Summer day suite : (Music for children) for small orchestra : op. 65a / Serge Prokofiev (1948)

Ukrainian pianist, composer, and conductor, Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev (1891-1953), is no doubt one of the most familiar names in children’s music, even if it is only for a singular piece. Many of us are familiar with his commissioned theatrical work, Peter and the Wolf, but Prokofiev ensured numerous works for children. In fact, the Summer Day Suite is an orchestrated expansion of select movements from his 1935 piano etudes, Music for Children. As the title implies, the music is not merely to be played for young children, but by young children. That is not to say the music is simple - there is a need for demonstrated skill in the sliding string sixtuplet glissandos and provides opportunities for multiple solos, however, it does continue the romantic tradition of associating children with innocent themes of nature. The seven movements are as follows:

- Morning

- Tip and Run

- Waltz

- Repentance

- March

- Evening

- The Moon Flew Over the Meadows