The Decca masters

Ind i mellem sit engagement i Nephew og Drengene fra Angora stod Simon Kvamm d. 21. juni på scenen i Tivoli for sammen med havens symfoniorkester at læse Prokofjevs "Peter og ulven". Umiddelbart inden indspillede de historien i Radiohuset, og nu foreligger resultatet. Adskillige kunstnere i ind- og udland - fra David Bowie og Sting til Preben Uglebjerg, Jesper Klein og Peter Mygind - har indspillet den klassiske børnefabel før Kvamm, men Angora-fætteren gør det både sjovt, solidarisk og poetisk, som når Peter er "for sej" til at være bange for ulve. Ungerne vil genkende Kvamms stemme fra Angora, og biblioteket kan få opdateret sin samling med historien, thi Naxos' ti år gamle udgave med Peter Mygind er udsolgt.

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"Little orphan Peter flying from Russia to Los Angeles to live with his grandfather, an ageing hippie ... It is all rather charming, and an imaginative addition to an old favourite ... Alice Cooper, 'the Godfather of Shock Rock', would seem to be an improbable choice for narrator but, now 67 and father of four children, he knows how to do a bedtime reading. The music is played by the crisp and characterful National Youth Orchestra of Germany under the excellent Alexander Shelley".

"Prokofiev, two discs that open to a 1949 'Peter and the wolf' ... It's a crisp, fairly formal voice, expertly used, and the London Philharmonic under Nikolaj Malko offer [Frank] Phillips characterful, wellplayed support. What follows, however, is quite exceptional: the Fifth Symphony recorded in 1952 by the Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra under Erik Tuxen, a forceful, clear-headed performance that promotes the composer's taut arguments with absolute conviction. Adrian Boult conducts ... a genial early stereo 'Lieutenant Kijé Suite' ... Add bracing, wellrecorded (stereo) ... the Seventh Symphony and the ... Russian Overture ... and you have a thoroughly enjoyable package".