some Schott Misc'y

PEtEr & thE inStrumEntS

Peter and the Wolf (Petya i volk) is Sergei Prokofiev’s symphonic fairy-tale (Op. 67). In the score, various instruments are used to represent the central characters.

Character..........................................................Instrument
Bird............................................................................Flute
Duck.........................................................................Oboe
Cat.........................................................................Clarinet
Grandfather.................................................................Bassoon
Wolf....................................................................French Horn
Hunter......................................................................Timpani
Peter.........................................................................Strings


SCIOLIST • one who pretends to have knowledge
‘The examination exposed him as a sciolist.’

oxFord comma

The ‘Oxford’ or ‘serial’ is the optional comma placed before the ‘and’ at the end of a list-named after the Oxford University Press house-style. It is especially useful for lists which might otherwise be ambiguous: e.g., ‘My favourite shirts are from New and Lingwood, Hackett, and Turnbull and Asser’. Without the second comma it might appear that an elaborate Jermyn Street revolution had occurred with Asser forced out on his own after Turnbull had joined forces with Hackett.

[Apropos of nothing, an ‘Oxford Secret’ is one told only to one person at a time.]