Mozart Snapshots #29: 1791. Death and Deception.

#requiem #mozart #salieri

Mozart Snapshots #29: 1791. Death and Deception.

The fateful year 1791 saw Mozart reach new heights with the composition of some of his most enduring masterworks including The Magic Flute, the Ave Verum Corpus and the Requiem. It has also become the subject of legends, rumors and fantasies. Who was this mysterious grey messenger who commissioned the requiem? Was Mozart actually poisoned? On this week’s snapshot, we go for a stroll through the St. Sebastian’s Cemetary and take a look back at the events of 1791, the last year in the life of Mozart.

About Mozart Snapshots:

Each and everyone of us is shaped by the place where we spend our earliest years. Mozart was no exception. One of the first true cosmopolites of classical music, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a native of the picturesque alpine city of Salzburg, Austria. In this new series, I will explore Mozart's relationship to his home town through fun-filled conversations, insightful interviews and once-in-a-lifetime visits to interesting locations in Salzburg that have a special connection to Mozart and his family, then and now.

Join me weekly for a new Mozart Snapshot and be sure to subscribe so as not miss the next episode!

Treffpunkt Klassik: "Mozart Snapshots" is a collaboration with Colorado Public Radio.

***
More information:

[CharlesProoth]

And it ends with the Lacrimosa! Nice touch.

[sparkleprincess]

Great video, it was really informative and entertaining! That quote from Wolfgang's letter isn't actually as bizarre as it seems. He's actually correct in saying that death is the goal of our existence, and the true key to happiness. He's referring to what death actually is, compared to what it seems to be. Death is an illusion. To people on earth, it looks like dead people are gone forever, but really, their souls live eternally. Our earthly lives are only part of our existence. The ultimate goal of our existence is to live with God forever in heaven (where we will be truly happy and fulfilled). Everyone's number one goal should be to get to heaven eventually, and dying is the way to get there. Of course, it's important to live here and contribute to the world first, and let God decide when he is ready for us.

[Wacholderwald]

I am really enjoying all of your videos! One interesting fact is that Constanze and Franz, Mozart's son, both told the Novello's, an English couple who visited her in the late 1820's, that Mozart believed that he had been poisoned and that Salieri had been involved. Franz didn't believe this, but he told them that his father had believed this. Regarding Salieri's confession, Franz only said that he thought the old man was probably referring to the opposition he had given Mozart in his career, and not to literally poisoning him. If Constanze is to be believed, Mozart said these things months before he died, while he was still active and in his right mind, not on his deathbed. Their friend Niemetschek, who wrote the first biography of Mozart, did say that Mozart had been sickly and taking a lot of medicine during his trip to Prague.