Magical Musical Beasts

I remember very distinctly when my father bought me my very first LP. (Do you remember those circular black things that served as our medium for listening to music?)

I was about eight years old when my father put this black thing on our record player and suddenly an entire orchestra burst forth from the loudspeaker. The work was “The Young Persons Guide to the Orchestra” by Benjamin Britten.

25 minutes later my father flipped the disc over and then the first thing I heard was the voice of a very well spoken Englishman announcing “Peter and the Wolf”. The next 30 minutes became a journey of excitement and imagination as the story of Peter, his animal friends and, of course the big bad wolf unfolded with dramatic orchestra music! During the next few years I must have listened to that recording over a hundred times. I knew the narrators words backwards and I knew all the instruments of the orchestra that represented the various characters.

Now, in my 60’s, and looking back over my career I realize that the day my father first played Peter and the Wolf to me was the original foundation of my love of music which would ultimately lead to becoming a professional orchestral conductor.

I have conducted the work many times over the years and even once took the role of the narrator. Each time I marvel at the composer’s ingenuity at writing a piece that combines text, music and imagination that millions of people have experienced. I’m sure all of you reading this remember when you first heard it.

The genesis of the work stems back to 1936 when the Russian composer, Sergei Prokofiev, returned to his homeland after several years of globetrotting. Upon his return he was commissioned by the Moscow Central Children’s Theater to produce a work that would teach children about symphonic music. Prokofiev and the theater’s director, Natalia Satz, between them came up with Peter and the Wolf.

Satz would later recall that “We came to the conclusion that we had to find characters that could easily be associated with the concrete sound of musical instruments.” Prokofiev agreed and stated that “Sharply contrasting characters must have correspondingly contrasting sound colors and every role must have it’s own leitmotif.” (A leitmotif is a theme that is always associated with a character).

Prokofiev wrote the story himself and with his great compositional skill created a work that has captivated children and adults alike for the past 88 years.

The story is simple, but effective. Young Peter, aided by his animal friends, disobeys his grandfather and captures a wolf. Instead of killing the predator Peter protects it from some trigger happy hunters and leads a triumphant parade to the zoo. Everyone more or less ends up alive although we have to decide for ourselves about the duck as she can be heard quacking in the wolf’s stomach whilst the narrator tells us that “in his haste the wolf had swallowed her whole!”

Well, now that you have gotten this far in the article its time to let you know that you can revisit Peter and the Wolf right here at Lakeside on Saturday November 30. The Lake Chapala Orchestra is presenting a unique version of this much loved work in a concert entitled “Magical Musical Beasts”.

The orchestra has partnered with renowned puppeteers, Fatima Flores and Remys Carvajal, and the students of the Instituto Internacional to create a live action version of this masterpiece featuring life sized puppets. Designed and operated by the students the puppets will act out the story whilst the narration and music will be performed by Donna Burroughs and the Lake Chapala Orchestra. Everyone involved will bring Prokofiev’s legendary work to life in a way rarely seen. Wait until you see the wolf!

This will be the final concert of the orchestra’s 2024 season and the other “musical beasts” will be Ravels take on 5 fairy stories in his “Mother Goose Suite” and The Wasps Overture by Vaughan Williams.

The concert takes place on Saturday November 30 with 2 performances at 2pm and 4.30pm at Lakeside Presbyterian Church in Riberas. Tickets can be reserved by emailing LCCOtickets@gmail.com