Peter and the Wolf

Peter and the Wolf (Russian Петя и волк ) is a musical fairy tale by Sergei Prokofiev, who also wrote the text next to the music. It was created in 1936 after the return of the composer in the Soviet Union, inspired by Natalija Saz, artistic director of the Moscow Central Children's Theatre, to familiarize children with the instruments of the symphony orchestra. The premiere took place on 2 May 1936 Natalija Saz place as a speaker.

• 5.1 Loriot
• 5.2 dialect version with Arnim Töpel
• 5.3 Sting
• 5.4 Choir

Occupation

Peter and the Wolf is occupied with flute, oboe, clarinet in A, bassoon, three horns, trumpet, trombone, timpani, triangle, tambourine, cymbals, castanets, snare drum, bass drum and strings. Each character in the story is associated with a particular instrument and has its own musical theme:

• Bird - Flute
• Duck - Oboe
• Cat - Clarinet
• Grandfather - Bassoon
• Wolf - 3 Horns
• Peter - Violin
• Hunter - Timpani

The plot is carried forward by a speaker.

Action

Peter, a young boy who lives with his grandfather in rural Russia. One day he leaves the garden door open and the duck takes the opportunity to go swimming on the nearby pond. She gets into an argument with a bird ("What kind of bird are you if you can not fly? " - " What you're in for a bird if you can not swim ?"). As a cat creeping up on you, and the bird refuge, warned by Peter, on a tree.

Peters grandfather is angry, brings him back into the garden and closes the door, the wolf could get so, shortly afterwards actually comes from the forest. The cat climbs up the tree, but the duck, which had risen from the pond with excitement, is swallowed by the Wolf.

Peter fetches a rope and climbs over the garden wall into the tree. He tells the bird that always fly around the wolf around the head to distract him. Meanwhile, he lets down a rope sling with which he catches the wolf by the tail.

Hunters come out of the woods and shoot the wolf, but Peter stops her. In the triumphal all lead together the wolf in the zoo. At the end you can hear the duck quacking in the belly of the wolf, "because the wolf had swallowed alive in a hurry. "

Music

The ideals of Socialist Realism accordingly ( Peter called in the original " pioneer Peter "), which at least temporarily represented Prokofiev with conviction, the music is easy to understand and catchy. Although the subtitle " A symphonic tale for children ", the music of the storyline follows mainly descriptive and untermalend, rather in the style of film music as a symphony. The topics are hardly developed and processed; only in the final triumphal march once the motives of the grandfather and the cat intertwined with one another.

Various interpretations of the composition range from a " naive story" about the successful revolt (Peter ) against the establishment ( grandfather, parents, party? ) To the parable of the young Soviet Union and the greedy capitalist Europe and Hitler's Germany.

Films

Walt Disney ( 1946)

Walt Disney produced in 1946 in the episode film Make Mine Music an animated version with Sterling Holloway as the narrator. There are numerous changes from the original story: so carry about hunters like animals names ( the bird "Sasha " the duck " Sonja " and the cat "Ivan " ), Peter and his friends already want to start from the beginning, the wolf, and at the end reveals the narrator to make the story appear more child-friendly that the duck Sonja was not eaten by the wolf.

Jazz Version (1966 )

1966 Oliver Nelson arranged and conducted a jazz version for big band and Hammond organ. The organ was played by Jimmy Smith. The produced by Creed Taylor and published by Verve Platte is both critics and jazz fans as one of the best recordings by Jimmy Smith. These precise horns, the rhythm section with bassist Richard Davis and drummer Grady Tate and imaginative and passionate solos by Jimmy Smith.

Rock version (1975 )

For setting an animated cartoon Robin Lumley and Jack Lancaster in 1975 produced a rock version, which accommodates some of the topics Prokofiev. The album was released in five languages ​​under the RSO label, acted as narrator Vivian Stanshall ( English), Wilken F. Dincklage (Eng. ), Pierre Clementi ( fr.), Maurizio Arcieri ( it.) and Luis Del Olmo ( sp. ). The instrumental orchestration is prominent (among others Gary Moore, Manfred Mann, Phil Collins, Stephane Grappelli, Alvin Lee, Cozy Powell, Brian Eno, Jon Hiseman, Bill Bruford, Chris Spedding, Gary Brooker, Julie Driscoll and Keith Tippett ), the music very heterogeneous - from psychedelic rock to jazz ( Grappelli violin solo in blues form on the subject of cat with Alvin Lee on rhythm guitar ).

Suzie Templeton (2006)

→ Main article: Peter and the Wolf (2006)

The free adaptation of the British director Suzie Templeton won the Oscar 2008 for best animated short film. The characters were changed greatly, as the fable underlying: So the hunters are dangerous youths and Peter leaves at the end of the wolf again. Overall, the work of the shot in stop-motion puppet animation art film took five years to complete, Prokofiev's original music has been recorded by the London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Mark Stephenson.

More edits

Peter and the wolf there are numerous other treatments, such as for mixed choir, a recorder ensemble, orchestra and accordion speaker or for wind quintet and speakers.

Loriot

A text version of Loriot keeps the action substantially, but extends the Prokofjew'schen text to many humorous details in the typical style of the author. Here one can also speak of the wolf; at the end he asks his captors about bringing him to the zoo instead of back into the forest ( German Grammophon 439648-2 with Loriot as spokesman, Daniel Barenboim and the English Chamber Orchestra ).

Dialect version with Arnim Töpel

The orchestral classics, performed by Kurpfälzer comedians and musicians Arnim Töpel. He lets the animals speak kurpfälzisch. Recorded by the Palatinate Chamber Orchestra under the baton of Principal Conductor Stefan Fraas. Published in November 2010 by the Cultural Network Mannheim Rhein- Neckar.

Sting

In 1991, the German Grammophon Peter and the Wolf published - Symphonie Classique ( German Grammophon 429395-2 ) with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, conducted by Claudio Abbado with the rock star Sting as narrator.

The CD includes:

• March in B flat major; Op. 99
• Peter and the Wolf, Op. 67 ( A symphonic fairy tale ) - Narrated by Sting
• Overture on Hebrew Themes, Op. 34b
• Symphony No. 1 in D major, Op. 25 ( Classical Symphony )

Followed in 2007 by A Prokofiev Fantasy - Peter And The Wolf on DVD. In this cinematic version of the story is presented in an unusual way using Spitting Image puppets. In addition to English narration by Sting includes the DVD, the story in Italian from the award-winning and Academy Award-winning actor Roberto Benigni.

Choir

In 2003, Sikorski Music Publishers published an a cappella version for mixed choir ( SATB and Narrator) by Carsten Gerlitz. The textual basis was the text editing by Loriot. The Choir The Happy Disharmonists took the version on CD, spoken by the arranger and choir director Carsten Gerlitz.