Classically Speaking, Kids are in Tune! (continued)

A Child's Celebration of Classical Music
Ages: All Ages
Performed By: Various Artists  
Music for Little People, $15.98 (CD)    $9.98 (Cassette)

A not-for-kids-only musical storybook delights the ear and the imagination. This deftly assembled collection of works by great composers, performed by world-class musicians and actors, includes Meryl Streep's graceful narration in an excerpt from Ravel's "Sleeping Beauty," Carol Channing's comic turn as every character in Gail Kubik's "Gerald McBoing Boing," and Bobby McFerrin as an entire orchestra in "Music Box." Other don't-miss moments: Danny Kaye's gentle rendition of "Tubby the Tuba" and David Bowie's vivid telling of Prokofiev's "Peter and the Wolf." 

Kids Collection of Greatest Classics, Vol. 3
Ages: All Ages
Kids Collection, $14.98 (CD)    $9.98 (Cassette)

What sets this collection of some of the most beautiful works in classical music apart from the rest is its studious attention to the simple melodic lines that make the pieces so memorable. That is, these works have been stripped of their full, sometimes lush, orchestral scoring to reveal the elegance and beauty of their bare-bones melodies. There is no way the listener of any age can miss the essence of what people find appealing in these works by such composers as Verdi, Mozart, Rachmaninoff, Handel, Dvorak, and Schubert. 

Baby Vivaldi
Ages: 1 - 2 yrs.
Buena Vista Records/ Walt Disney Records, $9.98 (CD)

Antonio Vivaldi was one of the masters of the Baroque Period (1600-1750). His works are among the most recognizable pieces in the classical music repertoire. Baby Vivaldi is a selection of some of his best-loved melodies, including "The Four Seasons," played by The Baby Einstein Music Box Orchestra . . . that is to say, four instrumentalists! But play they do with infectious fun and a sense of the joy that characterizes much of this composer's work. It is a perfect choice for babies and the very young, who will delight in the flights of fancy, the runs, the trills, and the cadences that make Baroque music seem so reminiscent of celestial choirs accompanied by celestial sewing machines. Plus, no excerpt is over 2:30-an important consideration where wee attention spans are concerned. 

Beethoven's Wig: Sing Along Symphonies
Ages: 2 - 10 yrs.
Rounder Records Corporation, $12.98 (CD)

The premise behind Sing Along Symphonies is that children will learn some of the great melodies of our stellar composers (Beethoven, Liszt, Mozart, Offenbach, Haydn, Purcell, Delibes, Schumann, Bach, and Tchaikovsky) if they can sing silly lyrics along with these modified versions of symphonic hit-parade tunes. The problem is that the words written to accompany these melodies are often hard to sing in time with the music, even for an adult. So, there won't be much sing-along going on. However, the music is undeniably beautiful and well worth introducing to young audiences. The accompanying book includes some nice suggestions for activities to further spark a child's interest in classical music.