Who composed Peter the Wolf?

Question

I was asked this down the pub last night.

A Russian composer whom I had never heard of?

How does this fit into contemporary culture? (Has it been on TV?)

I can look it up on the Internet, so I want what is noy written down. First hand experiences.

Answer 1

Prokofiev. You should have heard of him. He also wrote music to one of the ballet versions of "Romeo and Juliet".

It's at the popular end of the classical spectrum. Frequently performed with a celebrity doing the voice over (eg Peter Ustinov, Richard Baker).

It was the first LP I ever owned. I still like it. It's a good introduction to classical music for young children.

Answer 2

Sergei Prokofiev (1891-1953) was born in the village of Sontsovka in the Donets region of the Ukraine. He was a child prodigy on the order of Mozart, composing for piano at age five and writing an opera at nine. His first teacher was his mother, a talented pianist. He attended the St. Petersburg Conservatory from 1904 to 1914, winning the Anton Rubinstein prize for best student pianist when he graduated. He traveled widely, spending many years in London and Paris, and toured the United States five times.

In 1936, Prokofiev returned to settle permanently in the Soviet Union. One of his first compositions after his return was Peter and the Wolf, written in just two weeks in April 1936 for a children's theater in Moscow. Prokofiev invented the story and wrote the narration himself, drawing on memories of his own childhood. He constructed the music as a child's introduction to the orchestra, with each character in the story represented by a different instrument or group of instruments: Peter by the strings, the bird by the flute, the duck by the oboe, the cat by the clarinet, the wolf by the horn section, and so on.

Peter and the Wolf was an immediate success and has been loved by children all over the world. The music is sophisticated enough to be enjoyed by adults, even through repeated hearings. And its moral — you can't be a hero if you don't take risks — delights children as it must have cheered the composer.

Answer 3

Sergei Prokofiev

Answer 4

Sergei Prokofiev
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_and_the_wolf

Answer 5

First hand experiences of meeting the composer. Never did. Hope this helps.

Answer 6

Prokofiev and its Peter and the Wolf

Answer 7

Defintely Sergei Prokoviev. Romeo and Juliet by him was better, though.

Answer 8

firstley its peter and the wolf and it was composed by sergei prokofiev

Answer 9

Rachmaninov , Im not sure of the spelling but I think its right

Answer 10

and i thought it was little red riding hood