Daytime techie/weekend amateur classical pianist creating performances, however imperfect, of the classical piano repertoire. Videos usually include uniquely unfettered commentary about the music I play. Some people come just for the music, others just for the commentary. Superfans like both.
This channel started back in 2011 with the Well-Tempered Clavier Project, a project to motivate me to restart playing the piano after 15 years of not playing at all. I finished the WTC Project in 2014 and moved right on to Bach's Sinfonias (2014-2018). And now, after a few years of freestyling, it's time for the BEPS (Beethoven Early Piano Sonatas) Project. Except, actually, the BEPS were too big a commitment, so I'm freestyling again. I'm basically a cat chasing after a laser pointer. Subscribe to follow along!
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Yep! You got me! I was 12 at the time and I became obsessed. But I was never a classical music nerd though, at least not specifically 'classical'...I became a music afficionado but more at the 'rock/punk/post-punk' side of the spectrum. Music still plays an incredible part in my life: I play classical guitar (can play a little Bach, developed my own 'arrangement' of Mahler's adagietto!) and 'rock on' with my electrical one too. You know, I have very fond memories of watching this movie at my folks' place in VHS with my friends with the sound blasting really high from the tv set! Wow!! You made me nostalgic...
It sounds grotesque. In a good way though
It grew on me, especially when it gets ferocious near the end
@@TheAmateurPiano quite a bit of Prokofiev has this “Morbid Curiosity” feel, which I love
Please, Lord, release a remastered Blu-Ray of the theatrical version, so I may pitch that bloated Director’s Cut. And no, AMADEUS didn’t make a classical music aficionado out of me. A girlfriend who was an opera fan once took me to a local production of “Tosca,” which is as close as I got to entering that world. Still mostly into post-bebop jazz, blues, and classic rock. But I tend to love the music in the films I love, and AMADEUS is no exception.
I can’t tell you how much I love the Requiem dictation scene. Is it my favorite scene in any movie ever? Probably. And it’s complete bullshit. It was only later I learned the difference between orchestrating and composing and realized how inaccurate the scene was. I actually read up on Mozart’s compositional techniques to be sure… and no he didn’t orchestrate on the fly. The more you read, the more you realize the entire premise of the movie is wrong. Music didn’t flow directly from God to Mozart’s pen. Mozart wrote and revised and rewrote. He struggled mightily. Then again, the movie is from Salieri’s point of view, and you could argue that’s the way it seemed to him.
Thanks for articulating this so well, I couldn’t agree more
To me the score analyses section was the best...... it gave me a window into how music 'works' and I became ever more obessed with classical music
Not a Gen Xer but adore this film!
I want the original cut too. I was disappointed when the streaming version I watched with my son had all these extra unnecessary scenes.
I only vaguely remember watching this in theaters, but I remember loving it. I also incorrectly remember it staring RDJr.
I was 16 in 1985 and I can tell you that this movie definitely influenced my sense of fashion. I bought a shiny jacket at a thrift shop and tied my permed hair into a low ponytail… Voilà, Amadeus! Seems like Mozart and Madonna were my fashion icons in the mid 1980s
So glam, love it!
Favourite scenes? All of them! And this from a boomer not a Gen Xer.
1973 so I'm possibly your very same age I never ever identified myself as "generation X", even if back in those Amadeus days, I also was a Billy Idol fan, and he used to lead a former late '70s/early '80s punk rock outfit named Generation X I made almost the same steps: - Watchin' the movie at my own school theater - Havin' it borrowed by a friend of mine and copying it via vhs home video/recording player - Getting the Director's cut in dvd and then buying the complete soundtrack right away - Getting a selection of same soundtrack in a limited edition MontBlanc stylo pen package - Travelling Salzburg with my brother, a baritone getting there for a lied singing masterclass - Getting there again with my back then fiancée (nowadays, unfortunately, already ex wife) - Watchin' the movie with my only son, studying classical composers in the very same school I attended, back when the movie was out everywhere in theaters hard to choose a moment in the movie probably my favorite piece is the opening symphony #25 G minor Thank you for your remarkable tribute
Indeed we are at most months apart. The paralells are amazing! I"ve never been to Salzburg, but will get there at some point. Thanks for sharing!
@@TheAmateurPiano my pleasure PS Last connection to the movie… my brother studied there being a classically trained baritone… but I’m a (parttime) bass player just like the late Falco (the Forman’s movie inspired “rock me Amadeus”)
I don't understand why you said the confutatis scene is ridiculous.
It's the one scene where even my kid brain said "no way GTFO it did not go down this way sorry." Don't get me wrong, it's a great dramatic concept that had other merits (i.e. Your First Score Analysis) but I always just found it to be a bit much.
Harrumpf! Even though I was born too early to be GenX, I loved this movie! I know I'n not the only one. KVOD in Denver played a lot of Salieri in the late '80s. If you liked the costumes, then watch the Sci Fi Channel's Dune. Theodor Pistek made the costumes for that as well.
I first saw Amadeus on Broadway and amazing opening with Salieri monologue. The old man hunched over in his last days in voice and manner, he throws off a blanket to stand up as the young Salieri. No makeup needed and the transformation perfect and unforgettable. The actor? Same as in the film.
Loved Amadeus❣️ Martern aller Arten was a revelation to my 15yr old ears in the theatre. A decade later, while listening to a Sutherland recording it walloped me again during a workout; I hadn’t realized it was in the playlist. Thank you for this video!
Not Gen-X but I love this movie. Also I was friends with the man who played the Archbishop (may he rest in peace). I watched it with my husband, who looked at my face during the scene where the dying Mozart was dictating notes, keys, etc. to Salieri, my favorite scene, and he said "You know what they are talking about!" Yup.
The expanded version from 2002 is not good. The 1984 theater version has been restored and is likely getting a Blu Ray release soon.
That's great news... a LOT of viewers here will be thrilled, as will I.
@@TheAmateurPiano yes! if you google “Amadeus in 4K Restoration World Premiere” you can see that it was screened in May
I'm a Millenial and this is my favorite movie of all time
Mozart's cackle was the best part of the movie for me, we watched it in music class in school and every time he would laugh we would laugh as well.
The line "Too many notes" is still current in family talk. Also the Emperor's particular "Uh huh."
That Jeffrey Jones “m hm” is just so iconic I can’t even 😂
Gen Xer here ( 1966), and classical musician. 😉 Not only have I seen this film several times, sitting through it twice in the same theater (with the manager's permission), I also saw the play on Broadway, on which the film was based. It's a masterpiece! 💖🎶
There is nothing annoying about Amadeus.
Older Gen X: saw this in the theatre, and it’s still in my top 3 favourite films. Now watch the Director's Cut regularly, and love it - more is more for me! Thank you for such a great dissertation on this superlative, and eminently quotable classic.
I watched it as a boomer, but I gained from it all the things you did.
Theres nothing ridiculous about that deathbed scene
I make it a point to watch Amadeus on a regular basis, but not so often as to make it feel like a chore. I cannot express how much I love this movie.
I had no idea there were people out there like me who counted this movie as their favorite movie of all time. Every time I’m asked what my favorite movie is, I answer Amadeus. 80% of the time, the person asking had no idea what I’m talking about. I, literally, thought I was the only one!!
Clearly not... based on the engagement here, we have a LOT of friends :D
Great content, awesome delivery. I’m here for this. Subbed. Thank you!! 🙏🏽
Thank you, and welcome aboard!!
As someone from Gen Z, I finally watched the movie on Netflix, with a vague (possibly made up memory) of watching some of this movie as a child. I absolutely loved it, and totally related to it as a current music student. That feeling of frustration at seeing people succeed and having immense talent was so resonant. Such a masterful film, especially the Confutatis scene!! I recommend everyone to watch it!
I think the most relatable moment in the film is when Salieri says to the priest, "All I wanted was to sing to God. He gave me that longing... and then made me mute. Why? Tell me that. If He didn't want me to praise him with music, why implant the desire? Like a lust in my body! And then deny me the talent?" Everyone no matter what they do or want to be can relate to that. For me Amadeus is about two things the first one being the grass is always greener on the other side. Salieri wanted the talent Mozart had. Mozart wanted the respect and position Salieri had. Secondly I believe this movie is about The Spirit of the Age. That was the point. Mozart and Salieri were picked so to speak to demonstrate that. There is such a stark contrast. Salieri's work was good but labored over, academic maybe. Mozart's took a form like opera and forged new ground with it. Whether he wanted to or not. And Mozart did have his detractors, and people plotting against him, stealing from him, One of the most important lines in the movie is "Composition doesn't pay". Why? Why didn't composition pay? Maybe because there weren't any copyright laws. If there had been Mozart would have died a millionaire. Because there weren't copyright laws, anybody going public with their work is open to thievery. There were no royalty fees either. I love the humor in the movie as well. The little touches throughout the film that also make it relatable. I do want to give a shoutout to the actor that played the priest. You have to believe the priest was put through the emotional wringer with the confession of a lifetime. And at the end of the movie you do. He couldn't take a minute more of Salieri's story. But he's now stuck with a bitter resentful guy. God killed Mozart and left Salieri alive to torture. Salieri seeing Mozart's music grow in popularity and his remaining in the past. The play and the movie is an ingenious way of addressing musicians. Or famous people in general.
For me, this film was a beautiful gateway into the world of classical music and the work of director Miloš Forman... and so, holds a great place in my heart. Superb essay, bravo!
I love 💕 this movie 🍿🎥😊
It’s an absolute masterpiece of a movie. My favorite scene is when he is describing that third section of the Gran Partita. Which also just happens to be one of my favorite pieces of classical music. It’s one of those movies I will rewatch periodically. And there aren’t too many of those.
I'm 76, and watched it in the theater with my kids, both serious rock musicians. We all loved it. "Rock me, Amadeus" is on a playlist that I listen to when I am out driving and shopping, I just listened to it a few hours ago. I'm not Gen X, but I like the movie.
I completely disagree with The Amateur about the score analysis scene. Being able to hear notes in your head as you see them on paper- including whole chords playing at once- is part and parcel of score analysis. If you want to be a successful composer, you pretty much HAVE TO be able to hear what you read as you read it, in exactly the way Mozart did. What DID bug me about that scene was how Salieri was shown to be amazed by it. As a renowned professional composer and music teacher himself, he would most certainly have had that same level of skill, and he would not have been amazed by what Mozart was doing. For him, it would have been the equivalent of watching a guy talk about a passage in a book as he was reading it. He might have loved what was being made, but he would not have been flabbergasted by it.
I loveeeeeeeee this movie! Eta: they showed this movie to all 6th grade classes in my middle school
I really appreciated the directors cut. Much better than the comparatively dark and blurry VHS with it's weak sound.
Amadeus is a lifelong favorite- I was too young for it, but inappropriate adults who like “plucky young girls” allowed me access
I was also 11 when this movie came out and was already quite schooled as a pianist. I super loved this movie and pretty sure this is why i started composing my own music at around this time.
Boomer and loved this movie
Director's Cut forever.
Amadeus is on my annual watch list. I, too, prefer the original theatrical version, although the scene with Constanze offering herself to Salieri does explain the attitude with which she greets him during the Requiem scene. Brilliant from start to finish, not a line out of place. Perfectly cast. Amazing.
I am a boomer you young puppy and I love it too.
Gen x er and have the bluray directors cut. Love the movie. Love the music. And just remembered I’ve got the soundtrack cd
Yep, Gen X, my parents had this movie on tape, and my sisters and I watched it over and over. Everything I learned about being an artist I learned from this movie, and it eventually sent me to Mozart operas at the Met, and to hear Requiem at Lincoln Center as well. So grateful for its beauty.
I saw this movie when it came on HBO at 12 yo and was blown away. I saw all the typical movies of the time but I never really noticed great acting until this movie.
Man I love this movie since I was a child. I'm a millenial and watched it first in 2002
I was born in 2000, and my parents are solidly baby boomers. Amadeus has been a comfort film for my entire life. I’m now a classical musician, and while Mozart isn’t my favorite composer, his music is held in the canon for a reason.
And all the great czech actors (as only in the second row but...) And the idea that an immigrant was able to film again in his home country, long before the wall came down.
When I was growing up, my father sat me down to watch Casablanca. He told me he didn't care if I liked black and white. It didn't matter. The movie is timeless. He was right. Amadeus may be old. Doesn't matter. It's why movies are made. Watch it. Edit: extra credit if you can find a wine cooler to drink while you're watching.
Love this comment... wine coolers!