CATcerto
CATcerto was the brainchild of Lithuanian conductor, composer and artist Mindaugas Piečaitis. Mr. Piečaitis contacted Burnell & Betsy about his idea to write a concerto inspired by my playing after he watched my videos on YouTube. The world premiere of CATcerto was performed by Klaipėda Chamber Orchestra in the Klaipėda Concert Hall in Klaipėda (Lithuania) on 5th June, 2009.
Mr. Piečaitis conducted, and I appeared as guest soloist via pre-recorded video projected onto a large screen behind the orchestra. The piece, including video of yours truly, was subsequently published by Peters Publishing and has been performed by numerous orchestras around the world, to the delight of audience members of all ages. In 2010, CATcerto received an award from Guinness World Records for being the first concerto ever written for a cat. It will appear in the 2012 edition, scheduled for publication in September of 2011. Below is a list of past & future performances of CATcerto.
To learn more about CATcerto, please visit www.CATcerto.com. You can watch the CATcerto performed by the Klaipeda Chamber Orchestra below:
For my Lithuanian-speaking friends and fans, here is a TV interview with the maestro, himself.
Performances of CATcerto
(List is still being compiled)
June 5, 2009 – Klaipeda Chamber Orchestra
Conductor: Mindaugas Piečaitis – Lithuania. Original performance.
October 23, 2009 – Harvard Pops Orchestra
Conductor: Allen Feinstein – USA.
December 31, 2009 – Klaipeda Chamber Orchestra
Conductor: Mindaugas Piečaitis – Lithuania.
February 7, 2010 - Philaharmonia of Greensboro
Conductor: Robert Gutter – USA.
March 17, 2010 – University of Bristol New Music Ensemble
Conductor: Neal Farwell – UK.
April 11, 2010 – Fargo Moorhead Area Youth Symphonies
USA.
May 4, 2010 – The Alabama Christian Academy Concert Band
Alabama, USA.
June 2, 2010 – Hot Springs Music Festival Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Richard Rosenberg – USA.
June 6, 2010 – Willamette Falls Symphony,
Conductor: Mark Perlman – USA
July 27, 2010 – Niagara Youth Orchestra
Conductor: Laura Thomas – Canada
October 3, 2010 – Southwest Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: David L. Crane – Chicago, IL USA.
November 13-14, 2010 – Musica Sacra Chamber Orchestra
Conductor: David Rutherford – Denver, Colorado USA.
February 18-20, 2011 – Houston Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: Michael Krajewski – Houston, Texas USA
November 11, 2011 – Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic
Conductor: Michael Schónwandt – Netherlands.
January 28, 2012 – Longmont Symphony Orchestra
Conductor: David Rutherford – Longmont, Colorado USA
February 12 2012 - University of York Concert Orchestra
Conductor: Graham Bier - York, UK
Download: Main Themes – CATcerto
Do you play piano? Read music? Would you like to be able to play the Main Themes from CATcerto? Well, Mindaugas Piečaitis has made available the sheet music for CATcerto’s Main Themes arranged for piano in downloadable PDF format (111 k). And it’s FREE!
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
CATcerto is going into the Guinness World Records book in 2012 for being the first concerto written for a cat.
I saw Nora on Animal Planet & am amazed. She’s wonderful. Thank you for sharing!
Has Pope Benedict seen this? If not, please send it to him. He loves cats.
She really loves the C note :p
She’s amazing!
Just like I’ve been saying all along, the cats.. they know things.. I’ve caught them watching.
Oh Noes! I gibs meh real naim an’ naow there’s knocking at teh doar! Bemember meh! Bemember mehhh!!!
Hi Nora!
I have to say again, you make me happy everytime I watch you playing! When I am sad or feel bad, I just watch and listen your playing and I feel much better:) Thank you Nora and keep playing! You are so sweet<3
Many years a go in New York City there was a jazz club on Third Avenue way downtown run by Barry Harris. It was a steamy hot night and I saw people sitting on the sidewalk and in chairs just outside this little storefront listening to a wonderful saxophone played by Charles McPherson. I stepped into the heated room and grabbed a seat. The tune weas a ballad and went on for another ten minutes or so. When the pianist, Barry Harris, began his gentle solo I was surprised to see a big orange Tabby cat some out from under the piano and move ever so slowly past the moving fingers to rest on the top of the piano. The music never wavered nor did the cat and there were drums playing as well. Amazing. At the conclusion their was gentler applause so as not to scare the little guy but it was unnecessary in my opinion. He was a hip cat and he knew where he wanted to be. The tune was IF YOU COULD SEE ME NOW. Charles dedicated it to the cat who then slowly slid away into the night. Gotta love the eternal Cat.
I agree…the cat loved Jazz and…they created the jazz as we know it today!!! They were called the “cool cats”…..
Thank you for sharing this amazing experience!
haha ! i adore you Nora ! i love you so much. i want you to be my pet :”>
I lost my Mom in June. She was 90, so she’d lived a long life, but I still miss her very much. My saving grace are my cats. They keep me company. They ARE attuned to music. They’re aware of nice, graceful music, especially soft violins, possibly because they’re MY favorite. I sing silly little fakey marches at mealtimes & they know that food is on the way. I’d be lost without my 3 kiddies. God bless Nora and her owners — Or perhaps it’s the other way ’round: God bless Nora and the people she owns.
Just goes to show that with the right backup, we can all look good.
It was lovely meeting you today. Thank you so much for sharing the site. It truly made my day!!
Loved this catcherto! But I’m a huge Nora fan, anyway! Such a beautiful, lovely cat who really tickles the ivories… It seems like she plays for her own enjoyment, like she absolutely knows what she wants to create! Such a delightful way to remind us that all living creatures are indeed unique and relish life…my cat comes running whenever he hears Nora playing on my iPad! Tiggy Goose, in Ohio, loves Nora! (they’re about the same age, and he is quite the handsome suitor) Nora? Need a gentleman caller? Tiggy adores you, girl. Me, too. Thanks to Nora’s humans who make these videos possible!
Great photos! Good man. He was great to work with whevener we joined the symphony for Holiday Pops and the Spring productions. He looks more like a conductor than the last time I saw him. Perhaps it’s the hair?
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