«peter und der wolf»

A young boy who wants to play outside; a grandfather who wants to protect the boy; a duck who makes fun of a bird that can’t swim; a bird that makes fun of the duck because it can’t fly; a cat that wants to eat the bird, and a greedy wolf that unceremoniously wants to eat everything that crosses its path. These are the well-known ingredients of Sergei Prokofiev’s musical fairy tale “Peter and the wolf”.

This well-loved symphonic tale, first performed in Moscow in 1936, is a story of the teamwork of two friends, of the triumph of intellectual inspiration over physical strength, and ultimately also a story of the courage (or perhaps: the childish recklessness) involved when one decides for once to ignore the authority of one’s grandfather.

In musical terms, “Peter and the wolf” is highly attractive and charming. Individual orchestral instruments are introduced one by one, and lovingly crafted melodies are assigned to the protagonists of the story. The musical accompaniment is programmatic in nature – thus the flute chirps, the oboe quacks, a clarinet quietly slinks along and the horns announce an ominous, evil presence. Although almost 90 years have passed since it was written, this work remains a wonderful introduction to the world of classical music.

The story will be narrated by the legendary Andermatt skier Bernhard Russi, accompanied by the Swiss Orchestra conducted by Lena-Lisa Wüstendörfer. The individual instruments will be introduced by means of brief solo presentations at the beginning of the concert.