Prokofiev: Peter and the Wolf - Saint-Saëns: Carnival of the Animals - Britten: The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra

I've been looking for an album for Peter and the Wolf for a long time. This brings back many wonderful childhood memories!

I like to think of this recording as more of an adult version of the piece. We know what's going on so we don't really need the narration and can appreciate the music on it's own. It's unfortunate that such great pieces like this, the entire Nutcracker and 'In the Hall of the Mountain King' are criticized as works that should sit at the kiddie table when they are so expressive, inventive and imaginative. Imagine, if you can, that you'd never heard the Naration to Carnival of the Animals: Aquarium or the ballet associated with the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy and see where your mind would wander. A handful of classics take your mind to someplace that can only be imagined and much of this album does. My only disappointment is what another already voiced- the volume is very low, which makes this a tricky one to select pieces from for a personalized mix as songs from another collection are likely to be loud, so you turn up this and then when this is over you've got to be on the ready to turn down the volume or take out your eardrums. Nothing's perfect but the addition of this great album is a certain way to make your life that much richer.

The music is good. It is nice to have all of these in 1 place. I'm disappointed because it is so quiet. I had to turn the volume up on the computer all the way to even hear a sound.

An excellent piece of work with plenty of memories from my childhood.

This recording is delightful. It should be a staple of every childhood.

The recording and performance of Peter & the Wolf are lovely, but there is no storyteller, just so you know.