BaL 10.06.23 - Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

10.30 am
Building a Library: Kate Molleson chooses her favourite recording of Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf

Peter and the Wolf is a "symphonic fairy tale for children", and one of the most popular ways for young people to get into classical music. The narrator tells a children's story, while the orchestra illustrates it with different instruments which play different themes to represent different characters in the story: the bird by a flute, the duck by an oboe, the cat by a clarinet, the grandfather by a bassoon, the wolf by three horns, Peter by the string quartet etc.


Available versions:-

Marin Alsop, Britten-Pears Orchestra, Marin Alsop (DVD/Blu-ray)
Alexander Armstrong, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Vasily Petrenko
Edward Armstrong, Orchestra of Radio Luxembourg, Louis de Froment *
Charles Aznavour, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Claudio Abbado *
Richard Baker, New Philharmonia Orchestra, Raymond Leppard
Antonio Banderas/Sophia Loren, Russian National Orchestra, Kent Nagano *
Leonard Bernstein, New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Leonard Bernstein
Karlheinz Böhm, Wiener Philharmoniker, Karl Böhm *
David Bowie, Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy *
Elma Bulla, Budapest Philharmonic Orchestra, Hungarian State Orchestra *
José Carreras, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Claudio Abbado *
Bill Clinton, Sophia Loren, Mikhail Gorbachev, Russian National Orchestra, Kent Nagano (SACD)
Alec Clunes, Orchestre National de France, Lorin Maazel
Bradley Cole, Polish Chamber Orchestra, Wojciech Rajski (SACD)
Sean Connery, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Antal Dorati *
Dom DeLuise, The Little Orchestra Society, Dino Anagost *
Henri Dès, Musikkollegium Winterthur, Winterthurer Streichquartett, Roberto González-Monjas
Sir Ken Dodd, Liverpool String Quartet
Dame Edna Everage, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, John Lanchbery
Mia Farrow, London Symphony Orchestra, André Previn
Sir John Gielgud, Academy of London, Richard Stamp
Frank Groothof, Het Residentie Orkest, Othmar Mágá *
Sir Alec Guinness, Boston Pops Orchestra, Arthur Fiedler *
Fernand Guiot, Orchestre Symphonique du Mans, Jose-Andre Gendille *
Melissa Joan Hart, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Seiji Ozawa
Matthew Hart, Sergei Polunin, Will Kemp, Kilian Smith, Charlotte Edmonds, Laurine Muccioli, Chisato Katsura, Royal Ballet School & Royal Ballet Sinfonia, Paul Murphy (DVD/Blu-ray))
Volker Hartung,, Lauritz Melchior, NBC Symphony Orchestra, Fritz Reiner *
André Heller, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Zubin Mehta *
Michael Heltau (narrator), RTL Symphonie Orchester, Leopold Hager *
Lenny Henry, Nouvel Ensemble Instrumental Du Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris, Jacques Pési *
Robert Hirsch, Philharmonia Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan *
Sterling Holloway, Disney Studio Orchestra,
Leonie Jansen, Boston Pops Orchestra, John Williams *
Hans Jaray, Das Wiener Pro-Musica Symphonieorchester, Hans Swarowsky *
Captain Kangaroo, Stadium Symphony Orchestra Of New York, Leopold Stokowski *
Boris Karloff, Wiener Philharmoniker, Mario Rossi
Bob Keeshan, Stadium Symphony Orchestra of New York, Leopold Stokowski *
Jesper Klein, Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Ondrej Lenard *
Thanos Kostopoulos, USSR Ministry of Culture Symphony Orchestra, Gennady Rozhdestvensky *
Hans-Joachim Kulenkampff, London Symphony Orchestra, André Previn
Christopher Lee, English String Orchestra, Yehudi Menuhin
Valeri Lemercier, Toulouse Capitol Orchestra, Tugan Sokhiev *
Beatrice Lillie, London Symphony Orchestra, Skitch Henderson *
Nikolay Litvinov, USSR State Symphony Orchestra, Gennady Rozhdestvensky *
Joanna Lumley, English Northern Philharmonia, Stephen Barlow
Miriam Margolyes, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Nicholas Carter (DVD)
Dudley Moore, Boston Pops Orchestra, John Williams *
Jeremy Nicholas, Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra, Ondrej Lenárd *
Jean Nohain, Orchestre Lamoureux, Jésus Etcheverry *
Bart Peeters, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Zubin Mehta *
Itzhak Perlman, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Zubin Mehta
Lasse Pöysti, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Jukka-Pekka Saraste *
Hermann Prey, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Bernard Haitink
Lina Prokofiev, Scottish National Orchestra, Neeme Järvi
Oleg Prokofiev, Gabriel Prokofiev, New London Orchestra, Ronald Corp *
Jean Richard, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Karl Böhm
Cyril Richard, Philadelphia Orchestra, Eugene Ormandy *
Sir Ralph Richardson, London Symphony Orchestra, Malcolm Sargent *
Willie Rushton, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sian Edwards *
Peter Schickele, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Yoel Levi
Romy Schneider, Philharmonia Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan *
Barbara Schöneberger, Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Johannes Zurl
Eric Shilling, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Karel Ancerl
Patrick Stewart, Orchestre de l’Opéra de Lyon, Kent Nagano *
Sting, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Claudio Abbado
Sting, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Claudio Abbado (DVD)
Barbara Sukowa, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Claudio Abbado
Juri Tetzlaff, ProFive *
Peter Ustinov, Philharmonia Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan *
Peter Ustinov, Philharmonia Orchestra, Philip Ellis *
Brandon de Wilde, Vienna Pro Musica Orchestra, Hans Swarowsky *
Lambert Wilson. Orchestre du Capitole de Toulouse, Michel Plasson *
Terry Wogan, Boston Pops Orchestra, John Williams *
Ranga Yogeshwar, Münchner Rundfunkorchester, Paul Goodwin *

(* = download only)

[richardfinegold]

Nagano really got some interesting narrators. Jean-Luc Picard, Bill CLinton, Gorbachev, Sophia Loren...

[CallMePaul]

Are all these recordings with narration in English? I ask this because several of the narrators are not native English speakers and it is unlikely that any British buyer would want narration in any other language regardlesws of the quality of the narration or the orchestral playing.

By the way, I should point out that Prokofiev is not Russian! Contrary to popular belief, he was Ukrainian by birth even if he lived in Moscow on his return to the USSR.

[Nick Armstrong]

Only one possible choice, surely…





Seriously, Humphries’s narration of Poulenc’s L’Histoire de Babar from the same release (currently being ‘serialised’ on Martin Handley’s Sunday morning programme) is wonderful (with Dame Edna making a subtle appearance as the old lady who takes Babar under her wing)

[visualnickmos]

Hermione Gingold, Karl Bohm and the Vienna Phil.

[Bryn]

Is the Bernstein recording without narration still available? As in:

[makropulos]

Great list. A couple of additions:
Ben Kingsley, LSO, Charles Mackerras (Cala)
Frank Phillips, LPO, Nikolai Malko (Decca, now IMP) –the one I grew up with on Ace of Clubs.

[smittims]

Peter Ustinov recorded the work in French in June 1969 with the Orchestre de Paris and Igor Markevitch . His narration is a virtuoso performance in its own right and a favourite of mine. The recording was reissued on CD in the Warner 16CD box of Markevitch's EMI and Erato recordings.

[Pulcinella]

The BBC MM release, with David Attenborough and the BBCPO under Tortelier,

https://www.discogs.com/release/1679301-Prokofiev-Britten-David-Attenborough-BBC-Philharmonic-Tortelier-Peter-And-The-Wolf-Young-Persons-Gui

has also been issued as an audio book:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Peter-Wolf-Prokofievs-Classic-Attenborough/dp/B0BXQ6FHN1

[Nick Armstrong]

Frank Phillips, LPO, Nikolai Malko (Decca, now IMP) –the one I grew up with on Ace of Clubs.

Oh crikey, massive nostalgia rush…. Yes, me too! Both sides of that LP left an indelible impression, conjured up by the cover:

[richardfinegold]

One of the few lps my parents ever bought was Peter coupled with the Classical Symphony. Conductor was Efrem Kurtz, with a now forgotten (by me-it’s probably the Philharmonia) British Orchestra. It sat unplayed in our house until I developed an interest in Classical Music as an adolescent . I never purchased one until I had children, then buying one with Sting narrating, which my kids probably lost, so I don’t have one in my collection. Kurtz is a name that I have rarely encountered since

[Bryn]

Is the Bernstein recording without narration still available?

Looks like this is it: https://www.prestomusic.com/classica...BoC6eAQAvD_BwE



Also on QOBUZ: https://www.qobuz.com/us-en/album/mu.../velu153mcfdba

[Bryn]

The Berstein recording without narration (#6 and #12) is very handy if you feel like making a version using your own, or another's, voice.

[Petrushka]

The Berstein recording without narration (#6 and #12) is very handy if you feel like making a version using your own, or another's, voice.

I've a fair number of recordings lurking within various conductor boxes but confess I've never played any of them.

Is the narration Prokofiev's own? I'd prefer a narration in Russian, presumably the original language, and steer clear of some the more gimmicky offerings. The Rozhdestvensky recordings look interesting from this point of view.

[Bryn]

I've a fair number of recordings lurking within various conductor boxes but confess I've never played any of them.

Is the narration Prokofiev's own? I'd prefer a narration in Russian, presumably the original language, and steer clear of some [of] the more gimmicky offerings. The Rozhdestvensky recordings look interesting from this point of view.

Does that not rather defeat Prokofiev's purpose when it comes to young listeners who do not understand Russian? I think that if narration is sought, the native language of the listeners is what is to be preferred, here.

As to the authorship of the narration, see https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sergey-Prokofiev:

"So as not to distract from the music, Prokofiev jettisoned the original set of rhyming verses and wrote a simple prose narrative for the story."