Maestro Classics: A Wonderful Introduction to Classical Music

Maestro Classics:  it’s what you get when you combine beautiful classical music with classic stories such as Peter and the Wolf, Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel, The Tortoise and the Hare, and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice.  Each Maestro Classics CD includes classical music conducted by Stephen Simon and played by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, a story, an activity book, and extra tracks which may include a history of the author or composer, or an explanation of how music is used to portray changes in the character’s development.  Originally developed by Bonnie Ward Simon and conductor/composer Stephen Simon for the Stories and Music series for the Washington Chamber Symphony at the Kennedy Center, Maestro Classics are now available on CD to families world wide!

Our family received Maestro Classics’ Peter and the Wolf on CD to review.   I have fond memories of hours spent listening to my own Peter and the Wolf record album, yes a vinyl record album, as a child,  and so I was anxious to share this story with my boys.  From the moment we put it into the CD player, the boys were hooked.  They listened intently to the explanation of how Prokofiev represented each character with its own instrument and its own theme; they excitedly picked out each character’s instrument and theme on the musical track; and they repeated facts from the track of Prokofiev’s life.  But what we all enjoyed the most was what makes this recording of Peter and the Wolf different from other recordings of its type, the track featuring some of Prokofiev’s themes played on traditional Russian folk instruments, and a second track featuring some traditional Russian folk music.  These tracks helped provide a sense of the period and culture of Prokofiev’s music for two boys raised on Baby Mozart and the Wiggles.  The only downside I found  in regards to this product was the bickering from the boys as they tried to decide whose turn it was to listen to their Maestro Classics CD at bedtime.  I  am looking forward to adding The Story of Swan Lake and The Sorcerer’s Apprentice to our CD collection, and am hoping this will solve the cries of, “but he had it last night” in our home.

Maestro Classics’ CDs are available from the Maestro Classics website in a number of titles for $16.98 each or $45.00 for three.  The website is newly designed and includes samples of the various titles, as well as lesson plans for some of the titles.  It is truly worth a look.