Ten pieces with musical cats in
1. Puss-in-Boots in Sleeping Beauty (Tchaikovsky)
2. Cat Duet from L’enfant et les sortilèges (Ravel)
3. The Monk and his Cat (Barber)
4. Cat’s Fugue, Keyboard Sonata Kk30 (Domenico Scarlatti)
5. ‘For I will consider my Cat Jeoffry’ in Rejoice in the Lamb (Britten)
6. ‘Mi-a-ou’ from Dolly Suite (Fauré)
7. Royal March of the Lion, in Carnival of the Animals (Saint-Saëns)
8. Peter and the Wolf (Prokofiev)
9. Sonata Representativa (Biber)
10. The Owl and the Pussy-Cat (Stravinsky)
Ten operatic ghosts
1. Smetana’s Dalibor – Zdenek’s ghost plays a violin in Dalibor’s prison cell
2. Weber’s Die Freischütz – Max doesn’t listen to the warnings of his mother’s ghost
3. Mozart’s Don Giovanni – The Commendatore’s ghost conveys the Don to hell
4. Thomas’s Hamlet – The ghost of the King of Denmark prevents Hamlet’s suicide
5. Verdi’s Macbeth – Banquo’s ghost appears to Macbeth at the banquet
6. Gounod’s Mireille – Ourrias is killed by a ghostly boatman
7. Pfitzner’s Palestrina – The ghost of Lucretia, his dead wife, gives inspiration
8. Rossini’s Semiramide – Husband Nino’s ghost points an accusing finger at his wife
9. Britten’s Turn of the Screw – Ghosts, Peter Quint and Miss Jessel seek domination
10. Puccini’s Le Villi – Anna’s ghost claims the faithless Roberto’s life
Ten flattering remaks made by composers
1. ‘The boy will cause us all to be forgotten.’ (Hasse about Mozart)
2. ‘The world will not have such a talent again in 100 years.’ (Haydn about Mozart)
3. ‘We must pay attention to this little chap; he’s goign to leave us standing.’ (Bizet about Massenet)
4. ‘The immortal God of harmony.’ (Beethoven about Bach)
5. ‘The inspired master of our art.’ (Gluck about Handel)
6. ‘It is possible to be as much of a musician as Saint-Saëns; it is impossible to be more of one!’ (Liszt about Saint-Saëns)
7. ‘Hats off, gentlemen – a genius!’ (Schumann about Chopin)
8. ‘Bruckner, he’s my man!’ (Wagner about Bruckner)
9. ‘Bach is the father, we the children.’ (Haydn about CPE Bach)
10. ‘Look out for this man’s music; he has something to say and knows how to say it.’ (Parry about Elgar)