peter and the wolf

Posted by Thomas Shaw on July 4th, 2018

peter and the wolf

Peter and the Wolf by Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev is a story in music for narrator and orchestra. Considered the greatest piece of classical music ever written for children, Peter and the wolf teaches the listener about the instruments in the symphony orchestra by relating them to characters in the story. For example, in “Peter and the Wolf” the ducks' theme is played by an oboe, the cat's theme is played by a clarinet, the grandfather's theme is played by the bassoon, the wolf's theme is played by the timpani drums, and lastly, Peter's theme is played by the strings in the orchestra.

The best recording of Peter and the Wolf is from Maestro Classics and the London Philharmonic Orchestra with narrator Yadu and conductor Stephen Simon. This is the only known recording that includes a complete instrumental version of "Peter and the Wolf" in addition to the story in music with narration. The Maestro Classics CD/MP3 contains extra educational tracks with the conductor of the orchestra, a music and history lesson about Peter and the Wolf & Sergei Prokofiev, a guest performance of “Peter and the Wolf” and “Kalinka” (a traditional Russian folk song) by Trio Voronezh, and a 24-page activity book for kids.