Aigul MYRZATAI
ALMATY, Feb 14
(THE GLOBE)
For a long time many people postponed their current affairs in the mid February to celebrate the Love Day.
It is considered that the Valentine�s Day goes back to the Rome celebration Lupercalia, the erotic festival devoted to the love Goddess Juno Februata. Annually special love messages were sent to potential partners to invite them to sexual games.
Of course, puritan early Christians did not approve lustful festivals. They tried to transform it in passion for holy ideas � people wrote the name of a saint man and within the next twelve months the people studied ideas of that Saint person. Such a hypocritical version of Lupercalia was not popular and soon died out.
Then Christians decided to transform the festival from the �flesh feast� to �a romantic ritual.� This time they chose St. Valentine (Valentinus) and appointed the festival on February 14 to replace the love Goddess Juno Februata�s Day celebrated on February 15. Of course, while choosing the saint man, they looked for a chaste person, who did not know the �love art.�
Making the image of St. Valentine more attractive for people in love, the Church, possibly, somehow embroidered his life, as no historical documents about him were available.
According to a legend, Valentine infringed the decree by Claudius II, who prohibited weddings and engagements. Valentine was sentenced to death, as he participated in the wedding ceremony. Being imprisoned, Valentine made a miracle, having remedied the jailer�s daughter from blindness. Having seen Valentine, she fell in love with him, but could not save him. The day before the execution, he managed to send he a love note, signed �your Valentine.�
Thus, Valentine�s Day came to us from Western Europe. Catholics worship St. Valentine as a protector of all people in love.
Each country celebrates the holiday in a different way. For example, in medieval England people used to choose �Valentine�. Some young guys gathered together, wrote girls� names on pieces of parchment, put them in a hat and drew lots. The girl, whose name the guy took, became his Valentine for the next year. He composed sonnets to the girl, played lute and accompanied her everywhere. He behaved as a true knight. The bright example of the guy�s attitude to the girl, may be the Ophelia�s song from Hamlet by Shakespeare, in which Ophelia grieved for her Valentine.
Light-hearted Italians celebrate Valentine�s Day in a different way. They consider themselves obliged to give presents, mainly sweets, to their beloved girls. In Italy this Day is called �sweet�.
Gallant Frenchmen introduced �valetinies� � love quatrains. It is considered that prince Charles, the duke of Orlean (1415) who was imprisoned that time and was in a single cell, decided to write love messages to his wife. By the 16th century valetinies became very popular. people made special trinkets with hearts, Amours and other decorations.
Calm Polish men prefer to visit the Poznan metropolis on this day. According to the legend, relics of St. Valentine are being kept there. above the main altar there is the wonder-working icon. Polish people believe that the icon assists in love matters.
conservative Germans stubbornly consider Valentine a protector of psychically ill people. they decorate all hospitals with scarlet ribbons, and hold a special divine service in chapels.
Japanese people hold �the loudest love declaration of love� event. Girls and guys climb onto the stage and shout different declarations of love. The winner receives a prize.
In the former Soviet countries progressive students recently knew that February 14 is the wonderful day in the history of the Catholic Europe � St. Valentine�s Day � the festival of all lovers. everybody knew about this, except us�
now we will can reply to the question: �Who is St. Valentine?� as well as any European man that he was a monk who secretly married people for a moderate fee, second, he is an angel protecting everyone who loves; third, St. Valentine is a sort of cognac.
Aigul MYRZATAI
ALMATY, Feb 14
(THE GLOBE)
The English conductor Mikel Toms made the final accord of Musical Culture of Great Britain festival organized by the British Council in Kazakhstan.
The creative resume of the young conductor is full of musical events. He was born in 1968, studied in England, then worked at Oxford University. He proposed the idea of the First Oxford Festival of Modern Music. Mikel managed to realize this idea perfectly: he conducted Des Canyons Aux Etoiles. Since 1993 Toms is the director of Reservoir chamber orchestra of new music. He has to combine this work with administrative work. Since 1997 he became the administrative director of the British Youth Opera.
THE GLOBE correspondent interviewed Mikel Toms and found out that the conductor knows Almaty from Sergei Prokopyev�s biography (we remind readers, that Sergei Eizenshtein invited Prokopyev to Almaty in 1942 to participate in Ivan the Terrible film. Apart from the film, the composer began to write War and Peace opera and sketches the flute sonata and piano sonata #8.)
To the question: �What Prokopyev�s creation do you like?� Mikel Toms responded that he likes the flute sonata. It was easy for the correspondent to guess that Toms was a flutist before. However, the next question: �What period of Prokopyev�s creation do you like as a conductor?� was difficult for Toms to answer. Though in his last interview to the Moscow press Valery Gergiev answered to the similar question regarding the creation of Wagner rapidly answered that he likes all creations by this composer, but he especially admires with his Dresden and Swiss periods.
To the next question: �What conductors are your idols?� Mikel Toms mentioned a lot of conductors, including Kurt Mazur, Arthuro Toskanini, Pier Bulez, etc. He did not pronounce any Russian name, alas.
To the last question: �what about the Kazakh folklore?� the English conductor responded that he was impressed by the sound of the Kazakh folk musical instrument shan-kobyz and by the rhymes of Kazakh melodies.
Dear Sirs,
I need to contact my old friend Mr stryuk with whom there is need to get in touch urgently.
The only co-ordinates available with me are that he works in pavlador and in a printing house the name of which is Too cmc.
I will be extremely grateful if you can find his present phone and fax numbers to be able to talk to him since you may know him as you are also in the same industry.
please help me.
regards
Harish
E-Mail: [email protected]
February 15
German Theatre. �For demolition� by T. Williams. 4 p.m.
(in Russian)
February 7
Tengri-Umai Gallery. �Dance by the New Moon.�
From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., except Monday
February 3 to 27
Kasteev Museum. Exhibition from the Tengri-Umai collection.
From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., except Monday.
Since February 8
Kasteev Museum. Exhibition by Makum Kisamedinov
From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., except Monday.
Since February 8
ARK Gallery. �Promenade of the Century� exhibition
(in the building of Ramstor hyper-market)
February 14 to March 8
From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., except Monday.
Orkhon Gallery. �2000 years towards the light� exhibition by A. Rozakov and E. Zhopak.
(in the building of Zangar trade house)
Dzhambul Philharmonic Society
February 16
Concert by the Baikadamov state choral cappella. Compositions by P. Hindemit, F. Pulenk, B. Britten, Z. Kodaly and J. Massne.
Abai State Academician Opera & Ballet Theatre
February 15
�Kyz Zhibek� by E. Brusilovsky
(in the building of Lermantov Theatre)
February 17
�Yevgeny Onegin� by P. Chaikovsky. Main parts by soloists from the Bolshoi Theatre (Moscow)
(in the building of Kazakhconcert).
Kasteev National Museum � 30a, Satpaev St., tel.: 478356
Archeological Museum � 85, Dostyk Ave., (at Abai Ave.), tel.: 618585
Tribune Gallery � 14a, Republican Sq., tel.: 694628
Modern Arts Gallery �Orkhon� � Zangar (TsUM), 3rd floor, the new pavilion
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