Download Prokofiev-Peter - Atlanta Symphony Orchestra

Notes on the Program by Ken Meltzer
Peter and the Wolf, Opus 67 (1936)
Sergei Prokofiev was born in Sontsovka, Russia, on April 23, 1891, and died in
Moscow, Russia, on March 5, 1953. The first performance of Peter and the Wolf
took place at the Moscow Children’s Musical Theater on May 2, 1936, with the
composer conducting. Peter and the Wolf is scored for narrator, flute, oboe, clarinet,
bassoon, three horns, trumpet, trombone, bass trombone, timpani, tambourine,
triangle, timpani, snare drum, castanets, bass drum and strings. Approximate
performance time is twenty-five mimutes.
In January of 1900, eight-year-old Sergei Prokofiev traveled to Moscow for the first time.
While in the great city, Prokofiev saw his first ballet, Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty, as
well operas by Charles Gounod (Faust) and Alexander Borodin (Prince Igor). Upon
returning to the country and his home in Sontsokva, Prokofiev boldly announced that he
too would compose an opera. In the summer of 1900, Prokofiev, now all of nine, began
the composition of his first opera, based upon a fairy tale of his own creation, The Giant.
The opera tells the story of a giant who is at first defeated by a king, but ultimately
emerges victorious. As it turned out, Prokofiev’s fascination with fairy tales would far
outlast his childhood, resulting in some of his finest compositions, including the opera
The Love for Three Oranges (1921), the ballet Cinderella (1940-44), and his “Symphonic
Fairy Tale for Children,” Peter and the Wolf.
In the Summer of 1935, Prokofiev, accompanied by his wife and two sons, attended a
performance by the Moscow Children’s Musical Theater. Natalia Satz, director of the
company, recalled that Prokofiev was quite an imposing presence: “In his foreign suit he
seemed stiff and arrogant. He answered questions unwillingly, in one syllable.”
Nevertheless, Prokofiev seemed to have enjoyed himself, and returned with his family the
following week for another performance. In February 1936, the Moscow Children’s
Musical Theater moved to its new home across from the great Bolshoi. Prokofiev
returned once again and expressed his enthusiasm for the company’s mission. Satz
responded by suggesting that Prokofiev compose a new work for her troupe. And so, the
idea for Peter and the Wolf was born.
Prokofiev and Satz decided to present a fairy tale for narrator and orchestra in which the
characters would be portrayed by various instruments of the orchestra. “We must start
with something specific, something full of contrasts, something that makes a strong
impression. The most important thing is to find a common language with the kids,”
Prokofiev insisted. “The distinct characters will be reflected in the distinct quality of the
various musical timbres; each character will have its own leitmotif.” Prokofiev was so
enthusiastic about the project that he agreed to compose the work without a set fee
agreement. The Moscow Children’s Theater could feel free to pay whatever amount it
felt was appropriate and could afford.
Satz originally assigned the writing of the spoken narration to the young poet Nina
Saksonskaya. However, Prokofiev felt Saksonskaya’s rhymed text lacked the kind of
directness and simplicity that would please his intended audience. Satz recalled a
meeting between Saksonskaya and Prokofiev in which the poet was “huddled against the
door, or rather clinging to it. Sparks were flying from the composer’s eyes.” The
composer immediately decided to substitute his own prose narration. On April 15, 1936,
after just a few days’ work, Prokofiev completed the piano score for Peter and the Wolf.
Prokofiev finished the orchestration nine days later.
The premiere of Peter and the Wolf, led by the composer, took place at the Moscow
Children's Theater on May 2, 1936. Unfortunately, Satz, who was scheduled to serve as
narrator, became ill just before the performance. Another narrator took Satz’s place at the
last minute, and the performance suffered accordingly. Two weeks later, Satz returned as
narrator for a performance at the Central Pioneer Palace in Moscow. The audience was
enraptured, and Peter and the Wolf quickly became one of Prokofiev’s most beloved
works, a status it maintains to this day.
In truth, Prokofiev was somewhat frustrated by the fact that Peter and the Wolf received
such adulation, while so many other compositions he viewed as being of greater artistic
merit languished in relative obscurity. Still, Prokofiev had to derive considerable
satisfaction from his achievements in Peter and the Wolf. By making the instruments the
protagonists of a captivating fairy tale adventure, Prokofiev offers children a superb
introduction to the beauties of orchestral music. And the music itself is so attractive and
dramatically apt that Peter and the Wolf continues to charm the listener long after the
magical first encounter.
Light Cavalry Overture (1866)
Franz von Suppé was born in Spalato, Dalmatia (Split, Croatia), on April 18, 1819,
and died in Vienna, Austria, on May 21, 1895. The premiere of Light Cavalry took
place at the Carltheater in Vienna on March 21, 1866. The Light Cavalry Overture
is scored for piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns,
two trumpets, three trombones, percussion and strings. Approximate performance
time is eight minutes.
Francesco Ezechiele Ermenegildo Cavaliere Suppé Demelli, better known as Franz von
Suppé, was born in the Dalmatian port city of Spalato (now, Split, Croatia). Suppé's
father, an Austrian civil servant working in Dalmatia, opposed the idea of his son
pursuing a musical career. Nevertheless, at the age of thirteen, Suppé composed a fullscale Catholic Mass entitled Missa dalmatica. The young Suppé studied law at the
University of Padua, but continued secretly to pursue his musical interests.
After his father’s death in 1835, Suppé and his mother moved to Vienna. There, he
studied music with Ignaz von Seyfried and Simon Sechter. The former helped Suppé to
gain his first (albeit unpaid) important musical position in 1840, as third Kappellmeister
at the Theater an der Josefstadt in Vienna. In 1841, Suppé scored his first great success at
the Josefstadt Theater with his incidental music to a play entitled Jung lustig, im Alter
traurig, oder Die Folgen der Erziehung. The favorable reception given this work led to
several compositions for the Theater an der Josefstadt, including the incidental music to
the play Ein morgen, ein Mittag and ein Abend in Wien (Morning, Noon and Night in
Vienna), which premiered on February 26, 1844.
In 1845, Suppé became Kappellmeister at the famous Theater an der Wien and served in
that capacity for seventeen years. There, he achieved renown both as a composer and
conductor. He later served in similar capacities for the Kaitheater (1862-65) and
Carltheater (1865-1882). Suppé was also an accomplished operatic basso and appeared in
several regional productions. Suppé's prolific musical output included songs, operettas,
full-scale operas, liturgical works, chamber music and symphonies. Suppé's Das
Pensionat (1860) is considered the first successful Viennese operetta, but the composer
was proudest of his Boccaccio (1879), a work he deemed “the greatest success of my
life.” Suppé was at work on yet another operetta, Das Modell, at the time of his death in
1895 at the age of seventy-six.
Today, Franz von Suppé is best remembered for a handful of Overtures, including Light
Cavalry. The operetta, with a text by C. Costa, and music by Suppé , premiered at the
Carltheater on March 21, 1866. The sparkling Overture has long been a concert hall
favorite, as well as a regular presence in movies, television shows and ads.