Every school child has heard Sergei Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf at one time or another. The classic orchestral composition, orginally composed for a Moscow children’s theater, is not only vastly entertaining but an excellent introduction to the classical orchestra as each character is represented by a musical motif taken up by a particular instrument; the strings represents Peter, the horns represents the wolf, the flute represents a bird, and so on. Prokofiev not only composed the music but also wrote the story and narration.

This recording is different for it is not the orchestral version but Prokofiev’s own reduction for piano. The pianist is Daniel Goodman and Jack McCreless narrates the story. It actually works very well. Although we lose the timbre of the instruments, we can focus on the actual musical theme representing the various characters. Goodman’s interpretation is excellent as is McCreless’ ability to communicate this delightful tale. It will not replace the splendor of the orchestral version but this solo piano work is still thoroughly enchanting.

The piece is available in 128kbps MP3 from The Piano Society.

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