Fun Kids Classical: new radio station for children

Do you want to keep classical music in your children's lives, even without live performance of school lessons? Then turn to a fabulous new online radio station for children, Fun Kids Classical.

With back-to-back performances of instantly enjoyable short pieces or extracts from longer works, Fun Kids Classical is a wonderful resource. Pieces are played without introduction, but the title and artists are available at a glance, and a quick online search will provide more background if you need to know more about the players or pieces.

Jess Gillam is a popular Fun Kids Classical artist. Photo: Robin Clewley

A typical programme might include charismatic pianist Lang Lang playing Liszt, Leonard Bernstein and the New York Phil in a section from Benjamin Britten's Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, the Waltz from Tchaikovsky's ballet Swan Lake, lively saxophonist Jess Gillam in a jazzy dance by Iturralde and cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason playing the elegiac Swan from Saint-Saëns' Carnival of the Animals.

Culture Whisper finds this charming new venture a real boon at home. Babies can bounce to it, pupils can learn to it, and the grown-ups will enjoy its non-stop music. Best of all, with its many short pieces, parents can join in the Classical Kitchen Disco and still keep up with the kids.

Believe me, you haven't lived until you've done The Floss to Handel's The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba.