Beethoven’s Wig
Listen to the Recess! Clip
| Author | John Cech |
| Air Date | 5/19/2006 |
Beethoven’s Wig Transcript
Brief Sound Clip:
That’s part of Haydn’s “Surprise Symphony” set to words on a CD called Beethoven’s Wig,” which features such other favorites as Bach’s “Bouree” for guitar, Delibes’ “Pizzicato from Sylvia,” and a most astonishing version of Mozart’s “Eine Kleine Nachtmusik” that begins:
Brief Sound Clip:
These wiggy versions of the classics remind one of Peter Schickele’s P.D.Q. Bach, and of Gilbert and Sullivan’s operatic patter songs. But, in the end, some would argue, it’s a very clever and fun way to introduce children to the all-too-human dimensions of classical music. Something we often forget in our somber reverence for it. That is, that it was the popular music of its day. But if you’re a purist, as I tend to be, Beethoven’s Wig also includes orchestral performances, without words, of all of the pieces on the recording — just in case you’d like your youngsters to hear the originals, without tongue-in-cheek pyrotechnics like these:
Brief Sound Clip:
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