Classical Sprouts

It looks like a small upright piano, but is shaped like an organ and sounds like a glockenspiel... It’s the Celesta! We’re learning about and listening to music that features the celesta, a bell-like keyboard instrument that is often associated with magical-sounding music this week on Classical Sprouts.

Scottish percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie has been a rockstar in the classical music world for decades. She’s performed at an Olympic opening ceremony, has traveled all over the world to perform a wide variety of percussion instruments and styles, she’s known as the first person to successfully create and sustain a full-time career as a solo percussionist and she’s deaf. We’ll learn how this amaz...

Was that a bird or a violin? Fluttering wings, scratching feet, pecking beaks: Italian composer Ottorino Respighi captured these sounds and more in his piece for small orchestra called "The Birds" (or, in Italian, "Gli Uccelli").

Her music was played at Queen Victoria’s funeral, she composed an opera, multiple works for orchestra, was an accomplished pianist herself, and wrote a very famous concertino for flute. We’re learning about French composer Cécile Chaminade and that famous flute concertino this week on Classical Sprouts!

Yo-Yo Ma has been playing the same Bach cello suite since he was only 4 years old, right as he started learning the cello. Now, he's using his fame (and performances of that same cello suite) to promote what he believes in.

Composer Amy Beach was a lot of "firsts" - the first woman to have a symphony performed by a major orchestra, one of the first composers to train exclusively in the United States and more.

It's chord progression appears in countless pop songs, it's played at tons of weddings and repeats the same 8 notes over and over again… what is it? It’s Pachelbel’s Canon! We’ll get into what makes this piece so popular, and how to spot it in the wild this week on Classical Sprouts.

It was the only movement of Camille Saint-Saens' "Carnival of the Animals" that he allowed to be performed while he was still alive. "The Swan" depicts a majestic bird gliding along the water and is now standard repertoire for cellists!

This sibling septet of violinists, cellists and pianists ranging in age from 14 to 27 is known around the world for their impressive musicianship.

Snow is melting, the air no longer feels sharp, and the sun has returned! How should we celebrate? With Antonio Vivialdi of course! We’re listening for the sounds of warmer weather in the "Spring" movement of Vivaldi’s "Four Seasons" today on "Classical Sprouts."

It’s in the name of countless pieces of music… but what makes a sonata, a sonata? We’re going to figure out the building blocks of a sonata using Mozart’s Sonata No. 16 in C Major this week on Classical Sprouts.

Spring is just around the corner, which means it's time for our newest season of Classical Sprouts - the Awesome Classical Music Podcast for Kids!

American rock and pop singer Linda Ronstadt sang the role of Mabel in the 1983 movie version of Gilbert and Sullivan's operetta, "The Pirates of Penzance." But she wasn't known as an opera singer. Hear how she used that to her advantage in this episode of Classical Sprouts!

How did composer Maurice Ravel write a piece of music that lasts for 15 whole minutes and only has one rhythm and melody? What did audiences think?? Find out this week on Classical Sprouts.

Love! Handsome soldiers! Quack doctors! Weddings! And love potions? Learn all about this romantic opera on Classical Sprouts!

We're hanging out with this acclaimed Ghanaian-American pianist as we learn about some of his favorite composers of African descent!

What makes tango tango? Find out this week with the acclaimed tango ensemble QuinTango!

Did you know the melody from Disney's "Sleeping Beauty" love duet "Once Upon a Dream" was actually written by Tchaikovsky? We're listening to the Garland Waltz this week on Classical Sprouts.

This week on Classical Sprouts, we're going to space with composer Gustav Holst, as we explore "Jupiter" from his suite, "The Planets."

It's played every year on New Year's Day, but what is Johann Strauss II's "By the Beautiful Blue Danube" about?

Get out your pointe shoes - we're exploring Léo Delibes' ballet, Coppélia!

Life-size dolls, mouse soldiers, dancing snowflakes, candies, flowers and a beautiful ballet princess . . .

Learn more about how this hit Broadway show changed the sound of musical theater.

Find out what it's like to sing in Spanish at the Metropolitan Opera with your opera idol with soprano and opera star, Gabriella Reyes.

Find out what it takes to put on a show at the Metropolitan Opera. Classical Sprouts producer Emily Duncan Wilson went to the final dress rehearsal of Daniel Catán's "Florencia en el Amazonas" and spoke with the director, puppet designer, one of the stars and some Sprouts in the audience!