Jazz Piano Cafe » classical

CATcerto – a cat plays the piano with an orchestra

admin — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 20:15:34 +0000

This is simply amazing. Lithuanian conductor and composer Mindaugas Piečaitis found videos on Youtube of a very talented, musical cat, Nora the Piano Cat and decided to write a concerto for her.

The concerto, called CATcerto (web site) was first performed by Nora and the Klaipėda Chamber Orchestra in Lithuania on June 5th 2009. The world premiere is available on Youtube (or by using the player below).

It is quite a musical feat to conduct an orchestra along with a cat! Piečaitis writes:

The problems of the performance of this atypical piece became clear during its first rehearsals. It is not very easy to guess what the cat is playing, so that the video material must be studied very closely and be oriented in the accompaniment not only by what the soloist is playing, but also by the movements she makes beforehand. This became a particular challenge for the orchestra.

Nor was it simple to rehearse the nearly minute-long prelude to the piece, in which the main themes of the piece are presented, with the soloist calmly sitting at the piano and »waiting« for her entrance cue. If I started the piece just 3–4 seconds too early or too late, it would be impossible to avoid a collapse. This risk truly raises your blood pressure.

Video material does not »breathe«, so that you cannot exchange a glance with the soloist and must unconditionally adapt to her.

Nora the Piano Cat writes in her artist’s statement:

I would like to thank Mr Piečaitis for giving me the opportunity to show the entire world that a cat concert pianist can indeed play beautiful music with an orchestra. It is the mission of every great artist like me to inspire others to create. If I have inspired even one person to write music, or learn an instrument, than I will have lived a meaningful life.

I love this video – it is musically interesting, beautiful, and very creative and inspiring.

New Recording – Geoff and Angela “Casta Diva”

admin — Tue, 26 May 2009 16:53:05 +0000

My friend, singer and songwriter Angela Molineux and I recorded another song last night, “Casta Diva”. It’s an emotional song that blends the genres of pop and classical in the form of “classical crossover”.

For more info you can check out Angela’s myspace page here.

Casta Diva
composed by Angela M. and Geoff P.
words by Angela
recorded May 25th 2009
Time: 3:00

If you’d like to get an Mp3 of the song you can download it here.

Hope you enjoy and please leave us comments/feedback about this song; we’d really be interested in hearing what you think!

Brad Mehldau with Renee Fleming (NPR free recording)

admin — Wed, 07 Sep 2005 06:19:00 +0000

NPR has made available a free online recording of jazz pianist Brad Mehldau performing with mezzo-soprano Renee Fleming in the Creators at Carnegie series.
Click here to view the concert details, and then click the “Listen to the Concert” link that appears below the title on that page. It’s wonderful that NPR has made this music available for free. Here is the concert playlist:

Creators at Carnegie
Brad Mehldau with Renee Fleming

In Concert at Zankel Hall

“Lithium” (Cobain)

“Things Behind the Sun” (Drake)

“River Man” (Drake)

WORLD PREMIERE: Songs from The Book of Hours: Love Poems to God (Mehldau/Words by Rainer Maria Rilke)

Excerpts:

III. “I Love the Dark Hours of My Being” (Mehldau/Words by Rilke)

IV. “I Love You, Gentlest of Ways” (Mehldau/Words by Rilke)

VII. “Extinguish My Eyes, I’ll Go on Seeing You” (Mehldau/Words by Rilke)

Break: Intro (Mehldau) from the album Live in Tokyo

In Concert at Zankel Hall

“How Long Has This Been Going On?” (Gershwin)

“But Beautiful” (Burke/Van Heusen)