Beethoven For Kids

Ludwig van Beethoven, one of the most influential composers of all time, is brought vividly to life and made relevant to todays young musicians in Beethoven for Kids. Children will learn about Beethovens troubled childhood and family life, early gift and passion for music, volatile personality, championing of equality and freedom, and persistence in his work despite increasing hearing loss. The great musicians, thinkers, and movements of Beethovens time, from Mozart and Haydn to the bold new ideas of the Enlightenment, are presented and their profound effect on the composer's life and music explained. Twenty-one engaging activities, including singing musical variations, dancing a Viennese waltz, creating an operatic diorama, and making a model eardrum, illuminate Beethovens life, times, and work. A time line, a glossary, online resources, and recordings and reading lists for further listening and study round out this comprehensive resource.

Ludwig van Beethoven wrote numerous piano pieces to teach to his pupils. Still, today, his works are an integral part of piano lessons. My first Beethoven is perfect for pianists of every age to become acquainted with these works. This volume contains Beethoven's most popular and easiest piano pieces – from the frequently played Sonatinas in G and F major to Für Eliseand the famous Moonlight Sonata. Ideal for music lessons and music-making at home! Great works for little masters!

Using one of the most famous works in classical music—Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony—here is the perfect way to introduce a young child to the world of classical music. This charming and interactive picture book with its panel of 19 sound buttons is like a ticket to a concert hall, taking readers on a journey from the exciting first moment when the musicians begin tuning up to the end of the first movement (attention newcomers: don’t clap yet!). At each step of the way, readers learn the basics of classical music and the orchestra: What is a conductor? What is a symphony? Who was Beethoven? The different aspects of music: melody, harmony, tempo, theme. And the families of instruments—strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion. But the best part is that every critical idea is illustrated in gorgeous sound. The sound panel allows readers to hear the different parts of the symphony and voices of the music—the famous beginning of the Fifth, what a clarinet sounds like, the difference between a violin and a viola, what a melody is, and what harmony is. Kids will want to match their voices to the A note that tunes the orchestra, dance to the rhythmic passages—and, of course, sing along to da-da-da-daah!

Classical Kids presents Beethoven Lives Upstairs, a touching tale of music, friendship and genius. The arrival of an eccentric boarder turns Christoph's life upside down. Ludwig van Beethoven has moved in upstairs! The young boy slowly comes to understand the genius of the man, the torment of his deafness and the beauty of his music.

'My compositions bring me in a good deal ... I state my price and they pay.' Beethoven was an inspired composer but he was also a working musician with sound commercial sense. David Wyn Jones's account of Beethoven the man and composer reveals the life of a creative musician in Bonn and Vienna in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. While paying due regard to the image of Beethoven as one of the most single-minded composers in the history of music, this biography places his work in the context of the musical life of the period. Through an understanding of the changing nature of musical patronage, the private and public concert, the impact of the Napoleonic Wars on culture and society, and the increasing ambition of musical life in the period after the end of the wars, a varied and dynamic picture of Beethoven's musical career emerges.

How hard is it to move 5 legless pianos 39 times? Beethoven owned five legless pianos and composed great works on the floor. His first apartment was in the center of Vienna's theater district... but he forgot to pay rent, so he had to move. (And it's very hard to move a piano. Even harder to move five). Beethoven's next apartment was in a dangerous part of town... so he moved, and the pianos followed on a series of pulleys. Then came an apartment with a view of the Danube (but he made too much noise and the neighbors complained), followed by an attic apartment (where he made even MORE of a rukus), and so Beethoven moved again and again. Each time, pianos were bought, left behind, transported on pulleys, slides, and by movers, all so that gifted Beethoven could compose great works of music for the world.

Lynn Kleiner presents her creative ideas and stories for movement and percussion-playing as she delights preschool through primary-age children with orchestral favorites. There are selections for marching, dancing, trotting, skipping, jumping, hiding, sleeping, playing instruments, entering class, and saying goodbye. Lots of fun, this book will allow teachers to capture children's interest in orchestral music for a lifetime. The CD contains 25 tracks including selections from Bizet's Carmen, Saint-Saëns' Carnival of the Animals, Dvorák's New World Symphony, Haydn's Surprise Symphony, and many more.

During Beethoven s darkest times, when he stumbled about the streets of Vienna like a ragged madman, people thought his career was over. Many of his friends and patrons had died. He no longer seemed to be producing music except for a few trivial pieces. >But appearances were wrong. He was creating what is generally regarded as his greatest single work. Known as the Ninth Symphony, it is much more difficult and massive than any of the preceding eight. But Beethoven was aware that the people of Vienna thought he was crazy. He was afraid his symphony would be rejected. Making things even worse, there had only been time for two rehearsals. By this time he was totally deaf and could not hear how well the musicians performed. On May 7, 1824, Beethoven conducted the Ninth Symphony for its premiere performance in Vienna. When the last notes of the magnificent final movement came to an end, Beethoven stood on the stage with his back to the audience. One of the singers gently turned him around so that he could see the audience. The applause was thunderous. Everyone was standing and cheering. Nearly 180 years later, Beethoven s works are still enjoyed by music lovers all over the world. On January 12, 2003, the Ninth Symphony was added to the Memory of the World register so that the compositions of Vienna s mad genius will live on forever.