Customer Reviews

Beethoven's Wig: Sing Along Symphonies

5 star:		(81)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I am a 33 year old woman who has been a classical music lover for virtually my entire life. I found 'Beethoven's Wig' quite by accident while browsing on Amazon, and after listening to the snippets provided, I was laughing so hard that I knew I had to buy it. What a wonderful way to get young children interested in music! And of course, it's not only for children. I actually bought this as a present for my mother, who has been a classical music lover HER whole life (and who would [be so upset] if I revealed her age), and she was tickled pink by it!

It's actually an old tradition to mate "fun" lyrics to classical music in order to make the music easy to learn. My mother tells me how she learned 'Morning' from the 'Peer Gynt Suite' as 'Morning is dawning/And Peer Gynt is yawning/Under a statue of Grieg', and I myself know two crazy versions of the 'Soldier's Chorus' from 'Faust'. Richard Perlmutter here is a worthy successor to this tradition. Here he makes up wonderful lyrics for 11 well-known classical pieces. These lyrics are wildly imaginative, hilarious, and clearly well thought-out. Many of the tracks include musicological or biographical details about the composers involved.

The absolute highlight is the 'Pizzicato' from Delibes' 'Sylvia', where Sylvia leaves the faucet 'drip, drip, dripping' and tons of havoc in her wake. Perlmutter even manages to weave in an ad for a plumber here! His version of Offenbach's 'Can-Can' is tons of fun and will no doubt start you dancing, and in 'Just for Elise', her piece is stolen by Maurice from Greece in his valise and they call the police and go to the Justice of the Peace. The title track brings out the 'bigness' of Beethoven's Fifth, if not it's seriousness, and the disc ends explosively with Tchaikovsky's cannonball blowing up the concert hall. ('That was the beginning of POP music!')

Most importantly, after all the "Silly Symphonies" are done, each musical excerpt is played straight, so the listener knows what it really sounds like in concert (or can sing along themselves if they wish).

The booklet is delightful as well. Not only is it filled with whimsical illustrations (especially the cover with Beethoven's ever-expanding wig), but also suggests musically related activities for children (such as finding a picture of each composer, comparing the composers with modern musicians, etc). It also has "quizzes" at the bottom of each page about the composers, and even I didn't know some of the answers! (Offenbach hired a famous American composer to play violin in his orchestra. Who was it? John Phillip Sousa!)

Like many other music lovers, including some who have reviewed this disc, I am also very worried about the "dumbing down" of classical music in order to make it more popular and, of course, to make the record companies lots of money. I am delighted to report that this is nothing of the sort. For one thing, Perlmutter's lyrics are simply too sophisticated and intelligent, to the point where they might help kids with English and writing skills. Not only that, they teach good musical lessons about the virtue of practice ('Hey, Guitar Teacher'/Bach's 'Bouree') and families making music together ('Harmony'/Schumann's 'Merry Peasant'). Not to mention that the Perlmutter's version of Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody #2 lists just about every major composer who ever existed. And how many 'dumbed down' versions of classical music help listeners learn the kings and queens of England?

I do, however, have two reservations on the 'popularization' front which are enough to make me take off the fifth star. One is that the pronounciations of the composers' names is consistently 'American', and thus usually incorrect, i.e Wolfgang pronounced with a W instead of a V, Schu-MUHN for Schu-MAHN, BOTCH-erini instead of BACH-erini, and the most galling, VUR-di instead of VEHR-di. Still, the disc will get children interested enough in classical music to eagerly learn the correct pronounciations later, and I know plenty of serious music lovers who get them wrong. My other slight reservation is the total time of the disc is only 34:50. I realize that many young children won't have the attention span for a longer CD, but it would have been nice such a short disc were budget price, .... Despite these qualms, I think that buyers with children under 6 or 7 will be happy to add the fifth star back.

Of course, 'Beethoven's Wig' presents ONLY the fun, lighthearted side of classical music, and not its seriousness or magnificence. However, I've always thought that humor and fun were some of the best tools for learning ANYTHING; laughter is a great memory aid. There were actually one or two pieces on this disc which I didn't know all that well, and now I'll never forget them. I think the appreciation for depth and grandeur WILL come, especially for children whose parents are music buffs. I have no doubt that this CD will start many children on this happy (and meaningful) journey.

This CD is an absolute tour de force of entertainment and education, powered by lyric writing of exceptional craft and imagination that can be appreciated by all ages, from toddlers to the great grandparents. It evokes a century of musical storytelling, in the most whimsical and clever traditions spanning Gilbert & Sullivan to Tin Pan Alley to the best of Sesame Street.

Lyricist and singer Richard Perlmutter is clearly someone who understands children as well as he understands music, and his love and passion for both fairly burst through the speakers on every track. Fur Elise alone is worth the price of the CD. And Beethovenï, Wig is not just for small children: my 12-year old daughter, upon hearing the lyrics sung to Fur Elise, dashed immediately to the piano, which she had given up two years ago and began playing the piece again for the first time since I can remember and singing Perlmutterï's delightful lyrics from the activity booklet included in the CD package. Now she's saying she wants to perform it in her middle school talent night.

This CD is beautiful gift to all our children and, someday, to their children and may have the power to do as much for preserving the classical repertoire as do the finest conservatories. With, of course, a nod and a wink and lots of chuckles along the way.

When I was rather young, just four or five years old, my mother got me started listening to classical music by numerous composers. I can't help but think of the fond memories I have of those days with my mom as we listened together and she taught me to appreciate this fine music. Therefore I sincerely believe this CD is a good purchase for children who are just beginning to get acquainted with classical music.

The first part of the CD preps the child to be receptive to classical music by the use of some fun and silly lyrics (which are well written) to go along with the music excerpts. As the CD tracks progress the same music is played again--but this time without the silly lyrics--to get the child to hear the beauty of the music. I think this is a valuable tool to entice kids to listen to and appreciate classical music. Children need to be exposed to the arts and this CD helps accomplish that.

The quality of the sound is rather good and the CD has a pretty good range of musical excerpts to keep the children interested. The liner notes are fantastic! They will entertain young and old alike! GRIN

One thing, though: I suggest you listen to the audio clips from the CD on this web site to see for yourself if you like Richard Perlmutter's singing. There seems to be some disagreement amongst the listeners (the adult ones who wrote the reviews, at least) so remember to give the CD sound clips a listen.

For those reviewers concerned about this CD "dumbing down" classical music by the addition of clever lyrics, I say "LIGHTEN UP, FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!" I am a professional musician whose children love this catchy, fun, educational CD which, by the way, stays true to the original (acoustic) orchestration without adding synthesizers or electronics. My 9 year old had memorized the entire CD in a very few days, and will no doubt remember the themes (and their composers) forever. His 7 year old brother is not far behind. I highly recommend this CD to anyone with children.

I bought this CD for my kids (ages 13, 9,7, and 1) last July. They ALL love it and ask to listen to it all the time. They have memorized the lyrics and the older three know the names of the composers as well as the names of the original songs. My one year old loves "Hyden's Great Surprise" and recognizes it the moment it begins to play. Great music for kids of all ages. The voice quality of Richard Perlmutter is not great...but we love the CD anyway. A very enjoyable way to learn some great classical tunes.

Everyone at my house loves this CD (brought to us by Grandma) -- my husband (classically trained musician), our 8 year old son ..., our 2 year old daughter (who dances around the family room to the tunes), and me.

The lyrics Perlmutter has put to these grand warhorses of classical music are so witty and inventive you can't help chortling. And how he manages to get through these parodies with wonderfully straight performances is a great mystery to us all.

Each of us has our own favorites. The 2 year old likes "Harmony." The 8 year old likes "Drip, Drip, Drip." I'm partial to "Kings and Queens of England" and "Hey Guitar Teacher." And all of us love the Night Music ("Sheep will never help me sleep!").

I also should mention that the music and the humor hold up to repeated listenings (which is good b/c with kids you get repeated listenings).

Give this one a try. You won't regret it.

"Beethoven's Wig" is a collection of funny lyrics added to famous classical pieces. For example, "Beethoven's Wig/Is Very Big..." is sung to the tune of Beethoven's 5th Symphony. Lyrics that Mom & Dad sung in the playground way back when ("Can can can you do the can can, if you can then I can...") are sung to Offenbach. My kids think it's hysterical and love singing along.

The eleven parody songs are then followed by eleven original versions, so the album will even educate the kids about the "real" classics. On our home computer CD we have set up a playlist that re-arranges the album so that each parody is followed by its original, so the kids can see the similarities.

Both my 3- and 8-year-old love it, and it doesn't drive the adults crazy, either (always a plus).

I wasn't sure that I would enjoy this album as much as I did... I didn't much like the singers' voices at first. But I listened hard to the lyrics, and while some of it is just plain goofy, there is actually quite a bit of information about the piece or the composer included within. And you know what... it works! Okay, so my 4-year old calls the 1812 Overture "The Cannonball", and Beethoven's 5th Symphony as "Beethoven's Wig", but she recognizes it when she hears it, whether it's on the radio, in the store, on TV, and especially at school! Her music teacher was amazed that a 4-year old could not only hum Delibes' "Sylvia," but also that she knew all of it, in tune, all the way through! This may be an irreverent introduction, but it is certainly far above the dumbed-down, tinkly versions found in that very irritating "Baby Mozart" video. And btw, there's a track which will teach you the names of all the monarchs of England, in chronological order!

In Beethoven's Wig, lyricist and singer Richard Perlmutter performs eleven zany renditions of music composed by some of the world's most famous names in classical music. The unique tributes comprising Beethoven's Wig include Franz Liszt the Famous Pianist; Please Don't Play Your Violin at Night (Mozart); Can You Can Can? (Offenbach); Just for Elise (Beethoven); Haydn's Great Surprise; Kings and Queens of England (Purcell); Drip, Drip, Drip (Delibes); Harmony (Schumann); Hey Guitar Teacher (Bach); Tchaikovsky's Cannonball; and the title piece Beethoven's Wig. Perlmutter succeeds in doing more than offering just another introduction to classical music for young listeners as the kids find themselves responding to the humorous lyrics even as they are becoming familiarized with the individual contributions of world class European composers. Beethoven's Wig is an enthusiastically recommended addition to family, school, and community library CD music collections.

A couple of weeks ago, shortly after I tuned in the Today Show, I left the room for a minute and returned to find my 5-year old looking up from his play, mesmerized, at the TV. Richard Perlmutter was performing a selection from his new CD, "Beethoven's Wig." I'd never heard anything quite like it (Mozart with children's lyrics!) and found myself as drawn in as my son. But it wasn't until hours later, when I actually heard my son humming the melody from the beginning of "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik," that I realized what had transpired: my kid was singing classical music. We bought the CD, and have now listened twice together all the way through, from Beethoven and Tchaikovsky to Haydn and Offenbach and beyond. It's really delightful, from the first track to the last. And because Perlmutter had the good sense to also include the original versions of these classics without the lyrics, performed by the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, now my son likes to sing the lyrics himself sometimes along with the orchestra version so that he's the only voice (classical karaoke, kid-style!). He'll outgrow that someday, no doubt, but he'll always have these incredible melodies forever -- thanks to "Beethoven's Wig" and Perlmutter's fertile imagination. We highly recommend it.