This Eid was different as people were not able to meet each other because of social distancing, which is why many for social media to stay connected and exchange Eid greetings.
Children tend to be the centre of attention during all Eid celebrations. They receive Eid gifts, new clothes, and go out for picnics with family during the holidays. But this year was different for them as well.
In order to entertain children during Eid, Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra (QPO) arranged a special musical performance titled ‘A Musical Gift for Children: Peter and the Wolf – Sergei Prokofiev.’ As the musicians could not come together due to the stay-home orders, they performed at their homes and a video was prepared.
“Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra kicked off its Eid celebration programme by releasing videos of their everyday performance of Peter and the Wolf, a famous symphonic fairytale written by Sergei Prokofiev in 1936 for children,” said Kurt Meister, QPO executive director.
He added: “The story of Peter and the Wolf is told by a narrator, with the orchestra musically illustrating the events that unfold for the audience. The piece is one of Prokofiev’s most popular works, and one of the most frequently performed works of all classical repertoire.”
The executive director further said: “The Philharmonic’s version of the piece appealed to children from all nationalities, with Arabic narration provided by Hussain Abdulhabib al-Jahwashi. The piece was conducted by Renchang Fu, and also included English subtitles for non-Arabic speakers. The presentation featured performances from the Shadow Theatre and children’s paintings. The entire story spanned over six consecutive days, with a video performance released daily starting from the first day of Eid.”
The story is about a boy named Peter who lives with his grandfather. Grandfather does not want Peter going out of their garden because there are wolves around. One day Peter goes out of the garden gate and sees a duck swimming in a nearby pond. The duck is arguing with a little bird. Peter sees a cat approaching and warns the little bird who flies up into a tree.
Just then, Peter’s grandfather comes outside and scolds Peter for going out of the garden. They go back into the garden and grandfather locks the gate. Soon a wolf does appear from the woods. The cat climbs a tree to escape the wolf, but the duck is swallowed by the hungry wolf. Peter gets a rope and climbs over the garden wall into a tree. The bird distracts the wolf by flying over his head while Peter lowers a noose and catches the wolf by his tail.
Hunters then come out of the woods and fire at the wolf but Peter stops them. They all bring the wolf to the zoo and at the end, the duck can be heard quacking in the wolf’s stomach.
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev was born in Sontsovska (Ukraine) on 23 April 1891. He received his first musical lessons from his pianist mother. At age six he started writing small piano pieces and by age nine he wrote The Giant, an opera for children soon to be followed by three other operas. He composed his most popular works such as Peter and the Wolf (1936).
The second part of the Eid programme featured a medley of well-known patriotic Qatari songs. The performance included rearranged traditional songs such as Eashi Ya Qatar, Aeeny Qatar and Ana Qatar. Critically acclaimed Qatari artistes such as Nasser Sahim, Bader Alrayes, Ghanim Shaheen, Khaled Salem, and Aeal lent their talents to the performance. The pieces were arranged by Nasser Sahim and includes performances from Qatar Music Academy, Qatar Academy students and musicians from the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra.
QPO resumed balcony concerts that were started before Ramadan after outbreak of Covid-19. The musicians performed famous musical symphonies from outside their homes all over Doha to celebrate Eid with their neighbours.
SPECTACULAR: Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra arranged a special musical performance titled ‘A Musical Gift for Children: Peter and the Wolf u2013 Sergei Prokofiev’ to entertain children during Eid.
