Hilda Ryan Piano Studio

Must Have Recordings

Music Recordings for Children
Recommended by Hilda Ryan

These make wonderful gifts for grandparents to give!
Very easy to purchase online and have them shipped directly to you.

Nutcracker Suite by Tschaikowsky
Story of Clara and her Prince Charming.  Be sure to get a book with beautiful pictures to complement the music!                                                 

Carnival of the Animals by Saint-Saens
Multi-movement work with a descriptive piece for each animal.  The most famous is "The Swan" with the beautiful cello solo.    

Peter and the Wolf by Prokofief (or spelled Prokofiev)
Story about Peter and his grandfather with an instrumental melody associated with each character in the story.  Great way to learn to identify the orchestra instruments.          

The Classical Kids Series
Superlative dramatized stories of the lives of these composers.  Kids will recognize the music anywhere they hear it and recognize the composer after listening to these!  Appeals to a very wide range of ages from about 4 to 16.  

Here are the individual CDs:

Mr. Beethoven LIves Upstairs

Mr. Bach Comes to Call

Tschaikowsky Discovers America

Hallelujah Handel

Vivaldi's Ring of Mystery