Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Prokofiev was born in Russia in 1891.
His mother was a pianist.
He because an awesome pianist as well as a young child and composed his first opera when he was twelve years old.
He was also somewhat spoiled and throughout his life he liked to break rules.
For awhile, he left Russia and lived in the United States and then France.
When he moved back to Russia, the Communists were coming into power and dictating very strict rules for everyone, even for the kind of music composers could write!
From this time on, his life as a composer in Russia was very hard.
He always remembered his happy childhood, and much of his music is playful and full of humor.
One of his best known compositions is Peter and the Wolf.
Click here to listen to Peter and the Wolf (It is 27 minutes long.)