Readers might to surprised to learn that Roger Waters of Pink Floyd fame has adapted, narrated, and performed on a new recording of Stravinsky’s curious chamber work from 1917, The Soldier’s Tale. In L’Histoire du Soldat, Charles-Ferdinand Ramuz’s original text meets a composition typical of Stravinsky’s early period to tell the story of a Russian soldier on leave who meets and makes a deal with the Devil. But this is not Waters’ first foray into the classical world – his opera Ça Ira, inspired by the French Revolution, appeared in 2005 to mixed reviews.

Waters is on firmer ground with The Soldier’s Tale. Stravinsky’s theatrical work “to be read, played, and danced” appears rarely on stage,...