Starving Artistry

 

 

 

Haha, well, if that were really true I don’t think I’d be qualified to teach it. But it is true that pretty much my only exposure to classical music in my childhood was through Tom & Jerry. This episode I’m linking, where Tom plays Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody is probably my favorite Tom & Jerry episode ever. When I was young and living overseas, we didn’t have any TV to watch ’cause all the channels would be in Chinese or Polish or whatever. So what we did was tape a bunch of shows from the US and watch them on VHS overseas. So I saw a lot of muppet babies and Tom & Jerry while I was but a wee lad.

 

Anyway, that probably explains whenever I hear this Hungarian Rhapsody, I think it sounds very cartoony. Same goes for the Chopin Waltz. The piece isn’t highlighted in the same way as the Rhapsody (aka, it’s not the central point of the episode), but that melody stayed with me over the years, and it wasn’t until late in High School when I realized it was a Chopin Waltz, not just some random Tom & Jerry music cue (which are amazing in their own right)! You can hear the theme make its first introduction at around 2:37, and then really come into play at 3:17. I think it says something when you can watch something at 5 or 6 years old, and remember the melody AND which episode it came from two decades later.

 

I guess i’m saying that they don’t make cartoons like they used to…

 

Enjoy some retro cartoons and watch the episodes!