Showing results by narrator "Paul Courtenay Hyu" in All Categories

Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky was just five when he started learning the piano – in his small home-town in Russia. Most families like his had a piano but very few small boys could play it so well. Then he started writing music, too. Ideas for new music poured out of him, especially wonderful tunes. He wrote a lot of music for ballets as well as for big orchestras and small groups of instruments, such as string quartets (two violins, one viola, one cello).

When Beethoven was a young man, he was known as a brilliant pianist and a brilliant composer. But he didn't really have a happy life. He was born in the German city of Bonn and he gave his first public concert at the age of seven. But his father was very strict and made him practise for hours every day. When he was in his 20s and already famous, he began to go deaf. Imagine how awful that was for such a great musician: to him, music was getting softer and softer, until he could hardly hear a thing.

Pabu, a Rajasthani chief, loves animals and his niece, Kelam. One day, Kelam tells Pabu that she wants a camel for her birthday, so Pabu sets off to Lanka in search of one. But, after braving a storm, he finds himself in Persia, and befriends the king there. He learns all about camels, and returns with a baby camel for Kelam, just in time for her birthday.

Watch an expert violinist pick up the violin, place it under the chin and draw the bow across the strings, making music sing in the air: it seems so easy and natural. Actually, it can feel rather awkward at first! Where do I put my fingers for different notes? And how can I do it as well as pull the bow smoothly so it makes a nice sound? It seems so difficult!

There are different kinds of piano. Some are big and some are small. But they all have one thing in common: a keyboard with white keys and black keys. On this recording you can hear some of the best piano music written by famous composers. It is played by very good pianists. These pianists started to learn the piano when they were young children. They all like playing the piano better than anything else!

After cutting down a magical kolesmeloko tree for profit, Teong the folk healer, accidentally sets a giant serpent free. As punishment for his greed he must give away his three daughters, Maria Upeng, Maria Loleng, and Maria Upeng, to three powerful kings. Many years pass and the youngest child, Pedro, journeys across different realms in an effort to find his sisters and reunite his family.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is one of the most famous composers. When he was only three years old, he played the harpsichord and the violin. At the age of four he was making up his own music. He was so young that his father had to help him write it down. When he was six years old, Mozart and his older sister Nannerl were giving concerts to kings and queens and emperors. And Mozart wrote new music all the time, even when he was sitting in bumpy coaches travelling through Europe.

There is a BIG hall filled with hundreds of people. They are just getting comfortable in their seats when the musicians walk onto the stage, carrying instruments. There are the string instruments: the violins, violas, cellos and large double basses, which are heavy to carry. Everyone is silent. All the musicians are looking at that stick, with their instruments ready.

This traditional scene has inspired many composers and musicians all over the world. Every country has lullabies, and classical composers have had direct experience of the lulling effect, remembered from childhood or felt as parents. They have written music to sing, to play, to hum. Sometimes it is music specifically for the bedside; sometimes it is to evoke the atmosphere in the concert hall; and sometimes it is to tell a story on the stage – in a ballet or an opera.

This is ballet, the classical dance that, once seen, is never forgotten. Even though today we have film and video games, ballet is still a powerful vision of beauty and excitement. The dancers use the strength of an athlete, the balance of a gymnast and the sensitivity of a violinist to tell stories through their dancing. Here is some of the best music which has propelled dancers for hundreds of years.

A long, long time ago in a kampong, there was a pond with plenty of fish. But the pond soon begins to dry up, and a watchful and greedy crane has an idea: He fools the fish into thinking that he will bring them to a large, sparkling lake. In the meantime, a crab who has been watching the crane has plans of his own…

This is a story about displaced toys searching for a place to live happily and safely, away from the war zone. During their journey, they meet a cat who warns them that some toys will try to prevent these traditional toys from entering Happy Land. So, the displaced traditional toys have to fight to enter Happy Land.

Issun-boshi is a tiny boy, no taller than one sun (3 cm), but he is brave and spirited. With a needle as a sword, he rides down the river in a wooden bowl to find work in the capital. A lord hires him to guard his daughter, the princess. During an outing, the princess is attacked by ogres and Issun-boshi saves her. The ogres leave a mallet, or hammer, behind. The mallet is magical and it will change Issun-boshi's life forever.

Little Mole is very eager to see his special star. Big Mole said it would point him to awesome things. The young mole goes in search of his star and finds it in the most unexpected place. Join Little Mole on his journey to independence in this starry tale about discovering one's place in the world.

Badang, a poor labourer, uses his wits to gain super strength and freedom from his master. The Raja of Singapura hears reports about this strongman, and summons Badang to his kingdom. With his quick mind and strength, Badang becomes legendary as the undefeatable royal warrior, defending his King and country's honour. Among his many challenges, Badang lifts a gigantic boulder, and hurls it to the mouth of the Singapore River.

In this latest instalment of the popular picture book series, Asia's Lost Legends, the story travels to the steppes of Mongolia, where lives a young fiddle player named Suho and his beloved horse, Khuur. The two friends are inseparable until a cruel king tries to tear them apart. But the bond between Suho and Khuur is so strong that it cannot be broken. Instead, it inspires the creation of Mongolia's national instrument.

Poor Tibby! All he ever wanted was some friends to play with, but the other rabbits thought he was too strange. After all, he could pounce and could roar like a tiger. But he also had long floppy ears and could hop like a bunny. Was he a tiger or a bunny? No one knew, until the day Tibby showed everyone just how much of a tiger—and a bunny—he really was.

Unlike other ducks, Duckie cannot swim. Tibby the Tiger-Bunny finds ways to help Duckie swim—but nothing works. Tibby wonders if Duckie is a swimming kind of duck and, in the end, helps his new friend discover who she really is. From the creator of Tibby the Tiger Bunny, comes the next in the series Tibby and Duckie, a tale of friendship, perseverance and acceptance.

In ancient Vietnam, there once lived a King called Hung Vuong. He was a benevolent king who ruled wisely and with much kindness. As Hung Vuong grew old, he had to pick one of his children to succeed him. To help him decide, the sons were given an important task to prepare a meal fit for a king. The two older sons journeyed to the farthest lands to find the rarest ingredients.

Tibby is an orange-and-black striped rabbit. He has long floppy ears, a short puffy tail, and he can hop. But he can also pounce and roar like a tiger! One day he meets a young boar called Scaredy Snout who, as his name suggests, is scared of everything and anything. Snout has no friends because he is afraid to do what boars naturally do. Tibby befriends him and helps him to overcome his fears and discover that things are not that scary after all.