The late, great producer Phil Ramone worked with many famous popular singers. However, one of his albums is a little different. It’s classical music, made for children.
“He actually started as a child violinist,” said Marc Neikrug, a famous classical composer who worked together with Ramone on the album, “Sunken Cathedrals,” after being introduced by Rock Positano, a doctor with a special interest in music’s value to medicine. “The three of us all want to promote classical music to children.”
In the digital age when children develop surrounded by constant distractions, however, Neikrug sees a very particular value in classical music. “I’m concerned about a world in which there is an almost aggressive move to lower people’s attention spans,” he said. “‘That’s terrifying. How do you even absorb and learn things? How do you expect kids to do well in school?”
“I think it’s really important to let kids build some kind of ability to focus,” Neikrug said. “Great music can do that, because you’re drawn into what you’re listening to.” A two-or three-minute music may not seem so long to concentrate on, but it’s a good attention span for kids,” he said. “We picked the pieces very deliberately to be not too long.”
All of the pieces on the two-part album are unadapted, complete works of classical music. “Phil, Dr. Rock and I were all completely convinced that we need little, short; beautiful pieces for kids. They happen to be really good for adults too,” he pointed out, though the words “Classics for Kids” on the cover might scare some grown people off. This doesn’t mean you should throw all of your popular music albums away or trash all the screen devices in your home. “I’m not an advocate for disregarding the reality of living in this world,” Neikrug said. “I would say someone who grows up able to focus for an hour and equally able to use the smartphone with one hand, is fine.”
8. What did Marc Neikrug and Rock Positano have in common?
A.They had the same career. | B.They had the same interest. |
C.They had the same circle of friends. | D.They had the same number of children. |
9. What was Neikrug worried about?
A.People’s decreasing attention spans. | B.People becoming too aggressive. |
C.People’s low learning ability. | D.People losing faith in school. |
10. Why did Ramone and Neikrug select short pieces for the album?
A.To attract distracted adults. |
B.Because of their own preference. |
C.To include more pieces in the album. |
D.Because of kids’ mental characteristics. |
11. What does the text want to tell us?
A.Popular music producers turned to classical music. |
B.Classical music can coexist with digital devices. |
C.It’s never too late to listen to classical music. |
D.Kids can benefit from classical music. |