Beethoven Lives Upstairs (1992)

Based on the best-selling and award-winning Classical Kids CD, Beethoven Lives Upstairs was hailed upon its original release as "a video masterpiece" by the Boston Herald and "the best family film to appear in a long time" by the Ottawa Citizen. The television special has been seen on HBO, PBS, CBC, the Family Channel and YTV and the home video has sold more than 250,000 copies in North America. Based in part on historical fact and featuring more than 25 beautifully-performed excerpts of Beethoven’s best-loved works, Beethoven Lives Upstairs presents the great composer as a hero for today’s children.

Disappointed

Unlike the CD, "Beethoven Lives Upstairs,"--which was of superb quality--I was very disappointed in the DVD. I had hoped it would be exactly the story/conversations/music/etc. of the CD but simply put to live action. It was not! The character of Christoph was made much more whiny and disrespectful. The story was changed some from the CD. Conversations were different. Not nearly as much of Beethoven's music was heard. I would buy another story-CD in the Classical Kids series in a moment; I don't think I would ever buy another DVD in the series unless I could view it first. June 20, 2008

Beethoven Lives Upstairs and hits home!

Excellent video - reminds me of HBO Composer Specials. I use those and now this in my 5th and 6th grade music classes. Humanizes Beethoven and lets people understand the difficulties he had as a deaf musician/composer. "Fictional" child adds a nice touch and helps kids relate to, as my students sometimes refer to "all those dead guys" that wrote music!
My only disappointment is that the DVD is not in chapters - you have to Fast Forward through the DVD to get to where you were the day (or class) before. It can take 15 to 20 minutes to get 35 to 40 minutes into the video - If it weren't for the DVD quality I may have bought the VHS so I could leave it "parked" for the next class. June 9, 2008

Human side of Beethoven well-presented

This video tells the story of a young boy whose father has recently died and whose mother has now rented the upstairs of their home to an eccentric composer, Ludwig van Beethoven. The deaf composer bangs around at all hours of the day and especially night as he works on his 9th Symphony. The video presents a very human picture of the great composer, struggling with his loss of hearing. A connection is made between boy and composer which is touching. This film is an excellent way to pique a beginner musician's interest in the music of Beethoven and in Beethoven himself.



April 19, 2008

Listening v. Watching

We used to play the original audio cassette version of this entrancing story to our baby daughter. Now we wanted to give the experience to our granddaughter. So we bought the DVD version, but it's not the same. The audio was great to play for the baby after lights out, to go to sleep by, to fantasise to Beethoven's glorious music.
Watching the story told in visual form is distracting and doees not achieve the same magic for the imagination.
We're now going to see if can find the original audio cassette format! But one way or another the stories of composers in these series are a wonderful introduction for young children to the beauty of classical music. March 8, 2008

Buy the VHS

I am a public school elementary music teacher and I bought this dvd because it really is a great educational tool. I specifically bought the DVD so that it would be easy to cue for classes. However, HUGE PROBLEM--NO DVD CHAPTERS. If you are going to be cueing the movie for a class, buy the VHS. There is no way short of manually fast forwarding to get to your spot. What a pain. On the upside, the story is fluid and engaging and the length is perfect for a public school setting. February 29, 2008

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