The pianos open the work in a brief introduction that seems to suggest the roar of the lions, before the Royal March begins, with it's suggestions of the exotic in it's theme. Hens and Cocks are as true to nature as the composer can make them, followed by Wild Donkeys of unexpected rapidity of motion, in contrast to the lumbering Tortoises, who offer a can-can at the slowest possible speed, putting a foot wrong here and there. The Elephant is naturally represented by the double bass in an episode that includes a direct quotation of the highly inappropriate Ballet of the Sylphs by Berlioz. The pianos alone then imitate the capricious leaps of the Kangaroos, to be followed by an evocation of the Aquarium. People with Long Ears, critics, are portrayed by piercing whistles and the braying of donkeys, while pianos and clarinet bring in the Cuckoo, followed by the rest of the aviary, with the help of the flute. The Russian composer Sergey Prokofiev wrote his Peter and the Wolf in 1936 to introduce to children the instruments of the orchestra. He had taken his two sons to see performances at the Moscow Children's Music Theatre and this had suggested to him the possibility of a composition of this kind. The boy Peter, represented by the strings, is playing in the meadow, forbidden territory. A bird, shown by the flute, sings in a tree: a duck, the oboe, swims in the pond, and a cat, the clarinet, comes onto the scene, sending the bird up to a higher branch. Peter's grandfather, the bassoon, warns the boy not to venture out, but meanwhile a wolf, the French horns, comes into the meadow, chases and swallows the duck whole, and lays siege to the cat and the bird, both now up the tree. Peter tells the bird to distract the wolf, while he catches it with a rope. Hunters then approach, their guns shown by the drums, and help to carry the wolf off to the zoo in a grand procession, with the duck still quacking inside the wolf and grandfather still complaining.
1 Carnival of the Animals: Introduction and Royal March of the Lion
2 Carnival of the Animals: Hens and Cockerels
3 Carnival of the Animals: Wild Asses
4 Carnival of the Animals: Tortoises
5 Carnival of the Animals: The Elephant
6 Carnival of the Animals: Kangaroos
7 Carnival of the Animals: Aquarium
8 Carnival of the Animals: People with Long Ears
9 Carnival of the Animals: The Cuckoo in the Depths of the Woods
10 Carnival of the Animals: Aviary
11 Carnival of the Animals: Pianists
12 Carnival of the Animals: Fossils
13 Carnival of the Animals: The Swan
14 Carnival of the Animals: Finale
15 Peter and the Wolf, Op.67: Peter in the Meadow
16 Peter and the Wolf, Op.67: The Bird
17 Peter and the Wolf, Op.67: The Duck
18 Peter and the Wolf, Op.67: The Cat
19 Peter and the Wolf, Op.67: Grandfather
20 Peter and the Wolf, Op.67: Peter Does Not Listen
21 Peter and the Wolf, Op.67: Grandfather Takes Peter Home
22 Peter and the Wolf, Op.67: The Wolf
23 Peter and the Wolf, Op.67: The Cat Climbs the Tree
24 Peter and the Wolf, Op.67: The Duck Jumps Out of the Pond
25 Peter and the Wolf, Op.67: The Wolf Swallows the Duck
26 Peter and the Wolf, Op.67: The Cat and the Bird in the Trees
27 Peter and the Wolf, Op.67: The Wolf Prowls in Wait
28 Peter and the Wolf, Op.67: Peter Takes a Rope and Climbs the Tree
29 Peter and the Wolf, Op.67: He Tells the Bird to Distract the Wolf
30 Peter and the Wolf, Op.67: Peter Catches the Wolf with a Lasso
31 Peter and the Wolf, Op.67: The Wolf Tries to Escape
32 Peter and the Wolf, Op.67: The Hunters Approach with Their Guns
33 Peter and the Wolf, Op.67: Peter Suggests They All Take the Wolf to the Zoo
34 Peter and the Wolf, Op.67: They All March Together, Peter, Then the Hunters with the Wolf
35 Peter and the Wolf, Op.67: And After Them Grandfather, Complaining, and the Cat
36 The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, Op. 34 (Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Purcell): Theme
37 The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, Op. 34 (Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Purcell): Variations (Woodwind)
38 The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, Op. 34 (Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Purcell): Variations (Strings)
39 The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, Op. 34 (Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Purcell): Variations (Brass)
40 The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, Op. 34 (Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Purcell): Variations (Percussion)
41 The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, Op. 34 (Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Purcell): Fugue
The pianos open the work in a brief introduction that seems to suggest the roar of the lions, before the Royal March begins, with it's suggestions of the exotic in it's theme. Hens and Cocks are as true to nature as the composer can make them, followed by Wild Donkeys of unexpected rapidity of motion, in contrast to the lumbering Tortoises, who offer a can-can at the slowest possible speed, putting a foot wrong here and there. The Elephant is naturally represented by the double bass in an episode that includes a direct quotation of the highly inappropriate Ballet of the Sylphs by Berlioz. The pianos alone then imitate the capricious leaps of the Kangaroos, to be followed by an evocation of the Aquarium. People with Long Ears, critics, are portrayed by piercing whistles and the braying of donkeys, while pianos and clarinet bring in the Cuckoo, followed by the rest of the aviary, with the help of the flute. The Russian composer Sergey Prokofiev wrote his Peter and the Wolf in 1936 to introduce to children the instruments of the orchestra. He had taken his two sons to see performances at the Moscow Children's Music Theatre and this had suggested to him the possibility of a composition of this kind. The boy Peter, represented by the strings, is playing in the meadow, forbidden territory. A bird, shown by the flute, sings in a tree: a duck, the oboe, swims in the pond, and a cat, the clarinet, comes onto the scene, sending the bird up to a higher branch. Peter's grandfather, the bassoon, warns the boy not to venture out, but meanwhile a wolf, the French horns, comes into the meadow, chases and swallows the duck whole, and lays siege to the cat and the bird, both now up the tree. Peter tells the bird to distract the wolf, while he catches it with a rope. Hunters then approach, their guns shown by the drums, and help to carry the wolf off to the zoo in a grand procession, with the duck still quacking inside the wolf and grandfather still complaining.