Thursday, July 14, 2011

Ana discovers Nora, the piano cat


Nora, the piano playing cat, is famous, but Ana only learned about her recently. She was enchanted, even touched, by her performance in...but we'll get to that shortly.


From Wikipedia, Ana learned that Nora enjoys the attention she receives when she plays, but that she also plays alone, as well as when there are piano students present. Nora joins in especially when they are playing Bach. Ana likes that!

Nora prefers the D-E-F range of the piano but also plays on the black keys. She has been studied by musicians, musicologists, and other scholarly types for some time. The Times of London has said that her playing is "something halfway between Philip Glass and free jazz."

Ana was thrilled to learn that a Lithuanian conductor, composer, and artist, Mindaugas Piečaitis, has written a concerto for orchestra and Nora (appearing by video) which we all can see and hear. She particularly likes the idea of two species of creatures making music together, and the utterly respectful way the composer and musicians treat the performance of the cat. Their dignity and seriousness, she thinks, ennobles all involved. See if you agree.

This is Nora's five minute concerto:




There is more at this site devoted to Nora and her "catcerto."



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