Classical music for a preschooler
March 6, 2018 6:02 AM Subscribe
My four year old is really loving classical music, ballet scores, and like all little girls her age, John Philip Sousa marches. Particular favorites listed inside; do you have other recommendations?
She’s fond of the typical kid fare: Nutcracker, Peter and the Wolf (she likes to alternate between the Bowie and Bernstein recordings), Carnival of the Animals, Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra. I think L’enfant et les sortileges (maybe; she’s not super fond of foreign languages, though she has some slight patience for French), the Tchaikovsky Sleeping Beauty and the Prokofiev Cinderella would be well received. Maybe Swan Lake, as well, but it’s a little dramatic for her. Based on her affection for Sousa marches, I’ve shared some old Fairey band recordings (playing stuff like Entrance of the Gladiators and the William Tell overture).
She’ll honestly sit through almost everything if it has an interesting album cover, but the pieces above are what she asks for by name.
The quickest way to introduce a favorite has been if she watches a performance (live or on video) first, so ballet has been a hit. She likes having a story to go along with the music, so the Peter and the Wolf or Bernstein recording of the Carnival of the Animals were immediate hits. I have a ballet version of L’enfant, which I think she’ll like. A good video presentation (animated, ballet adaptation, etc) would be a great hook for orchestral music if you have any in mind.
Somewhat surprisingly, she doesn’t particularly like musicals (outside the film musicals of Mary Poppins and Bedknobs and Broomsticks). So the Frog and Toad musical, Wind in the Willows musical—no interest, despite loving the books.
Any other ideas? We’re listening to Peter and the Wolf 6-8 times a day at this point.
She’s fond of the typical kid fare: Nutcracker, Peter and the Wolf (she likes to alternate between the Bowie and Bernstein recordings), Carnival of the Animals, Britten’s Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra. I think L’enfant et les sortileges (maybe; she’s not super fond of foreign languages, though she has some slight patience for French), the Tchaikovsky Sleeping Beauty and the Prokofiev Cinderella would be well received. Maybe Swan Lake, as well, but it’s a little dramatic for her. Based on her affection for Sousa marches, I’ve shared some old Fairey band recordings (playing stuff like Entrance of the Gladiators and the William Tell overture).
She’ll honestly sit through almost everything if it has an interesting album cover, but the pieces above are what she asks for by name.
The quickest way to introduce a favorite has been if she watches a performance (live or on video) first, so ballet has been a hit. She likes having a story to go along with the music, so the Peter and the Wolf or Bernstein recording of the Carnival of the Animals were immediate hits. I have a ballet version of L’enfant, which I think she’ll like. A good video presentation (animated, ballet adaptation, etc) would be a great hook for orchestral music if you have any in mind.
Somewhat surprisingly, she doesn’t particularly like musicals (outside the film musicals of Mary Poppins and Bedknobs and Broomsticks). So the Frog and Toad musical, Wind in the Willows musical—no interest, despite loving the books.
Any other ideas? We’re listening to Peter and the Wolf 6-8 times a day at this point.
Try the Classical Kids series. The most famous are Beethoven Lives Upstairs and Mr Bach Comes to Call, but they're all good. (My husband was a professional orchestral violinist for over 30 years.)
posted by angiep at 6:25 AM on March 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by angiep at 6:25 AM on March 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
More Rossini, if she likes William Tell. When I was a kid I was really into Smetana's Moldau. Maybe Strauss waltzes? Vivaldi's Four Seasons might be good, they're bite-sized and most of the movements are pretty brisk.
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 6:25 AM on March 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 6:25 AM on March 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
Oh, also maybe check out the soundtrack to Disney's Fantasia.
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 6:26 AM on March 6, 2018 [7 favorites]
posted by under_petticoat_rule at 6:26 AM on March 6, 2018 [7 favorites]
Radetzky March! She can clap along or bounce around to it!
posted by astapasta24 at 6:27 AM on March 6, 2018
posted by astapasta24 at 6:27 AM on March 6, 2018
Mine likes spastically dancing to Flight of the Bumblebee , also Beethoven’s Fifth - have been incorporating dramatic DUM DUM DUM DUUUUUMs into our conversations for theatrical effect
posted by sestaaak at 6:46 AM on March 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by sestaaak at 6:46 AM on March 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
My five year old really loves Vivaldi's Four Seasons. She really loves talking about what kind of seasonal feeling each movement evokes.
She's also a big fan of Grieg's Lyric Pieces for solo piano, for the same reason (minus the seasonal focus).
posted by saladin at 6:49 AM on March 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
She's also a big fan of Grieg's Lyric Pieces for solo piano, for the same reason (minus the seasonal focus).
posted by saladin at 6:49 AM on March 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
"When I was a kid I was really into Smetana's Moldau. "
Ha! Totally came in to say the same! Do this one!
Elgar's Enigma Variations, maybe -- and there is a ballet to it.
Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture has a story to it, with the French and Russian musical themes battling and the snow flying and the Tsar calling for prayers and the cannons crashing, although I don't know of an animated video, someone else might.
Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition; there are a variety of youtube videos showing the pictures in question!
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 6:49 AM on March 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
Ha! Totally came in to say the same! Do this one!
Elgar's Enigma Variations, maybe -- and there is a ballet to it.
Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture has a story to it, with the French and Russian musical themes battling and the snow flying and the Tsar calling for prayers and the cannons crashing, although I don't know of an animated video, someone else might.
Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition; there are a variety of youtube videos showing the pictures in question!
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 6:49 AM on March 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
Mod note: OP mentions the Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra as already in rotation -- please read the question to make sure you're not making suggestions they're already using!
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 7:18 AM on March 6, 2018
posted by Eyebrows McGee (staff) at 7:18 AM on March 6, 2018
My daughters (now 8 and 10) have similar interests and have enjoyed many of the pieces you mentioned over the years. I can think of a couple of others that they loved that you may want to try:
- Tales of Beatrix Potter with the Royal Ballet (and for what it's worth, these tiny volumes of the books have been very well loved in our house for many, many years now)
- While you've already mentioned the Nutcracker, Ovation's Battle of the Nutcrackers is amazing each year. It's fascinating to see how the same theme and music are retold by different choreographers and companies.
- For a more modern take, The Fantastic Mr. Fox movie + Alexandre Desplat score were also a big hit for my kids. (But really, Desplat's music for many movies, especially Wes Anderson's, is lovely.)
- There's gorgeous music in the movie Hugo, which prominently features Camille Saint-Saëns' Danse Macabre. While the song is "creepier" than most of his work on Carnival of the Animals, my kids love it.
- With a love for peppier marches, might she like something like Copland's work?
posted by hessie at 7:22 AM on March 6, 2018 [2 favorites]
- Tales of Beatrix Potter with the Royal Ballet (and for what it's worth, these tiny volumes of the books have been very well loved in our house for many, many years now)
- While you've already mentioned the Nutcracker, Ovation's Battle of the Nutcrackers is amazing each year. It's fascinating to see how the same theme and music are retold by different choreographers and companies.
- For a more modern take, The Fantastic Mr. Fox movie + Alexandre Desplat score were also a big hit for my kids. (But really, Desplat's music for many movies, especially Wes Anderson's, is lovely.)
- There's gorgeous music in the movie Hugo, which prominently features Camille Saint-Saëns' Danse Macabre. While the song is "creepier" than most of his work on Carnival of the Animals, my kids love it.
- With a love for peppier marches, might she like something like Copland's work?
posted by hessie at 7:22 AM on March 6, 2018 [2 favorites]
Gilbert & Sullivan are great along these lines, with legitimately brilliant, complex light-classical scores, plus funny plots (often with YouTube videos available), plus enough verbal wit to be fun for parents. Start with Iolanthe (fairies!) or Pirates of Penzance. Try to get the D'Oyley Carte recordings on London if you can; the cast is wonderful.
(Bonus: lots of Sousa-esque late-19c march stylings in there!)
posted by Bardolph at 7:27 AM on March 6, 2018
(Bonus: lots of Sousa-esque late-19c march stylings in there!)
posted by Bardolph at 7:27 AM on March 6, 2018
Five-year-old me loved Ravel's Bolero. Parents can probably tune it out after a few hundred repetitions.
posted by Weftage at 8:09 AM on March 6, 2018 [2 favorites]
posted by Weftage at 8:09 AM on March 6, 2018 [2 favorites]
Fantasia 2000 is brilliant. There ‘s also a podcast called Classics for Kids that she might like. Sounds like it’s time to start piano lessons!
posted by bq at 9:01 AM on March 6, 2018
posted by bq at 9:01 AM on March 6, 2018
Emphatically seconding the Classical Kids series. That shit was my lifeblood when I was a wee young thing! I Combines good stories (and, if I recall correctly?) historical info with performances of major works (or at least excerpts). They made filmed versions of at least the Beethoven one, but the audio tapes are really where it's at.
For story ballets, Romeo and Juliet is a stunning ballet, musically and choreographically, and though there are many dramatic parts, there are also plenty of rousing upbeat movements. Coppelia is fun, and so is La Fille Mal Gardee, especially the Ribbon pas and the clog dance. And you can't get more stirring musically than Don Q, especially Kitri's fan variation. I could go on and on... (These videos are all terrible youtube clips, but your local library likely has many full-length recordings of performances by world-class companies that you can borrow)
A little out of left field, but Toy Castle is a Canadian kids TV show where all the performers are dancers, and there is much "classical"-esque music which features in the show, and often they do short dances to excerpts of famous classical works.
posted by Dorinda at 9:06 AM on March 6, 2018
For story ballets, Romeo and Juliet is a stunning ballet, musically and choreographically, and though there are many dramatic parts, there are also plenty of rousing upbeat movements. Coppelia is fun, and so is La Fille Mal Gardee, especially the Ribbon pas and the clog dance. And you can't get more stirring musically than Don Q, especially Kitri's fan variation. I could go on and on... (These videos are all terrible youtube clips, but your local library likely has many full-length recordings of performances by world-class companies that you can borrow)
A little out of left field, but Toy Castle is a Canadian kids TV show where all the performers are dancers, and there is much "classical"-esque music which features in the show, and often they do short dances to excerpts of famous classical works.
posted by Dorinda at 9:06 AM on March 6, 2018
Seconding Bolero-- also as a child I recall liking Holst's "The Planets".
posted by The otter lady at 9:18 AM on March 6, 2018
posted by The otter lady at 9:18 AM on March 6, 2018
My mum informs me that I used to love dancing to Tuba Smarties when I was wee.
posted by corvine at 9:30 AM on March 6, 2018
posted by corvine at 9:30 AM on March 6, 2018
So many great recommendations above! Here are some favorites from when I worked with small children:
Josef Haydn, Surprise Symphony
Leopold Mozart, Toy Symphony
W.A. Mozart, Rondo Alla Turca
Camille Saint-Saens, Danse Macabre
J.S. Bach, Schafe Koennen Sicher Weiden (Sheep may safely graze), BWV 208-5
posted by The Underpants Monster at 9:49 AM on March 6, 2018
Josef Haydn, Surprise Symphony
Leopold Mozart, Toy Symphony
W.A. Mozart, Rondo Alla Turca
Camille Saint-Saens, Danse Macabre
J.S. Bach, Schafe Koennen Sicher Weiden (Sheep may safely graze), BWV 208-5
posted by The Underpants Monster at 9:49 AM on March 6, 2018
Well I say a Strauss waltz can't be beat. I bet she would also enjoy Chopin's greatest hits - there's an album by Van Cliburn out there by that name. And how about the etudes ops. 10 and 25? And, I bet she would love the orchestrated score to "A Month in the Country".
And how about Bach's Well-Tempered Clavichord and etc. but recorded on harpsichord, not piano? And the double violin concerto. And also Brahms' violin concerto.
All stuff I couldn't get enough of as a teen. (I was not popular, no.) For the more "difficult" dissonant composers like Stravinsky, perhaps show her some Balanchine ballets? There are lots to watch on John Clifford's YouTube channel.
I would suggest Monteverdi, but you said she wasn't liking a lot of foreign-language singing. Could you maybe tempt her with Elly Ameling singing "Seligkeit?" Oh, and there's a rich vein of Schubert right there.
And perhaps to put her in the mood for some playing, what about some baroque recorder material like this one? The recorder is often a child's first instrument, but they're not given to understand that it's a real instrument, for playing real music.
posted by tel3path at 10:01 AM on March 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
And how about Bach's Well-Tempered Clavichord and etc. but recorded on harpsichord, not piano? And the double violin concerto. And also Brahms' violin concerto.
All stuff I couldn't get enough of as a teen. (I was not popular, no.) For the more "difficult" dissonant composers like Stravinsky, perhaps show her some Balanchine ballets? There are lots to watch on John Clifford's YouTube channel.
I would suggest Monteverdi, but you said she wasn't liking a lot of foreign-language singing. Could you maybe tempt her with Elly Ameling singing "Seligkeit?" Oh, and there's a rich vein of Schubert right there.
And perhaps to put her in the mood for some playing, what about some baroque recorder material like this one? The recorder is often a child's first instrument, but they're not given to understand that it's a real instrument, for playing real music.
posted by tel3path at 10:01 AM on March 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
Another vote for Beethoven -- I was taken to a "classical for kids" concert when I was her same age and hearing the 5th symphony was literally (and I do mean literally) life changing.
posted by the return of the thin white sock at 11:26 AM on March 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by the return of the thin white sock at 11:26 AM on March 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
I would suggest Monteverdi, but you said she wasn't liking a lot of foreign-language singing.
Purcell might be a good English alternative to Monteverdi. There are a bunch of interesting and accessible pieces in King Arthur, Dido and Aeneas, Acis and Galatea, and Come, Ye Sons of Art.
I think Baroque music in general appeals to kids because it has that feeling of constant movement.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 2:25 PM on March 6, 2018
Purcell might be a good English alternative to Monteverdi. There are a bunch of interesting and accessible pieces in King Arthur, Dido and Aeneas, Acis and Galatea, and Come, Ye Sons of Art.
I think Baroque music in general appeals to kids because it has that feeling of constant movement.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 2:25 PM on March 6, 2018
Maybe parts of Dvorak's New World Symphony, and Prokofiev's 'Lieutenant Kije', epecially the wintry Troika.
posted by Rash at 2:54 PM on March 6, 2018
posted by Rash at 2:54 PM on March 6, 2018
Shostakovich's piano concertos, especially the second.
Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue.
Slightly oddball but the space docking sequence from 2001: A Space Odyssey is a great way to get to know the Blue Danube.
posted by the duck by the oboe at 2:55 PM on March 6, 2018
Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue.
Slightly oddball but the space docking sequence from 2001: A Space Odyssey is a great way to get to know the Blue Danube.
posted by the duck by the oboe at 2:55 PM on March 6, 2018
Oh, and Shostakovich's ballet The Bolt has some wonderfully fun bouncy pieces.
posted by the duck by the oboe at 3:00 PM on March 6, 2018
posted by the duck by the oboe at 3:00 PM on March 6, 2018
The first classical music I think I ever knew was Bizet's Carmen. It's all good now but what appealed especially then was the Torreadors.
¡Ole!
posted by Rash at 3:08 PM on March 6, 2018
¡Ole!
posted by Rash at 3:08 PM on March 6, 2018
Copland's Rodeo is a ballet and it has a pretty recognizeable part in the Hoe-Down section.
posted by donut_princess at 3:43 PM on March 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by donut_princess at 3:43 PM on March 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherezade has a bit of a story associated with it, and might be enjoyable for young listeners.
posted by Johnny Assay at 6:22 PM on March 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by Johnny Assay at 6:22 PM on March 6, 2018 [1 favorite]
The first classical music I think I ever knew was Bizet's Carmen.
My introduction to Carmen was the episode of Gilligan's Island where they put on a musical version of Hamlet using music from Carmen.
A couple of years ago, I was directing a production of W.S. Gilbert's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and we recreated the Gilligan's Island Hamlet as an entr'acte by pasting the TV lyrics into a Carmen piano/vocal score. The audience went wild, and joined in on a final chorus of "Neither A Borrower Nor A Lender Be" ("Toreador" tune) at the end.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 6:57 AM on March 7, 2018
My introduction to Carmen was the episode of Gilligan's Island where they put on a musical version of Hamlet using music from Carmen.
A couple of years ago, I was directing a production of W.S. Gilbert's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and we recreated the Gilligan's Island Hamlet as an entr'acte by pasting the TV lyrics into a Carmen piano/vocal score. The audience went wild, and joined in on a final chorus of "Neither A Borrower Nor A Lender Be" ("Toreador" tune) at the end.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 6:57 AM on March 7, 2018
Small me fell in love with classical music (an abiding passion 40 years later!) when introduced to the Largo movement of the Vivaldi guitar concerto in D on Sesame Street. It made me cry!
You can still see it here.
posted by hollisimo at 4:50 PM on March 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
You can still see it here.
posted by hollisimo at 4:50 PM on March 8, 2018 [1 favorite]
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