# Have you heard the CATcerto?



## CypressWillow (Apr 2, 2013)

I'm a wee bit embarrassed to admit how much I like this:






I can't help it, though. every few months I want to watch and listen again.


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## apricissimus (May 15, 2013)

Reminds me a little of this:


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## Ingélou (Feb 10, 2013)

Snap! I discovered Nora the Piano Cat a few months ago, and it's brilliant. Thanks, CypressWillow.


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## Guest (Jun 28, 2013)

A great pawformance!


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## Guest (Jun 28, 2013)

Now we just need a piano concerto for four paws.


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## Karabiner (Apr 1, 2013)

Still waiting for a good recording of Ravel's recently discovered Concerto for the Left Paw.


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## Jobis (Jun 13, 2013)

This is way too funny.

:lol:


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

arcaneholocaust said:


> Now we just need a piano concerto for four paws.


Question is - two cats or one cat dancing? And if it's two cats will they be good friends?


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Thank you!

I saw a little clip on this well over a year ago -- more about the cat than the piece, but the piece was in progress at the time.

I'm only disappointed that the full length work is just under five minutes long.

It is more interesting to listen to it while disregarding the video 

Pleasant and clever bit of composing around an edited sound object, though I thought the literal "meow" in the score about three-fifths of the way through completely unnecessary and severely marring. Overall, Kudos to Maestro Piecaitis,


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

I sure do wish my cat could play like that! -- Oh! Uh, Wait a minute.... 
uh, recording equipment / editing equipment / manuscript paper / pen, pencil (yesyesyes) / and.... 

I can be his agent if it hits big!


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## Couchie (Dec 9, 2010)

The playing is fairly sloppy and the cat's posture at the piano is questionable. Not to mention that he has worse shtick than even Lang Lang, just look at 3:14. Are we supposed to believe here that the cat is so emotionally drained by this passage that he must rest his head upon the keys? A real pianist is able to communicate his emotion purely through the music without such showiness.


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## Feathers (Feb 18, 2013)

Omg the Bb at 1:45...what a modulation! And the cat looked up with such emotional eyes afterwards too...

When I first saw this thread I thought it was going to be about Tom and Jerry or Bugs Bunny :lol:


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Carl Czerny was a bachelor who lived 'with a number of cats.' Wonder what they got up to when Carl was out of the house? How much of Czerny's works are actually by Czerny?


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## Skilmarilion (Apr 6, 2013)

I was disappointed by the lack of catenza and recatitulation.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

I am just _appalled_ at all the catty comments in this thread on this piece and its performance


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## Bix (Aug 12, 2010)

I adore cats and this is just fab - really cheered me up.


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## Celloman (Sep 30, 2006)

Meowsers! I laugh every time I see this...


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

I propose a new piece: 

Double piano concerto, for amplified toy piano, piano, and orchestra ~ to be performed by Charles Schultz' Schroeder (toy piano) and Schrödinger's cat (piano.)


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## Kevin Pearson (Aug 14, 2009)

I'm a cat person and so I really enjoyed that purrformance! Very well done considering the material they had to work with.

Kevin


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## peeyaj (Nov 17, 2010)

I never knew cats like to play atonal music. I heard they only play Chopin's.


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

PetrB said:


> I propose a new piece:
> 
> Double piano concerto, for amplified toy piano, piano, and orchestra ~ to be performed by Charles Schultz' Schroeder (toy piano) and Schrödinger's cat (piano.)


Trouble is when the cat heard it was going to be orchestrated, it fled.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Taggart said:


> Trouble is when the cat heard it was going to be orchestrated, it fled.


That is why you record the cat playing in an at home interview, it flatters, and accommodates their hyper territoriality. Imagine, cat arrives for rehearsal, is then compelled to take at least several hours sniffing out the entire perimeter of the stage before even getting to all the instrumentalist's seating surrounding the piano on-stage. Also has to try out and see if it can fit in any and all instrument cases left lying about the scene.

Unworkable.


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## Kieran (Aug 24, 2010)

A dog would have played it a lot better than that cat....


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Kieran said:


> A dog would have played it a lot better than that cat....


I think it would have been -- pardon me -- a ruff-er performance.


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## Kieran (Aug 24, 2010)

PetrB said:


> I think it would have been -- pardon me -- a ruff-er performance.


It would have been less rigid. More Lassie-faire, I reckons...


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

It's amazing and clever, but cleverness aside, couldn't this be a serious form of composition? Perhaps it already is. It really seems to work very well at times.

There's a fellow who plays clarinet - darn! I can't remember the name at the moment. But he has a series of albums with works performed in duet with various fauna, including cicadas, several different bird species, and most interestingly a whale. Researches were astonished that the whale actually changed vocal patterns in response to the clarinet. Of course, he or she could have been saying "Shut up! I'm tryin' to sing here!" 

They are good for a novelty once only listen but not something I'd want to hear over and over. I'll put a link when I can find it.


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## Mahlerian (Nov 27, 2012)

PetrB said:


> I propose a new piece:
> 
> Double piano concerto, for amplified toy piano, piano, and orchestra ~ to be performed by Charles Schultz' Schroeder (toy piano) and Schrödinger's cat (piano.)


But wouldn't that be in a state of performance and non-performance at a single time? You might end up confusing audiences who have stopped observing to see which state it's in.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

Perhaps he can play something by Clawed Depussy for an encore?


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

Mahlerian said:


> But wouldn't that be in a state of performance and non-performance at a single time? You might end up confusing audiences who have stopped observing to see which state it's in.


If the cat's in the box and playing we know it's OK. The real trouble would be that both the audience and the players would only know either the tempo or the position in the piece but not both at the same time - rather like Mr Heisenberg when stopped for speeding. The cop asked him, "Do you know how fast you were going?" To which he replied, "No, but I know exactly where I am."


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Taggart said:


> If the cat's in the box and playing we know it's OK. The real trouble would be that both the audience and the players would only know either the tempo or the position in the piece but not both at the same time - rather like Mr Heisenberg when stopped for speeding. The cop asked him, "Do you know how fast you were going?" To which he replied, "No, but I know exactly where I am."


Meanwhile, still rather spent from her recent performance of the catcerto, Nora, curled up in the corner, tail tucked tidily around torso whilst foreleg is draped lightly over her muzzly mug, cautiously yet casually half lifts one eye-lid and glances your way saying, "About dinner time... well, make yourself _useful_, Taggart."


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## Taggart (Feb 14, 2013)

PetrB said:


> Meanwhile, still rather spent from her recent performance of the catcerto, Nora, curled up in the corner, tail tucked tidily around torso whilst foreleg is draped lightly over her muzzly mug, cautiously yet casually half lifts one eye-lid and glances your way saying, About dinner time... well, make yourself _useful_, Taggart."


Cats don't have owners…they have staff!

I know the feeling only too well having lived with cats for over thirty years.


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Taggart said:


> Cats don't have owners…they have staff!
> 
> I know the feeling only too well having lived with cats for over thirty years.


"Dogs have bosses: Cats have personnel."


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## PetrB (Feb 28, 2012)

Kieran said:


> It would have been less rigid. More Lassie-faire, I reckons...


It is seriously difficult to type while laughing so hard.

Oh, ho & oh nooooooo! The Groaner Prize winner of 2013.


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