# Classical Pieces for Children



## Lucifer Saudade (May 19, 2015)

I've heard some famous composers have written classical pieces for kids (to practice/ learn). But I can't recall exactly who... do you know of any Classical pieces/collections meant specifically for children?

I suppose it's mostly piano music, but it can be of any era/ any instruments.


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## GreenMamba (Oct 14, 2012)

For playing piano music, Bartok, Kabalevsky, Prokofiev and many others have written learning pieces for children (or adult beginners).

There's Britten's Young Person's Guide, Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf.


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## joen_cph (Jan 17, 2010)

Tchaikovsky´s "For Children" is one of the charming sets of such piano pieces.

There´s also Gubaidulina´s "Musical Toys", Nielsen´s "Klavermusik for Smaa og Store", and Satie´s "Sports et Divertissements" contains some easy stuff as well.

Leopold Mozart´s "Toy Symphony" is another example.

In the age of _Lego Star Wars _and _Monster High _products, the days of the too-sweet or -simplistic are somewhat gone, however - and just for listening, "adult" music may very well be more suitable.


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## Lucifer Saudade (May 19, 2015)

Thanks you both! Good suggestions.


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## Lucifer Saudade (May 19, 2015)

This is the composer who inspired this question, finally remembered


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## MoonlightSonata (Mar 29, 2014)

GreenMamba said:


> For playing piano music, Bartok, Kabalevsky, Prokofiev and many others have written learning pieces for children (or adult beginners).
> 
> There's Britten's Young Person's Guide, Prokofiev's Peter and the Wolf.


I particularly like the Britten work.


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## Lucifer Saudade (May 19, 2015)

MoonlightSonata said:


> I particularly like the Britten work.


There's something almost primordially charming about this piece:





There's something deliciously sweet about English classical music. But then I'm biased...


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## tortkis (Jul 13, 2013)

Webern's Kinderstück (1924) is a nice short serial piano piece for children.


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

Nikita Koshkin's _The Prince's Toys_ is not written specifically for children to listen to or play, but it's certainly the type of piece that young children would enjoy watching performed with an idea of the musical evocations and imitations of certain toys and sounds throughout the work.


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## GreenMamba (Oct 14, 2012)

Oliver Knussen has an opera based on Where the Wild Things Grow.


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## tdc (Jan 17, 2011)

Ravel - Prelude (1913)


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## senza sordino (Oct 20, 2013)

I don't know much about the BBC ten pieces for children project. I'm on the wrong continent.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01vs08w

This might be worth checking out. My preliminary search tells me there's a lot of stuff, more than a simple list of ten pieces music. Music programs at primary school, dance, art, performing the music. And I found on the website a list of ten pieces for secondary schools as well.


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## Albert7 (Nov 16, 2014)




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## Itzik111 (Jun 1, 2015)

Thanks you! Good suggestions!


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