Instruments of the Orchestra with Peter and the Wolf
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In 1936 the great Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev was commissioned by the Central Children's Theater to write a symphony intended for children. The result of that commission, Peter and the Wolf, was a symphonic story piece with narration that could be used as a tool to teach the various instruments and instrument families of the orchestra.
Aside from each character having a particular instrument assigned to them, each character has its own individual melodic material that is easily recognizable throughout the story. The work's beautiful, descriptive orchestration and engaging and varied story never fails to entertain.
In December's group lesson, this worksheet was a nice way for the students to actively listen to the story and identify the characters and instruments:
There are endless great performances of the work. This one by the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra is great and can be found on youtube:
And a few years ago this animated version of the work was released:
The film isn't narrated, so you aren't told explicitly which instruments play which characters. Though some students said they thought Peter was a little scary looking, I think the film is absolutely stunning and thoroughly entertaining. (The film is available to stream on Netflix as well as Amazon Prime.) The students loved it when we watched part of the film during group lesson. I think the work is a great introduction to classical music, but I am always pleasantly surprised how I have not grown tired of it after hearing it dozens of times over the years.
A suggestion for anyone that would like to listen to more of Prokofiev's music: his 3rd Piano Concerto is one of my favorite concertos. Especially when performed by Martha Argerich. Deutsche Grammophon produced a cd with Argerich perfoming the Prokofiev 3 with the Berlin Philharmonic that can be found on Spotify.
Enjoy!
***illustration courtesy of David DePasquale at https://www.etsy.com/shop/daviddillustration?ref=pr_shop_more