Saturday, February 13, 2016

Wolfgang, Winnipeg, Winter Wonderland: Story 2

My Valentine's Day 2016 Posting:


         *Mozart - Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550 (complete)
(About the music: The common perception is that the symphony is tragic in tone and intensely emotional. Charles Rosen has called the symphony a work of "passion, violence, and grief".  Interpretations differ but it is one of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's most greatly admired works and frequently performed or recorded.)

If I remember correctly, it was around Valentine's Day that I went through a delightful movie moment and learnt the harshness of a Winnipeg Winter with Mozart in my mind.

Classical Music Influence
It is safe to say that my classical music knowledge is hardly sufficient to write a blog but what little education about classical music I have are the vinyl records and CD's on renowned composers and the literature about them in the home cupboard. 
A bright eyed and animated sister-in-law who is an expert in the field fills the gap in between to help but she is hardly in town since she lives on the West Coast of Canada, far away from the city about to be described below.

Wolfgang
It was nearly the Spring of 1985 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, when I went to see the 1984 film version of Amadeus.  This film was popular then with super star director Milos Forman and F. Murray Abraham as Anthony Salieri. 

Having read the Peter Shaffer play in Aberdeen, Scotland in 1982 as a university text I was very excited with the notion of seeing the movie interpretation and only knowing later that the film won 8 Academy Awards, 4 Golden Globe Awards and other achievements. 

I could not remember the name of the cinema but it was a small building and a little out of town. I managed to struggle into the downtown bus which took me there. 

Winnipeg
It is one of the coldest cities in Canada and getting a bus was not easy since most everyone drives. Outsiders make fun of the place and call it Winterpeg

In Winter the temperature could go down below freezing, way, way, down to minus 40 degrees centigrade. And that my dear reader, was very cold. Breathing was a problem sometimes and nearly every door-knob touched gave a static electric shock. The spark could be seen between the knob and finger (image).

Since it was Spring I was glad I could move around but still in my woolen overcoat, muffler, mittens and snow boots. Coming from a temperate place like Singapore, living in Manitoba was like existing in a giant refrigerator. 

And it was impossible to get used to, even after three years.  But it wasn't too cold that night at a mere 11 degrees C. Some locals were walking around as if it were already summer time. 
A Classic Movie Experience
I expected a crowd but did not see many people. Thinking it was still early I bought the ticket and waited inside the building. There was not much air-conditioning to keep me warm but it was comfortable enough. 

After waiting for fifteen minutes or so I decided to go in since the movie was about to start. After checking in with the door attendant, I sat in the last row of the small cinema and found I could lean my head on the back wall. Just above me were the peep-holes for the projectors. 

Meantime I noticed that there were no other patrons in the cinema. Half an hour went by and the movie had not started, so I went out to find out what had happened. The attendant standing by surprised me with his statement:

"So sorry sir, I didn't know you are inside. I will screen the movie now!"

It took me a while to realise what had happened but alone I sat and saw Amadeus in comfort and quiet, munching popcorn in the dark. It was my first experience ever. 

Winter Wonderland
This particular theatre was not part of a cinema complex or cineplex but a smaller movie house that had no patrons. It was not because of the movie but because of the weather, its distant location in nowhere land and the social situation. 

Not many readers will find this experience surprising as it is a common occurrence in the West. And with the advent of DVD's, home cinema and computer streaming these days I guess it is more prevalent.  

Another reason is the notoriously ill repute of the city as Winnipeggers hardly go out at night because it is the **crime capital of Canada and the siren from police cars doesn't stop screaming; an incessant cry, 24 hours a day.  Despite Winnipeg's reputation, it is still a beautiful place to live in, a winter wonderland from October to March.

I had a difficult time waiting for a bus in the late night after the movie. The bus-stop was just an open glass shelter and the snow came fast as it pounded on the panel. The heavy woollies I had on saved me.

A Happy Valentine 2016 To All Love Birds.

NB: 

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791).

My knowledge of Mozart is near zero but I do remember the music I am familiar with as (b) below:

a) The Symphony No. 25 in G minor, K. 183/173dB, was written by Mozart in October 1773.  Its first movement is widely known as the opening music in Miloš Forman's film Amadeus.


b) Mozart wrote his Symphony No. 40 in G minor, KV. 550, in 1788. It is sometimes referred to as the "Great G minor symphony," to distinguish it from the "Little G minor symphony," No. 25. The two are the only minor key symphonies Mozart wrote (You Tube).

Click below to read Story 1: Army Daze or Amadeus?

http://singapore60smusic.blogspot.sg/2015/11/an-original-jack-neo-more-popular-than.html

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB8hGTXASO_TUNGjlIaCVnA

**http://www.winnipegsun.com/2014/07/23/winnipeg-still-violent-crime-capital-of-canada

Images: A personal collection; Google.

18 comments:

HAPPY TAY (CANADA) said...

Thanks to you Andy, for coming up with your 'walk down memory lane' blog. It's a fantastic idea.

The weather here has been fantastic like Spring time? It is so beautiful, bright sunshine with temperature between 14C to 16C and enjoying the fresh cool, crisp air and coffee n french fries by the water front.

Unlike Winterpeg which has a bad winter storm recently and still as cold - yes, 30C to 40C as ever.

Cheers.

JELENA LENA (YOU TUBE) said...

Mozart was a genius... Scientist who did experiments found out that it helps to grow plants,to activate both sides of the human brain because it becomes louder every 30 seconds which is just like our electric impulse and it has been said to be the most perfect music ever made.

(2 YEARS AGO)

CHRISTIAN LILL (you tube) said...

This is an incredible boring interpretation. The conductor must have been on valium!

2 years ago.

JollyGreenP said...

We have had a couple of good sunny but cool days around 4 degrees C here in the UK but today we down to 1 degree and there is a constant slow fine drizzle. Not a day for working outside as it is the sort of drizzle that leaves a film on your clothes that quickly penetrates and you end up as wet and cold as if it had been raining hard. Hopefully it will be better this afternoon and I can get down to my allotment garden and continue fixing the greenhouse that got a bit battered in the high winds and then start planting seeds in there for an early start.

anonymous said...

Great to have some of these classic pieces at events.

LIM KUAN MIN said...

You looked young and dashing lah.

FACEBOOK ANDY said...

Thanks for liking this post:

PRISCILLA GEORGE
CHARLES DE SILVA
RICHARD TOH
AARON CHOO
ROY CHEW

LINDA TAN said...

HAPPY VALENTINE'S

PERRY NODELMAN (MY ENGLISH LITERATURE LECTURER WRITING DIRECT FROM WINNIPEG, CANADA said...

Today's forecast: "Sunny. Becoming a mix of sun and cloud near noon. Local blowing snow this afternoon. Wind becoming southeast 30 km/h gusting to 50 late this morning. High minus 16. Extreme wind chill minus 40".

TODAY'S WEATHER 14 FEBRUARY, 2016. YOU'VE READ IT FROM THE MAN HIMSELF.

ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. © said...

Well at last. My dear lecturer Perry Nodelman, writing for the first time on this blog when I revealed the weather conditions of Winnipeg on this posting.

Thank you Perry. You're supposed to come here this year for the EL conference. If you decide to do so, let me assure you that it will be sunny everyday.

See I told you it's cold in Winnipeg. Even in February it's still so cold.

Bring your best TShirt, bermudas and slippers. Don't forger the shades!!!

Thank you sir for the weather toll. :-)

JOEY KOH said...

Your experience in Winnipeg (Winterpeg) resonates with our hearts... Salute !

FACEBOOK ANDY said...

Face Book CHIT CHAT WITH PERRY N:

P: We're heading out tonight to a piano concert - including a Mozart sonata.

A: Please enjoy it. Send my regards to the rest. Beware the blizzard. :-)

P: I'll let you know if Billie and I are the only people who show up.

A: :-)

GRAMOPHONE said...

There are myths and there are truths, and the former are often more entertaining than the latter. In Mozart's case, we have the glorious truths of his music but the true facts of his life have often been clouded by the mists of time and by tall tales. Our perception of Mozart has been moulded by legends. If he seems to loom larger than life, it is partly because each generation reinvents this composer for itself. There sometimes seem almost as many Mozart's as the staggering number of compositions that he left us.

The Shaffer Effect

The most influential and widespread impression of Mozart was created in Milos Forman's 1984 film 'Amadeus' which, with barefaced cheek, was advertised with the mendacious slogan 'Everything you have heard is true!' Adapted from a play by Peter Shaffer, 'Amadeus' introduced legions of cinema-goers to the exuberant perfection of Mozart's musical genius. It firmly convinced its audience that the under-appreciated Mozart was an innate genius from childhood, doomed to be buried in an unmarked pauper's grave after being driven to a miserable premature death by his jealous enemy Salieri...

READ FURTHER FROM 'GRAMOPHONE' click above connect.

FACEBOOK ANDY said...

THANKS FOR FB LIKES:

JOHN CHER
JOYCELYN LEONG
MERLIN LIM
ERWIN MAISCH
SITA ASHRI
LARRY CHEN
LINDA TAN
BELINDA POH
MALVIN CHUA

JANE DICK MANITOBA CANADA said...

Hi Andy,

Quite the story about your solitary film screening in Winnipeg on a cold winter (spring) night.

You will be happy to know (I hope) that nothing keeps Winnipeggers home anymore on cold nights ... restaurants, theatres, etc. are all hopping most evenings.

Have a wonderful week.

Melissa Diagana said...

Thanks for this post. I was certain that you would mention the film "The Saddest Music in the World", by Guy Maddin - was my only Winnipeg reference until I read your blog entry. If you haven't seen it - please do! Completely bizarre (though not as much as an earlier film by Maddin, "Careful") and rather brilliant.

Gong Xi Fa Cai,
Melissa

DOC LEE Y S said...

Hi Andy,
My son and daughter were back home for CNY and we decided to do the song, “There wont be many coming home”. In fact we just watched the award winning Quentin Tarantino movie “Hateful 8” which is really good. Thought you will be interested to hear what we did.
Cheers!

ANDY: Pop Music Not Pills. © said...

Thanks all for replies and feedback and Dr Lee for recording.