Today, January 27th, 2008, is the 252nd birthday of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Or, as I like to call him, my Motzie! I threw an early Mozart birthday party last night, where I got together with my fiancee and a friend for some drinks (which Mozart would have appreciated), delicious food and some Amadeus watchin.
We had a blast, and I got to answer some cursory Mozart questions to our guest and my fiancee. Anywhere from “was Mozart buried in an unmarked grave like a pauper?” to “did Mozart really have a silly laugh like that?” I will get to these questions later. As an added gesture and a general fanaticism towards Mozart, my fiancee and I had another little shindig where we watched Mozart’s opera Die Entfuerung auf dem Seraglio (The Abduction from the Seraglio) and drank some more New Glarus Raspberry alcohol.
I have been throwing Mozart birthday parties since I knew the movie Amadeus existed. When I was 11 years old, a friend of mine said nonchalantly, “hey, did you know they made a movie about Mozart?” I stared at her in disbelief and demanded to know the title. She wasn’t sure, so that same day, I went to Blockbuster video, and there it was, Amadeus. I begged my Mom to let me have $20 for my upcoming birthday so I could buy it. Two of my schoolfriends and I went to Blockbuster on my 11th birthday to buy it. I was on rollerblades at the time, and so I couldn’t go in the store. I gave my friends the $20 to get the movie for me. They walked in while I stood staring through the glass. They initially grabbed every movie except for Amadeus - including a Barbara Streisand musical - just to get my goat. I was flailing my arms and mouthing a very big NO. They laughed to themselves and finally grabbed Amadeus. Hence, the beginning of my Mozart birthday party tradition.
Anyways, back to those impertinent questions. A lot of people have asked me over many years about all those stereotypes and myths that have been perpetuated about Mozart. Are they fact?
First, there is a stereotype, which is exemplified in Amadeus for dramatic effect, about Mozart writing music as if it was “dictation” from the top of his head and his original scores of music having no corrections. This is simply untrue. Mozart was a human being, albeit a human genius, like anyone else. He made mistakes and worked diligently on a lot of his work. Just because someone is a genius does not mean they are perfect and do not have to work like a dog.
Second, people want to know if Salieri really killed Mozart. This is another myth that has been used to make for a very interesting and dramatic plotline, but is not historically true. It is true Antonio Salieri went insane later in life, tried to commit suicide and claimed to have killed Mozart, but he was seen as rather disreputable at that point in his life. There is historical evidence to suggest Mozart died of renal failure, or failure of his kidneys. How boring.
Third, did Mozart die a pauper and therefor get buried in an umarked grave? The actual reason for Mozart being buried in an unmarked mass grave has actually nothing to do with money. According to musicologist Maynard Solomon, Mozart chose to be buried in this way because of his belief concerning hygienic practices with the dead that were being encouraged by Joseph II but not being adopted en masse in Vienna during the 18th century. As a Mason and freethinking Catholic, Mozart believed in some pretty progressive things for his time. Besides improved hygiene for the city of Vienna, he did not want to be buried in such a typical fashion. He felt that by being buried in an unmarked mass grave, he was considering himself an equal with everyone else, and an equal in death.
Fourth, Mozart had two sons when he died. Karl Thomas and Franz Xaver. Get it right Amadeus!
Fifth, Mozart may or may not have had a silly, frivolous giggle like the one shown so colorfully in Amadeus. Who knows?
Sixth, Mozart was indeed an obscene man. He loved scatological humor, chasing petticoats whenever he got the chance, drinking punch spiked with alcohol, and dancing. He also loved playing games of various sorts and he absolutely loved playing billiards. Mozart was a party-kind-of-guy. If you wanted to have a good time, Motzie was probably your man. But, if you were a woman, beware! Or if you were the type of woman who liked that sort of thing, then carry on.
Last, but definitely not least, the masked man in all black that pushes Mozart to finish the Requiem Mass is a very interesting theatrical representation of a very odd circumstance in Mozart’s life. As I mentioned earlier, Antonio Salieri had absolutely nothing to do with Mozart’s death, and therefor the masked man in all black had nothing to do with Salieri. Historically speaking, there was actually a masked man in all black that came to commission the Requiem Mass for another person. Apparently, a Baron von Wasleg wanted to have a Requiem Mass played for his wife’s funeral. He was not a very good composer, but wanted to have a fine piece of music to call his own. So he sent a person completely covered in black and with a mask on to commission it from Mozart so von Wasleg could try to claim it as his own piece. Very weird, I know. Mozart was convinced that he was writing the Requiem for himself and that the masked man was a harbinger of doom from the Other Side. He did not live long enough to finish the Requiem, and it has only been partially finished by Mozart.
I think Amadeus is an awesome movie, and you do not even have to like Mozart or his music to enjoy that film. I have known people who do not care for classical music but love Amadeus. It is a wonderfully dramatic movie. Rock on Peter Schaffer! It does have some historical inaccuracies, and its basic premise has been fabricated for dramatic purpose. I do love to watch it every year and answer questions anyone may have.
This Composition was posted on Sunday, January 27th, 2008 at 1:35 pm and is filed under Composers, Mozart. You can follow any responses to this Composition through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.