Peter and the Wolf

1947 coloring book cover

Peter and the Wolf (Russian: Петя и Bолк, tr. Pétya i volk, IPA: [ˈpʲetʲə i volk]) Op. 67, a "symphonic fairy tale for children", is a musical composition written by Sergei Prokofiev in 1936. The narrator tells a children's story, while the orchestra illustrates it by using different instruments to play a "theme" that represents each character in the story. It is Prokofiev's most frequently performed work and one of the most frequently performed works in the entire classical repertoire.

Background

In 1936, Prokofiev was commissioned by Natalya Sats, the director of the Central Children's Theatre in Moscow, to write a musical symphony for children. Sats and Prokofiev had become acquainted after he visited her theatre with his sons several times. The intent was to introduce children to the individual instruments of the orchestra. The first draft of the libretto was about a Young Pioneer (the Soviet version of a Boy Scout) called Peter who rights a wrong by challenging an adult. However, Prokofiev was dissatisfied with the rhyming text produced by Nina Pavlovna Sakonskaya [ru] (real name Antonia Pavlovna Sokolovskaya, 1896–1951), a then-popular children's author. Prokofiev wrote a new version where Peter captures a wolf. As well as promoting desired Pioneer virtues such as vigilance, bravery, and resourcefulness, the plot illustrates Soviet themes such as the stubbornness of the un-Bolshevik older generation (the grandfather) and the triumph of Man (Peter) taming Nature (the wolf).

Prokofiev produced a version for the piano in under a week, finishing it on April 15. The orchestration was finished on April 24. The work was first performed at a children's concert in the main hall of the Moscow Conservatory with the Moscow Philharmonic on 2 May 1936. However, Sats was ill and the substitute narrator was inexperienced, and the performance failed to attract much attention. Later that month a much more successful performance with Sats narrating was given at the Moscow Pioneers Palace. The American premiere took place in March 1938, with Prokofiev himself conducting the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Symphony Hall, Boston with Richard Hale narrating. By that time Sats was serving a sentence in the gulag, where she was sent after her lover Marshal Mikhail Tukhachevsky was shot in June 1937.

Plot

Peter, a Young Soviet 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 a duck that lives in the yard takes the opportunity to go swimming in a pond nearby. The duck and a bird argue on whether a proper bird should be able to swim or fly. A local 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.

Before long, Peter's grandfather scolds him for being outside and playing in the meadow alone because a wolf might come out of the forest and attack him. When Peter shows defiance, believing he has nothing to fear from wolves, his grandfather takes him back into the house and locks the gate. Soon afterwards, a ferocious grey wolf does indeed come out of the forest. The cat quickly climbs into the tree with the bird, but the duck, who has jumped out of the pond, is chased, overtaken, and swallowed by the beast.

Seeing all of this from inside, Peter fetches a rope and climbs over the garden wall into the tree. He asks the bird to fly around the beast's head to distract him, while he lowers a noose and catches the wolf by his tail. The beast 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 with their guns readied, but Peter gets them to instead help him take it to a zoo in a victory parade (the piece was first performed for an audience of Young Pioneers during May Day celebrations) that includes himself, the bird, the hunters leading the wolf, the cat, and lastly his grumbling Grandfather, still disappointed that Peter ignored his warnings, but proud that his grandson caught the beast.

At the end, the narrator states those listening carefully could hear the duck still quacking inside the wolf's belly, due to being swallowed whole.

Performance directions

Prokofiev produced detailed performance notes in both English and Russian for Peter and the Wolf. According to the English version:

Each character of this tale is represented by a corresponding instrument in the orchestra: the bird by a flute, the duck by an oboe, the cat by a clarinet playing staccato in a low register, the grandfather by a bassoon, the wolf by three horns, Peter by the string quartet, the shooting of the hunters by the kettle drums and bass drum. Before an orchestral performance it is desirable to show these instruments to the children and to play on them the corresponding leitmotivs. Thereby, the children learn to distinguish the sounds of the instruments during the performance of this tale.

Instrumentation

Peter and the Wolf is scored for the following orchestra:

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

Bird
Flute
 \relative c'''' { \clef treble \time 4/4 \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"flute" \tempo "Allegro" 4=176 \slashedGrace a8\mf( g8-.)[ e-.] \slashedGrace a( gis-.)[ gis-.] gis-.[ gis-.] \slashedGrace a( gis-.)[ e-.] | d16->( ees des c b8) \times 2/3 {a16( b a } g8->) g-. c-. e-. | \slashedGrace a8( g8-.)[ e-.] \slashedGrace a( gis-.)[ gis-.] gis-.[ gis-.] \slashedGrace a( gis-.)[ e-.] | d16->( ees des c g'!8-.) \slashedGrace b,( a-.) g2-> }
Duck
Oboe
 \relative c' { \clef treble \time 3/4 \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"oboe" \tempo "L'istesso tempo"4=92 \key aes \major \slashedGrace fes8( ees2.\mf->) | \slashedGrace ees8( d[ des c des] \slashedGrace d g[ f)] | \slashedGrace fes( ees2.->) }
Cat
Clarinet
 \relative c { \clef treble \time 4/4 \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"clarinet" \tempo "Moderato" \partial 4*1 d8-.\p g-. \bar "||" b4-. g8-. d-. cis4-. d8-. g-. | b-. d-. c4->~ c8 b g a | b( a) fis-. g-. a( g) e-. fis-. | g2-> }
Grandfather
Bassoon
 \relative c { \clef bass \time 4/4 \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"bassoon" \tempo "Poco più andante" 4=92 \key b \minor \partial 16*1 b,16\f( \bar "||" fis'8)[ r16 fis] b,4->~ b8._\markup { \italic pesante } cis16 d8. e16 | fis8. d16 a'8 a a-> a-> \times 2/3 { a-> b-> bis-> } | cis4->~( \times 2/3 { cis8 d dis } ais) r }
Wolf
French horns
 \relative c { \clef bass \time 4/4 \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"french horn" \tempo "Andante molto" 4=66 \key bes \major <d bes g>2->\mp <bes' g d>16( <a fis ees> <bes g d> <a fis ees> <bes g d>8) <bes g d> | <d bes g>-- <cis a ees>-- <d bes g>-- <bes g d>-- <c f, c>2-> |}
Hunters
woodwind and trumpet theme, with gunshots on timpani and bass drum
 \relative c' { \clef treble \time 4/4 \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"trumpet"\tempo "Allegro moderato" 4=116 \partial 4*1 c4\mf( | des8)->[ r ees-. r e->] r c4( | des8->)[ r ees-. r e->] r c4 | des8-> e f aes c4-> b8 c | des-.[ r f-.] r e2-> }
Peter
string instruments (including violin, viola, cello, and double bass)
 \relative c'' { \clef treble \time 4/4 \set Staff.midiInstrument = #"violin" \tempo "Andantino" 4=92 g4\p-- c8.( e16-.) g8-.[ a-.] g8.->( e16) | g8-.( a-.) b8.-> c16 g8( e) c-.( d-.) | ees4->\< ees8--( b'--) ees,4-- ees8--( b'--)\! | ees,4->\mf( bes) }

A performance lasts about 25 minutes.

Recordings

According to an article by Jeremy Nicholas for the classical music magazine Gramophone in 2015, the best overall recording of Peter and the Wolf is by the New Philharmonia Orchestra, narrated by Richard Baker and conducted by Raymond Leppard in 1971. Gramophone's best DVD version is the 2006 film by Suzie Templeton; its music is performed, without narrator, by the Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Mark Stephenson.

Year Narrator Orchestra Conductor Label Notes
2021 Viola Davis Los Angeles Philharmonic Gustavo Dudamel Video on YouTube
2018 Giacomo Gates New England Jazz Ensemble Jeff Holmes Self-released Complete Peter and the Wolf score arranged for jazz ensemble by Walter Gwardyak with modern libretto by Giacomo Gates; Video on YouTube
2017 Alexander Armstrong Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra Vasily Petrenko Warner Classics
2017 Miriam Margolyes Adelaide Symphony Orchestra Nicholas Carter ABC Classics With Britten's The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra and Borodin's "Polovtsian Dances"
2015 David Tennant The Amazing Keystone Band Le Chant du Monde
2015 Harry Shearer Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra Carlos Miguel Prieto
2015 Alice Cooper Bundesjugendorchester Alexander Shelley Deutsche Grammophon
2012 Bramwell Tovey Vancouver Symphony Orchestra Bramwell Tovey Video on YouTube
2011 Phillip Schofield Orchestre national du Capitole de Toulouse Michel Plasson EMI
2008 Jacqueline du Pré English Chamber Orchestra Daniel Barenboim Deutsche Grammophon
2007 Michael York Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra Miguel Harth-Bedoya
2006 Colm Feore Windsor Symphony Orchestra John Morris Russell
2005 Willie Rushton London Philharmonic Orchestra Siân Edwards Classics for Pleasure
2004 Bradley Cole Polish Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Sopot, Ladies Swing Quartet Wojciech Rajski Tacet [de]
2003 Mikhail Gorbachev,
Bill Clinton,
Sophia Loren
Russian National Orchestra Kent Nagano PENTATONE,
PTC 5186011
Released as Wolf Tracks and Peter and the Wolf. Loren narrated Peter and the Wolf, Clinton narrated Wolf Tracks (composed by Jean-Pascal Beintus with text by Walt Kraemer), and Gorbachev narrated the Introduction, Intermezzo, and Epilogue. The album won the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Children.
2003 Antonio Banderas,
Sophia Loren
Russian National Orchestra Kent Nagano PENTATONE,
PTC 5186014
In Spanish
2001 Sharon Stone Orchestra of St. Luke's James Levine Deutsche Grammophon as part of A Classic Tale: Music for Our Children (289 471 171–72, 2001)
2000 Lenny Henry Nouvel Ensemble Instrumental Du Conservatoire National Supérieur De Paris Jacques Pési EMI
2000 David Attenborough BBC Philharmonic Yan Pascal Tortelier BBC Music for BBC Music Magazine; a free CD came with the June 2000 issue
1997 Anthony Dowell Ross MacGibbon, director (video) Film of a ballet performance, starring David Johnson, Layla Harrison, Karan Lingham
1997 Dame Edna Everage Melbourne Symphony Orchestra John Lanchbery Naxos Records
1996 Ben Kingsley London Symphony Orchestra Sir Charles Mackerras Cala Records
1995 Kirstie Alley RCA Symphony Orchestra George Daugherty Sony Masterworks From the Chuck Jones TV special Peter and the Wolf
1994 Sir John Gielgud Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Andrea Licata Intersound Recordings
1994 Melissa Joan Hart Boston Symphony Orchestra Seiji Ozawa Sony Classical Hart was in her "Clarissa" persona from the Nickelodeon television series Clarissa Explains It All.
1994 Patrick Stewart Orchestra of the Opéra National de Lyon Kent Nagano Erato
1993 Peter Schickele Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Yoel Levi Telarc With a new text by Peter Schickele.
1991 Jack Lemmon Prague Festival Orchestra Pavel Urbanek Delta/Laserlight CD, EAN 0018111538626
1991 Dom DeLuise The Little Orchestra Society Dino Anagnost Musicmasters Classics,
MMD 67067
This was part of the album called "Three Children's Classics".
1991 Oleg and Gabriel Prokofiev New London Orchestra Ronald Corp Hyperion Records The narrators were the son and grandson of the composer.
1990 Sting Chamber Orchestra of Europe Claudio Abbado Deutsche Grammophon CD, EAN 0028942939622. This was used in 1993 as the soundtrack to the television special Peter and the Wolf: A Prokofiev Fantasy. The Italian release features Roberto Benigni as narrator (EAN 0028942939424).
1989 Noni Hazlehurst Sydney Symphony Orchestra Stuart Challender ABC Records Hazlehurst also narrated the Saint-Saëns/Ogden Nash The Carnival of the Animals on the same album
1989 Sir John Gielgud Orchestra of the Academy of London Richard Stamp Virgin Classics Sir John's royalties for this recording were donated to The League of Friends of Charity Heritage, a facility for physically handicapped children.
1989 Christopher Lee English String Orchestra Sir Yehudi Menuhin Nimbus Records
1989 Jeremy Nicholas Czecho-Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra Ondrej Lenárd Naxos Records
1989 Sir Peter Ustinov Philharmonia Orchestra Philip Ellis Cirrus Classics,
CRS CD 105
1989 Jonathan Winters Philharmonia Orchestra Efrem Kurtz Angel Records
1988 "Weird Al" Yankovic LSI Philharmonic Wendy Carlos CBS Records Released as an orchestral comic adaptation of the story, narrated by "Weird Al" Yankovic. This also features "The Carnival of the Animals – Part Two", a parody of The Carnival of the Animals.
1987 Paul Hogan Orchestre de Paris Igor Markevitch EMI It retained the traditional plot but transferred the locale to the Australian Outback. This recording was withdrawn soon after its release because of unflattering portrayals of Australia's aboriginal people and is now considered "out of print".
1987 Lina Prokofiev Royal Scottish National Orchestra Neeme Järvi Chandos Records,
ABRD 1221
Lina Prokofiev was Sergei Prokofiev's first wife
1987 André Previn Royal Philharmonic Orchestra André Previn Telarc,
CD 80126
1986 Itzhak Perlman Israel Philharmonic Orchestra Zubin Mehta EMI EMI/Angel also released an LP and later a CD with Perlman narrating in Hebrew.
1984 William F. Buckley Jr. RTL Orchestra Luxembourg Leopold Hager Proarte Digital Records
1984 Dudley Moore,
Terry Wogan
Boston Pops Orchestra John Williams Philips The American release (412 559–2) was narrated by Dudley Moore, while the UK release (412 556–2) featured Terry Wogan as narrator.
1980 Tom Seaver Cincinnati Pops Orchestra Erich Kunzel MMG
1979 Carol Channing Cincinnati Pops Orchestra Erich Kunzel Caedmon Records,
TC-1623
1978 David Bowie Philadelphia Orchestra Eugene Ormandy RCA Red Seal Bowie's recording reached number 136 on the US Pop Albums chart.
1977 Angela Rippon Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Owain Arwel Hughes Enigma Records Limited, K 53553
1975 Hermione Gingold Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra Karl Böhm Deutsche Grammophon The original German LP release featured Karlheinz Böhm as narrator (2530 587). The UK, and Australian releases featured Hermione Gingold (2530 588). The French release featured narrator Jean Richard (2530 640).
1975 Viv Stanshall various rock musicians, including Manfred Mann, Gary Brooker, Brian Eno, Bill Bruford, Phil Collins, Cozy Powell, Chris Spedding, Alvin Lee, and Julie Tippett Esoteric Recordings (remastered and re-released November 2021 as ECLEC2781) Billed as a 'rock version' of Prokofiev's work
1974 Will Geer English Chamber Orchestra Johannes Somary Vanguard Records,
VSO-30033
1973 Alec McCowen Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Bernard Haitink Philips Records,
6599 436
The German release featured Hermann Prey as narrator.
1973 Mia Farrow London Symphony Orchestra André Previn EMI, ASD 2935
1972 Rob Reiner studio orchestra Jerry Yester United Artists Records,
UAS-5646
Contemporary version by Carl Gottlieb and Rob Reiner; never released on CD
1972 George Raft London Festival Orchestra Stanley Black Phase 4 Stereo,
SPC-21084
In this version, the story is reformulated as a gangster tale in the style of the Hollywood films that Raft had once acted in.
1971 Richard Baker New Philharmonia Orchestra Raymond Leppard EMI
1970 Sir Ralph Richardson London Symphony Orchestra Sir Malcolm Sargent Decca Records Volume 5 of The World of the Great Classics series. This version is praised in various editions of The Stereo Record Guide as the finest recording and narration of the work ever made.
1969 Paul Daneman The Little Symphony Of London Arthur Davison Music for Pleasure The reverse side of this recording is Sleigh Ride (dance 3 of Three German Dances by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart), and Toy Symphony (generally attributed to Leopold Mozart).
1968 Robie Lester Graunke Symphony Orchestra Kurt Graunke Disneyland originally from the 1946 film Make Mine Music
1967 Eric Robinson Royal Philharmonic Orchestra James Walker Reader's Digest,
RD4-710-1
1965 Sean Connery Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Antal Doráti Phase 4 Stereo
1965 Lorne Greene London Symphony Orchestra Sir Malcolm Sargent RCA Victor Red Seal
LSC 2783
1963 Eric Shilling Czech Philharmonic Orchestra Karel Ančerl Supraphon
SU3676-2
1963 Alec Clunes French National Orchestra Lorin Maazel Deutsche Grammophon In the French release the narrator is Madeleine Renaud. For the German release the narrator is Mathias Wieman. For the Italian release the narrator is Eduardo De Filippo. For the Spanish release the narrator is Juan Pulido. For the Japanese release the narrator is Tetsuko Kuroyanagi.
1962 Kenneth Horne Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra Otto Ackermann Concert Hall, CM 88E
1961 Carlos Pellicer Orquesta Sinfónica de México Carlos Chávez Mexican Columbia,
MC 1360
1960 Garry Moore Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra of London Artur Rodziński Whitehall,
XWN 18525
The reverse side of this 12-inch LP record also features The Carnival of the Animals by Saint-Saëns with Garry Moore (narrator), Josef and Grete Dichler (duopianists), and the Vienna State Opera Orchestra conducted by Hermann Scherchen.
1960 Leonard Bernstein New York Philharmonic Leonard Bernstein Columbia Records The popularity of the group's televised Young People's Concerts made this an auspicious release
1960 Captain Kangaroo Stadium Symphony Orchestra of New York Leopold Stokowski Everest Records,
SDBR-3043
1960 Beatrice Lillie London Symphony Orchestra Skitch Henderson Decca Records
1959 Richard Attenborough Philharmonia of Hamburg Hans-Jürgen Walter World Record Club,
SC-28
1959 José Ferrer Vienna State Opera Orchestra Sir Eugene Goossens Kapp Records Narrated in Spanish and English
1959 Michael Flanders Philharmonia Orchestra Efrem Kurtz EMI Records
1957 Boris Karloff Vienna State Opera Orchestra Mario Rossi Vanguard Records
1957 Cyril Ritchard Philadelphia Orchestra Eugene Ormandy Columbia Records,
ML 5183
1956 Peter Ustinov Philharmonia Orchestra Herbert von Karajan Angel Records
1955 Brandon deWilde Pro Musica Symphony, Vienna Hans Swarowsky Vox Records PL9280 (mono), STPL59280 (stereo). Matrix VS3076
1955 Arthur Godfrey Andre Kostelanetz's Orchestra Andre Kostelanetz Columbia Records mono recording; has never been issued on CD
1955 Henry Morgan Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra Otto Ackermann Concert Hall, MMS 88E The Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra is named on this record "Concert Hall Symphony Orchestra".
1954 Richard Hale Boston Pops Orchestra Arthur Fiedler RCA Victor Red Seal
LM 1803
1953 Victor Jory Peter Pan Orchestra Vicky Kosen Peter Pan Records mono recording; has never been issued on CD
1953 Alec Guinness Boston Pops Orchestra Arthur Fiedler RCA Victor Red Seal,
LM 1761
1950 Milton Cross Lucy Brown, piano Musicraft Records,
M 65
4 shellac 10" 78-rpm discs
1950 Eleanor Roosevelt Boston Symphony Orchestra Serge Koussevitzky RCA Victor Red Seal,
LM 45
mono recording; never reissued on CD
1949 Frank Phillips London Philharmonic Orchestra Nikolai Malko London Records,
LPS 151
Frank Phillips was a well-known BBC Radio newsreader
1949 Sterling Holloway Graunke Symphony Orchestra Kurt Graunke RCA Victor, WY 386 Set of 2 vinyl 10" discs, together with a Little Nipper Storybook from Disney; originally made for an episode in the 1946 film Make Mine Music
1941 Basil Rathbone All-American Orchestra Leopold Stokowski Columbia Masterworks,
M 477
Set of 3 shellac 12" discs, restored from original Masterworks set by Bob Varney
1939 Richard Hale Boston Symphony Orchestra Serge Koussevitzky RCA Victor, DM 566 Set of 3 shellac 12" discs

Adaptations of the work

Walt Disney, 1946

Disney's 1946 animated short

Prokofiev, while touring the West in 1938, visited Los Angeles and met Walt Disney. Prokofiev performed the piano version of Peter and the Wolf for "le papa de Mickey Mouse" (French for "Mickey Mouse's dad"), as Prokofiev described him in a letter to his sons. Disney was impressed, and considered adding an animated version of Peter and the Wolf to Fantasia, which was to be released in 1940. Due to World War II, these plans fell through, and it was not until 1946 that Disney released his adaptation of Peter and the Wolf narrated by Sterling Holloway. It is not known if Prokofiev, by that point behind the Iron Curtain, was aware of this. It was released theatrically as a segment of Make Mine Music, then reissued the next year, accompanying a reissue of Fantasia (as a short subject before the film), then separately on home video in the 1990s. This version makes several changes to the original story. For example:

  • During the character introduction, the pets are given names: Sasha the songbird, Sonia the duck, and Ivan the cat.
  • As the cartoon begins, Peter and his friends already know there is a wolf nearby and are preparing to catch him.
  • The hunters get names in a later part of the story: Misha, Yasha, and Vladimir.
  • Peter daydreams of hunting and catching the wolf, and for that purpose exits the garden carrying a wooden pop gun.
  • At the end, in a reversal of the original (and to make the story more child-friendly), the narrator reveals that the duck Sonia has not been eaten by the wolf. Earlier in the film, the wolf is shown chasing Sonia, who hides in an old tree's hollow trunk. The wolf attacks out of view and returns in view with some of her feathers in his mouth, licking his jaws. Peter, Ivan, and Sasha assume Sonia has been eaten. After the wolf has been caught, Sasha is shown mourning Sonia. She comes out of the tree trunk at that point, and they are happily reunited.

In 1957, for one of his television programs, Disney recalled how Prokofiev himself visited the Disney studio, eventually inspiring the making of this animated version. Disney used pianist Ingolf Dahl, who resembled Prokofiev, to re-create how the composer sat at a piano and played the themes from the score.

British–Polish co-production, 2006

In 2006, Suzie Templeton and Hugh Welchman directed and produced respectively, a stop-motion animated adaptation, Peter & 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. The film won the Annecy Cristal and the Audience Award at the 2007 Annecy International Animated Film Festival, and won the 2007 Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film. This version makes some changes to the original Prokofiev story; for example:

  • Peter bumps into one of the "hunters" (teenage bullies in this telling), who throws him in a rubbish bin and aims at him with his rifle to scare him; the second hunter watches without interfering (thus, a dislike towards the hunter/bullies is immediately created).
  • Because of a broken wing, the bird has trouble flying and takes Peter's balloon to help it get aloft.
  • After Peter has captured the wolf in a net, the hunter gets him in his rifle's telescopic sight coincidentally, but just before shooting, the second hunter stumbles, falls on him and makes him miss the shot.
  • The caged wolf is brought into the village on a cart, where Peter's grandfather tries to sell it. The hunter comes to the container and sticks his rifle in to intimidate the animal (as he did with Peter earlier on). At that time Peter throws the net on the hunter, who becomes tangled in it.
  • Before the grandfather has made a deal, Peter unlocks the cart after looking into the eyes of the wolf. They walk side by side through the awestruck crowd and then the freed wolf runs off in the direction of the silver moon shining over the forest.

Others

2007 production, Toronto, Canada

Up to 1959

  • In 1958, a videotaped television special entitled Art Carney Meets Peter and the Wolf, with Art Carney as main entertainer, along with the Bil Baird Marionettes, was presented by the American Broadcasting Company, and was successful enough to have been repeated twice. The show had an original storyline in which Carney interacted with some talking marionette animals, notably the wolf, who was the troublemaker of the group. This first half was presented as a musical, with adapted music from Lieutenant Kijé and other Prokofiev works which had special English lyrics fitted into them. The program then segued into a complete performance of Peter and the Wolf, played exactly as written by the composer, and "mimed" by both "human" and "animal" marionettes. The conclusion of the program again featured Carney interacting with the animal marionettes. The show was nominated for three Emmy Awards.[citation needed]

1960s

  • c. 1960, Hans Conried recorded the narration with a Dixieland musical band. Because a Dixieland band uses different instruments than an orchestra, Peter is played by the trumpets, the Bird is played by a clarinet, the Duck by a banjo, the Cat by a "cool cat" tenor saxophone, the Wolf by a tuba, the Hunters by the percussive ensemble, and Grandfather by a slide trombone. The characters of the Bee and the Flea are briefly introduced to demonstrate the "versatility of our chief percussionist" (played by a xylophone and glockenspiel, respectively).
  • The Clyde Valley Stompers recorded a jazz version on Parlophone Records (45-R 4928) in 1962, which registered on the popular music charts of the time.
  • Allan Sherman parodied the work in the album Peter and the Commissar (1964), made with Arthur Fiedler and the Boston Pops Orchestra.
  • In 1966, Hammond organ player Jimmy Smith performed for a jazz album arranged by Oliver Nelson without the narration, but based on the original themes.
  • In 1969, American-Canadian filmmaker Caroline Leaf used sand animation to adapt the work in Sand or Peter and the Wolf, her first film.[citation needed]

1980s

  • American film and television actor Ray Bolger served as the narrator for a 1981 live-action version with real animals, directed by Dan Bessie and produced by Pyramid Media. The music was performed by the Santa Cruz Chamber Orchestra conducted by Dr. Lewis Keizer.
  • The 1983 film A Christmas Story features music from Peter and the Wolf prominently during scenes of the character Scut Farkus bullying other characters. The surname Farkus is a variation of farkas, which is Hungarian for "wolf".
  • Justin Locke wrote a 1985 sequel to the story, using the original score. Peter VS. the Wolf is the Wolf's trial, where he defends himself against the charge of "Duckicide in the first degree, with one gulp." The original music is presented as evidence, but then the Wolf calls individual musicians to the stand and cross-examines them. It requires five actors for a stage presentation.
  • In 1985, Arnie Zane choreographed a punk music ballet version of Peter and the Wolf.
  • In 1988, "Weird Al" Yankovic and Wendy Carlos produced a comedic version, using a synthesized orchestra and many additions to the story and music (e.g., Peter captures the wolf using his grandfather's dental floss, leading to the moral of the story: "Oral hygiene is very important").
  • In 1989, in an episode of the Muppet Babies entitled "Skeeter and the Wolf", Skeeter fills in for Peter, Gonzo is the bird, Scooter is the cat, Fozzie is the duck, Nanny is the grandparent, and Kermit and Piggy are the hunters.[citation needed]

1990s

  • A 1990 episode of Tiny Toon Adventures titled "Buster and the Wolverine" featured Elmyra Duff providing narration for a story wherein Buster Bunny and his friends, represented with musical instruments, combat an evil "wolverine". In this episode, the characters' instruments are: Buster Bunny, a trumpet; Babs Bunny, a harp; Furrball, a violin; Sweetie, a flute; Hamton J. Pig, a tuba; Plucky Duck, a bike horn (later, bagpipes, then an organ, and finally a synthesizer); and the wolverine, drums.
  • Peter Schickele (a.k.a. P. D. Q. Bach) wrote an alternate, comedic text for the score entitled Sneaky Pete and the Wolf, converting the story into a Western, including a showdown between Sneaky Pete and the gunslinger El Lobo (which never happens due to some local boys' giving El Lobo a hotfoot and sticking a paper airplane in his eye, and Sneaky Pete's girlfriend Laura rendering El Lobo unconscious with a vacuum cleaner). It was recorded with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Yoel Levi, in 1993.
  • In the 1993 Simpsons episode "Krusty Gets Kancelled", guest star Hugh Hefner plays a portion of Peter and the Wolf on wine glasses.
  • In 1995, a 45-minute television special was made with a mix of live-action, animation, and characters from the story designed by Chuck Jones. The film featured Kirstie Alley (as the narrator), Lloyd Bridges (as the grandfather), and Ross Malinger (as Peter), in a live-action "wraparound" segment. The version debuted on ABC on 8 December 1995. This version keeps the duck-friendly ending by having the swallowed duck pop out of the wolf's mouth alive, well, and dancing as the wolf is being captured. The wolf, described as "not a ballet fan", grabs the duck again before being forced to drop her by the hunters. As the story ends, Peter finds the duck crouching at the pond's edge, shivering and frightened because of her terrible experience, and Peter reassures her that he will always be there to protect her. This version even places the bird as a mother, with six eggs that hatch near the ending. The music for this version was performed by the RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra conducted by George Daugherty. The version received a 1996 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Program and received a second Emmy nomination for Daugherty, for Outstanding Music Direction. Daugherty (also one of the writers) and Janis Diamond received a Writers Guild of America Award nomination for the script. The production received a Gold Hugo and Silver Hugo at Chicago International Film Festival.
  • During September 1996, Coldcut (a duo of scratch/mix DJs from south London) released a scratch version of the main theme, included on the track "More Beats + Pieces", from their album Let Us Play!.
  • Matthew Hart choreographed Peter and the Wolf for television in 1997, performed by the dancers of the Royal Ballet School and narrated by Sir Anthony Dowell (who also danced the role of "The Grandfather").

2000s

2010s

  • In 2010, Denver musicians Munly and the Lupercalians released Petr & the Wulf, an alternative take on the original story told from the different perspectives of all the characters: Grandfater, Petr, Scarewulf, Cat, Bird, The Three Hunters, Duk, and Wulf. Released on the Alternative Tentacles label.
  • In 2012, ITV used a version of the main theme as the title music for their coverage of the European Football Championships, because Prokofiev was born in present-day Ukraine, one of the host countries.
  • In 2013, filmmaker Wes Hurley premiered his short film Peter and the Wolf – a graphic adult version of the story featuring Peter as a gay werewolf-hunter and imagery inspired by Tom of Finland.[better source needed]
  • In 2015, a recording was done on the Walt Disney Concert Hall organ, arranged by Josh Perschbacher, and narrated by Michael Barone (host of the radio program Pipedreams from American Public Media).
  • In 2015, the New England Jazz Ensemble (with the Wallingford Symphony Orchestra) debuted pianist Walter Gwardyak's jazz arrangement of Peter and the Wolf for big band. The narration was written and performed by vocalist Giacomo Gates. The recording was self-released on April 22, 2018.
  • In 2019, composer Lior Navok released Brave Little Timmy for narrator and orchestra (same instrumentation as Peter and the Wolf). The libretto, written by the composer, tells the story of Timmy, whose distant friendship with a wolf has saved the latter from the hunters.[citation needed]

2020s

  • In 2023, Gavin Friday, with directors Elliot Dear and Stephen McNally released an animated version based on Bono's drawings on Max. This adaptation, narrated by Friday, alters the story slightly: Peter has lost his mother to an unspecified illness, implied to be cancer. The Wolf has puppies, one of whom reminds Peter of himself, and thus the Wolf reminds him of his late mother. Peter and his grandfather deceive the hunters and release the Wolf. The black and white short film and its theme song by Friday, "There's Nothing To Be Afraid Of", support the Irish Hospice Foundation.[citation needed]

In copyright law

In 2012, the US Supreme Court's decision in Golan v. Holder restored copyright protection in the United States to numerous foreign works that had entered the public domain. Peter and the Wolf was frequently cited by the parties and amici, as well as by the Court's opinion and by the press, as an example of a well-known work that would be removed from the public domain by the decision. The restored copyright per current law is 95 years after publication. Therefore the piece is expected to enter the public domain on December 31, 2031.


This page was last updated at 2023-10-31 09:41 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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