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Music is such an integral part of life; so when given the opportunity to review a wonderful classic such as Peter and the Wolf, performed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra and presented by Maestro Classics, I was very excited! For this review, I received the CD and Study Guide Peter and the Wolf.
Peter and the Wolf Story Line
The story of Peter and the Wolf, written by Sergei Prokofiev in 1936, is set in Russia. The boy named Peter lived in a cottage with his grandfather. Surrounding the cottage was a large stone wall which separated their yard from a small meadow; beyond the meadow was the great woods. Peter’s grandfather told him he must not go through the garden gate into the meadow. One day Peter disobeyed his Grandfather, went into the meadow and left the garden gate open.
In the introduction we learn that each character is represented by a separate instrument. The bird is represented by the flute, the duck by the oboe, cat by clarinet, Peter’s grandfather by bassoon, wolf by three french horns, hunters by the woodwinds playing the hunters’ march, the hunters’ guns are represented by the kettle drums and Peter is represented by all the string instruments.
Initially in the story, we see Peter in the meadow with his friend the bird who is singing that “all is well”. The duck decides to join Peter in the meadow so that she can take a swim in the deep pond. Soon Peter’s grandfather discovers him in the meadow. Peter chooses not to listen to his grandfather’s warning that it is dangerous to be in the meadow if a wolf was to appear. However, his grandfather takes his hand and leads him back through the garden gate. Soon a wolf did appear and was able to gobble up the duck.
Peter, who was watching all that was happening from the safety of the garden, decided that he would climb the stone wall and climb out on a tree branch. With the help of the bird, Peter was able to lure the wolf into a rope that he made into a lasso. Catching the wolf by the tail, Peter tied him to a branch until the hunters appeared in the meadow following the trail of the wolf and shooting at him. Peter convinced the hunters to take the wolf to the zoo instead of shooting him.
What Did We Think of Peter and the Wolf?
Peter and the Wolf from Maestro Classics is a fantastic resource for introducing children to not only the orchestra but also the individual instruments that make up the orchestra. Yadu (a.k.a. Dr. Konrad Czynski) is the narrator and does a wonderful job explaining the story-line. All the kids were able to understand the story of Peter and the Wolf. Of course, the London Philharmonic Orchestra does a fantastic job performing Peter and the Wolf!
I certainly would recommend Peter and the Wolf from Maestro Classics!
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To read reviews from other members of the Schoolhouse Review Crew of both Peter and the Wolf and The Nutcracker click on the banner below.
Jennifer
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