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Musical Moments from Chopin

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1946 film
Musical Moments from Chopin
Directed byDick Lundy
Story byBen Hardaway
Milt Schaffer
Produced byWalter Lantz
Music byDarrell Calker
Animation byLaverne Harding
Les Kline
Grim Natwick (unc.)
Paul J. Smith (unc.)
Casey Onaitis (unc.)
Sid Pillet (effects, unc.)
Backgrounds byFred Brunish
Color processTechnicolor
Production
company
Walter Lantz Productions
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release date
  • February 25, 1946 (1946-02-25)
Running time7:46
LanguageEnglish

Musical Moments from Chopin (also known as Chopin's Musical Moments) is a Musical Miniatures cartoon, co-starring Andy Panda and Woody Woodpecker. It was directed by Dick Lundy and released on February 25, 1946.

It was nominated for an Academy Award for best short subject in 1946, losing to MGM's Tom and Jerry cartoon The Cat Concerto, which also featured a piano concert setting.

Plot

This short starts with Andy Panda performing a Chopin polonaise on stage. As he does so, Woody Woodpecker wanders out and starts polishing the piano, and seems impressed by Andy's playing. Woody then plays along with Andy on the following pieces, either on the same or another grand piano, with increasing cut-aways to the animal audience and their own antics. At some point, an intoxicated horse up in the rafters who was trying to light his cigar tries to use a ceiling lamp to light it, but accidentally causes it to fall and spread a fire onto the stage. Andy manages to finish his piano performance while Woody extinguishes the flames.

Analysis

The short would be the first Musical Miniatures cartoon produced by the studio, and is the only entry to receive an Academy Award nomination for best short subject. This was Lantz's eighth Academy Award nomination.

Dick Lundy previously tested the concept in the 1946 Andy Panda cartoon, The Poet & Peasant. It was proven to be a success as it was also nominated for an Academy Award. Lundy would direct all of the remaining Musical Miniatures cartoons until the studios brief closure.

The short features music by Frédéric Chopin played by Woody and Andy, which includes:

In 1958, the television show The Woody Woodpecker Show premiered, and continued on the air in various forms for the next four decades. Episode 18 of its first season included Musical Moments from Chopin along with other Lantz cartoons, and a making-of involving Lantz and storyboarding.

References

  1. "Results displayed by award category". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
  2. ^ Gengaro, Christine Lee (2017-12-20). Experiencing Chopin: A Listener's Companion. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 146. ISBN 978-1-4422-6087-0.
  3. Gitlin, Martin; Wos, Joseph (2018-03-15). A Celebration of Animation: The 100 Greatest Cartoon Characters in Television History. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 70. ISBN 978-1-63076-279-7.
  4. Lenburg, Jeff (2006). Who's who in Animated Cartoons: An International Guide to Film & Television's Award-winning and Legendary Animators. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 198. ISBN 978-1-55783-671-7.
  5. Lenburg, Jeff (2006). Who's who in Animated Cartoons: An International Guide to Film & Television. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 217. ISBN 155783671X. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
  6. "Wacky Weed/ Musical Moments From Chopin/A Moment With Walter Lantz/Beach Nut". TV.com. Retrieved June 5, 2015.

External links

Frédéric Chopin
Concertante works
Chamber music
and songs
Ballades
Études
Opus 10
Opus 25
Trois nouvelles études
Impromptus
Mazurkas
Nocturnes
Piano sonatas
Polonaises
Preludes
Opus 28
Others
Rondos
Scherzos
Waltzes
Miscellaneous
With opus numbers
Variations brillantes in B♭ major on "Je vends des scapulaires" from Hérold's Ludovic, Op. 12
Boléro, Op. 19
Tarantelle in A♭ major, Op. 43
Allegro de concert, Op. 46
Fantaisie in F minor, Op. 49
Berceuse in D♭ major, Op. 57
Barcarolle in F♯ major, Op. 60
Marche funèbre in C minor, Op. posth. 72/2
Three Écossaises, Op. posth. 72/3
17 Polish songs, Op. posth. 74
Without opus numbers
Album Leaf (Moderato) in E major, B. 151
Andantino in G minor (arr. of the piano part of the song Wiosna), B. 117
2 Bourrées, B. 160b
Canon in F minor, B. 129a
Cantabile in B♭ major, B. 84
Contredanse in G♭ major (doubtful), B. 17
Fugue in A minor, B. 144
3 Fugues; arr. from Cherubini's Cours de contrepoint et de fugue, KK. VIIa/2
Galopp in A♭ (Galop Marquis), P. 2/13
Introduction, Theme and Variations in D on a Venetian air, for piano 4-hands, KK. IVa/6
Klavierstück in B♭ (1834), P. 2/6
Klavierstück in E♭ (1837), P. 2/5
Klavierstück in E♭ (1840), P. 2/10
Largo in E♭, B. 109
2 Polish songs, B. 51, 132
Variations in A major, Souvenir de Paganini, B. 37
Variation in E major for Hexameron, B. 113
Variations in E major for flute and piano on "Non più mesta" from Rossini's La Cenerentola, B.9, KK. Anh. Ia/5
Variations in E major on the air "Der Schweizerbub", a.k.a. Introduction et Variations sur un Lied allemand, B. 14
Ballets to Chopin
Cultural depictions
Family
Other topics
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