VIDEO: CATcerto. ENTIRE PERFORMANCE. Mindaugas Piecaitis, Nora The Piano Cat
Posted on 10/24/2009 2:26:13 PM PDT by JoeProBono
Move over, Liberace. Give your keyboard fingers a rest, Billy Joel. The latest cool cat to wow millions for piano-playing prowess happens to be a gray shelter rescued feline named Nora.
Nora’s piano-playing talents propelled her to become a YouTube phenomenon. Her keyboard concertos have been viewed 15,645,582 times – and counting – on YouTube and ranked among the Top 10 most memorable YouTube videos in 2007. Heck, a Lithuanian composer has been so fascinated by this feline pianist that he is busy arrange a symphony in her honor.
The 5-year-old hops on the piano bench and begins to play with one paw or both – depending on when the mood strikes – much like most musicians.
My cat charlie used to play piano with me, but he could only play catsticks.
She’s a pretty kitty.
Talented, too!
"Hello my honey, hello my baby, hello my ragtime gal..." :)
That’s one of my all-time favorite cartoons. What was the name of it? Are there any on-line videos of it?
That is Michigan J. Frog . I haven’t looked for video’s ..
There is a fat woman with a pet chicken on TV right now.
I found a video of “Hello, My Baby” by Michigan J. Frog here from the cartoon:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1vH2rjUshk
Bing “Michigan J. Frog” and you can see it.
Actually, here’s the entire cartoon — IN ITALIAN!
Except Michigan J. Frog sings in English. The cartoon is titled “One Froggy Evening.”
http://www.videosift.com/video/The-One-the-Only-Michigan-J-Frog-One-Froggy-Evening
Silly.
Congrats to Nora The Cat! I have her as a friend on my Face Book site.:)=^..^=
Please see post number 14.
Wow!
Bravissimo Nora!
Getting children interested in classical music is a Good Thing.
English translation:
The chamber orchestra solo is performed by a cat from the United States. Actually, the famous four-footed pianist does not perform live on the stage. Her playing is heard through a video projector.
The Klaipeda chamber orchestra is rehearsing the concert program which will be presented to the young listeners of this port city. The solo in this piece, which was written by the conductor and composer Mindaugas Piecaitis, is performed by the purring world-renowned star from the US the four-footed pianist Nora. The conductor says that the idea to include the piano-playing cat in the repertoire of the musical program for children was born when he saw film footage about her.
Mindaugas Piecaitis: "I was so enchanted and delightedAnd just by chance I was preparing a childrens program for Klaipeda. Jokingly, I proposed that we show the children that cat. And that idea was received here with such enthusiasm, that later I thought:..wait why not get some really good quality material, edit it and put it into a production and why not write an orchestral piece. Thats how everything came about."
The musicians of the Klaipeda chamber orchestra say that they never imagined they would ever perform with a cat. The orchestras pianist Egle Povilanskiene says she is delighted not only by the conductors contrivance to create an atypical piece, but also by the talents of her rival Nora.
Egle Povilanskiene (pianist): "Well, I think I still have a long way to go. You really need a lot of study for such artistic skill.
Rimantas Giedraitis (flutist): "This cat has its own web page, has an owner, who has patented her discovery. This is only a small portion of what we see on the screen and of the reasons why an accompaniment was conceived".
Mindaugas Piecaitis: "No one ever taught her. Her owner is a piano teacher, she teaches children. As for Nora she is a cat. She comes and plays whenever she feels like it".
The programs concert solo is performed not only by the exotic American pianist but also by a typewriter. Conductor Mindaugas Piecaitis says that educational projects for children make up a huge portion of his creative activities.
Mindaugas Piecaitis: "I am constantly looking for interesting and unconventional pieces that would in some way be attractive to children. I look for playfulness in music because children like to play".
Gidone Vaitkuviene (manager): "There is a preconceived notion in our society that academic, classical music is serious composition, perhaps sometimes even boring. That is the stereotype. With this educational project we want to touch childrens hearts and through such a playful prism".
In the educational project "The Playful Music Orchestra" with the Klaipeda chamber orchestra, classical works will also be performed by the young audiences contemporaries. Meanwhile, the conductor not only has a variety of ideas for the continuation of this project, but also dreams of someday meeting the enchanting tabby pianist to try to make a deal with her to perform this piece live.
Totally blew it on the Goldberg Variations - this cat is going nowhere. (Generally better than Lang Lang, though.)
“One Froggy Evening”
Here’s a link to the complete cartoon:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvX_TvnBcOU
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