Kurtz: Peter & the Wolf / Carnival of the Animals - HMV ALP 1728, lovely copy

Jacket NM / LP NM-

This beautiful LP – a superb collector’s copy – from His Master’s Voice (ALP 1728, English pressing, red/gold semi-circle label, mono) features Efrem Kurtz’s superbly realized accounts of Prokofiev’s Peter and the Wolf Op. 67 (with narrator Michael Flanders) and Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals (with pianist Abbey Simon and Hephzibah Menuhin).

Both works were recorded in April 1959 and sound absolutely splendid here. There are fine liner notes on the reverse side of the jacket by Leonard Duck, printed in English only. The engaging cover photo/design was executed by Peter Selby.