94-Year-Old ‘Santa Baby’ Composer Performs 'Moonlight Sonata' For Daughter’s Birthday

Jan 22, 2021 by apost team

Music proves once again that no matter how old you are, there is a place for you within it. In this video, you can witness a precious moment between a father and his daughter as he beautifully plays the classic "Moonlight Sonata" at her request in this video from December 2020.

At 94 years old, Philip Springer, the pianist featured in this video, is no stranger to music — neither playing it nor creating it. In fact, he is the American composer responsible for the witty Christmas song classic, "Santa Baby" (1953), which we all know and love. The song is bursting with a creative melody, clever lyrics and an innate catchiness that just seems to come naturally to Springer.

"Santa Baby" is now one of the most popular and beloved Christmas songs, with seemingly countless renditions that anyone can have fun with. Even A-list celebrities and singers haven't been able to resist releasing their own studio versions of the song, originally sung by the talented Eartha Kitt. The performers who have taken a stab at this iconic number include artists such as Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift, Kylie Minogue, Gwen Stefani and even the King of Christmas covers himself, Michael Bublé.

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Of course, someone so talented as to write such an iconic Christmas tune obviously has a variety of other credits to his name — over 540 of them in fact. Springer is generally a very accomplished composer, having worked to write songs for legends such as Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Elvis Presley, Buddy Kaye and Aretha Franklin. Overall, his career spans a stunning seven decades throughout which he has created hundreds of beautiful pieces for audiences all over the globe to enjoy.

Today, however, Springer tends to take it a little easier as he gets closer to reaching 100 years of age. He surprised the world in this darling video posted by his daughter. Springer's daughter, Tamar Springer, recently celebrated her birthday, for which Philip Springer gifted her with a beautiful performance of Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" on the piano. Tamar Springer recorded the whole thing and shared it on Facebook so others could watch in awe with her.

The video has quickly gained traction on the internet, touching the hearts of the thousands of people who it has reached. Tamar Springer included a sweet caption to her video, stating, "If you have 5 minutes, this was a birthday highlight for me, my 94-year-old dad, 'Santa Baby' composer Philip Springer, playing the 'Moonlight Sonata.'"

As soon as Springer begins to play in the video, it is hard to believe that he is nearly a century old. His performance is not only accurate and precise, but it also contains the brilliant and powerfully haunting elements that Beethoven's work contains.

It seems as though Springer plays from memory as well, which makes playing all the more impressive as he taps out every note with the confidence only a truly talented professional can possess. The entire video includes the composition's first movement and is approximately five minutes long, and the music is mesmerizing from start to finish.

Tamar Springer has expressed in interviews how much watching her father continue to play means to her and how he remains musically active on a regular basis. In fact, she shared over email in an interview that Philip Springer practices every day, and the feelings he expresses when he plays are beyond words. It is just incredible that a man his age can play with that precision and feeling.

It is easy to see what Tamar Springer means. Many would agree, whether musicians themselves or even casual listeners, that being able to play the notes on a sheet of paper is something anyone can eventually gain the skills to do. However, the passion and feeling that you experience when you see and hear Philip Springer play make it clear that he has lived his life doing precisely what he was born to do.

Tamar Springer has expressed how important music has been not only for her father and his career but also in the development of their family and her own future as well. In the same interview, she states, “Even when we had tensions while I grew up, his music always soothed me and reminded me of why he is on the planet.

His music solved a lot of strife and defined the connection between us when it was difficult to do so in other ways. I am proud of him and my main mission is to promote some of his unknown musical composition."

One such composition includes the score to Philip Springer's musical, "The Bells of Notre Dame," which is based on Victor Hugo's French Gothic novel, "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame" (1831). Tamar Springer actually helped to produce this work in 1999, as she is currently the Executive Director of Tamir Music, the publishing entity that Philip Springer has used to not only produce but own the vast majority of his life's work.

Philip Springer has composed work for close to two dozen Broadway musicals and put together "The Bells of Notre Dame," with lyricists Faith Flagg and Buddy Kaye. Tamar Philip intended for the live production to come together in 2020, but everything had to be delayed due to the unfortunate and unexpected circumstances that put the entire world on pause.

Due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, "The Bells of Notre Dame" hasn't come to life just yet, but Tamar Philip is determined to start planning for performances of the musical as soon as the crisis subsides. Philip Springer's work deserves to be heard, and Tamir Music has every intention of getting it out into the world the moment it is safe to do so.

It is easy to understand why Tamar Springer feels so passionately about her father's work and the way he plays after listening to his beautiful "Moonlight Sonata" for her birthday. If it brought a smile to your face while you were watching, be sure to pass that on to someone you know who might need it.

In this video, the legendary 94-year-old American composer behind the Christmas classic "Santa Baby" shows he can still play in a beautiful at-home performance of Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata" for his daughter's birthday. Despite being nearly one hundred years old, Phillip Springer plays flawlessly and reminds the thousands who have watched this video of his extraordinary talent in the musical field.

Make sure to share this with others who could use a little uplifting music. What do you think of this moving performance? Let us know in the comments.