Nora is a gray tabby cat, rescued from a shelter, who has become famous for "playing" the piano. The Times of London, in its online edition, characterized her music as being "something halfway between Philip Glass and free jazz."[1] Public Radio International challenged its listeners to distinguish between Nora's music and the atonal compositions of composers like Alban Berg, Arnold Schoenberg, and Anton Webern. Nora was named after the artist Leonora Carrington. Nora was adopted, and when a year old, Nora climbed up onto the bench in front of a Yamaha Disklavier piano in the middle of the night and began to play. Since that time, Nora has continued to play the piano on a daily basis, sometimes playing duets with her owner and his students. The students encourage the creation of a YouTube video, which was uploaded in early 2007. It received large numbers of views and attracted the attention of other media. It was featured on many talk shows, newspapers and news channels including Martha Stewart, CNN, The Daily Show, Public Radio International and the Philadelphia Inquirer. Nora has attracted the interest of both musicians and scientists, who are fascinated by her rare behavior. It appears that she likes the attention it brings her, but she also plays when alone. She does express a preference to play with students, when they play Bach, and to play a specific piano, a Yamaha Disklavier. In addition, she gravitates toward the D-E-F range on the keyboard and includes the black keys in her playing. The National Science Foundation has included Nora in a video about animal behavior which will be shown in museums in the fall of 2007. Pianist Magazine, based in London, featured her in an article, and a video of her playing was used at the 2007 National Conference of Keyboard Pedagogy. Dean Santomieri, an avant-garde musician from San Francisco, used a loop of Nora's playing in an improvised group performance in July 2007. A dance student at a college in Leeds, England gave a solo performance using Nora's music. Betsy Alexander has written a composition called Fur Release: A Prelude for Paws and Hands, incorporating Nora's music. A CD of music incorporating Nora's playing has been released by the Laurel Canyon Animal Company.
See also
External links
- Nora's YouTube performance
- Nora YouTube sequel
- Nora's owner's website
- Cat on the Keys CD
- Dean Santomieri website
References
- Whitwell, Tom. "Microtrends: Piano-Playing Cats", The Times, March 3, 2007. Accessed July 14 2007.
- Mapes, Jen. "Do Animals Have an Innate Sense of Music?", National Geographic, January 5, 2001. Accessed July 15 2007.
