of works including ballets and operas.  I don’t really know much about any of these, the only one that really interests me is Peter and the Wolf.  He wrote both the story and the music ♫ in 1936 in the USSR. This entire composition was completed in four days – that’s a tiny ninety six hours in case you were wondering.

I love the way the instruments represent the characters and I’ve had Peter’s tune in my head all week. When I listen to the recording, I can picture the composer thinking to himself, what might a bird sound like if it were music?

Although this was never an official book without recording, it kind of made me think about the whole print on pages thing and the way the music describes the tale. It also prompts me to let you know that Once upon a time in a decade left behind, I discovered that you don’t necessarily need words to tell a story. So sit back, click on the link below and enjoy Peter and the Wolf.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6g7Bl-HtjhE