Facing your Terror-Wolf

A way that can make us really brave and face a difficult situation or an emotion that most of us would avoid or would not know how to manage because it is unbearable, is Prokofie. The piece "Peter and the Wolf" is something more than a musical piece for children, it is a deep story of characters and symbolism. It was originally created for children to recognize musical instruments separately, but in its creation it has much more than that because each instrument is in the specific character. Behind it all is the psychology that follows in the formation of our character.

I will start with the protagonist of the story, Peter, the violin of the orchestra. Peter is our childish courage, our independence, our curiosity and mainly the innocence of risk. Children mainly have innocence of risk, they don't see if an action brings bad results or recognize if a person has bad intentions neither if what they are going to do is right or wrong.They only see the world as a playground but also many things to discover .He represents the exploratory side of ourselves, the inner child . Its combination with the violin symbolize the flexibility that a crystal sound needs. It has a playful sound, but never old-fashioned, always bright. At the same time, it is a difficult instrument, just as children are a difficult job for a parent. The violin must have quick perception, with quick movements and flexibility to play the note correctly. There will be no better instrument to describe Peter and his psychology . Human and musical instrument become one, joyful but ultimately serious.

Peter could also be represented by the woodwind instruments, but it fits better for the Bird. The Bird has to do with freedom of mind and hope for it thats why it's Peter's friend. It's the lightness of things, combines quick thinking as well as the intuition to make movements quickly.For him , it's the ability to find a solution .What could be better than the flute ? After all , it's not a coinsidence when we hear a bird we may trying to whistle like it and thats why flute represented it precisely.It has the high tonality that is needed and the fast movement like birds do just like fluttering. Together these two symbolize the lightness of the spirit and inventiveness. It is the side of Peter that thinks creatively but not cunningly like the Cat.

In the Cat's position , we have again a woodwind instrument. The sound has to de like the cat's footsteps , it would be no other than the clarinet..The cat in the story is caution. You know the phrase that says

"If you see a cat fighting a snake, don't be afraid, the cat will win."

The cat is a fighter on its own . She has a strong instinct to survive , certainly the reason she ran away from the Wolf. Her movements are strategically planned always in alert. Instead of a conflict she waits and watches. Peter learned from the Cat how to reconsider something or understand it . "Is this dangerous? Maybe I should do something else? How will I do it?" These thoughts are when we see a difficult situation or "a danger" to analyze.The sound of silence , the sound of the clarinet easily changes the notes with a soft move .It makes it playful, sneaky like it's up to something. And its accuracy in the notes its calculating thought. As if it were meowing in its own way. Escape the danger but never naive like the Duck.

The Duck is naive, she whines and quarrels with the bird, has the question how a bird like this can't swim. A friendly fight is created between the duck and the bird which is the conflict of emotional naivety and quick thinking! In the story she represed our side that is exposed. Our sensibilities and emotions. Our vulnerable personality. In contrast to the bird and the cat, she is clumsy, does't take the right steps, competes and shouts. It's annoying when you hear a duck whining. This is where the oboe comes in to better lighten the situation. An unusual sound but subtle and somehow more human than the cry of the duck. It has this vulnerability that makes it more emotional and more sympathetic. When the Wolf swallows her , what can be interpreted is that fear swallows our emotions and we can't do what our soul desired. But in the end she's still alive, inside the Wolfs belly , like our emotions never lost but only suppressed.

And now we come to the main symbolism of the story, the Wolf. External danger the untamed nature. He isn't evil, however, like the cat who didn't catch the bird , so the Wolf tries to survive but with a different strategy.His strength is the primordial fear.And how does fear sound? With three French horns. Their choice gives us the feeling of a power that you cannot ignore. The horn claims to have a historical relationship with nature, the mountains and wildlife, which is why its sound so deep, dark and imposing. And the presence of the threat gradually became noticeable, the cat immediately recognizes it and climbs up the tree and the bird immediately flies next to her, things that tell us that in danger,strategy and quick thinking work together. But never to go emotional, which the Duck do.She panics. And what the Duck should have done ? Hide maybe go behind the fence of Peter's house or sit in the pond but not running .Just as the Wolf approached to eat her, so the fear overwhelms us if we let it and not think clearly. The cat and the bird are in the tree , side by side as they watch the Wolf trying to reach them, and that says a lot. As long as we are focused and prepared the better we can faced it .

All of these behaviors are innocent with a meaning that each of us can do, and dealing with them requires discipline and experience, as grown-ups have. In Part 2, we will analyze in more depth the grandfather, the hunters, and how music builds adulthood and how Peter managed to face his fears.