Saint-Saëns: Le carnaval des animaux (Carnival of the Animals, a Zoological Fantasy)

A Czech conductor who excelled worldwide. Martin Turnovsky recordings for the first time on CD.

Paradoxically, a greater opportunity to witness the artistry of the remarkable Czech conductor Martin Turnovsky, whose teachers included Karel Ančerl and George Szell, has been afforded to audiences abroad.

After winning the international conducting competition in Besancon (1958), he had to wait almost a decade for the real launch of his international career, since the totalitarian regime in Czechoslovakia prevented him from travelling around the world.

He was chief conductor of the Dresdner Staatskapelle and Staatsoper, and, after emigrating to the West at the end of the 1960s, led the Operas in Oslo and Bonn, guest-conducted the New York Philharmonic, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and other major orchestras. Only after the regime change in Czechoslovakia in 1989 could he renew his work with orchestras on home soil. In the 1960s he made numerous recordings for Supraphon. The majority of those presented on these discs are now available on CD for the first time. They bear witness to Turnovsky’s distinct talent, which several years later would dazzle to the full in front of the world’s most renowned orchestras.

Camille Saint-Saëns originally wrote his humorous suite "The Carnival of the Animals" for private performance to a group of friends, but today it is one of the French Romantic composer's best-known works: particularly authentic in this recording by his fellow countrymen.

This delightful collection includes the wonderfully narrated Carnival of the Animals and Peter and the Wolf as well as the joyous Mother Goose – three timeless and well-loved pieces of classical music. Fun for both children and adults alike this music will encourage a keen ear, deep imagination and teach fun educational facts along the way. Children will get carried away in the story and have the adventures brought to life by superb narration and the engaging booklet that accompanies the collection. The booklet text is designed to be read either by an older child of 5 or 6 or with an adult for the younger children. The writer is Sarah Breeden noted for the fun and informative programmes she has written for the BBC Children’s Proms.