Books/CDs introducing kids to classical music

[xing]

Can anyone recommend some Books/CDs introducing kids to classical music?

Or any suggestions on how to introduce classical music to young kid?

[savoycabbage]

The young person's guide to the orchestra and Peter and the wolf are often on the same cd.

Just having classical music on the radio is a good start I think.

[SuiGeneris]

If you are near London the LSO does great workshops for under fives, including Peter and the Wolf

[PooshTunTheTrollFeeder]

My kids quite liked the music of John Williams since they recognise the film score music. Classical music snobs will probably argue that it isn't true classical music but I don't see the big deal if it gets kids into orchestral music.

[RunAwayHome]

I used to like these, but not sure how easily available they are any longer (I had them in Canada quite a few years ago).

Classical Kids

They are narrated stories that feature the composers as characters, and had various bits of their music as background. I really grew to like some of the pieces.

[GooseyLoosey]

I second the Peter and the Wolf suggestion.

DD also has a fantastic book on Swan Lake by Margot Fonteyn (don't know if it's still in print) and she has listened to the ballet as a result.

[hardboiled]

Menuhin published a CD about the instruments of the orchestra. My DS became addicted to it age 2!

[UptoapointLordCopper]

We've got this. It's OK - kids quite like it. But their favourites are

and .

[flussymummy]

Gustav Mole is a lovely story with CD about a little mole who plays violin- great introduction to orchestras and different styles of acoustic music. I second the idea of film music as it's more likely to have a story that little ones can relate to- you can buy CDs of classical music that has been used for films too and John Williams music is beautifully orchestrated with great themes (as are most Disney soundtracks actually!)

[pianomama]

My DC were addicted to the Nutcracker ballet on DVD. DS really impressed his preschool teacher at the age of 3 when he heard it playing at school and said - its the Nutcracker! And that was the first live ballet they saw.

[WhoKnowsWhereTheTimeGoes]

Don't know if they are still available, but someone gave my DS a Baby Einstein CD and DVD when he was a baby, they were a matching pair of the same music (Baby Beethoven), we played them all the time, he still loves the CD aged 8 and does pipe up with "That's Beethoven" when he hears it somewhere else. When he was a toddler, if he got hysterical or was ill, the DVD was often the only thing that would calm him down.

We've also got a CD set of 100 Greatest Classics that has all the most well known bits, we all like that.