Expert: Pat G - 6/23/2009

Question
My 3 year old grandson loves to listen to classical music and always wants to know what instruments are being played. I'd like to get him a CD of a good recording of Benjamin Britten's "Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra", preferably with the narration which introduces each instrument's section. Any other suggestions for CD's suitable for his age would be great. Thanks. Morrene

Answer
Hi, Moreene,

I don't really have an opinion on which recording is better. You can go to amazon.com and look at various recordings, and listen to tracks. That might be your best bet. You might also want to ask some of the other folks here. So you might want to ask your question again, of someone else.

While on the topic, other favorites with narration include Saint-Saens Carnival of the Animals and Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf. There are also, I believe, recordings of the Nutcracker with narration. You might also consider some other, similar things. For example, you can get some good recordings of various opera singers, that some children may love, such as Luciano Pavarotti. And a recording of Victor Borge often hits the spot. I don't know if any of his performances are on CD, but you can get videotapes.

Another thing that might be good is various "popular" collections of favorite classical pieces and excerpts.

I'm sure that your grandson will enjoy any recording you can find. The question of the quality of the performance is usually reserved for older, fussier folks. I would tend to pick a recording where I just happened to like the narrator's voice or accent. Some fine theater actors have made recordings like that.

I hope this helps.