Leroy Anderson - The Waltzing Cat (1950)

Leroy Anderson (June 29, 1908 - May 18, 1975) was an American composer of short, light concert pieces, many of which were introduced by the Boston Pops Orchestra under the direction of Arthur Fiedler. John Williams described him as "one of the great American masters of light orchestral music."
The Waltzing Cat (1950)
l'Orchestre philharmonique de Radio France conducted by Barbara Hannigan
view here the live performance:
• Leroy Anderson : The W...
His pieces and his recordings during the 1950s conducting a studio orchestra were immense commercial successes. "Blue Tango" was the first instrumental recording ever to sell one million copies. His most famous pieces are probably "Sleigh Ride" and "The Syncopated Clock". In February 1951, WCBS-TV in New York City selected "The Syncopated Clock" as the theme song for The Late Show, the WCBS late-night movie, using Percy Faith's recording. Mitchell Parish added words to "The Syncopated Clock", and later wrote lyrics for other Anderson tunes, including "Sleigh Ride", which was not written as a Christmas piece, but as a work that describes a winter event. Anderson started the work during a heat wave in August 1946. The Boston Pops' recording of it was the first pure orchestral piece to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Pop Music chart. From 1952 to 1961, Anderson's composition "Plink, Plank, Plunk!" was used as the theme for the CBS panel show I've Got a Secret.
Anderson's musical style employs creative instrumental effects and occasionally makes use of sound-generating items such as typewriters and sandpaper.

[@tommyron]

This is the sound of my childhood in the Boston suburbs staying up late and watching Evening at Pops. It's fantastically inventive, melodic stuff.

[@MrInterestingthings]

Seeing the score here really shows some craft. Im studying it!LeroyAnderson was respected. I've heard his work before snd in the U.S. I imagine he received uninteresting commissions. This was fun and of course the crowd enjoys it.

[@NateSassoonMusic]

I love Leroy Anderson. His orchestration is full of humor and clarity. His hits present us with musical ideas which feel so direct, simple, and intuitive, and yet they always possess something that makes them truly memorable and distinctive. I've read in a book that his professor Walter Piston was at times frustrated with the music that Leroy Anderson brought to composition lessons....

[@evanmisejka4062]

Just played Bugler's Holiday Solo Cornet 1 last week. Tomorrow we are playing the typewriter in my orchestra concert.
I love Leroy Anderson

[@notaire2]

Lieblich, lebhaft, kompakt, fein komponiert und vor allem wunderschön!

[@ClassicMusicVidsUSA]

12 years ago, my school wind ensemble and I (I was the pianist) went out on a trolley at the end of the fall semester. As the trolley drove around campus making the rounds, we'd play Christmas songs, including Sleigh Ride. As a result, despite not being into jazz, I felt obligated to stop, listen, and give a like to this video.

[@Dylonely42]

Very honestly, I didn’t expect much from a short waltz like this… but I ended loving it. The Gershwin-like ending of the first part (0:42) might be the most beautiful thing I ever heard in a waltz.

[@Traumfanblueheron]

I like it A LOT 😁👍🙏

[@gnirolnamlerf593]

Yes, "The Typewriter" is a lot of fun. (See Jerry Lewis' pantomime version in the otherwise forgettable _Who's Minding the Store?_ ) Thanks for this. There are some very beautiful melodies among the more fun pieces. Check out "Arietta".

[@ThatOneGuyRAR]

I feel like I would like this more on piano, but I love the glissandos and whistles

[@MrInterestingthings]

For the aware orchestrations there is much to learn from here and most of what I'm hearing won't b e apparent on one or even 2 pianos. Sound and timbre are music not notes or harmony. A scratch a scream have meaning and effect piano and violin which I play aint da end!

[@maiatabliashvili6369]

😺😺😺💗💓💞

I think orchestral players never barked so hard before..!