Peter and the Wolf

Peter and the Wolf (Russian: Петя и волк, Petya i volk), Op. 67, is a composition written by Sergei Prokofiev in 1936 in the USSR. It is a children's story (with both music and text by Prokofiev), spoken by a narrator accompanied by the orchestra.

Contents

History

In 1936 Sergei Prokofiev was commissioned by Natalya Sats and the Central Children's Theatre in Moscow to write a new musical symphony for children. The intent was to cultivate "musical tastes in children from the first years of school".[1] Intrigued by the invitation, Prokofiev completed Peter and the Wolf in just four days.[2] The debut on 2 May 1936 was, in the composer's words, inauspicious at best: "...[attendance] was poor and failed to attract much attention".[3]

Instrumentation

Peter and the Wolf is scored for the following orchestra:

Each character in the story has a particular instrument and a musical theme, or leitmotif:

The duration of the work is approximately 25 minutes.

Plot

Peter, a Young Pioneer, lives at his grandfather's home in a forest clearing. One day Peter goes out into the clearing, leaving the garden gate open, and the duck that lives in the yard takes the opportunity to go swimming in a pond nearby. The duck starts arguing with a little bird ("What kind of bird are you if you can't fly?" – "What kind of bird are you if you can't swim?"). Peter's pet cat stalks them quietly, and the bird —warned by Peter— flies to safety in a tall tree while the duck swims to safety in the middle of the pond.

Peter's grandfather scolds Peter for being outside in the meadow ("Suppose a wolf came out of the forest?"), and, when Peter defies him, saying that "Boys like me are not afraid of wolves", his grandfather takes him back into the house and locks the gate. Soon afterwards "a big, grey wolf" does indeed come out of the forest. The cat quickly climbs into a tree, but the duck, who has excitedly jumped out of the pond, is chased, overtaken and swallowed by the wolf.

Peter fetches a rope and climbs over the garden wall into the tree. He asks the bird to fly around the wolf's head to distract it, while he lowers a noose and catches the wolf by its tail. The wolf struggles to get free, but Peter ties the rope to the tree and the noose only gets tighter.

Some hunters, who have been tracking the wolf, come out of the forest ready to shoot, but Peter gets them to help him take the wolf to a zoo in a victory parade (the piece was first performed for an audience of pioneers during May Day celebrations) that includes himself, the bird, the hunters leading the wolf, the cat and grumpy grumbling Grandfather ("What if Peter hadn't caught the wolf? What then?") In the story's ending, the listener is told that "if you listen very carefully, you'd hear the duck quacking inside the wolf's belly, because the wolf in his hurry had swallowed her alive."

Recordings

The first American version, recorded in 1939 by RCA Victor, was issued in an album of three 78 rpm discs. It was narrated by Richard Hale, a film actor best known for villainous and exotic roles, with music performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Serge Koussevitzky. Hale also served as narrator for Arthur Fiedler's 1953 RCA Victor high fidelity recording with the Boston Pops Orchestra, which also included Paul Dukas' The Sorcerer's Apprentice and King Henry VIII dances by Camille Saint-Saëns and Edward German. A 1987 Chandos Records recording with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra was conducted by Neeme Järvi, while his the composer's son Oleg Prokofiev and grandson Gabriel Prokofiev were the narrators for the 1991 Hyperion Records recording performed by the New London Orchestra conducted by Ronald Corp

Many English-language recordings of this famous piece have been made, including the following examples:

Adaptations of the work

Walt Disney, 1946

Walt Disney produced an animated version of the work in 1946, with Sterling Holloway providing the voice of the narrator. It was released theatrically as a segment of Make Mine Music, then re-issued the next year, accompanying a re-issue of Fantasia (as a short subject before the film), then separately on home video in the 1990s.[4] This version makes several changes to the original story, for example:

Russia, 1958

The Russian animation studio Soyuzmultfilm also produced a version of the work in 1958. It is puppet stop motion animation, directed by Anatoly Karanovich and narrated by I. Medvedyeva. This version makes the following changes to the story:

This version has not been published much outside of the ex-USSR.

British-Polish coproduction, 2006

In 2006, Suzie Templeton and Hugh Welchman directed and produced respectively, a stop-motion animated adaptation, Peter and the Wolf. It is unusual in its lack of any dialogue or narration, the story being told only in images and sound and interrupted by sustained periods of silence. The soundtrack is performed by the Philharmonia Orchestra, and the film received its premiere with a live accompaniment in the Royal Albert Hall.[6] The film won the Annecy Cristal and the Audience Award at the 2007 Annecy International Animated Film Festival,[7] and won the 2008 Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.[8] This version also makes some changes to the original Prokofiev story; for example:

Others

References

  1. ^ Peter & The Wolf, by Gavin Friday
  2. ^ Programme Notes: "Prokofiev (1891–1953) – Peter and the Wolf. Musicweb-international.com. Retrieved on 1 July 2011.
  3. ^ Prokofiev, Sergei (2000) [1960]. S. Shlifstein. ed. Autobiography, Articles, Reminiscences. Rose Prokofieva (translator). The Minerva Group, Inc. p. 89. ISBN 0898751497.
  4. ^ The Big Cartoon Database. Bcdb.com (20 April 1946). Retrieved on 1 July 2011.
  5. ^ Peter and the Wolf, part 1 of 2 on YouTube, narrated by Sterling Holloway
  6. ^ Breakthru Films
  7. ^ Annecy 2008 Festival, 2007 Award Winning Films. Annecy.org. Retrieved on 1 July 2011.
  8. ^ "Oscars 2008: Winners". 25 February 2008. http://oscars.com/oscarnight/winners/?pn=detail&nominee=Peter%20and%20the%20Wolf%20-%20Short%20Film%20Animated%20Nominee. Retrieved 25 February 2008. 
  9. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0278318/
  10. ^ The New York Sun. Nysun.com. Retrieved on 1 July 2011.
  11. ^ The Geoff Boxell Home Page. Geoffboxell.tripod.com. Retrieved on 1 July 2011.
  12. ^ Artist Direct
  13. ^ Allmusic.com
  14. ^ Justin Locke Productions. Justinlocke.com. Retrieved on 1 July 2011.
  15. ^ Banes, Sally. Terpsichore in Sneakers: Post-Modern Dance at Google Books, p. xxx, Wesleyan University Press, 1987, ISBN 978-0819561602
  16. ^ Wendy Carlos' official website. Wendycarlos.com. Retrieved on 1 July 2011.
  17. ^ Tiny Toon Adventures episode guide. Mindspring.com. Retrieved on 1 July 2011.
  18. ^ Peter Schickele official website. Schickele.com (1 May 2011). Retrieved on 1 July 2011.
  19. ^ Peter and the Wolf (1996) (TV)
  20. ^ The Boston Phoenix
  21. ^ Peter and the Wolf (1997) TV at the Internet Movie Database
  22. ^ Public Radio Musicsource. Prms.org. Retrieved on 1 July 2011.
  23. ^ Elmo's Musical Adventure at Muppet Wiki
  24. ^ Russian National Orchestra. Russianarts.org (21 October 2003). Retrieved on 1 July 2011.
  25. ^ "RNO Russian National Orchestra". Russianarts.org. February 2004. http://www.russianarts.org/rno/wq04tour1.cfm. Retrieved 24 March 2011. 
  26. ^ Leiby, Richard (4 February 2004). "The Reliable Source", The Washington Post, Washington, D.C. Retrieved 24 March 2011
  27. ^ Track list for Full Circle
  28. ^ Adaptation for Theatre organ by Jelani Eddington
  29. ^ Neil Tobin, Necromancer. Necromancerevents.com. Retrieved on 1 July 2011.
  30. ^ Petr & The Wulf, tracklist (11 December 2010)
  31. ^ Petr & The Wulf, Alternative Tentacles

External links