More Classical Music for Kids

In yesterday's blog, I commented that I could have easily come up with 100 more pieces to add to my initial list of 12, but I only added 25. I am taking up my own challenge, and here are 75 more wonderful and worthy classical pieces that can be appreciated by music fans of all ages and experience levels.

Aaron Copland - Hoedown (from Rodeo), Appalachian Spring, Fanfare for the Common Man, A Lincoln Portrait. Copland's brilliant brass work, unexpected rhythms, and open fifth harmonies are among his trademarks. His music has such an American feel to it, and is often based on heavily American themes, such as "Hoedown", the folk tune base of "Appalachian Spring," and the western ballet "Billy the Kid". You can't help but tap your toes and hum along to his music.

Igor Stravinsky - The Firebird Suite. Much of Stravinsky's music has a very abstract, modern feel to it, and some of it, such as "Rite of Spring", has an almost violent feel. But "Firebird" has a more familiar-feeling melodic line, with the lovely, haunting, trilling flute melody handing off to the oboes, the strings, the clarinets, and then to various combinations of instruments, building in intensity and richness through the piece.

Sergei Prokofiev - Troika (from Lieutenant Kije), Peter and the Wolf . "Peter and the Wolf" is an obvious choice to include in a list of classical music for children, but I'm a huge fan of the "Troika" from the film "Lieutenant Kije." The rhythmic sleigh bells, sharp military motif in the trumpets, and swiftly moving string and piccolo lines give it an intensity and crispness that can only be Russian.

Jan Sibelius - Finlandia. The mysterious-sounding opening chords of this piece are intriguing, especially as they quickly resolve into a pretty, delicate melody, but later segue back into ominous chords, eventually giving way to another beautiful melodic section. The center portion of the piece was later rewritten by Sibelius to be a stand-alone piece, to which multiple words have been added, including an unofficial Finnish anthem and the popular hymn, "Be Still, My Soul".

Ralph Vaughn Williams - English Folk Song Suite, Fantasia on Greensleeves. Many of Vaughn Williams' compositions are based on folk songs and hymns, and these two pieces are examples of his rich and complex arrangements of often simple tunes, juxtaposing them with countermelodies or combining two tunes.

Percy Grainger - Lincolnshire Posy. Grainger's unexpected harmonies, and technique of playing a melody simply, then repeating it in a more complex orchestration, or adding a contrasting line underneath, all create a marvelous richness to the simple folks melodies on which this piece is based.

Maurice Ravel - Bolero. In manuscript form, "Bolero" looks like it should be an incredibly boring piece. It begins with a simple drum rhythm, followed by a simple solo flute tune, handing the tune over to the clarinet and then the bassoon while the flute continues with a monotone rhythm, the music ever-so-gradually building in volume and intensity while repeating the same simple melody. Eventually the saxophone and the brasses have a turn, then suddenly a pair of piccolos in an almost dissonant harmony, until at last the entire orchestra joins in on the same melody, yet with a brilliance and intensity that has the audience on the edge of their seats right up until the huge falling-down-the-stairs final chords, which provide the only tempo change in the whole entire piece.

Carl Orff - O Fortuna (from Carmina Burana). You may not recognize the name of this piece, but I guarantee you've heard it. Popular in movies and commercials, the chant-like Latin lyrics create a sense of mystery and nervous anticipation, and change suddenly from a quiet, intense whisper into a loud, multi-octave chord.

Dmitri Shostakovitch - Jazz Suite. I hesitated to include this piece, as some might debate that it is jazz rather than classical. However, for all its jazzy tunes and saxophone-heavy orchestration, it is in a genuinely symphonic setting. Much of Shostakovitch's music is less accessible and more difficult, but I find this suite to be easy on the ears and fun to listen to.

Ferde Grofe - The Grand Canyon Suite. There's a a braying donkey. How can you not include in this list a piece with the clip clops of a donkey's hooves and a stubborn bray when he doesn't want to move? Side note: If you want to tie in a great children's book to this piece, read Marguerite Henry's charming "Brighty of the Grand Canyon" and then listen to the Suite.

John Williams - Olympic Fanfare and Theme, Hymn to New England, Liberty Fanfare, March from 1941, The Cowboys Overture. Listening to music by Williams is like listening to music by 3 or 4 composers all at the same time, mainly because Williams lifts themes from plenty of other composers. But he does it so well that it's truly a tribute rather than outright theft. Each of these pieces has its own charm and paints a unique musical picture of its subject. I couldn't bring myself to eliminate any of these - very different from each other - pieces from this list.

Gustav Holst - Suite in E-flat. Like Vaughn Williams and Grainger, Holst takes simple folk songs and places them in complex and intricate settings, playing them against each other, inverting the melody and playing it against itself, and building layer upon layer of musical texture - and then returning to the original simple melody. Just breathtaking.

Giovanni Gabrieli - Canzona per Sonare No. 2, Canzon Primi Toni, Canzon Septimi Toni. As a brass player, I can't help but adore all of Gabrieli's works, particularly his antiphonal brass arrangements. As the organist of Saint Mark's Basilica in Venice, he took advantage of the unusual acoustics provided by the church's two choir lofts, which faced each other, often placing different groups of instruments or singers across from each other, plus a third group on a stage near the center of the church.

Johann Sebastian Bach - St. Matthew Passion, Air on the G String, Little Fugue in G Minor, Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor. Ahhh, Bach. Really, what does anyone need to say about Bach? Listen to his stuff. All of it. I could have listed 100 pieces by Bach alone. Play anything by Bach for your kids and they'll get it.

Edward Elgar - Nimrod (from The Enigma Variations). Elgar dedicated the 14 "Enigma Variations" to his friends and family (including both his wife and himself). The ninth variation, entitled "Nimrod", a reference to an Old Testament patriarch described as "a mighty hunter before the Lord," is dedicated to Elgar's close friend Augustus Jaeger ("Jaeger" being the German word for "hunter"), who was also a music editor and provided Elgar with much-appreciated critiques of his works. A particularly solemn movement, it is often played at funerals and other solemn occasions.

Ludwig van Beethoven - The Consecration of the House Overture. Like Bach, I could have easily included dozens of Beethoven's compositions to this list, but I have limited myself. This particular overture has always been striking to me in terms of its majestic feel, particularly during the fanfare section. It was commissioned for and first performed at the opening of the Theater in der Josefstadt in Venice, and demonstrates plenty of theatrical drama.

Hector Berlioz - Hungarian March (from the Damnation of Faust). I happened to come across this piece for the first time when I was in high school, coincidentally at the same time that I was reading (or at least stumbling through) Goethe's Faust in the original German.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - A Little Night Music, Dies Irae from Requiem in D Minor, Overture to Don Giovanni, Rondo alla turca. Yeah, just listen to all of it. (See also, Bach.)

Georg Frideric Handel - Zadok the Priest, Hallelujah Chorus (from The Messiah). "Zadok the Priest" was written for the coronation of King George II and has been sung at the coronation of every British monarch since. And everything from "The Messiah" is brilliant, but having listened to quite a bit of it, my kids still love the Hallelujah Chorus the best of all.

Sergei Rachmaninoff - Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. This piece for piano and orchestra is actually 24 variations on Niccolo Paganini's last Caprice for violin, and is divided into three sections which correspond to the three movements of a concerto. Funny story which may or may not be child-appropriate: prior to the premiere performance, Rachmaninoff (who was performing the piano part), confessed to a friend that he was nervous about playing the extremely difficult 24th variation. The friend convinced the normally teetotalling Rachmaninoff to have a glass of creme de menthe before the performance to steady his nerves. The performance went so well that Rachmaninoff took to having a glass before every performance of the Rhapsody, causing him to nickname the 24th variation the "Creme de Menthe Variation."

Johann Pachelbel - Canon in D. You know this one. It's in practically every commercial ever made, from shampoo to jewelry to banking services. You can also sing "Jolly Old Saint Nicholas" along with it. Try it. It's fun!

Aram Khatchaturian - Sabre Dance. From the opening timpani to the xylophone in octaves, this dance practically grabs you by the throat and shakes you. The dance is from the final act of Khatchaturian's ballet, "Gayane," and the dancers actually do dance with sabres during the number.

Richard Strauss - Also Sprach Zarathustra. Best known for the use of the fanfare (entitled "Sunrise") in the opening scene of the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey," this piece was actually a tone poem inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche's novel of the same name.

Isaac Albeniz - Sevilla (from Suite Espanola). Suite Espanola was originally written in 1886 for solo piano, in honor of the Queen of Spain. However, a number of the movements were transcribed for solo guitar or multiple guitars, and I find that the guitar arrangement captures the Spanish feel better than the piano version, especially of this particular movement.

Alberta Ginastera - Danza Final (from Estancia Dances). Argentine composer Ginastera's ballet is composed of four movements: The Land Workers, Wheat Dance, the Ranch Hands, and Final Dance, each with its own personality. The first and fourth movements both depict a malambo dance, the fourth movement being at an almost frenetic tempo

Gabriel Faure - Pavane. Originally written for solo piano, but also arranged by the composer for small orchestra and optional chorus, I find this flute choir arrangement to be particularly haunting and lovely.

Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakoff - Procession of Nobles, Capriccio Espagnol. The "Procession" is from Rimsky-Korsakoff's "opera-ballet" (the title role is danced rather than sung) entitled "Mlada." The opera (ballet?) was not much of a success, but the elegant "Procession" has become part of standard band literature. In his 5-movement "Capriccio Espagnol," Rimsky-Korsakoff carefully used the unique timbre of each instrument, including notes in the score for the use of specific techniques and articulations, to create the exact sound he desired.

If I keep adding notes to each of these pieces, I'll be here forever, so I'll leave the rest of the list for you to discover on your own. If you find one that you (or your kids) particularly like, do a little background research. There are interesting stories behind every composer and every piece!

Mendelssohn - Midsummer Night's Dream
Giuseppi Verdi - Triumphal March (from Aida)
Franz Schubert - Marche Militaire
Albert Ketelbey - In a Persian Market
Henry Purcell - Trumpet Tune and Air
Jeremiah Clarke - Trumpet Voluntary
Engelbert Humperdinck: Evening Prayer (from Hansel and Gretl)
Gioacchino Rossini - The William Tell Overture
Offenbach - Can Can Music
Amilcare Ponchielli - The Dance of the Hours (from La Giaconda)
Julius Fucik - Entrance of the Gladiators
Luigi Boccherini - Minuet
Emile Waldteufel - The Skater's Waltz
Giacomo Puccini - Nessun Dorma (from Turandot)
Johann Strauss - Radetsky March, The Blue Danube Waltz
Antonin Dvorak - Largo (from The New World)
Franz Schubert - Unfinished Symphony
Gordon Jacob - William Byrd Suite
Robert Russell Bennett - Suite of Old American Dances
Bedrich Smetana - The Bartered Bride Polka
Morton Gould - American Salute
Richard Wagner - The Ride of the Valkyries

According to my count, these additions should bring the list to an even one hundred, but just in case I miscounted, here's one last recommendation: Gustav Holst's delightful Song of the Blacksmith, complete with anvil solo.

Classical Music for Kids

Yesterday I posted a list of great pop songs for kids to listen to. But if you want to introduce them to classical music, there are lots of marvelous pieces that can ease them into the wonderful and complex world of orchestral, opera, and ballet music. Here are some of my personal favorites (in no particular order).

The Nutcracker, by Petr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

The Nutcracker is a Christmas staple in my family. We began by watching movie and television versions with the kids when they were tiny, and then this year we brought them to their first live performance, by the Boston Ballet. They were mesmerized, and have requested music from the ballet as bedtime music on a regular basis ever since. There are also many beautifully illustrated children's books telling the story - the one illustrated by Maurice Sendak is a particular favorite of mine, and fun to read before watching the Pacific Northwest Ballet's version, for which Sendak designed the sets.

Even apart from the context of the story and the ballet, however, the music is complex and interesting, with memorable melodies and rhythms, and wonderful use of featured instruments for specific themes.


The Magic Flute (Die Zauberflote), by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

What The Nutcracker is to ballet, The Magic Flute is to opera: a visually interesting, musically gorgeous and complex, dramatic and occasionally funny introduction to what can be a difficult genre. The music is incredibly difficult and shows the amazing range of the human voice. Compare Diana Damrau's brilliant coloratura as The Queen of the Night with Rene Pape's rich bass in "O Isis and Osiris". And what child would not be tickled by Papageno and Papageno's funny duet preceded by a trio of young boys who sing while flying (or at least, in this particular version, sitting on the shoulders of "invisible" puppeteers). Many recordings are available in English as well as the original German. The Metropolitan Opera's version, directed by Julie Taymor (of Broadway's The Lion King fame), is particularly accessible to children, because of its use of full-size puppetry (the bears! the witches! the food!) and flying, as well as marvelously fantastical costumes and sets.


Music for the Royal Fireworks, by George Frideric Handel

Handel's majestic, brass- and timpani-laden masterpiece captures the orchestral sound of the era, with harpsichord, various brass instruments (which were all valveless at the time, giving them a distinctive chord structure and sound), woodwinds (especially double reeds), and plenty of strings all being featured. The piece also has the advantage of having an interesting backstory, in that it was commissioned by King George II of England to celebrate the signing of the peace agreement of Aix-la-Chapelle, which ended the War of Austrian Succession, in 1748. But the part of the story which children will find interesting is that the piece was performed publicly at Vauxhall Gardens 6 days before the official celebration, and over 12,000 people attended, creating a 3-hour traffic jam (and, reportedly, "scuffles among the footmen"). But even more exciting than that, the King ordered a huge structure with a "triumphal arch" to be built that would proclaim "VIVAT REX" ("May the King live") in letters of fire which were to burn for 5 hours. However, as the cannons were fired and the fireworks set off, the whole contraption burst into flames. Oops. But to what a score it burned!


Piano Sonata No. 14 in C# Minor (The Moonlight Sonata), by Ludwig van Beethoven

Most of us immediately think of the first movement of this piece when we hear the title "The Moonlight Sonata", and it is likely the most well-known movement. However, if you listen further, you will likely recognize the subsequent movements as well. This piece demonstrates Beethoven's use of both simple and very complex musical construction. The pounding chords and incredibly rapid fingering are typical of Beethoven and help to understand his style of composition, and aid in recognizing his other compositions.


The Barber of Seville (Il Barbieri di Siviglia), by Gioachino Rossini

Let's just admit it: We all know and love "The Barber of Seville" thanks to Bugs Bunny's "The Rabbit of Seville". It's brilliant and funny, and pairs Rossini's catchy melodies with typical Looney Tunes silliness. But the original opera supplies plenty of silliness as well, while retaining all those catchy melodies and adding in brilliantly trained vocalists as well as elaborate and colorful costumes and sets. Rossini's opera is based on the first of three plays written by Pierre Beaumarchais centering around a barber named Figaro (several other composers wrote less successful operas based on the same play; Mozart based his hugely successful opera "The Marriage of Figaro" on the second of the three plays). The plot is a complicated and confusing affair involving disguises, illicit love affairs, gossip, and bribery - all the usual opera devices. Figaro's opening aria is not only one of the most well-known to non-opera fans (again, largely due to Bugs Bunny), it's also really fun to sing along on the "lalalala" parts even if you don't know the Italian lyrics.


The Overture to "Candide", by Leonard Bernstein

Although the full operetta may be a bit highbrow for most children, the overture to "Candide" features the most beautiful and sweeping melodies, and the fascinating and unexpected rhythms and changes add lots of fun. Various sections feature individual instruments, including flute, French horns, timpani, and oboes. The link above features Bernstein himself conducting the overture, and it is a delight to watch his casual conducting style and his evident enjoyment of his own work, right up to the perfect final cutoff.

If you do decide to watch the full version, I highly recommend the semi-staged Great Performances special on PBS, which starred Kristin Chenoweth and Patti LuPone, among others.


The Liberty Bell, by John Philip Sousa

No list of classical music would be complete without a march, and naturally, a march by Sousa is always appropriate. Although there are dozens of iconic marches by Sousa ("The Washington Post", "Stars and Stripes Forever", "Semper Fidelis", and "The Thunderer", just to name a few), "The Liberty Bell" is one of my personal favorites. Sousa was inspired to write the march after his son marched in a parade celebrating the return of the actual Liberty Bell to Philadelphia following a tour of the country. Despite being most well-known for its use as the Monty Python theme song, it's a wonderfully American march, right down to the clanging of the bell, which Sousa specifically added to the score (in the case of the recording linked above, the bell used is the ship's bell from the U.S.S. John Philip Sousa).

The march is also an excellent example of the standard march form that Sousa often employed, AABBCDCDC, so it can serve as a easily understood music theory lesson. On the linked recording, the initial A section repeats at 1:06; the B section begins at 1:22, with a quiet section featuring flutes and clarinets which is repeated more loudly by the brasses at 1:37; the C section begins at 1:53 with another quiet, more legato section; section D begins with the clanging bell at 2:26; at 2:51 we repeat C; at 3:23 we're back to D and the clanging bell; and finally at 3:48 we hear a brassier rendition of the C strain with the bells included to complete the march.


Carmen Suite #1, by Georges Bizet

Much like "Candide," the full version of Bizet's opera "Carmen", a tale of a fiery gypsy dancer, is likely somewhat heavy for younger listeners, but selections from the music are much more accessible. And much like "The Barber of Seville" and its Bugs Bunny version, many of us remember hearing the "Habanera" being sung by an animated orange on an episode of "Sesame Street." As well as the "Habanera," most of us recognize "The Toreador Song" (and probably sang it with the lyrics "Toreador-a, don't spit on the floor-a, use the cusipidor-a, whaddaya think it's for-a"). The music included in the suite range from fiery, fast-moving numbers to sweet, quiet waltzes and peppy folk dances.


The Four Seasons, by Antonio Vivaldi

Written as a series of four violin concertos based on each of the four seasons, Vivaldi included a series of poems (it is not clear if he was the author or not) clarifying the elements of each season that inspired his music. This is one of the earliest and most detailed instances of "program music," which includes a story or narrative aspect. My children are fascinated by the recording including the poems, recited by Patrick Stewart (you can listen to "Winter" with Stewart's narration here). These pieces are a beautiful example of music depicting an event and an emotion, and it's a great discussion for kids to analyze what different instruments bring to mind different feelings, or create different images.


Carnival of the Animals, by Camille Saint-Saens

Aside from its brilliant depiction of 14 different animals, I love this particular piece because of the unusual orchestration of two pianos and orchestra. The pianos are often featured without the orchestra in the background, and even in instances when full orchestration might give a richer sound (the most obvious example being the lion's roar in the first movement, which is played by a long glissando up and down the piano keyboard rather than being given to the deeper tubas or string basses). Saint-Saens uses the differing timbres of the instruments to portray everything from lumbering elephants (string basses) to graceful swans (cello) to a cuckoo (clarinet) to dancing fossils (originally written for glass harmonica, but usually played by a glockenspiel). It's a fun game to guess which animal is being portrayed!


In the Hall of the Mountain King, by Edvard Grieg

As a child, I dubbed this piece "Tiptoe Music," because of the quiet, sneaky feel of the opening section, and I always imaged that whoever was tiptoeing was discovered and ran away in the loud and fast latter part of the piece. From Grieg's opera "Peer Gynt", the piece is sung by a group of trolls seeking vengeance on the man who has "seduced the fairest maid of the mountain king" - so my analysis probably isn't that far off. The piece features double reeds and pizzicato strings along with muted brasses at first, then adds flutes and percussion as the volume and tempo both increase, finally bringing in more strings and the brasses, climaxing with loud timpani and cymbals driving the tempo and volume until the piece ends with a series of dramatic crashes and pauses that culminate in a loud timpani roll and one final crash.


The Planets, by Gustav Holst

If you have a Star Wars fan in your house, Holst's "The Planets" is the perfect introduction to classical music for him or her, because John Williams shamelessly stole many of his themes for the score to the Star Wars films directly from Holst. For example, listen to the repeated single-note rhythm in "Mars, the Bringer of War," and you will recognize the stormtroopers' theme. Based not so much on the planets or even the gods they were named after, the pieces are based on astrology and the supposed effect on the human psyche of each planet: Mars, the Bringer of War; Venus, Bringer of Peace; Mercury, the Winged Messenger; Jupiter, Bringer of Jollity (my personal favorite, probably because the French horns have some great licks in this movement); Saturn, Bringer of Old Age; Uranus, the Magician; and Neptune, the Mystic. Pluto was discovered several years before Holst's death, but he had no interest in composing an additional movement, although in 2000, composer Colin Matthews was commissioned by the Halle Orchestra to compose a final movement entitled, "Pluto, the Renewer".


I could probably add 100 other pieces to this list, but I'll add links to just a few more that are worthy of inclusion. Happy listening!

The Brandenburg Concertos by Johann Sebastian Bach

Pictures at an Exhibition and Night on Bald Mountain by Modest Mussorgsky
The Minute Waltz by Frederic Chopin
Claire de Lune by Claude Debussy
The 1812 Overture by Petr Ilyich Tschaikovsky
Piano Concerto No. 3 by Sergei Rachmaninoff
Horn Concerto No. 3 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin
La Donna e Mobile (from Rigoletto) by Giuseppi Verdi
Flight of the Bumblebee by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (for an even more fun rendition, listen to The King's Singers' brilliant vocal version - and stay listening for their version of The Barber of Seville overture that follows)
The Typewriter and The Waltzing Cat by Leroy Anderson
Funny Cats' Duet by Gioachino Rossini
Hungarian Dance No. 5 by Johannes Brahms
The Trout Quintet by Franz Schubert
Liebestraum by Franz Liszt
Tritsch-Tratsch Polka by Johann Strauss II
Toccata and Fugue in D Minor by Johann Sebastian Bach

Okay, that was more than a few - but it's still hardly scratching the surface of all the wonderful, accessible classical repertoire that's out there. So start listening!!