Peter and The Wolf A Special Report CD

The personalities behind some of National Public Radio's best-loved programs come together on Peter and the Wolf: A Special Report to give Prokofiev's masterpiece some clever contemporary updates. The results are funny, educational, and a joy for children and parents alike. Treating Peter and the Wolf's plot as though it were an episode on All Things Considered, Robert Siegel, Linda Wertheimer, Ann Taylor, Steve Inskeep, and other radio correspondents narrate while the Virginia Symphony plays the music. Kids may not appreciate all the humorous insertions that NPR has made to Prokofiev's work, but NPR aficionados will love every minute of it, and the music is infectious enough for anyone to appreciate. The rest of the disc features two more classical masterpieces embraced by children. Fred Child, host of Performance Today, narrates Benjamin Britten's The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, and Saint-Saens' Carnival of the Animals is narrated by All Things Considered host Lisa Simeone. Proceeds from the sales of this disc support National Public Radio. Highly recommended. --Jason Verlinde