Mewsic to My Ears Trivia Quiz

Answer: Charles Baudelaire

Though Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867) also wrote some outstanding critical essays and translated Edgar Allan Poe's work into French, his fame mostly rests on his controversial (and highly influential) 1857 collection of poems titled "The Flowers of Evil" ("Les Fleurs du Mal" in French).

In this fascinating work, besides "scandalous" poems that embody the spirit of decadence, there are also a number of poems dedicated to cats - described in gorgeously sensual terms that emphasize their "feminine" characteristics. According to some of his contemporaries, Baudelaire enjoyed the company of cats much more than that of humans, and ignored everything else when he was in the presence of a cat.

Answer: Domenico Scarlatti

Hailing from Naples, Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757) was born in a musical family, as his father, Alessandro, was also a noted musician and composer. Most of his life was spent in the service of the Spanish and Portuguese royal families. One of Domenico Scarlatti's most famous works, the one-movement harpsichord sonata "Fugue in G minor", is popularly known as "Cat's Fugue" ("La fuga del gatto" in Italian).

This nickname, however, dates back from the early 19th century, and stems from a story according to which Scarlatti was inspired by his cat, Pulcinella, who was prone to walking across the keyboard.

This would explain the unusual motif the fugue is built on, reminiscent of a cat's leaps.

Answer: Louis Wain

The name of English artist Louis Wain (1860-1939) is quite familiar to cat enthusiasts everywhere. His drawings of cats and kittens boosted our feline friends' popularity in the late Victorian era - in some ways predating the current Internet cat craze. Wain's love of cats started with Peter, a black-and-white stray kitten that was of great comfort to his wife, Emily (who died of breast cancer three years after their marriage), during her illness. Over the following 30 years, Wain produced thousands of drawings of cats, which became increasingly anthropomorphized. Though many of these drawings were published in books and magazines, or used to illustrate children's books, they did not bring financial prosperity to the artist, who had little business sense.

In the early 1900s, Wain's mental health began to deteriorate, and in 1924 he was eventually committed to the pauper's ward of a mental asylum in South London. Thanks to the intervention of some public figures (such as author H.G. Wells), he was transferred to a hospital in the country, where he spent the last 15 years of his life in peaceful surroundings.

The hospital had a colony of cats in its garden, and Wain was able to resume drawing - though in a markedly different, more abstract and colourful style. Wain was also Chairman of the National Cat Club, and supported several animal charities.

Answer: T. S. Eliot

One of the longest-running musicals in history, Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Cats" (premiered in 1981) is based on "Old Possum Book of Practical Cats", a collection of poems by T.S. Eliot (1888-1965). The book, published in 1939, includes a number of poems that Eliot wrote over the years for his godson, Tom Faber, the son of Sir Geoffrey Faber, co-founder of the Faber & Faber publishing house.

The poems deal with feline psychology and sociology, introducing a number of funnily-named cat characters in a gently whimsical tone that is quite at odds with Eliot's rather intense, difficult poetry (for which he was awarded the 1948 Nobel Prize for Literature). Old Possum was Eliot's alias among his friends: he had a lifelong affection for cats, shared by his friend and mentor Ezra Pound.

In 1983, Eliot was awarded two posthumous Tony awards for the original Broadway production of "Cats".

Answer: Pierre-Auguste Renoir

In 1874, Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1916), together with Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro and others, participated in the first Impressionist exhibition in Paris. Though better known for his paintings for his portraits and lush outdoor scenes, Renoir often included cats in his work, as a symbol of sensuality and motherhood.

In one of Renoir's most successful paintings, "Mme Charpentier and Her Children" (1878), which can be admired in New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art, a black cat is barely visible on her lap (while the family's large dog is quite prominently displayed). Renoir's good friend and occasional model, Suzanne Valadon (the mother of painter Maurice Utrillo) was also a cat lover.

Answer: Igor Stravinsky

Born near St Petersburg, composer, conductor and pianist Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971) spent most of his adult life abroad, in Europe and the USA. Known for groundbreaking works such as "The Rite of Spring", which helped to shape modern classical music, he was also deeply influenced by Russian and Ukrainian folklore (both his parents were from Ukraine).

Indeed, his "Berceuses du chat" ("Cat Lullabies", 1915) - a cycle of four songs for contralto and three clarinets - were based on Russian folk songs, and were originally written in Russian. Stravinsky was a cat lover, as evidenced by the photos taken by fellow cat enthusiast Henri Cartier-Bresson that show the composer in the company of his furry friends.

Answer: H. P. Lovecraft

Not all of the stories written by H.P. Lovecraft (1890-1937) deal with terrifying, tentacled alien monsters: his beloved cats are often quite prominently featured - as in the enthralling fantasy novella "The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath". Although the author's reputation has been marred by the overt racist tones displayed in much of his work, Lovecraft's tales have been enormously influential in the development of modern horror and fantasy fiction.

A collection of works by Lovecraft and other writers of his circle, published in 1949, bears the title of "Something About Cats and Other Pieces"; in the title essay, the author explains his preference for cats over dogs, stating that, like their feline companions, cat lovers are free souls.

Answer: Paul Klee

One of the greatest artists of the early 20th century, Paul Klee (1879-1940) was a lifelong cat lover, and cats are present in many of his works. His first cat, Fritzi, appears in his 1920s works. Bimbo I kept him company when Klee was a teacher at the Bauhaus in Dessau (Germany), and Bimbo II followed him when he returned to Switzerland after being fired from his job by the Nazis. Visitors to Klee's studio noticed the presence of his cats, sitting on the windowsill or even walking across his paintings. About 28 of Klee's works were inspired by his feline companions: the best-known of these is probably "Cat and Bird" (1928), painted in the Expressionist style.

The red bird on the cat's forehead represents what the cat is thinking about, and the red heart on his nose is a symbol of his heart's desire.

Answer: Maurice Ravel

While his rival Claude Debussy favoured Angora cats, Maurice Ravel (1875-1937) had a special fondness for Siamese cats, and owned quite a large number of them - as shown in quite a few original photos. According to some of his contemporaries, the composer let his cats roam freely about his house, and even spoke to them in cat language.

In the 1920s, Siamese cats were still relatively new to Europe, and it is easy to see how their exotic beauty and strong personality might have fascinated artists and other creative people.

The "Duo Miaulé" (Meowed Duet) between a male and a female cat, featured in the second part of Ravel's opera "L'Enfant et les Sortilèges" (1926), was inspired by his cats. The opera's libretto was written by French author Colette, another notable cat lover.

Answer: Leonardo da Vinci

Among his many celebrated works of art and detailed scientific drawings, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) left us a study sheet (now part of the collection of the Royal Windsor Library) containing over twenty sketches of cats, captured in a number of different poses.

Other depiction of cats can be found in the artist's works, even some religious-themed ones. The quote attributed to Leonardo may date back from his final years, spent in France near the Château of Amboise, in the Loire Valley, where the artist spent a lot of time observing nature and sketching around his house, the manor of Clos-Lucé.