''David Bowie Narrates Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf'' is a

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be #Relationship to other music traditions, distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical mu ...

album originally released by

RCA Red Seal Records RCA Red Seal is a classical music label whose origin dates to 1902 and is currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment. History The first "Gramophone Record Red Seal" discs were issued in 1901.Jay David Saks Jay David Saks (24 January 1945 – 16 November 2024) was an American music producer. Biography Born in New York City, Saks grew up in The Bronx. His older sister was the cellist Toby Saks. He studied at the Juilliard School, and later contin ...

, the first side contains a performance of

Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''. , group=n ( – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor who l ...

's ''

Peter and the Wolf ''Peter and the Wolf'' ( rus, Петя и волк, Pétya i volk, p=ˈpʲetʲə i volk) Op. 67, a "symphonic tale for children", is a Program music , programmatic musical composition written by Sergei Prokofiev in 1936. The narrator tells a ...

'' (1936), with

narration Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the ...

by the English musician

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

, who contributed to the project for his young son. The second side contains a music-only recording of

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten of Aldeburgh (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, o ...

's ''

The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra ''The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra'', Op. 34, is a 1945 musical composition by Benjamin Britten with a subtitle ''Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Purcell''. It was based on the second movement, "Rondeau", of the ''Abdelazer'' suit ...

'' (1945); both recordings were performed by the

Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription concerts, n ...

conducted by

Eugene Ormandy Eugene Ormandy (born Jenő Blau; November 18, 1899 – March 12, 1985) was a Hungarian-born American conductor and violinist, best known for his association with the Philadelphia Orchestra, as its music director. His 44-year association with ...

. Upon release, the album reached number 136 on the US ''Billboard'' Top LPs & Tape chart and was

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

-nominated in 1979. The recording has received positive reviews from critics and writers, with Bowie's appearance garnering praise as "charming" and engaging. It has since been reissued with different artworks and additional recordings, including of

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popula ...

's '' The Nutcracker Suite'' (1892) and

Camille Saint-Saëns Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (, , 9October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic music, Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Piano ...

's ''

The Carnival of the Animals ''The Carnival of the Animals'' () is a humorous musical suite of 14 movements, including " The Swan", by the French composer Camille Saint-Saëns. About 25 minutes in duration, it was written for private performance by two pianos and chambe ...

'' (1922).

Overview

The Russian composer

composed ''

'' with the intention of introducing younger children to

orchestral music An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, a ...

. The composition tells the story of a boy named Peter who travels outside his grandfather's garden in hopes of finding a

big bad wolf The Big Bad Wolf is a fictional wolf appearing in several cautionary tales, including some of ''Grimms' Fairy Tales''. Versions of this character have appeared in numerous works, and it has become a generic archetype of a menacing predatory ant ...

. Each animal, including a duck, a cat and a bird, is represented by a different musical instrument, with a

clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...

representing the cat and a trio of

French horn The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most o ...

s representing the

wolf The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a Canis, canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of Canis lupus, subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, includin ...

. The composition originally premiered in Moscow in 1936 to lukewarm reception and remained relatively obscure in the western world until

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...

adapted it into an animated short film in 1946. Since Prokofiev's death in 1953, ''Peter and the Wolf'' has been regarded as one of his greatest pieces. There have reportedly been over 400 recordings of ''Peter and the Wolf'' since its premiere. The composer

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; born Louis Bernstein; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was th ...

had narrated a version of ''Peter and the Wolf'' for

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

in 1960, while the actor

Sean Connery Sir Thomas Sean Connery (25 August 1930 – 31 October 2020) was a Scottish actor. He was the first actor to Portrayal of James Bond in film, portray the fictional British secret agent James Bond (literary character), James Bond in motion pic ...

narrated another in 1971 that was performed by the London

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, England. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable recording contracts and important engagemen ...

. For their version,

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

initially wanted the actors

Alec Guinness Sir Alec Guinness (born Alec Guinness de Cuffe; 2 April 1914 – 5 August 2000) was an English actor. In the BFI, British Film Institute listing of 1999 of BFI Top 100 British films, the 100 most important British films of the 20th century ...

and

Peter Ustinov Sir Peter Alexander Ustinov (16 April 192128 March 2004) was a British actor, director and writer. An internationally known raconteur, he was a fixture on television talk shows and lecture circuits for much of his career. Ustinov received #Awa ...

for

, but both turned the project down, leading the label to hire

. Bowie contributed to the project as a gift for his then seven-year-old son

Duncan Duncan may refer to: People * Duncan (given name), various people * Duncan (surname), various people * Clan Duncan * Justice Duncan (disambiguation) Places * Duncan Creek (disambiguation) * Duncan River (disambiguation) * Duncan Lake (di ...

. Bowie's then-collaborator

Brian Eno Brian Peter George Jean-Baptiste de la Salle Eno (, born 15 May 1948), also mononymously known as Eno, is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, visual artist, and activist. He is best known for his pioneering contributions to ambien ...

had appeared on a 1975 recording narrated by

Vivian Stanshall Vivian Stanshall (born Victor Anthony Stanshall; 21 March 1943 – 5 March 1995) was an English singer-songwriter, musician, author, poet and wit, best known for his work with the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, for his exploration of the British uppe ...

. The project was produced and managed by

Jay David Saks Jay David Saks (24 January 1945 – 16 November 2024) was an American music producer. Biography Born in New York City, Saks grew up in The Bronx. His older sister was the cellist Toby Saks. He studied at the Juilliard School, and later contin ...

. The music was performed by the

, conducted by

, and recorded at the Scottish Rite Temple in Philadelphia on 8 October 1975. The orchestra consisted of a

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...

bassoon The bassoon is a musical instrument in the woodwind family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuosity ...

, three horns,

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

trombone The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the Standing wave, air c ...

timpani Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion instrument, percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a Membranophone, membrane called a drumhead, ...

, drum, two

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

and

double bass The double bass (), also known as the upright bass, the acoustic bass, the bull fiddle, or simply the bass, is the largest and lowest-pitched string instrument, chordophone in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding rare additions ...

. Bowie recorded his narration at RCA Studio B in New York City in December 1977, after completing promotional appearances for his album '' "Heroes"''. Ormandy did not know who Bowie was and, upon learning he was a rock star, was skeptical of his involvement. Bowie and Ormandy never met, but after hearing the final product, Ormandy enjoyed his performance.

Release history

''David Bowie Narrates Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf'' was released on 2 May 1978 on the

RCA Red Seal RCA Red Seal is a classical music label whose origin dates to 1902 and is currently owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment. History The first "Gramophone Record Red Seal" discs were issued in 1901.side A, and a music-only recording of the English composer

's '' Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra'' (1945) appeared on side B, recorded by the Philadelphia Orchestra in late March 1974. Another musical drama, it uses symphonic orchestration to guide the story. Promotional material for the LP used the tagline: "What happens when a world-famous maestro teams up with a

pop-rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre and form of rock music characterized by a strong commercial appeal, with more emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than standard rock musi ...

dynamo?" The LP peaked at number 136 on the US ''Billboard'' Top LPs & Tape chart on 9 June and remained on the chart for eight weeks. At the

21st Annual Grammy Awards The 21st Annual Grammy Awards were held in 1979, and were broadcast live on American television. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1978. Award winners *Record of the Year ** Phil Ramone (producer) & Billy Joel for " ...

in 1979, ''Peter and the Wolf'' was nominated for Best Recording for Children, losing the award to ''

The Muppet Show ''The Muppet Show'' is a variety sketch comedy television series created by Jim Henson and starring the Muppets. It is presented as a variety show, featuring recurring sketches and musical numbers interspersed with ongoing plot-lines with ru ...

'', the first

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs ( ...

to the television show of the same name. The original 1978 US LP was pressed on green vinyl and included liner notes written by Mary Campbell. The album has subsequently been made available on 8-track, CD and

MP3 MP3 (formally MPEG-1 Audio Layer III or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III) is a coding format for digital audio developed largely by the Fraunhofer Society in Germany under the lead of Karlheinz Brandenburg. It was designed to greatly reduce the amount ...

. ''Peter and the Wolf'' has been reissued a number of times on CD with varying extra tracks and three album covers; the 1992 US CD release depicted a wolf wearing a mask of Bowie's face. This release also included an additional recording of

's '' The Nutcracker Suite'' (1892), again performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra, conducted by Ormandy, and produced by Max Wilcox. A 2004 reissue replaced the Tchaikovsky piece with a recording of

's ''

'' (1922). Another reissue by RCA/Music On Vinyl followed on 23 October 2014.

Reception

''Peter and the Wolf'' has received positive reviews from music critics. Reviewers described Bowie's narration as "charming", "splendid" and "engaging". On release, ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

''s Stephen Demorest felt Bowie had found "his most charming guise since ''

Hunky Dory ''Hunky Dory'' is the fourth studio album by the English musician David Bowie, released in the United Kingdom on 17December 1971 through RCA Records. Following a break from touring and recording, Bowie settled down to write new songs, composi ...

''". In later decades, author Thomas Jerome Seabrook highlighted Bowie's "wide-eyed ndenthusiastic delivery", while Peter Dobrin of ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...

'' praised Bowie's use of different voices for the characters, saying: "Even in 1978 and even in a children's recording, Bowie was imploring his listeners to think differently about the power of ambiguity." Chris O'Leary, however, found Bowie's voice to be too low in the mix. The music from the Philadelphia Orchestra was also positively received. Other critics praised the project as a whole, with

Jon Savage Jon Savage (born Jonathan Malcolm Sage, 2 September 1953) is an English writer, broadcaster and music journalist, best known for his definitive history of the Sex Pistols and punk music, ''England's Dreaming'' (1991). Early life and educati ...

of '' Sounds'' magazine calling the LP a "perfect" introductory album to classical music for young children, or "if you're a 'child of all ages'." A review published in the ''

Reno Gazette-Journal The ''Reno Gazette Journal'' is a daily newspaper in Reno, Nevada. It is owned and operated by the Gannett Company. History The newspaper came into being when the ''Nevada State Journal'' (founded on November 23, 1870) and the ''Reno Evening ...

'' called the project "surprisingly refreshing" and declared: In a review for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, Joe Viglione called the LP a "remarkable and well-crafted project". Paul Howlett of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' felt the project "sits quite neatly" in Bowie's discography. In his book ''The Complete David Bowie'',

Nicholas Pegg Nicholas Pegg is a British actor, director and writer. Education Educated at Nottingham High School and graduating with a Master of Arts in English Literature from the University of Exeter, Pegg subsequently trained at the Guildford School of ...

writes: "While not to be compared with

John Gielgud Sir Arthur John Gielgud ( ; 14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000) was an English actor and theatre director whose career spanned eight decades. With Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, he was one of the trinity of actors who dominated the Britis ...

's definitive recording, Bowie's narration has genuine charm. This is an accomplished piece of work and a fascinating curio from a period in which his other unlikely collaborations embraced figures as diverse as

Marc Bolan Marc Bolan ( ; born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English guitarist, singer-songwriter and poet. He was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T. Rex (band), T. Rex. Bolan strongly i ...

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, comedian, entertainer and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwi ...

and

Marlene Dietrich Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however, Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...

Track listing

Track lengths were not listed on the original 1978 LP. The below lengths are from the 1992 US release. Side one #''

'', Op. 67 (

) – 27:08 Side two #'' Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra'', Op. 34 (

) – 17:09 1992 US release #'' The Nutcracker Suite'' (

) – 23:57

Personnel

According to Chris O'Leary: *

–

narrator Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the ...

(side A) *

– all instruments *

–

conductor Conductor or conduction may refer to: Biology and medicine * Bone conduction, the conduction of sound to the inner ear * Conduction aphasia, a language disorder Mathematics * Conductor (ring theory) * Conductor of an abelian variety * Cond ...

Production *Jay David Saks / Max Wilcox – producer *Paul Goodman –

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

*J.J. Stelmach – art direction *Mary Campbell – liner notes * Tom Kelley – cover photo

Charts

References

Sources

* * * * *

External links

* {{Authority control David Bowie albums RCA Records albums 1978 albums Classical albums by English artists Peter and the Wolf Philadelphia Orchestra albums Albums conducted by Eugene Ormandy Recordings of Sergei Prokofiev