Customer Reviews

Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf; Lieutenant Kijé Suite; Britten: Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra

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I grew up on the LP of this, which didn't include Lt. Kije, and I was psyched when this CD came out. A previous Peter/Young Peoples CD release has Sean Connery listed, but he only narrates the Britten, and Dorati does the Prokofiev, which was a major disappointment.

As for sound quality, don't expect too much. It's an old recording. But can anything match the joy of hearing Sean utter, "Birdie and I have caught the wolf"?

I think not. Buy now.

Everything seems so much more impressive, colorful, and intricate when one is young. The two pieces here geared towards children (the Britten and Prokofiev) are pieces that simultaneously provide children a wonderful inroduction to classical music, while recreating some of that imaginative childhood experience for adults as well.

Why should you buy this recording as opposed to the others on the market though? Well, First there is Dorati- who puts all the dance, gaitey and life into these pieces that are necessary. They sing, they dance, all because of Dorati's expertise with ballet-music. He also gets top-notch playing for the Lt. Kije Suite as well. Secondly, SEAN CONNERY- I laughed out loud when I first realized this icon of dialect was coupled with my favorite conductor on this CD, and later I was even more pleased at how well it worked.

You will surely enjoy both the expert playing, and the narrating of all of these purely fun, purely child-like pieces.

As a kindergarten teacher we enjoyed the music, but Connery's telling of Peter and the Wolf is absolutely the icing on the cake, he is able to create such suspense! I first started using this version when it was intially released as a record, perhaps thirty years ago, and other than a live performances no other telling has been able to keep the children enthralled like this one.

My daughter and I love the Hermione Gingold narration of Peter and the Wolf, but as we could not seem to find a CD of that one, we opted for Sean Connery's dulcet tones instead. His narration is good, although sometimes a bit quiet. The music is wonderful. We are very satisfied with this recording.

This is a great cd of peter and the wolf! I shopped around a lot for this, looking for the ending where the wolf doesn't end up at the zoo (ridiculous) but i couldn't find one. Sean Connery is such a perfect narrator for this awesome musical story. My 2 and 4 year olds love it and it brings back great memories for me.

Aside from the magical music of Prokofiev, this is an excellent way to introduce young children to classical music and the instruments of the orchestra.