When my children were young, I was always looking for concerts that would expose and excite them about classical music. There are two concerts to choose from on Saturday, January 10, 2009.
The Free Young Persons' Concerts series present pianist Simone Dinnerstein at 2:00 p.m. at the Trinity Church in Southport, CT. She is a graduate of the Juilliard School where she was a student of Peter Serkin. Her talent was recognized there with the William Petschek Piano Scholarship, the Vladimir Horowitz Scholarship and the Chopin Award. Ms. Dinnerstein's international reputation preceded her due to her much applauded interpretation of Johann Sebastian Bach's Goldberg Variations. Her 2007 recording of this work was deemed as one of the best by the critics of the New York Times. As a mother of a young elementary school student, she especially welcomes the opportunity to perform for such an audience.
For those who may have missed the Metropolitan Opera's shortened version of Mozart's Magic Flute, the Westport Public Library offers Seymour Barab's contemporary version of Little Red Riding Hood at 2:30 p.m. in the McManus Room. This account of the familiar fairy tale notes that the wolf dislikes sweet treats and is performed by the UConn Children's Opera Group; this group is part of the Connecticut Opera's outreach program known as Opera Express. As it has for over thirty years, Opera Express strives to bring the joy of opera to all.
If you can't make it to either performance, feel free to check out the numerous music compact discs specially for kids at the Westport Public Library.
