Classical Music for Children Listening Links

When Benjamin Britten was asked to compose music for a film that would introduce the instruments of the orchestra to children, he composed music based on a work by Henry Purcell. It was music Purcell had written for a play entitled “Abdelzer” (written in 1676 by Aphra Behn). A Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra shows the listeners the tone colours and capacities of the different sections of the orchestra.

Animated version of the theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcm-1UP5O2Y

Shelley, Principal Associate Conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, narrates and conducts a very special version of Benjamin Britten’s celebrated introduction to the orchestra. Featuring a brand-new narration and with the full Royal Philharmonic Orchestra coming together digitally from their own homes during the pandemic, they present a new take on this lively fugue and variations based on a memorable theme by Henry Purcell. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hFFIrKZdSY

The San Francisco Symphony kicks off its centennial season with conductor Michael Tilson Thomas leading the orchestra in Benjamin Britten’s “The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra.”   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xX6RtLDXiQ