The young person's guide to the orchestra; variations and fugue on a theme of Purcell. Op. 34. By Benjamin Brittin [Commentary written by Eric Crozier]

If you were a young child at the symphony, chances are one of the first full fledged works you heard was either Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf (1936) or Brittan’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra (1946). Both were commissioned works for children; Prokofiev was asked by Children’s Theatre in Moscow, and the British Ministry of Education desired Britten to compose for their short film, Instruments of the Orchestra (1946). Both works ascribe to the same mission - introducing children to select instruments of the orchestra to hear how they came together to make beautiful music. The primary difference is the methodology. Prokofiev chooses a fairy tale and each instrument acts as a character in the story. Britten, chooses a theme and variations framework built on Henry Purcell's op. 34 second movement, “Rondeau,” or the "Abdelazer Suite” (1676). Each variation in the orchestra is dedicated to introducing the tonal quality of a specific instrument family - in order, woodwinds, brass, string, percussion, and then everyone!