Customer Reviews

Tchaikovsky Discovers America

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Tschaikovsky Discovers American, along with the other Classical Kids titles, are a delightful way to introduce young children to classical music and composers. The engaging stories on the tapes are filled with the music of the composers but the music and stories are so well intertwined that the children learn the music by osmosis as they listen to the stories over and over. My young children are forever recognizing the music of "Mr. Tschaikovsky" and "Mr. Vivaldi" as a result of repeated exposure to the Classical Kids series. The Tschaikovsky work in particular has made my very active 5 year old son a devoted fan of The Nutcracker which he sat through beautifully at Lincoln Center in New York last year.

Yes, this is indeed a great series - successfully mixing captivating stories with great "soundtracks". The difference is that the stories are usually about the composers and the music is by them of course. The Tchaikovsky CD has, aside from the composer's great works, some truly inspired singing as well - Swing Low Sweet Chariot and the uplifting girls chorus will send shivers down your spine.

Great story and music. We use it for rainy days and long car rides. We have several different CD's from the series of composers, and now he actively listens to classical music in an attempt to identify the composers. Great and fun intro into classical music.

This line of CD's is exceptional. This one ranks a little lower than the others. While my children are entertained by it, I found the story less engaging. In addition, Alex, the boy protagonist, has a tendency to be rude. It certainly doesn't fall into the usual bratty kid category that afflicts so much of current children's fare, but I was disappointed considering the other CDs are outstanding in all respects.

The music is presented in manageable chunks, and everyone will recognize most of the themes/pieces. My five year old loves the excitement of the train ride and the chase scene.

It is definitely worth having in your collection, but if you're only going to buy one, try one of the others first.

Yesterday, our family went to the Nutcracker Ballet in Seattle. It was heartening to hear our children realize that they've heard some of the music before -- through this CD. The idea that our children can pick up the themes of the music from the 45 second pieces represented on the CD is pretty neat. Although the story on the CD seems to be a bit contrived, fortunately, it is interesting enough to keep the children thoroughly engaged. (Of course, after hours of listening in the car, they better have picked up something!) Like all of the Classical Kids CDs, this CD is well done and I recommend this one highly.

My children (4YO girl and 3YO boy) absolutely LOVE this recording! They already knew and loved the Nutcracker and Swan Lake pieces, but didn't know the others, and didn't know anything about Tchaikovsky himself. Granted, this still didn't teach much about the man himself, other than that he's from Russia and conducted at the grand opening of Carnegie Hall, but now they will be much more interested in reading the biography of him (by Mike Venezia) that I have purchased for them. Yesterday on a road trip, they listened to the CD during the 2.5 hours there and back. Over and over. Now they've asked (adamantly) for it to be put on their MP3 players so they can listen anytime they want.

Of course, lots of times kids like things that aren't very good quality. My husband and I are impressed with this CD as well, though. The music flows perfectly and fits the story very well. The story itself is engaging. Obviously, we would have chosen some variety for five hours in the car, but we let them keep listening because it didn't drive us crazy. I just focused on the music, which was beautiful.

A friend had recommended this series to me, and I definitely understand why. I look forward to buying the others as we study the different composers.

My nine-year-old daughter listens to this over and over in her room. What is most awesome is that when listening to classical music on the radio, she will often shout out, "This is by Tchaikovsky!" I wish i had bought the whole Classical Kids COllection from the get-go..

I remember continuously checking this out at the library because I just loved listening to it. I was probably around 7 years old when I first heard it and continued listening to it till I was 11. I am 18 now and have moved to a different city so I can't check this out anymore. But it still holds special memories for me.

Lovely story based intro to classical music, the grandson of 3 3/4 LOVED and LOVES it.

This is typical children's fare. The cover art is low quality and unattractive. The characters are stereotyped. The action is loud, fast and frenetic. The boy is obnoxious and sarcastic. The characters have disrespectful interactions I would not like for my children to learn or repeat. The classical music in this CD is the only good thing. I'd rather just give my children the music.