Classical Baby

Classical Baby
Series DVD Cover
Format	Children's television series
Country of origin	USA
No. of episodes	5
Production
Running time	25 Minutes
Broadcast
Original channel	HBO
Original airing	2005

Classical Baby is the name of an HBO television series touted as a show for parents to watch with their babies. The show features pieces of classical music played while images of clowns, animals, and works of art are shown.

Critics, including some child psychologists, have condemned the show, which premiered on May 14, 2005, for marketing television to babies. They contend that television is generally unhealthy for children, and that such a promotion is geared towards acclimating children to television at too young an age.^[1] Nevertheless, the show won two Emmy Awards in 2006: one for Outstanding Children's Program and another for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation given to animator Barbara Wierzchowska.^{[citation needed]}

It won a Peabody Award in April 2005,^[2] and was assessed by the judges as follows:

"This whimsical, charming, deceptively simple marriage of animation to the music of Tchaikovsky, Bach and Ellington becomes an interactive treat for young children and parents alike."^{[citation needed]}

Episodes

Classical Baby is run on HBO as five different episodes:

• The Music Show
• The Art Show
• The Dance Show
• Classical Baby 1
• Classical Baby 2
• Plus, it includes a 2008 episode, The Poetry Show.

Note: Classical Baby 1 and 2 consist of selections taken from the other three episodes, and are not included on the DVD version.

Music from the Show

The Music Show

1. Open, Music: "Piano Concerto No. 1"
   by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
   performed by Philharmonic Slavonica
2. Bear Hugs, Music: "The Flower Duet" from Lakmé
   by Léo Delibes
   performed by Mady Mesplé (soprano) and Danielle Millet (mezzo-soprano)
   Orchestre du Théatre National de l'Opéra-Comique, Alain Lombard
3. Baby's Hands, "Von fremden Ländern und Menschen" from Kinderszenen, Op. 15, No. 1
   by Robert Schumann
   performed by Vladimir Horowitz, piano
4. Baby Steps, "Dance of the Reed-Flutes"
   by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
   performed by the Berlin Philharmonic, Peter Wohlert, conductor
5. Busy Caterpillar, "Prelude" from Cello Suite No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007
   by Johann Sebastian Bach
   performed by Yo-Yo Ma, cello
6. The Cow Song, "O mio babbino caro" from Gianni Schicchi
   by Puccini
   performed by Ying Huang, soprano, London Symphony Orchestra, James Conlon, conductor
7. Good Morning, Peer Gynt: "Morning Mood"
   by Edvard Grieg
   performed by CSFR State Philharmonic Orchestra (Kosice), Stephen Gunzenhauser
8. Night Music, "Eine kleine Nachtmusik"
   by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
   performed by Capella Istropolitana Wolfgang Sobotk, conductor
9. Aquarium, "Aquarium" from The Carnival of the Animals
   by Camille Saint-Saëns
   performed by Chamber Ensemble Philippe Entremont and Gaby Casadesus, pianos
10. Musical Faces, "A Mare Encheu"
    by Heitor Villa-Lobos
    performed by Christina Ortiz
11. Appalachian Spring, "Appalachian Spring Ballet Suite" Moderato coda movement
    by Aaron Copland
    performed by London Symphony Orchestra, Aaron Copland, conductor
12. The Cricket on the Roof, "Stamping Dance" from Romanian Folk Dances, Sz. 56
    written by Béla Bartók
    performed by Midori, violin, Robert McDonald, piano
13. My Blanket, "Clair de Lune"
    by Claude Debussy
    performed by CSR Symphony Orchestra (Bratislava), Keith Clark, conductor
14. "Lullaby"
    by Johannes Brahms
    performed by Budapest Strings

The Art Show

1. Open, Music: Piano Concerto No. 1
   by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
   performed by Philharmonic Slavonica
2. Frogs, with music by Erik Satie, painting by Claude Monet
3. I Love You, paintings by Mary Cassatt, with music by Franz Schubert
4. Shapes, based on a painting by Joan Miró, with music by Johann Sebastian Bach
5. The Museum, with music by Gabriel Fauré
6. Trucks, with music by Duke Ellington, painting by Fernand Léger
7. Dance Class, with music by Amilcare Ponchielli, painting by Edgar Degas
8. The Conductor, Music: The Blue Danube by Johann Strauss, performed by Vienna Opera Orchestra
9. The Kiss, with music by Edward Elgar, painting by Marc Chagall
10. Art Faces, Music: "Habanera" from Carmen Suite No. 2 by Georges Bizet
11. Busy Bees, with music by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, painting by Jackson Pollock
12. City Streets, with music by Count Basie, painting by Piet Mondrian
13. The Sculpture Garden, with music by Scott Joplin
14. The Starry Night, with music by Claude Debussy, painting by Vincent van Gogh
15. Baby paints with music by Frédéric Chopin – no title

The Dance Show

1. Open, Music: Piano Concerto No. 1
   by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
   performed by Philharmonic Slavonica
2. Waltz of the Flowers, dance inspired by George Balanchine, with music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
3. Dancing Sheep to Sheep, featuring Cheek to Cheek, composed by Irving Berlin
4. Barn Dance, dance inspired by the Dance of the Little Swans, with music by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
5. Mambo, with music by Pérez Prado
6. The Swan, dance inspired by Anna Pavlova, with music by Camille Saint-Saëns
7. The Rectangles, dance inspired by Jerome Robbins, with music by Leonard Bernstein
8. The Scarecrow, dance inspired by Martha Graham, with music by Aaron Copland
9. Tap Dance, dance inspired by the Nicholas Brothers, with music by George and Ira Gershwin
10. Sleepy Lion, with music performed by Miriam Makeba
11. Dancers, dance inspired by Pilobolus, with music by Erik Satie
12. The Hippo Dance, with music by Duke Ellington
13. Dancin' in the Rain

The Poetry Show

1. Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost
2. The Swing by Robert Louis Stevenson
3. The Red Wheelbarrow by William Carlos Williams
4. Grassy Grass Grass by Woody Guthrie
5. The Owl and the Pussycat by Edward Lear
6. Sonnet XVIII by William Shakespeare
7. Mariposa (Butterfly) by Federico García Lorca
8. This Is Just To Say by William Carlos Williams
9. Skylark by Johnny Mercer
10. April Rain Song by Langston Hughes
11. A Very Valentine by Gertrude Stein
12. Who Has Seen the Wind? by Christina Rossetti
13. How Do I Love Thee? by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

References

1. ^ HBO criticized for pushing TV to infants, Associated Press (5 December 2005)
2. ^ Classical Baby at the Peabody Awards

External links

• Classical Baby (TV 2005) at the Internet Movie Database
• Classical Baby at the Big Cartoon DataBase
• Classical Baby at hbofamily.com

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