And now for something completely different!

If you were born during the 1950s or 60s, your initial encounters with classical music may very well have been through the Carnival of the Animals by Camille Saint-Saëns and/or Peter and the Wolf by Sergei Prokofiev. Whether or not one or both of these influenced your impressions of classical music in general is another story. And conceived for children from quite a few generations ago, I doubt they would have the same appeal or positive impact on today's youth.

Today's kids greater knowledge of, and fascination with dinosaurs may prove to be a captive audience for this release. The Carnival of the Dinosaurs by Australian composer and conductor Thomas J. Woods, is more or less a parody on human behavior, ethics and conduct, and especially how it applies to today's authority figures. Traits transfered to and caricatured by dinosaurs. There's definitely something of interest to adults here as well.

The crux of the story here is about a vain and self-indulgent female ruler, in this case Tyrannosaurus Regina (Tyrant Queen), who is so suspicious and distrustful of her subjects that she won't even abide or tolerate counter opinions (sound familiar), and goes to the extent of sending out a mosquito to spy on them and root out any dissidents, and mandates that if any are found, they will be had for breakfast, especially if they should ridicule her tiny hands. One of the many funny lines in the narration is when she says that she dislikes the Brontosaurus because he's a vegetarian. There are many characters in the story including a Brontosaurus, Triceratops, Pterodactyls and Velociraptors. Each one of them is given its own musical signature, and all of them quite befitting. The majesty of the Brontosaurus and the speed of the Velociraptors are just two that stand out. There's even an Ankylosaurus who with its clubbed tail and spiked armor on its back is portrayed as a punk-rocker complete with a studded leather jacket and spiked hair, and identified by rock music.

The booklet notes point out that the original version was scored for two pianos and orchestra, but then the Covid lockdowns put an end to any possible public presentation. Tom Woods rearranged it strictly for two pianos which is the version on this CD. But no worries, both Natalia Woods and Freddy Kempf bring out the music's many details, including the weight and girth of a dancing Triceratops. And narrator Rachel Teear deftly captures and projects Tyrannosaurus Regina's oversized vanity. All in all a good introduction to the classical music idiom for the new generation.