Scroll down to feast your eyes on a very talented cat trying out some unusual sonorities on the piano...
We're guessing you may have seen funny clips of cats 'playing' the piano before. And by 'playing', we mean wandering up and down the keyboard in an endearingly haphazard way, looking cutely nonplussed by the strange noises coming out of their new favourite stroll.
Nora, below, is a little different.
Not for Nora the idle pitter-patter up and down the keyboard. No, she's going to sit properly at the stool and play the keys with her fingers. Paws. First right hand (paw), then left hand (paw), then, impressively, both hands (paws) at once.
We like the way Nora pauses (pawses?) every so often and directs an expectant gaze at the camera for the appropriate audience applause. A little later, she's able to turn her skills to a duet performance with a second, off-camera pianist. The key of C seems to hold a particular fascination for Nora.
Sweet, sweet miaowsic
Cats and classical music make quite good bedfellows, in fact. Our editor Charlotte Smith was lucky enough to catch on film the moment a cat wandered onstage at a Beethoven concert last year. And several composers have been noted cat lovers.
These include, most famously, Maurice Ravel. The creator of Bolero was the proud owner of several Siamese cats. He adored them so much that he would talk to them in a special, affectionate way. Some have even suggested that Ravel's love for cats influenced the delicate textures in his music.
Elsewhere, Igor Stravinsky had a soft spot for cats, and felines frequently appear in photographs with the composer. The eccentric Erik Satie was fond of various forms of animals, including cats. Alban Berg was another cat enthusiast, often pictured with his pets. His letters occasionally mention his affection for them.
- 'You're nothing but an arse': why Erik Satie was sentenced to eight days in jail
- Six of the best: Satie works
Gioachino Rossini loved cats and even composed a short piece called Duetto buffo di due gatti (Comic Duet for Two Cats), though it’s likely a compilation of his melodies rather than an original work. It's delightfully odd enough to merit inclusion in our list of classical music's weirdest works. And Claude Debussy had a cat named Minou and was known to be fond of animals in general. His delicate and evocative music often has a feline grace.
Need more cats and pianos? Be our guest... and 'bye for miaow.
