Among the stories that shape our reality, we pay particular attention to those addressed to children. In the field of music for the youngest, Sergei Prokofiev’s symphonic tale Peter and the Wolf, written in 1936, proved to be a great success. The renowned composer used sound to bring to life a simple folk tale encouraging us to adopt a courageous and responsible attitude in life. During the festival concert, the narrator of this piece will be Zbigniew Zamachowski, one of the most acclaimed Polish actors of the last few decades.

The concert will open with pieces written for children by Jan Krutul, a former student of Paweł Łukaszewski. Performed by the NFM children’s choirs and the NFM Leopoldinum Orchestra, three excerpts from the Let’s Play Music suite will sound. It was recorded in 2018 on a CD co-produced by the NFM. It is a vibrant sonic journey through the world of artistic inspiration and the diversity of the Earth’s musical cultures. Each movement presents a different idea for how we can embellish our life with music. 

Next, we will hear Peter and the Wolf. One of Prokofiev’s goals when composing this work was to familiarise young children with the sound of various orchestral instruments. Each character in the story has an ascribed instrument: Birdie plays the flute, Duck the oboe, Cat the clarinet, Wolf the horns, and Peter is represented by the strings. The three-movement structure leads from a cheerful introduction, through a dramatic confrontation with the Wolf, to a joyful finale. This symphonic fable delights with both its pervasive humour and its lyricism. If any piece can be said to brilliantly combine education with entertainment, it is this one. It is worth noting that the composition’s premiere coincided with a deterioration in Prokofiev’s situation in his homeland. This was due to the radical criticism of the artistic avant-garde that appeared in the press at the time.