Antal Doráti Britten: Young Person's Guide. Prokofiev: Peter And The Wolf; Lieutenant Kije

So perennial are the texts and music for Peter and the Wolf and The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, that many a celebrity has recorded it. Both works have drawn some of the most famous actors, including Meryl Streep and here, a young Sean Connery (in 1966). It was vividly recorded for Decca's Phase 4 series, as was, in 1973, Prokofiev's Lieutenant Kij. The lieutenant in question is a creation of bureaucracy, a non-existent character fleshed out with a life to satisfy the curiosity of the Tsar, who has misheard a phrase (in Russian, "the lieutenants, however") as the lieutenant's name. The suite follows the soldier's life story from birth, through first love and marriage, and the famous sleigh-ride in the Troika, before finally being put to rest in a fictitious death and burial. 'the orchestra is in fine form, Dorati seems to be enjoying himself thoroughly and invests the music with all its point and humour without overdoing it … and Sean Connery is an excellent narrator … The recording is splendid in both forms, combining brilliance with warmth and above all else, everything is presented in straightforward style, without misplaced humour or over-dramatization' (Peter and the Wolf, Young Person's Guide) Gramophone