Classics For Kids

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Giuseppe Verdi 3: The Story of Aida Jun 18, 2022

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Giuseppe Verdi composed Aida for a new opera house in Cairo, Egypt that opened around the time as the opening of the Suez Canal. Aida is the story of an […]

Giuseppe Verdi 2: What’s an Opera? Jun 11, 2022

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An opera is like a play in which the characters sing all their lines. Opera singers do not use microphones — their voices are trained, and can fill a whole […]

Giuseppe Verdi 1: About Giuseppe Verdi Jun 04, 2022

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Guiseppe Verdi — “Joe Green,” in Italian — was a great opera composer and Italian patriot. His music became part of the Italian fight for independence and unity.

Frédéric Chopin 4: Famous Pianist-Composers May 28, 2022

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From the time Frédéric Chopin was a child, audiences loved to hear him play the piano. A lot of composers were famous as keyboard players, too: Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Liszt…

Frédéric Chopin 3: Military Music May 21, 2022

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In his Military Polonaise, Frédéric Chopin uses the piano to imitate the drums that accompanied armies marching into battle. A lot of composers have put battle sounds into their music.

Frédéric Chopin 2: The Polonaise May 14, 2022

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The polonaise is a dance that was fashionable in the Polish court. Since Polish nobility used to like to speak French, the name “polonaise” is French. Eventually, the polonaise caught […]

Frédéric Chopin 1: About Frédéric Chopin May 07, 2022

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Frédéric Chopin was one of the greatest pianists of his day. Every single piece of music he wrote used the piano. The name Chopin doesn’t sound very Polish because Chopin's […]

Benjamin Britten 5: The Instruments of the Orchestra – Part 2 Apr 30, 2022

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Benjamin Britten was asked to compose music for a film that explained the instruments of the orchestra to children. Britten borrowed a tune by one of his favorite composers, Henry […]

Benjamin Britten 4: The Instruments of the Orchestra – Part 1 Apr 23, 2022

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Benjamin Britten was asked to compose music for a film that explained the instruments of the orchestra to children. Britten borrowed a tune by one of his favorite composers, Henry […]

Benjamin Britten 3: Pizzicato and Other Musical Terms Apr 16, 2022

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Pizzicato is the Italian word for “plucked” — it tells string players how to play their instruments at a given spot in the music. A lot of musical “traffic signals” […]

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