PentaTone Classics, a classical label based in the Netherlands which releases all of its recordings as single inventory, Hybrid Multichannel/Stereo SACDs has announced that it is working on a new album entitled Peter and the Wolf/The Wolf and Peter. The album will feature the music of the Russian National Orchestra conducted by Kent Nagano as well as narration by Bill Clinton, Mikhail Gorbachev & Sophia Loren.

This SACD will pair Prokofiev’s “Peter and the Wolf” with a new composition entitled “The Wolf and Peter” by Jean-Pascal Beintus. Both selections feature a score for a symphony orchestra and a fairy tale that is presented by a narrator.

According to PentaTone,

“The difference between both works lies in the happy ending of the story of “The Wolf and Peter”. The Wolf succeeds in convincing Peter that they should live peacefully together.”

The symphony orchestra performance of both works was recorded at Masonic Hall in Oakland, California in August 2002 by Polyhymnia International for PentaTone. The recording was done after the world premiere of the new “Wolf and Peter” composition by Nagano and the Russian National Orchestra.

On Saturday, December 14, 2002, Polyhymnia recorded the narration for both works in the rehearsal room of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. Former U.S. President Bill Clinton performed the narration for the new “The Wolf and Peter” composition while the narration for the classic “Peter and the Wolf” was performed by Sophia Loren. PentaTone also plans to record an introduction to both compositions by Former Russian President Mikhail Gorbachev.

Clinton, Loren and Gorbachev are contributing their time to this project for free. Their share of the royalties will be donated to charity by PentaTone Classics. The SACD is scheduled for release in 2003.