Peter and the Wolf STUDENT JOURNAL

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Support for production of these materials is provided, in part, by the Arkansas Arts Council, an agency of the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage, and Tourism, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

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MEET THE CONDUCTOR!

Geoffrey Robson is the Associate Conductor of the Arkansas Symphony since 2008 and Music Director of the Arkansas Symphony Youth Orchestra since 2012 and also plays the in the First Violin section. Mr. Robson grew up in New York and learned to play the violin when he was very young. He graduated with honors from Michigan State University and earned a Master’s Degree in Music from Yale University. He has given private lessons in violin, piano and . He enjoys being with his friends in Arkansas and around the world.

About the Orchestra: In the Baroque The Baroque Orchestra Period (1600-1750) when Vivaldi wrote The Four Seasons, the orchestra was mostly strings with just a few woodwind, brass and percussion instruments. When Peter and the Wolf was written in 1936, a number of additional instruments were included the orchestra. The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra adjusts the size of the orchestra to perform music from different eras.

th The 20 Century Orchestra

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Peter and the Wolf by

Early one morning, Peter opened the gate and walked out into the big green meadow. On a branch of a big tree sat a little bird, Peter's friend. "All is quiet" chirped the bird happily. Just then a duck came waddling round. She was glad that Peter had not closed the gate and decided to take a nice swim in the deep pond in the meadow. Seeing the duck, the little bird flew down upon on the grass, settled next to her and shrugged his shoulders. "What kind of bird are you if you can't fly?" said he. To this the duck replied "What kind of bird are you if you can't swim?" and dived into the pond. Suddenly, something caught Peter's attention. He noticed a cat crawling through the grass. "Look out!" shouted Peter and the bird immediately flew up into the tree, while the duck quacked angrily at the cat, from the middle of the pond. The cat walked around the tree and thought, "Is it worth climbing up so high? By the time I get there the bird will have flown away." Just then Grandfather came out. He was upset because Peter had gone in the meadow. "It's a dangerous place. If a wolf should come out of the forest, then what would you do?" But Peter paid no attention to his grandfather's words. Boys like him are not afraid of wolves. But grandfather took Peter by the hand, led him home and locked the gate. No sooner had Peter gone, than a big grey wolf came out of the forest. In a twinkling the cat climbed up the tree. The duck quacked, and in her excitement jumped out of the pond. But no matter how hard the duck tried to run, she couldn't escape the wolf. He was getting nearer, nearer, catching up with her. Then he got her, and with one gulp, swallowed her. In the meantime, brave Peter, without the slightest fear, stood behind the closed gate watching all that was going on. He ran home, got a strong rope, and climbed up the high stone wall. One of the branches of the tree, around which the wolf was walking, stretched out over the wall.

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Grabbing hold of the branch, Peter lightly climbed over on to the tree. Peter said to the bird: "Fly down and circle over the wolf's head. Only take care that he doesn't catch you." The bird almost touched the wolf's head with his wings while the wolf snapped angrily at him, from this side and that. Meanwhile, Peter made a lasso and carefully letting it down, caught the wolf by the tail and pulled with all his might. Feeling himself caught, the wolf began to jump wildly trying to get loose. But Peter tied the other end of rope to the tree, and the wolf's jumping only made the rope around his tail tighter. Just then, the hunters came out of the woods, following the wolf's trail and shooting as they went. But Peter, sitting in the tree, said: "Don't shoot! Birdie and I have already caught the wolf. Now help us take him to the zoo." And now, imagine the triumphant procession: Peter at the head; after him the hunters leading the wolf; and winding up the procession, Grandfather and the cat.

Each character in the story has a musical theme played by different instruments in the orchestra.

Bird's Theme is played by a . Duck's Theme is played by an .

Wolf's Theme is played by

. French Horns. Hunter's Theme is played by the woodwinds and Drums. Grandfather's

Theme is played Cat's Theme is played by the by a .

Peter's Theme is played by the Strings in the orchestra. 4

Sergei Prokofiev was born on April 23, 1891, in a rural part of Russia. He began playing the piano at age six, and by the time he was eight, he had written several musical compositions. His mother was his first piano teacher. Then he studied with tutors in his small home town, and finally when he was thirteen, he went to St. Petersburg to study music. At the end of World War I (in 1918), Prokofiev left Russia and lived and worked in Europe. He returned to Russia in 1936, just before the start of World War II. Over the course of his career, he wrote many, many musical works. Some of the most well-known are Peter and the Wolf, Romeo and Juliet, and . Prokofiev visited in 1938 and met . The composer performed the piano version of Peter and the Wolf for Mr. Disney who was impressed, and considered adding a cartoon version of Peter and the Wolf to Fantasia, which was to be released in 1940. Due to World War II, these plans fell through, and it was not until 1946 that Disney released his adaptation of Peter and the Wolf narrated by . It was later reissued as a cartoon, accompanying Fantasia (as a short subject before the film), then separately on home video in the 1990s which is on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4Qjog8Q6Lc&ab_channel=Fructuous. This version makes several changes to the original story. For example:  As the cartoon begins, Peter and his friends already know there is a wolf nearby and are preparing to catch him.

 Peter daydreams of hunting and catching the wolf, and for that purpose exits the garden carrying a wooden pop gun.

 The wolf is shown chasing the cat, who hides in an old tree's hollow trunk. The wolf attacks out of view and returns in view with some of her feathers in his mouth, licking his jaws. Peter, the bird, and the cat assume the duck has been eaten. After the wolf has been caught, the duck comes out of the tree trunk alive. In 1957, for one of his television programs, Disney recalled how Prokofiev himself visited the Disney studio, eventually inspiring the making of this cartoon version.

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The Four Seasons Stories can be told orally or through poetry, music and paintings. Composers often write music to tell a story using sound (without words). Vivaldi composed The Four Seasons based on landscape paintings by Italian artist, Marco Ricci. The composition consists of four pieces of music (Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter), each one containing three movements with tempos in the following order: fast-slow-fast.

When composers write a musical Landscape Paintings by Marco Ricci narrative set to a line of text, a poem, or any other form of writing, that is called program music. Vivaldi's The Four Seasons is one of the earliest examples of program music. Listen to the music on YouTube at: Spring https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKthRw4KjEg&ab_channel=Nodame2006 Summer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g65oWFMSoK0&ab_channel=MariSamuelsen Autumn https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z21_VpNipfg&ab_channel=FrederiekeSaeijs

Winter https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPdk5GaIDjo&ab_channel=VoicesofMusic Antonio Lucio Vivaldi was born in 1678, in Venice, Italy. His father was a professional violinist who taught his young son to play as well. Through his father, Vivaldi met and learned to play the violin from some of the finest musicians and composers in Venice at the time. At the age of 15, Vivaldi began studying to become a priest. Vivaldi's career as a priest was short because health problems prevented him from delivering mass. At the age of 25, Antonio Vivaldi was named master of violin at the Devout Hospital of Mercy in Venice. He composed most of his major works in this position over three decades. In 1716, he was promoted to music director. Anonymous portrait in oils is generally In addition to his regular employment, Vivaldi accepted a believed to be of Vivaldi number of short-term positions funded by patrons in Mantua and Rome. It was during his term in Mantua, from around 1717 to 1721, that he wrote his four-

6 part masterpiece, The Four Seasons. Vivaldi wrote four sonnets to go with the music. A sonnet is a poem of fourteen lines. Each line is usually ten syllables. In the music, each "Season" consists of a three-movement concerto. The first movement is fast, the second slow and the third fast. A translation of the original Italian is provided below. (Some, but not all lines in the English version are ten syllables.)

La Primavera (Spring) L'Estate (Summer) I. Allegro-- I. Allegro non molto—(Fast) Festive Spring has arrived, Under the heat of the burning summer sun, The birds salute it with their happy song. Languish man and flock; the pine is parched. And the brooks, caressed by little Zephyrs, The cuckoo finds its voice, and suddenly, Flow with a sweet murmur. The turtledove and goldfinch sing. The sky is covered with a black mantle, A gentle breeze blows, And thunder, and lightning, announce a storm. But suddenly, the north wind appears. When they are silent, the birds The shepherd weeps because, overhead, Return to sing their lovely song. Lies the fierce storm, and his destiny. II. Largo e pianissimo sempre-- II. Adagio (Slow) And in the meadow, rich with flowers, His tired limbs are deprived of rest To the sweet murmur of leaves and plants, By his fear of lightning and fierce thunder, The goatherd sleeps, with his faithful dog at his side. And by furious swarms of flies and hornets. III. Danza pastorale. Allegro-- III. Presto—(Very Fast) To the festive sound of pastoral , Alas, how just are his fears, Dance nymphs and shepherds, Thunder and lightening fill the Heavens, and the hail At Spring's brilliant appearance. Slices the tops of the corn and other grain.

L'Autunno (Autumn) L'Inverno (Winter) I. Allegro—(fast) I. Allegro non molto—(fast) The peasants celebrate with dance and song, Frozen and trembling in the icy snow, The joy of a rich harvest. In the severe blast of the horrible wind, And, full of Bacchus's liquor, As we run, we constantly stamp our feet, They finish their celebration with sleep. And our teeth chatter in the cold. II. Adagio molto—(slow) II. Largo—(slow) Each peasant ceases his dance and song. To spend happy and quiet days near the fire, The mild air gives pleasure, While, outside, the rain soaks hundreds. And the season invites many III. Allegro—(fast) To enjoy a sweet slumber. We walk on the ice with slow steps, III. Allegro—(fast) And tread carefully, for fear of falling. The hunters, at the break of dawn, go to the hunt. Symphony, If we go quickly, we slip and fall to the ground. With horns, guns, and dogs they are off, Again we run on the ice, The beast flees, and they follow its trail. Until it cracks and opens. Already fearful and exhausted by the great noise, We hear, from closed doors, Of guns and dogs, and wounded, Sirocco, Boreas, and all the winds in battle. The exhausted beast tries to flee, but dies This is winter, but it brings joy.

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AFTER THE CONCERT (What are your thoughts?)

Which piece did you like the best?

What about it did you like?

Which piece was your least favorite?

Why?

What was most surprising about the concert?

What would you like to tell the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra – conductor?

players?

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