Peter and the Wolf

Fanfare

Here’s a recording that should get plenty of attention… Kent Nagano leads the Russian National Orchestra with a light hand, and his wind soloists are especially excellent. Sophia Loren is [an] expressive narrator… Former President Clinton renders Kraemer’s words with the same sort of down-home feeling and intelligence that made him such an effective politician… Beintus’s music [is] solidly crafted… The orchestra has been richly and closely recorded… It’s hard to object to the motivations behind this project. Unless you’re against World Peace, or wolves.

BBC News

An unlikely trio made up of two former world leaders and an actress have won one of the music world’s top accolades. Ex-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, former US President Bill Clinton and actress Sophia Loren won a Grammy for their recording of the Russian folk tale Peter and The Wolf.

It took the prize for Best Spoken World Album for Children.

Sound Stage

I would recommend this Peter and the Wolf as one of the better ones in the catalog and surely the best recorded… Sophia Loren proves to be a splendid narrator, imbuing her reading with charm and an innate sense of drama. The orchestra’s soloists play splendidly.