Customer Reviews

Beethoven's Wig 3: Many More Sing-Along Symphonies

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

For those of you familiar with Beethoven's Wig 1 and 2, you already know to expect the unexpected from lyric genius Richard Perlmutter and his very talented Beethoven's Wig crew. They have single-handedly delivered the classical music repertoire to millions of young children in the most innovative, engaging way - marrying the best of the classical repertoire to witty, fun lyrics for children (and adults!) that engage, entertain, and make the music unforgettable with the charming voice of Perlmutter himself and an accomplished operatic ensemble of singers. While so many artists struggle to follow up two gigantic successes with a third that doesn't disappoint, Beethoven's Wig 3 masterfully and refreshingly follows its own act with a new twist on the recipe this time: showcasing individual instruments in the orchestra, appreciating the uniqueness of each, and marrying them to short lyrical stories that are making my nephews and nieces laugh out loud while they learn (and while their parents and grandparents chuckle along -- and learn a few things too). The CD booklet contains not only the illustrated stories, but also interesting and fun questions about classical music and different orchestral instruments. I can really see why Beethoven's Wig has won so many children's music awards - there's nothing else like it, kids adore it, and parents feel great about knowing their children are developing a life-long love and appreciation for classical music at an early age.

Sometimes pretentious, sometimes downright ridiculous products promising to expose our children to classical music can be as obnoxious as they are ubiquitous. Noise-making machines imitating Mozart do not a classical music lover make, particularly when it comes to plastic devices that light up and play unrecognizable sound.

But exposing our children to classical music is important, right? So parents dutifully play Mozart. We want our kids to be smart, so we play the music even though we'd sometimes rather be listening to NPR...or AC/DC.

The CD Beethoven's Wig 3, released in May 2006, is the antidote to insane-classical-music-noise-for-children. It also passes easily the "Entertains Parents, Too" test. The creator of the Beethoven's Wig series, Richard Perlmutter, is brilliant. His unmistakable and humorous voice combines with incredible operatic voices and lyrics that are charming and delightful - even educational. You'll want to read the included lyrics, trivia questions, and related activities for parents, educators and children.

There are two directions the CD takes. One is a feature of various musical instruments (musicians in the family are sure to be intrigued), from the familiar oboe to the more obscure Cor Anglais. The other is a section "Short and Suite," a collection of brief pieces of larger works with complete, short lyrical songs.

The appeal of Beethoven's Wig 3 can't be exaggerated. The first two CDs in the series have two Grammy Award nominations, more than 30 national awards, and you may have seen them featured on television talk shows. You won't resent this music stuck in your head, because it's beautiful and the lyrics are smart, if not wacky. The album's final piece is a story of an alien spaceship landing to perform a concert, and you'll never hear Strauss' "Also Sprach Zarathustra" the same way again, with "TAKE ME TO YOUR LEADER" bellowed out during the timpani.

The CD also contains all the compositions sans vocals on the second half, serving as great background music or sing-along inspiration.

Beethoven's Wig 3 is a must-have for parents who love classical music. It's honestly unique - I've never seen anything that compares with this amazing collection of songs for children. The humorous and educational components of the CD make it a sure bet as a gift for all the children in your life, and parents surely will discard all those so-called classical music noisemaking toys when they hear Beethoven's Wig 3. --Caity McCardell

We had been enjoying Beethoven's Wig, Volumes 1 & 2, and so when I saw Volume 3, I ordered it for my son. While volumes 1 & 2 were clever, funny, & some songs even educational, we found that volume 3 lacked in those regards. It seemed that many of the songs are less than a minute in length. Not enough time to really get a developed musical theme in your mind. We did only hear it once, so we may find more about it that we like in the future, but it didn't leave us wanting to hear it again like the first 2 volumes.

Great for kids and moms also! I have a 4 yr old and 7 yr old and we have listened to this many times.

I would not choose this exclusively to teach classical music and such - our kids first listened to a lot of classical music and opera before adding this for fun.

This is a good resource for introducing the intruments of the orchestra. The songs are just as entertaining as the first volume in this series. My dd enjoys this cd very much and has learned to recognize intruments and composers through listening to it.

I am big fan of Beethoven's wig 1 and 2 but this number 3 is not as good.
Looks more like leftovers compiled from failed BW 1 and 2 songs to me. I gave even 3 starts mostly out of respect to the artist. BW 1 and 2 are always in CD holder of our family van. Number three will not be there (However, if I decide to make them mp3, I would add one on two songs from BW3 to the playlist).

I bought Beethoven's Wig 1 and 2 last year, and my children (ages 6 and 10) begged me to get this one! Richard Perlmutter's voice is a little nasal (every once in a while you're reminded of Barney sing-a-longs) but the other voices that are on the CD are nice. This is an awesome way to familiarize children with classical music themes. I'm hoping that as my children grow up, they will be attracted to some classical music because they will have some familiar melodies in their memory banks. I highly recommend this CD to anyone with young children.

This CD is only worth listening to if you've already grown tired of volumes 1,2, and 4. The selections and the lyrics aren't nearly as funny nor as enjoyable by comparison.

We have all four CDs and listen to the others repeatedly. They make great gifts and a wonderful way to introduce children (and their parents) to classical music.

I was not pleased with the selections on this CD. The tunes are obscure and the lyrics are uninteresting on several of the tracks. There are 3 or 4 pretty good tracks, I do not use the others.

My kids (ages 3-10), my husband, and I all love all three of the Beethoven's Wig CD's. They are a wonderful way to get kids (and adults!) familiar with many of the great classics by great composers. The lyrics are hilarious and often educational at the same time (for example, "It's spring, time to sing Vivaldi"). They often include in some way the name of the composer and/or the piece (for example, "Here's a short Beethoven piano piece. He wrote this piece just for Elise"). The songs stay in your head, so you will find yourself humming these classical pieces to yourself. The first half of each CD has the pieces with the fun lyrics. The second half has the pieces with the music alone. My kids like listening to the second half as well as the first, I think because they want to see if they can remember the lyrics on their own. The only caution I would give is for the "Can-Can" in volume 1. Some parents may not like their children hearing, "Shake, shake, shake your deriere" or "Be risque".
I find the CD's valuable for me, too, because I can identify pieces and their composers more easily than I used to be able to (and I have a master's degree in music!). I love these CD's, and am always telling people about them because I can't imagine anyone not liking them!