THERE IS NO better way to introduce children to classical music than with Prokofiev’s musical fairy tale of the little boy who, with the help of a bird, outsmarted the big, bad wolf. A new retelling by Janet Schulman follows the basic story, but with a kinder ending for both the big, bad wolf and the argumentative duck. Peter Malone’s paintings have the luminous quality of old Russian masters.

Retells the orchestral fairy tale of the boy who, ignoring his grandfather's warnings, proceeds to capture a wolf.

Reprint. Originally published: New York: Viking, 1982.

The story of Peter and the Wolf continues to delight children and adults all over the world. At the heart of the tale is the message that you can't be a hero if you don't take risks.

Retells the orchestral fairy tale of the boy who, ignoring his grandfather's warnings, proceeds to capture a wolf.

THERE IS NO better way to introduce children to classical music than with Prokofiev’s musical fairy tale of the little boy (played by all the strings of the orchestra) who, with the help of a bird (played by the flute), outsmarted the big, bad wolf (played by the French horns). And now with this book and CD package, children can look and listen all at the same time. A new retelling by Janet Schulman follows the basic story, but with a kinder ending for both the big bad wolf and the argumentative duck. Peter Malone’s paintings have the luminous quality of old Russian masters. The CD, with music performed by the Cincinnati Pops and word-for-word narration by Peter A. Thomas, was made exclusively for this book and CD package.

Upon its premiere in July 1938 during a time of rising tension between the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, Sergei Eisenstein's epic film Alexander Nevsky - with a score by preeminent composer Sergei Prokofiev - was widely lauded by Soviet critics and audiences. The score, which Prokofiev wouldarrange as a separate cantata the following year, approximates the film's narrative, depicting the Proto-Russian citizens of Novgorod's heroic victory over the invading Teutonic Knights. A transparent allegory of contemporary Soviet might in the fact of Nazi war-mongering, the film is regarded as aclassic exemplar of state intervention in the arts, commissioned by Stalin to bolster patriotism and national pride, and Prokofiev's cantata remains one of his most performed works.Drawing from a wide range of archival materials, musicologist Kevin Bartig reassesses the genesis of Prokofiev's Alexander Nevsky cantata, as well as the various historical projects that have given the music an enduring place in the international performance canon. Part of The Oxford KeynotesSeries, this volume considers the ways in which time, place, socio-political concerns, and critical traditions mediate the various meanings of an iconic work like Prokofiev's, and asks how musicians and listeners alike have encountered its music both historically and today.