A Symphony Concert For Children
Description
Age category: 0+
Duration: 2 hours 0 minutes
A musical story for children
There is no other musical composition that has been as popular amongst children as the musical story of Peter and the Wolf, by Sergei Prokofiev. It was composed in 1936 after being commissioned by the director of the Moscow State Children’s Theatre, Natalya Sats, who asked Prokofiev to compose a simple yet comprehensive guide to the orchestra for young children. The story won the hearts of audiences across the world, and not only young concert-goers. The charm of the simple tale of the pioneer Peter capturing the wolf and sending the wild animal to the zoo is eloquently expressed in the music and needs little explanation from the narrator. Having been introduced to the musical instruments and the characters they represent, the young listener can easily recognise each voice as the tale unfolds: the mischievous flute as the bird, the clumsy oboe as the duck, the cunning clarinet as the cat, the grumpy bassoon as the grandfather, the thunderous French horn as the wolf and the restless violins as Peter himself.
Suitable for all ages
Age category: 0+
Duration: 2 hours 0 minutes
Musical suite (‘A Zoological Fantasy’) for chamber orchestra
Camille Saint-Saëns’ musical suite The Carnival of the Animals is not as famous in its entirety as the individual movement of The Swan, composed for cello and piano, and the choreographed adaptation by Mikhail Fokin called The Dying Swan, which has become an icon of classical ballet. In any case, the composer never expected the success that the suite eventually found – the suite was thought up as “a joke” and was not published until after Saint-Saëns’ death because of the composer’s fear that he would not be considered “serious”. Saint-Saëns only allowed the individual publication of The Swan. In the course of the fourteen short movements, without resorting to coarse imitation, Saint-Saëns reveals the characters and habits of a range of animals, whilst including a range of musical allusions, jokes and references. Along with The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra by Benjamin Britten, The Carnival of the Animals remains the finest guide to the world of musical instruments.
Suitable for all ages
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