Classical albums and concerts for children are depressingly rare, and when one ponders the nationally televised Young People's Concerts -- on commercial television, at that -- of Leonard Bernstein, one wonders what might be achieved if such a thing were still possible today. For this reason alone, pianist Andrew Rangell (he's Andy Rangell for this project) merits praise for Beethoven 4 Kids. To be sure, Rangell does not attempt the scope of Bernstein, who took on such weighty themes as "What Is American Music?" and "Fidelio ...
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Classical albums and concerts for children are depressingly rare, and when one ponders the nationally televised Young People's Concerts -- on commercial television, at that -- of Leonard Bernstein, one wonders what might be achieved if such a thing were still possible today. For this reason alone, pianist Andrew Rangell (he's Andy Rangell for this project) merits praise for Beethoven 4 Kids. To be sure, Rangell does not attempt the scope of Bernstein, who took on such weighty themes as "What Is American Music?" and "Fidelio: A Celebration of Life," bringing them down to children's level. Instead, Rangell keeps his program short, just over a half an hour, and sticks with a certain kind of Beethoven movement: brief, humorous, and bumptious. Many of the pieces come from the Op. 119 set of Bagatelles, which come as short as 13 seconds (Op. 119, No. 10, in A major). One wonders why it was necessary to include the Theme from Diabelli Variations, Op. 120, which Beethoven didn't compose, when a different side...
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