John Schaefers pädagogisch weise Zusammenstellung bringt auf CD 1 Jugend-Werke von Paganini, Mozart, Mendelssohn, Rossini, Schubert, Elgar und Prokofiev. Die Kompositionen CD 2 faszinieren Kinder durch die Thematik: Leopold Mozarts „Spielzeug-Sinfonie“, Saint-Saens „Karneval der Tiere“, Stücke aus dem Orff-Schulwerk u.a.

the project

Almost as soon as people started listening to classical music, they started wondering how to introduce it to others, especially to younger listeners. With a collection of works for children and a companion volume of works by children (for the most part), Klassix for Kidz is a perfect introduction for young listeners of any age. Unlike most previous compilations of music for children, Klassix for Kidz does not rely on text-based pieces (like Peter and the Wolf or Tubby the Tuba), so the works are accessible to listeners regardless of what language they speak. What it does rely on is a careful sequence of accessible works, presented in a straight forward manner; no cute novelty pieces, and no pedantic explanations of what it all means. With pieces by Mozart (both Wolfgang Amadeus and his father, Leopold), Beethoven, Schubert, Bach, Prokofiev, Saint-Saëns, and numerous others, Klassix for Kidz lets the music speak for itself.

A surprising number of classical works speak quite clearly to new listeners, whether they are kids or not. Leopold Mozart's Toy Symphony is an irresistible work that just happens to include instruments any child can relate to—toy trumpets, toy drums, and bird whistles. Leopold's son, Wolfgang, wrote a set of variations on one of the world's most beloved children's melodies, Ah, vous dirai-je maman—better known in English as Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, or Baa Baa Black Sheep, and a song used to teach the alphabet in many countries. It does not take a Ph.D. to follow and enjoy the wide range of variations the junior Mozart puts this familiar theme through. Beethoven's lovely Für Elise will be an old friend to any child who has suffered through piano lessons, and Saint-Saëns' Carnival of the Animals is a boisterous, beautiful and, at times, a delightfully rude portrayal of a musical zoo.

The fact is that not only can kids like classical music, they can create it. The companion volume in Klassix for Kidz features works composed by some of the great masters, while they were still little more than kids themselves. The twelve-year old Rossini already knew a beautiful melody when he wrote one, as he showed in his popular String Sonatas. The old man of this group, Sergei Prokofiev, caused quite a stir with his Piano Concerto #1 when he was all of nineteen. Add masterworks like the Midsummer Night's Dream by a teenaged Mendelssohn or a Divertimento by the precocious young Mozart, and you can see that younger composers often spoke through their music with amazing maturity and skill.

The body of works written for children is startlingly large, and includes some real gems—works that appeal to all age groups. Klassix for Kidz, drawing on the considerable talents of pianist Jeno Jendó, the CSR Symphony Orchestra, the Rossini Ensemble of Budapest, the Stuttgart Piano Trio, and violinist Ilya Kater, is a collection that can be enjoyed just as well by older listeners.

tracklist