Classical Baby
Classical Baby is a 2005 American television series for young children and families directed by Amy Schatz and produced by HBO. The animation was created and designed by Maciek Albrecht and MaGiK World Animation. Classical Baby is designed to introduce young children to masterpieces from the worlds of music, art, dance, poetry, lullaby 1, lullaby 2, symphony, safety, circus, holiday 1 and holiday 2. This series first aired on HBO Family on May 14, 2005.
Classical Baby | |
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Directed by | Amy Schatz |
Country of origin | USA |
No. of episodes | 11 |
Production | |
Running time | 25 Minutes |
Production company | Home Box Office |
Release | |
Original network | HBO HBO Family |
Original release | 14 May 2005 – present |
The series has won 4 Emmy Awards, the Peabody Award, the Directors Guild of America Award, Parents’ Choice Awards, and others.
The series won two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Children's Program and two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation, one given to animator Barbara Wierzchowska, and one to Jarek Szyszko.[1][2][3]
It won a Peabody Award in 2005. The judges wrote: "This whimsical, charming, deceptively simple marriage of animation to the music of Tchaikovsky, Puccini, Beethoven, Bach and Ellington becomes an interactive treat for young children and parents alike."[4][5]
In 2017, two new lullaby-themed episodes aired on HBO and HBO Family: "Classical Baby: The Lullaby Show 1" and "Classical Baby: The Lullaby Show 2."
In 2021, new episodes will be on HBO Max: "Classical Baby: The Symphony Show And Classical Baby: The Circus Show”. and two new Christmas themed episodes will be on HBO Max: "Classical Baby: The Holiday Show 1 " and "Classical Baby: The Holiday Show 2". In 2022, new episode will be on HBO Max: "Classical Baby (I'm Grown Up Now): The Safety Show".
Episodes
Classical Baby is currently available on HBO On-Demand as eleven different episodes:
- Classical Baby: The Music Show (May 14, 2005)
- Classical Baby: The Art Show (May 14, 2005)
- Classical Baby: The Dance Show (May 14, 2005)
- Classical Baby (I'm Grown Up Now): The Poetry Show (April 12, 2008)
- Classical Baby: The Lullaby Show 1 (December 24, 2017)
- Classical Baby: The Lullaby Show 2 (December 25, 2017)
- Classical Baby: The Symphony Show (March 26, 2021)
- Classical Baby: The Circus Show (July 20, 2021)
- Classical Baby: The Holiday Show 1 (November 20, 2021)
- Classical Baby: The Holiday Show 2 (November 21, 2021)
- Classical Baby: (I’m Grown Up Now): The Safety Show (March 19, 2022)
Additional Episodes had been available previously, which consisted of selections taken from the first eleven episodes, and are not included on the DVD version:
- Classical Baby 1 (2006)
- Classical Baby 2 (2006)
- My Friend Conductor (2021)
- Classical Baby in 2001: A Space Odyessy (2022)
Music from the show
The Music Show
- Open, Music: "Piano Concerto No. 1"
by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
performed by Philharmonic Slavonica - 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 - Baby's Hands, "Von fremden Ländern und Menschen" from Kinderszenen, Op. 15, No. 1
by Robert Schumann
performed by Vladimir Horowitz, piano - Baby Steps, "Dance of the Reed-Flutes"
by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
performed by the Berlin Philharmonic, Peter Wohlert, conductor - Busy Caterpillar, "Prelude" from Cello Suite No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007
by Johann Sebastian Bach
performed by Yo-Yo Ma, cello - The Cow Song, "O mio babbino caro" from Gianni Schicchi
by Giacomo Puccini
performed by Ying Huang, soprano, London Symphony Orchestra, James Conlon, conductor - Good Morning, Peer Gynt: "Morning Mood"
by Edvard Grieg
performed by CSFR State Philharmonic Orchestra (Kosice), Stephen Gunzenhauser - Night Music, "Eine kleine Nachtmusik"
by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
performed by Capella Istropolitana Wolfgang Sobotk, conductor (a Baby) - UK Spot - Aquarium, "Aquarium" from The Carnival of the Animals
by Camille Saint-Saëns
performed by Chamber Ensemble Philippe Entremont and Gaby Casadesus, pianos - Musical Faces, "A Mare Encheu"
by Heitor Villa-Lobos
performed by Christina Ortiz - Appalachian Spring, "Appalachian Spring Ballet Suite" Moderato coda movement
by Aaron Copland
performed by London Symphony Orchestra, Aaron Copland, conductor - The Cricket on the Roof, "Stamping Dance" from Romanian Folk Dances, Sz. 56
written by Béla Bartók
performed by Midori, violin, Robert McDonald, piano - My Blanket, "Clair de Lune"
by Claude Debussy
performed by CSR Symphony Orchestra (Bratislava), Keith Clark, conductor - "Lullaby"
by Johannes Brahms
performed by Budapest Strings (ending credits)
The Art Show
- Open, Music: Piano Concerto No. 1
by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
performed by Philharmonic Slavonica - Frogs, with music by Erik Satie, painting by Claude Monet
- I Love You, paintings by Mary Cassatt, with music by Franz Schubert
- Shapes, based on a painting by Joan Miró, with music by Johann Sebastian Bach
- The Museum, with music by Gabriel Fauré, Dolly Suite, Op. 56
- Trucks, with music by Duke Ellington, painting by Fernand Léger
- Dance Class, with music by Amilcare Ponchielli, painting by Edgar Degas
- The Conductor, Music: The Blue Danube by Johann Strauss, performed by Vienna Opera Orchestra (a Baby)
- The Kiss, with music by Edward Elgar, painting by Marc Chagall
- UK Spot - Art Faces, Music: "Habanera" Carmen Suite No. 2 by Georges Bizet
- Busy Bees, with music by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, painting by Jackson Pollock
- City Streets, with music by Count Basie, painting by Piet Mondrian
- The Sculpture Garden, with music by Scott Joplin
- The Starry Night, with music by Claude Debussy, painting by Vincent van Gogh
- Baby paints with music by Frédéric Chopin – untitled (a baby)
- Lullaby by Johannes Brahms performed by Budapest Strings (ending credits)
The Dance Show
- Open
Music: "Piano Concerto No. 1" Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (performed by Philharmonic Slavonica) - Waltz of the Flowers
Dance inspired by George Balanchine
Music "Waltz of the Flowers" from "The Nutcracker" "Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky" - Dancing Sheep to Sheep, featuring Cheek to Cheek
Music Irving Berlin performed by The Boston Pops - Barn Dance
Dance inspired by the "Dance of the Little Swans"
from "Swan Lake" Music Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (London Festival Orchestra) - UK Spot: Mambo
Music "Mambo No. 5" (Original 1940s recording) performed by Pérez Prado (babies) - The Ugly Duckling - The Swan
Dance inspired by Anna Pavlova
Music "The Swan" from "The Carnival of the Animals" Camille Saint-Saëns by Joshua Bell - The Rectangles
Dance inspired by Jerome Robbins
Music "Prologue" from "West Side Story" Leonard Bernstein - The Scarecrow
Dance inspired by Martha Graham
Music Aaron Copland - Tap Dance
Dance inspired by the Nicholas Brothers
Music "I Got Rhythm" George and Ira Gershwin - Sleepy Lion
Music "Mbube" performed by Miriam Makeba & the C. Mitchell Trio - Dancers
dance inspired by Pilobolus
Music Erik Satie - The Hippo Dance
Music "Sugar Rum Cherry" by Duke Ellington - Dancin' in the Rain (a baby)
- Lullaby by Johannes Brahms performed by Budapest Strings (ending credits)
The Poetry Show
- Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening by Robert Frost
- The Swing by Robert Louis Stevenson
- The Red Wheelbarrow by William Carlos Williams
- Grassy Grass Grass by Woody Guthrie
- The Owl and the Pussycat by Edward Lear
- Sonnet XVIII by William Shakespeare
- Mariposa (Butterfly) by Federico García Lorca
- This Is Just To Say by William Carlos Williams
- UK Spot - Skylark by Johnny Mercer
- April Rain Song by Langston Hughes
- A Very Valentine by Gertrude Stein
- Who Has Seen the Wind? by Christina Rossetti
- How Do I Love Thee? by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
- Ending Credits
The Lullaby Show 1
- Open, Music: Piano Concerto No.1 by Pyotr llyich Tchaikovsky performed by Philharmonic Slavonica
- Naptime “Drume Negrita” a Cuban Lullaby, sung by Bola de Nieve
- Moonlight “Liebesträum No. 3” music by Franz Liszt
- The Kiss “Suliram” an Indonesian Lullaby, sung by Miriam Makeba
- Little Willow, written, sung and performed by Paul McCartney
- The Violin “Oyfn Pripetshik” a Yiddish lullaby, performed by Itzhak Perlman
- Goodnight “Goodnight” written and sung by Laurie Berkner
- Night Light “Gymnopédie No. 1” music by Erik Satie (a Baby)
- Night Swim “White Seal Lullaby” based on a british poem by Rudyard Kipling, written sung, and performed by Corinne Bailey Rae
- Hush-A-Bye “Hush-a-Bye” an American traditional, sung by Peter, Paul & Mary
- Cradle Song “Schlafe, mein prinzchen, schlaf’ ein” a German Lullaby, sung by Rita Streich (soprano)
- UK Spot - The Dream “Hush, Hush (Thula, Thula)” a Zulu lullaby, sung by Harry Belafonte
- Sweet Dreams “Dream Angus” a Scottish Lullaby, sung by Gary Lightbody
- Lullaby by Johannes Brahms performed by Budapest Strings (ending credits)
The Lullaby Show 2
- Open, Music: Piano Concerto No.1 by Pyotr llyich Tchaikovsky performed by Philharmonic Slavonica
- The Painting “Méditation from Thaïs” music by Jules Massenet
- Bedtime “Fais Do Do” a French lullaby, sung by Elizabeth Mitchell & Lisa Loeb
- Twilight “Lullaby” music by George Gershwin performed by Serafin String Quartet
- Little Buckaroo “Hush Little Baby” American traditional, sung by Rufus Wainwright, Martha Wainwright, Lucy Wainwright Roche & David Mansfield
- Flying “Barcarolle from Tales of Hoffmann” music by Jacques Offenbach
- Hugs “Sleep Little One (Nami Nami)” an Arabic Lullaby, sung by Oumaima Khalil and Marcel Khalife
- Meditation “Berceuse in D-Flat Major, Op. 57” music by Frédéric Chopin performed by Jane Coop (a Baby)
- UK Spot - Flower Dance “O Cravo Brigou Com A Rosa” a Brazilian lullaby, sung by Natasha Llerena and Heitor Pereira
- Underwater “Nana” music by Manuel de Falla
- Barefoot “Dreaming” music by Amy Beach
- Cuddle “A La Nanita Nana” a Spanish Lullaby, sung by Marta Gómez
- Falling Leaves “Wiegenlied, Op. 49, No. 4” music by Johannes Brahms, performed by Yo-Yo Ma
- Lullaby in Ragtime sung by Ron Sexsmith (ending credits)
The Symphony Show
- Open, Music: Piano Concerto No. 1 music by Pytor llyich Tchaikovsky performed by Philharmonic Slavonica
- Sunrise "The Four Seasons (Spring)" by Antonio Vivaldi
- Kaleidoscope "Nocturne No. 2 in E-Flat Minor, Op. 9 No.2" music by Frédéric Chopin, performed by Idil Biret
- The Enchanted Forest “Symphony No. 94 in G Major Surprise" music by Joseph Haydn, performed by The Boston Pops Orchestra
- Allegro "Symphony No. 5" music by Ludwig Von Beethoven, performed by The London Symphony Orchestra (a Baby)
- UK Spot - Garden Song "Un bel dì vedremo" from Madama Butterfly music by Giacomo Puccini, performed by Maria Callas (mezzo-soprano)
- Butterflies "Minuet in a Major" music by Luigi Boccerini
- Woodpecker "Symphony No. 36" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
- The Instruments "Sabre Dance" music by Aram Khachaturian, Performed by Arthur Fiedler
- Roses "The Sleeping Beauty Waltz" music by Pytor llyich Tchaikovsky
- Musical Notes "Symphony No. 43" music by Joseph Hadyn
- The Grand Finale "Symphony No. 9 (Ode to Joy)" music by Ludwig Von Beethoven
- "Alla Hornpipe" from "Water Music" music by George Friederic Handel (ending credits)
The Circus Show
- Open, Music: Carnival of the Animals - C. Overture Music By Saint-Saens
- Lions, From Carnival Of The Animals Music By March Of The Lions Performed By Saint-Saens
- ButterFly, From Carnival Of The Animals Music By Voileres (Aviary) Performed By Saint-Saens
- Graffies, From Carnival Of The Animals Music By Le Cygne (The Swan) Performed By Saint-Saens
- Chickens, From Carnival Of The Animals Music By Poules Et Coqs (Hens And Cockerals) Performed By Saint-Saens
- Person, From Carnival Of The Animals Music By Personnages a Longues Oreilles Performed By Saint-Saens
- UK Spot - Kangaroo, From Carnival Of The Animals Music By Kangourous Performed By Saint-Saens
- Aquarium Returns, From Carnival Of The Animals Music By Aquarium Performed By Saint-Saens
- Tortoises, From Carnival Of The Animals Music By Tortues Performed By Saint-Saens
- The Elephant From Carnival Of The Animals Music By L’Elephant Performed By Saint-Saens
- Feeding Me, Waltz in D-Flat Major Performed By Frédéric Chopin (a Baby)
- Wild Asses, From Carnival Of The Animals Music By Hemiones (Animaux Veloces) Performed By Saint-Saens
- Cuckoo In The Woods, From Carnival Of The Animals Music By Le Coucou Au Fond Des Bois Performed By Saint-Saens
- Pianistes From Carnival Of The Animals Music By (Pianists) Performed By Saint-Saens
- Carnival Of the Animals XIV Finale Performed By Saint-Saens (Ending Credits)
The Holiday Show 1
- Open, "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" performed by Percy Faith
- Musical Flowers "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" sung by Bing Crosby
- Snowy Trees "Jingle Bells" performed by Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians
- The Snowflakes "Carol of the Bells" performed by David Foster
- The Gingerbread House "The Secret of Christmas" sung by Julie Andrews
- Lightshow "Joy To The World" performed by Billy Vaughn
- The Nutcracker "Overture" music by Duke Ellington
- UK Spot - The Hollies "A Carol Symphony: Andante quasi lento e contabile" performed by Victor Hely-Hutchinson, Prague City Philharmonic Orchestra, Gavin Sutherland
- Christmas Carolers "Here We Come A-Caroling" sung by Ray Conniff
- Beauty and the Beast - Magical Princess "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" sung by The Carpenters
- The Conductor "Winter Wonderland" performed by Kenny G. (a baby)
- The Nativity Scene "O Little Town of Bethlehem" sung by Nat King Cole
- Silent Night sung by Frank Sinatra (ending credits)
The Holiday Show 2
- Open, "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" performed by Percy Faith
- Crystal Lights "Weihnachtsmusik for 2 Violins, Cello, Harmonium and Piano" performed by Arnold Schoenberg, Arditti Quartet, Håkon Austbø and Louise Bessette
- The Tinsel "Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!" performed by Jonny May (a baby)
- UK Spot - The Battle between the Mouse King by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky from The Nutcracker
- The Snowman Frosty The Snowman sung by The Ronettes
- "The Little Drummer Boy" sung by Hugo and Luigi's Children's Chorus
- The Princess and the Pea - Frosty Windows The Christmas Song sung by Natalie Cole
- "White Christmas" sung by Tony Bennett
- The Reindeer Up on the Housetop sung by Gene Autry
- Ice Skating Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town sung by Ray Conniff
- Fossils from The Carnival of the Animals by Camille Saint-Saens performed by Antonio Pappano
- The Choir We Wish You A Merry Christmas sung by The Mormon Tabernacle Choir’’ (a baby)
- Silent Night performed by Frank Sinatra (ending credits)
The Safety Show
- At Home! By Bruce Lanoil
- Goes Green! By Dave Bossert
- In The Water! By Ernie Sabella
- Healthy And Fit! By Dave Bossert
- Online! By Bruce Lanoil
- Honest And Real! By Dave Bossert
- UK Spot - On The Go! By Bruce Lanoil
- Amusement Parks
- Bikes And Scooters
- Boats
- Buses
- Cars
- Motorbikes
- Pedestrians
- Planes (a Baby)
- Trains
- The Safety Smart Song By Dave Bossert (Babies)
- Ending
References
- "Cartoon Network wins six Emmys". Los Angeles Times. 2005-08-18. Retrieved 2014-12-01.
- "Nominations Search". Television Academy. Archived from the original on 2018-02-06. Retrieved 2018-02-05.
- Baisley, Sarah (2005-09-12). "South Park, Clone Wars and Lost Win Animation and VFX Primetime Emmy Awards". Animation World Network. Retrieved 2014-12-01.
- Fitzgerald, Toni (2006-04-05). "And to 'South Park,' a rudeness award". Media Life Magazine. Retrieved 2014-12-01.
- 65th Annual Peabody Awards, May 2006.
Airing
- Classical Baby: The Dance Show On Live From (CBS, HBO Max & Nick Jr.) (August 29 2021)
- Classical Baby: A Babies Family Christmas From (ABC & HBO Max) (December 24 2021)