Curious cat wanders on stage during Beethoven’s ‘Pastoral’ Symphony in Istanbul

3 June 2024, 14:49

Cat wanders onto stage in middle of concert

This cat has impeccable musical taste…

At the 52nd Istanbul Music Festival, the music sounded so good that this feline visitor simply had to go and investigate.

Her interest piqued perhaps by the rural theme, a stray cat elegantly glided in from stage left, during an exquisite performance of Beethoven’s ‘Pastoral’ Symphony No.6 by the Lucerne Festival Strings.

The musicians of the illustrious Switzerland-based chamber orchestra smiled knowingly as they spotted the cat prowling onto the concert stage.

After pausing for a moment to observe the music, the four-legged fan hastened to move across the stage as the first violins took the swelling melody.

Tail flying, she soon wandered off again confidently at stage right, as if completely accustomed to a life on the stage.

Read more: Naughty cat disrupts live orchestra concert and steals the show

In the second half of the Beethoven concert, which was given on Friday 31 May, the Lucerne Festival Strings were joined by legendary Portuguese pianist Maria João Pires for a performance of the great Piano Concerto No.3.

“He’s obviously the Guest Conductor show him some respect,” one commenter dryly remarked on Instagram, where the video was posted by Bengi Işıl Göktürk.

The clip of the music-loving cat has gone viral on social media, with over eight million views in the last two days from people across the world enjoying the amusing moment.

Another viewer commented: “The cat knowing exactly that it’s the center of attention because who even cares about those amazing musicians working all day long to produce those angelic sounds when there’s a cute kitty.”

Apparently, the cat is a regular attendee at the Lutfi Kirdar International Convention and Exhibition Centre and has gone viral in the past.

Bravo to the Lucerne Festival Strings for sublime moment of music-making enjoyed, quite understandably, by audiences of the two- and four-legged variety.