Customer Reviews

Mozart for Mothers-to-be: Tender Lullabies for Mother and Child

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is an excellent Mozart compilation CD. The selections are very relaxing, and my three week old baby loves nothing more than a walk around the house with "Mozart for Mothers-to-Be" playing in the background.

I greatly prefer this to the Baby Einstein products (e.g. "Baby Mozart"): the arrangements on this CD are much more complex (a bonus for parent and child, in my mind), the performances and sound quality are far superior, and the playing time is nearly twice as long (a much better value).

Baby seems to like it better the more loudly it plays (I think she enjoys the deep bass notes, but she's not saying!), but it works great at quiet volumes also.

I highly recommend it as a soothing, enjoyable CD for kids of all ages.

Just had to take a moment to write this review. I bought this CD 9 months ago right before the due date of my first baby. Being a new mom and nervous and trying to do everything right, I played this CD the first week home from the hospital. It would totally calm both me and baby and we would rock and rock until he was asleep. I've always loved all kinds of music but having such a peaceful CD to listen to helped me gain my perspective and take a deep breath and just enjoy this new little one I had in my arms. Music does that to me but this CD has something extra special.

We bought this CD to play as background music for our son when he was in the ICU, and now regularly give it as a new baby gift. I know that "Mozart for.." titles are suspect, but this is a lovely collection of fine renditions and it WORKS. Our youngest son is an absolute screamer in the car, but we pop this CD in and he's calm within five minutes. Moms who have received this from me as a gift report a similar effect on both the new baby and older siblings.

Beyond sheer musical appreciation and enjoyment, Mozart's music in general is ideal for gently stimulating the "creative centers" as well as instilling a sense well-being. While there is much academic disagreement about the extent or reality of the so-called "Mozart Effect," it doesn't take a genius to observe how Mozart's music puts most people (and probably babies-to-be) in a happy mood ready to take on the day's challenges. There is a simplicity - yet elegance and musical brilliance - in his music that is also well-suited for the youngest of children.

The selections on this CD are all excellent and represent a nice range of Mozart's compostions, emphasising those that are ideal for creating a pleasant backdrop for leisure, dining and social occasions ("divertimentos"). The recordings are from the creme of musicians famous for their Mozart. Few works are as elegant and soaring as the Serenade #10 for winds - an astonishingly beautiful tune made famous from the early scenes of the movie, "Amadeus." Mozart supreme gifts of music are even seen in such humble "background music" as these pieces. And such continuity of warm, leisurely tones as these over 70 minutes is ideal for inspiring the baby to-be if that is why you are considering this CD. Better to expose a baby to the gentile, lyrical music of Mozart than to the dissonant, loud and disturbing tones of some classical music written well after Mozart.

As the reviewer below rightfully notes, compilation CD's of various unrelated works like this one is not quite how classical music is best meant to be heard. But in a way it is better for many to start with such collections like this - especially for those who just want the more quiet selections that are unintrusive. In that respect, this collection can be satisfying for most anyone (not just moms or babies). I have a huge classical music collection, but still really enjoy listening to one full CD of similar-temperament music like this one that flows easily and smoothly that doesn't demand my attention but only seeks to delight. And, in the end, that was the simple and primary goal of many of Mozart's compositions - to be purely enjoyed and delighted.

Too often classical music CD's for families or kids are poor in quality. But that is not the case with this excellent CD. The recordings on this CD were selected from the very best, previously released recordings.

The songs were carefully chosen for the theme of "mothers-to-be and young children," and then outstanding recordings by legendary artists were used. The quality and performances are outstanding.

You can find these recording on the legendary "Complete Mozart Collection" by Phillips. It's a who's who of classical music superstars. That's how regarded this music is.

Some people would not notice the difference between this quality CD and, say, new-age influenced synthesizer classical music, but the quality difference is important. This is just wonderful music!

What everyone will appreciate is the pleasant selection of music. This is pleasant music for parents and young children, or anyone. Mozart is like that anyway. Everyone likes this Mozart CD, and it's great for kids.

I am an OB-Gyn in Dallas, TX. Last night this CD was playing in the LDR (Labor-Delivery-Recovery Room)at Margot Perot Hospital here in Dallas as I was attending my patient who was expecting her second girl. The music was quite peaceful and restful for everyone in the room. It did add a calming effect to the labor. She remarked how much better this labor was than the first. Many factors influenced the ease of the second labor, but the CD was one aesthetic improvement. I have only one observation; she was too relaxed for second stage labor. We had to turn off the music so that she could deliver the baby. However, I am on-line tonight to buy the CD for my office.

I love this CD! I play it all the time when I am at home because it helps me to relax, and being 8 months pg...it definitely eases the stress. I also bring the CD to work with me sometimes and it's very relaxing. I highly recommend this for anyone who is pregnant or expecting

I fully subscribe to the "Mozart effect" theories and though I may not be guaranteed that my baby will be a genius, it is a wonderful idea to expose your child to something as rich and stimulating as a Mozart divertimento. I know that music made a difference in my life and I want to start my baby out right.
I listen to this CD several times a week, particularly when I sit down and read before bedtime. If nothing else, it is a joy to listen to and wonderful music to relax by. And that is clearly something that will benefit baby.

I played this CD close to my belly while pregnant and would feel my baby move to the works of Mozart. Now, at age two, my son (the same baby) still responds to it - if he is screaming in the car - I turn it on, and he's promptly a calm baby. Not just that, it has been researched that listening to the complex compostion of Mozart's works increases a child's ability to think abstractly and develops them at a higher level of mathematical intellgence.

I played this CD when I was 8 months pregnant and many, many times after my daughter was born. It really brings new meaning to "music soothes the savage beast." Whenever she wouldn't sleep -- and it never seemed like she would -- I'd play this CD and within 5 minutes, she was out. I play it now sometimes while she's sleeping just to soothe her during her sleep.