The Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra (QPO) will be performing the “Peter and the Wolf” concert tomorrow, Friday, September 16. This musical composition is a “symphonic fairy tale for children” written by Sergei Prokofiev in 1936.
Conductor for the concert is Giovanni Pasini, and narrator - Christoph Schmitz. The concert will be held at Hamilton International School Theatre in Mesaimeer. Ticket price is at QR100 and can be purchased via QPO website.
“Music stimulates imagination and creativity, and one of the best pieces to start one’s journey into classical music is without doubt “Peter and the Wolf” by Russian composer Prokofiev,” Pasini told The Peninsula. “Each character of the story is associated to an instrument and a melody, and as the story evolves these melodies and instruments interact with each-other’s following the story narrated by the magnetic Christoph Schmitz. A wonderful opportunity for your children to hear catchy tunes and learn all about the orchestra!,” he continued.
The conductor emphasised that “one of the main tasks of any professional music ensemble anywhere in the world is to raise awareness towards music and complex music structures among the youngest generation, and QPO is no exception,” and the Peter and the Wolf concert is among the many performances of the Philharmonic that addresses this duty.
On April 23, 1891, Prokofiev was born in Sontsovska in Ukraine, and his mother, a pianist, taught him his first musical lessons. He began writing small piano pieces when he was six years old, and by the time he was nine, he had completed The Giant, an opera for children that would be followed by three more.
Prokofiev quickly earned a reputation as an anti-romantic composer of audacious rhythms and harmonies. He was a prodigy pianist whose playing was marked by passion, strength, great articulation, and a mastery of striking the chords. In both pre-revolutionary Russia and subsequently under the Stalinist Soviet Union, he became an acclaimed composer and pianist.
