Photo above: Composer/director Raphael Mostel, at the Berliner Philharmoniker’s sold-out world premiere performances of the new full production of his complete Travels of Babar at the Berlin Philharmonie The orchestra had placed copies of the programs on the staircases inviting the audiences in

One of the rare works that can seduce a general audience of all ages - young or old - and all levels of sophistication

Raphael Mostel’s Travels of Babar has been presented to great acclaim almost 70 times already, and in five languages. Composer/director Raphael Mostel modernizes Jean de Brunhoff’s much-loved classic picture-book with narration in new translations and the one-of-a-kind production that now includes the elaborate multimedia in HD — also directed by the composer — using the original watercolors of the much-loved illustrations

Available in

• the intimate original chamber version for 8 musicians

(links below for audio excerpts + archival video clips)

&

• the new versions for orchestra

(recordings not yet publicly available)

Critical Comments

"With shouts of joy the large number of young audience members greeted Raphael Mostel's imaginative setting… While the colorful images were projected…the chamber ensemble transformed into extremely three-dimensional music the 46 scenes of the story”

— Musik Heute (Music Today, Germany)

"I was amazed Mostel succeeded — because the audience's concentration lasted an insanely long time! ...the kids were really engaged. Mostel drew so many colors from the eight musicians!"

— WDR3 (German Radio)

There is both a place and a need for works for children in the classical music repertory, but few composers have turned their hand to the task and of those that have, few have produced works likely to appeal to children and to keep their parents entertained as well. Raphael Mostel's 'Travels of Babar,' based on the second of Jean de Brunhoff's Babar books, succeeds nicely. The music is picturesque and wide-ranging....The music has a narrative and lyrical flow that makes its charms hard to resist."

— The New York Times

November 2-3, 2018 at Florence Gould Hall of the French Institute / Alliance Française, NYCLaurent de Brunhoff (eldest son of the creator of Babar, Jean de Brunhoff, and himself author/artist of almost 50 subsequent Babar books) with composer / dire… — November 2-3, 2018 at Florence Gould Hall of the French Institute / Alliance Française, NYC
Laurent de Brunhoff (eldest son of the creator of *Babar,* Jean de Brunhoff, and himself author/artist of almost 50 subsequent *Babar* books) with composer / director Raphael Mostel (on right), at the U.S. premiere performances of the new full production of Mostel’s complete “Travels of Babar” using the original scoring. Photo: Bonnie Stein
These performances singled out in media
Print: *The New York Times*
Radio: *WNYC,* highlighted as the performance of the day in New York
Magazine: Long review/feature (in Greek)

Original Jean de Brunhoff watercolor for Le Voyage de Babar, 1932, from the collection of the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Used with permission — Original Jean de Brunhoff watercolor for *Le Voyage de Babar*, 1932, from the collection of the Bibliothèque nationale de France. Used with permission

For more information, contact: info [at] mostel.com