EAST PEORIA, IL -- The Heartland Festival Orchestra's 'Musical Fables' program on March 2 included two famous and beloved pieces, with narration and animals, and a brilliant modern Concerto for Two Pianos in D Minor by Francis Poulenc.
Two pianists, Victor Cayres and Paul Johnston, played the exciting Poulec piece and Carnival of the Animals by Camille Saint Saens, in which 13 animals are portrayed in sound and in poetry narrated by radio personality Greg Batton. It was brilliant.
The other selection was Sergei Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf, also expertly narrated with melodies for each creature in the story.
Hearing these familiar animal pieces played by expert musicians was a joy. The audience at the Illinois Central College auditorium was filled with children as well as adults for this lovely event.
-- Elaine Hopkins