Beethoven's Wig: Sing Along Symphonies - Richard Perlmutter with Symphonies & Singers

Witty CD is a rollicking musical feast for all.

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Common Sense rates it

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Music details

Artist(s): Richard Perlmutter with Symphonies & Singers
Genre: Children's Music
Label: Rounder / Pgd
Parental Advisory: No
Edited Version: No
Release Date: 03/05/2002

Parents need to know

Parents need to know that the "Sing Along Symphonies" concept is brilliant and the delivery superb. Set to orchestrations of the masters, lyrics range from clever to hilarious. This fun CD offers the ultimate who's who and what's what in classical music for kids.

Families can talk about different styles of music. What makes a song good? Is it the message? The melody? The ability to sing along?

Message
Violence
Sex
Language

Message

Social Behavior:

Consumerism:

Drugs/Alcohol/Tobacco:

Violence

Sex

Language

Common Sense says

What's the story?

Reviewed by Christine Walker and Dennis Hysom

BEETHOVEN'S WIG is "filled with goo, it's such a problem to shampoo...it's such a mop he should stop at the barber shop." With irreverence and devotion, Richard Perlmutter and company marry unforgettable word pictures to music of the masters including Mozart, Schumann, and Haydn. Perlmutter's voice parries with operatic singers, often to laugh-out-loud comedic effect. The first-rate productions engage Czech Philharmonic and British Union Rias Orchestra recordings and a troupe of ensemble musicians. The music repeats in the second half of the CD without the lyrics. Follow-on questions (Beethoven composed music without which of his five senses?) provoke family conversations.

Is it any good?

With a well-conceived educational thrust, songs address composition structure, cadence, instrumentation, composer identification, and history. The rhymes are relentlessly original. For example, after hearing Drip Drip Drip, it may be impossible to listen without a chuckle to Delibes' Pizzicato from Sylvia. Perlumutter's dripping tap, shark neighbor, and rescue by Noah the plumber make an indelible imprint on the music.