Paganini's Meat Lovers' Ravioli

     Why is it that we never seem to think of composers as real people who once lived day-to-day lives as we do? I loved this NPR article on a ravioli dish that Paganini used to enjoy! Click here for the recipe!

Happy Birthday!

        Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart was born 258 years ago today to his father Leopold, his mother Anna Maria and his sister Nannerl. The child was small and sickly; many feared he wouldn't make it through the night. His mother had trouble delivering the placenta and almost died herself. Both grew stronger each day however; the baby growing to become one of the greatest composers this world has ever known.
        In Germany and Austria, especially back in the 18th century, birthdays were not celebrated so much as "Name Days," the feast of the child's patron Saint. Mozart most likely would have been given a greater celebration on October 31, the feast of Saint Wolfgang even though he was traditionally given the first name of the Saint on whose feast he was born, Saint John Chrysostom.
        Here is a brief video showing the apartment where Mozart was born. If you have been fortunate enough to have seen this in real life, I would love to hear about it! Please leave a comment below!

       

Rest In Peace

      Mozart passed away in his home 222 years ago today, December 5, 1791, leaving behind his wife, two sons and an unfinished Requiem Mass that would come to be known as one of the most incredible compositions in the history of classical music. Perhaps the reason why the Requiem is so haunting is because Mozart believed he was writing it for himself.
      Earlier that year, a man in gray had come to Mozart's door commissioning a Requiem Mass without giving a name. Later, it was discovered that the message had come from Count Walsegg, a young man Mozart never knew who had recently lost his wife and planned to pass the composition off as his own.
      The day of his death, Mozart shared with his friends his feelings on composing the Requiem: "Did I not tell you I was composing this Requiem for myself?"
      Mozart died at age 35, not two months before his birthday, almost completing the Lacrimosa, perhaps the saddest and most beautiful movement in the entire piece. The Requiem was completed according to his instructions by his student, Franz Xaver Süßmayr.
      Mozart once said of death in a letter to his father in 1787:

"I have made it a habit in all things to imagine the worst. Inasmuch as, strictly speaking, death is the real aim of our life, I have for the past few years made myself acquainted with this true, best friend of mankind, so that the vision not only has no terror for me but much that is quieting and comforting. And I thank my God that He gave me the happiness and the opportunity (you understand me) to learn to know Him as the key to true blessedness."

     May Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart rest in peace!

Excellent Article on Mozart's Burial

I recently read an excellent article entitled, "Mozart and the Myth of Reusable Coffins" written by Michael Lorenz on his blog, "Michael Lorenz: Musicological Trifles and Biographical Paralipomena". With his permission, I wanted to share the link to it on my blog. Please visit, read, and comment on his article!
Click here to read "Mozart and the Myth of Reusable Coffins".

Mozart the Patriot

     Happy Independence Day! Although Mozart was not American, he was very much devoted to his own country and people. I thought that today would be a fitting day to share a bit of his patriotism.
     In a letter to his father, written on November 24, 1781, Mozart speaks of a concert he had recently given:

The two of us played a sonata [K. 381] that I had composed for the occasion, and which had a success. This sonata I shall send you by Herr von Daubrawaick, who said that he would feel proud to have it in his trunk; his son, who is a Salzburger, told me this. When the father went he said, quite loud, "I am proud to be your countryman. You are doing great honor to Salzburg; I hope that times will so change that we can have you amongst us, and then do not forget me." I answered: "My fatherland has always the first claim on me."

     Although German culture was not dominant during his time, Mozart nevertheless felt such a great sense of duty to and pride for his country, which he honored through his music. In a letter to his father, written on May 29, 1778 in Paris, he said:

Frequently I fall into a mood of complete listlessness and indifference; nothing gives me great pleasure. The most stimulating and encouraging thought is that you, dearest father, and my dear sister, are well, that I am an honest German, and that if I am not always permitted to talk I can think what I please; but that is all.

     No doubt Mozart's intense love for his country inspired some of his finest works and helped him to always strive to be the best musician he possibly could.

Requiem Mass (Though Not For Me, As You May Have Thought)

     Well, it is interesting to see how summer work and a boatload of schoolwork can affect my opportunity to post even a small entry! But I finally have something worthwhile to write about!

The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra warming up before the concert.
The choir still had yet to come out!
(The picture isn't very clear; it was taken with my phone)

     This past October, I had the exciting and amazing opportunity to see the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra give an outstanding performance of the Requiem Mass in D Minor (K. 626). This was the first time I had ever heard a real, professional symphony orchestra perform any classical masterpiece live. Of all pieces, they performed one of my all time favorites, the Requiem Mass!
     This was only part of the excitement, however. The advertisement I had read for the performance stated that actor John Lithgow would be reading excerpts of poetry and letters written by Mozart. Naturally, I was very excited to see a famous actor live. Then, while waiting for the concert to begin, I discovered in the program that Mr. Lithgow would not be there that night...instead, it was F. Murray Abraham (winner of the Oscar for his performance as Antonio Salieri in the film Amadeus) whom they were featuring! I just about jumped out of my seat. The star of my favorite movie of all time was there that night, reading letters from Mozart during the Requiem Mass! Needless to say, Mr. Abraham did not disappoint.

F. Murray Abraham as Salieri (L) and as himself (R)

     Before the Requiem Mass, the PSO treated us to a stellar performance of Beethoven's violin concerto, featuring Noah Bendix-Balgley. It was so amazing! What more can I say? How can I really describe with words a night filled with Beethoven and Mozart? (Of course, there are no words!)
     One of the most amazing parts of the evening was the end of the Requiem--after the last movement ended, the concert hall faded to complete darkness and a bell tolled in remembrance of one of the greatest composers of all time. Slowly, the lights faded back on, and at that moment, the entire hall erupted into a chorus of emphatic cheers.
     There is nothing quite like being surrounded by Mozart's emotional, deeply moving sacred music. This day will forever be one of my most cherished memories. A special thanks to Dave for this wonderful, unforgettable day!

How Did You Discover Mozart?

A couple of weeks ago, I posted this question on the Mozart Forum, as I was curious how fellow Mozart fans fell in-love with the composer's work. I was thrilled to get so many responses. If you are not a member of the Mozart Forum, please join the conversation by submitting a comment to this post!



Question:
How did you come to discover the greatness of Mozart and his music? What inspired you to keep researching? Would you consider yourself a simple fan, a crazy fanatic, or somewhere in between? Do you consider Mozart to be the greatest composer?

Responses:
Hi! Firstly I've seen the movie Amadeus; secondly, after seeing that movie I've felt like listening to Mozart music and discovering it... From 1991 on I'm a Mozart music lover.

. . .

I discovered Mozart and his music in the mid 1950's when I was a little boy. I became a loyal Mozart music lover after listening his Synphony # 40. I had the LP which I played on a Motorola HI FI system which was very popular after second world war.

I purchased and read 5 books about Mozart in the 1970's and acquired The Phillips Mozart collection in 1991. I've learned so much from participants of this forum, but I am still learning and researching almost every day.

I truly enjoy and love all of his music, his personal life and interpersonal realtionships he had with with his peers, friends, siter, parents, wife and her siblings, mother in law, etc. I want to learn much more about his motivation to write incredible music since he was a child.

Finally, I am lover of his music and I consider myself a genuine and huge Mozart fan. And yes, he is the greatest composer who ever lived!!!

. . .

This is in part from a previous thread that I responded too.

My experience is that I discovered classical music long ago, about the time I graduated from High School. For years I ran the gamut of composers, exploring from all musical periods. My likes and dislikes evolved. My first heroes were Tchaikovsky and Beethoven, then came Brahms who lasted for quite some time and to this day. I Learned to like the baroque and more modern sounds that initially repelled me. Stravinsky for example. There’s more to my personal development but what is pertinent is that Mozart was there through all of it and I slowly began to give him more and more importance. His music seemed more and more poignant. I noticed that when I returned to a Mozart work that I had learned a year or so previously, it was fresh, new and incredible. I sometimes suggest to people that they should learn a Mozart work and then put it in the closet (metaphorically) for an extended period because when you take it out of the closet, Wow!

Perhaps we need to know the other composers pretty well for comparison to fully appreciate Mozart’s place?

I consider myself a true Mozart lover!

I still enjoy many other composers that for me have stood the test of time and I get excited when I occasionally discover a work I like that I was not aware of.

For me Mozart is the greatest composer and I've come to suspect that those of us who revere his music have a synergistic connection to the subtle emotions that seem to be his alone.

. . .

I must confess that the movie Amadeus was the first time I came across Mozart, when the movie came out, but then a schoolteacher friend told me she enjoyed the movie - but it was totally inaccurate! Crikey, I thought, and bought a tape of his 40th and 41st symphonies.

I struggled a while to place the man to the music, given how misleading (but totally entertaining) the movie had been. HC Robbins Landon's 1791 helped. I stopped listening to classical for a while, but then came back to my small, but precious horde of Mozart, to update them for cd's.

In the last few years I've expanded my repertoire of listening, and enjoy Beethoven's sonatas, and lately I'm getting heart-pangs for Schubert. I also like to listen to some Chopin and Rachmaninov.

But to me, Mozart is unique. I was listening to the Posthorn Serenade yesterday and I thought, 'listen to this guy. Not only could he compose for every genre, but also for every instrument.' There are middle movements in this work for flute and wind instruments which are endlessly pleasing to me. I think if he composed best in opera, then piano was his next best, but his compositions for wind instruments are extraordinary too.

If they were all athletes, Mozart would be Usain Bolt, winning and pulling away from the rest as he does so. I would say I veer closer to "crazy fanatic" than to simple fan, though I don't have the funds or floor-space to feed my addiction. As my wife would say, it's just as well!

. . .

I guess I always knew Mozart was a great composer but could not name specific works. So it was Amadeus that sparked a greater interest and I began to buy CDs. In 2004 I returned to Salzburg for the first time since I was a child and I joined Mozartforum. Now I'm a regular visitor to Salzburg and cannot go two days without listening to his music.

. . .

How did I discover Mozart?

Well, in 7th grade I had a music appreciation/history class. I had this really pretty teacher I had a huge crush on, and...one day she moved my seat to the front of the class, and we started learning about classical music, and I got culture.

There was this BIG sousaphone that sat in her room, and one day she suggested to me that I learn to play it - because, she said, this instrument was made for me.

Come fall, I was taking lessons on the tuba. I never made the connection what actually got me interested in taking up the big horn 'til recently.

Later on, I discovered there aren't very many uses for a tuba in any music from the classical era (although I still argue Mozart's symphony #32 could use one sparringly). Now, I have a vast array of brass instruments I can play, including french horn, which Mozart wrote lots of stuff for.

. . .

There were two or three recordings of Mozart's symphonies at home when I was a child. But I truly began to grasp the full stature of his genius, listening to two classical music radio broadcasts when I was in my high school years. And when I entered the conservatory, with some money given to me to buy scores, I bought exactly seven LP records. Three of them were the last six symphonies. I remember them well: they were recordings made by Bruno Walter conducting the Columbia Symphony Orchestra.

Do I consider Mozart is the greatest composer? Well, yes. When I am hearing one of his great works, I cannot conceive of anything in the whole world being greater. But then I listen to the opening bars in Bach's B minor Mass. And then I say: undeniably, this is the glory. So, you see. Impossible for me to choose one among all of them.

However, the joy produced by the discovery of those great masters of the past, I think is a thing that never comes back in all of its original grandeur. As youth itself, it is unrecoverable.

. . .

I got some LP's of Mozart when I fell in love with Classical music in the early seventies but, at that time, I was a fan of the piano music of Beethoven and Schumann. Mozart for me was like elevator music : sweet but forgettable. Few years later the transformation happened after I heard The Magic Flute. And it was nonstop after that. And of course it was helped by Amadeus (the play and the film).

Today I adore almost all his music although not the piano solo (exception : those in the minor keys). In this department I am now hooked on Bach !

. . .

As a toddler I used to listen to classical music with my mother. We listened to different composers every day and I particularly loved Mozart. Later on when I started playing instruments Mozart pieces were always my favourite compositions to play.
Mozart stayed with me throughout my life though I listen(ed) to many other different composers and music styles. My interest in the person Mozart increased after the film Amadeus, but even more after a visit to the villa Bertramka in Prague. Since that visit I am passionate to learn about Mozart and I have a keen interest in the 18th century cultural, economic and political situation. I listen to Mozart at least once a day wherever I am.

. . .

How interesting that you've been to Betramka. I heard it had fallen into disrepair. Funny also that Amadeus, often derided by Mozart lovers, has had such a positive effect on so many of us. :-)

. . .

I have been listening to classical music in general (and of course Mozart's music as well) when I was a teenager. But the "Initialzündung" as we say in German for Mozart was the Mozartyear 2006 and further on the historical informed performance of Mozart's works.

Now I can't live without his music anymore. I take it with me even on travels (on my I-Pod).

Rest In Peace, Mozart!

The beloved composer died on this day, 220 years ago.

May his music live on forever!

Mozart Goodies

Goodness, it has been nearly a month since I have last written. Life seems to be whizzing by while my poor blog sits here alone and forgotten. To make up for the time it has taken me to write, I will share my new upload of the Coronation Mass, K. 317, written in 1779, along with some quotes about Mozart and a letter excerpt to brighten up the day. Enjoy!

In Bach, Beethoven and Wagner we admire principally the depth and energy of the human mind; in Mozart, the divine instinct.   - Edvard Grieg

Mozart's music is free of all exaggeration, of all sharp breaks and contradictions.  The sun shines but does not blind, does not burn or consume.  Heaven arches over the earth, but it does not weigh it down, it does not crush or devour it.    - Karl Barth

It is hard to think of another composer who so perfectly marries form and passion.    - Leonard Bernstein

What a picture of a better world you have given us, Mozart!   - Franz Schubert

W. A. Mozart - Krönungsmesse in C Major, K. 317

It seems here that Mozart learned a form of sign language. He writes to his sister Nannerl at the age of 15:

Milan, August 31, 1771.
My Dearest Sister,--
We are quite well, thank God! I have been eating quantities of fine pears, peaches, and melons in your place. My greatest amusement is to talk by signs to the dumb, which I can do to perfection. Herr Hasse [the celebrated opera composer] arrived here yesterday, and to-day we are going to pay him a visit. We only received the book of the Serenata last Thursday. I have very little to write about. Do not, I entreat, forget about THE ONE OTHER, where no other can ever be. You understand me, I know.

Anyone who knows more on this subject, please comment with your input and knowledge!

Mozart's Portrait

     Last week for English, I was given an assignment to describe the face of someone in great detail. As soon as I heard what my assignment would be, I knew exactly whose face I would describe! Here is what I wrote...I think my professor liked it too! (I'm not sure if she knows yet exactly how obsessed I am with Mozart...)

     Mozart's face was nearly as enchanting as his music. It was long and oval; pale in complexion and nicked with poxmarks. His long, pointed nose cast shadows on one side of his face and above his upper lip. It dented in slightly at the top where it met his forehead, then came back out to form two gentle, golden-brown eyebrows that defined the emotion in his giant, almond-shaped, ocean blue eyes which gave off a look of mystery and passion. His tiny mouth was accented by salmon-pink lips; the bottom lip jutted out making a crease just above his chin, while his upper lip curved slightly to form a subtle smile just as mysterious as his eyes. His mess of fine blond hair was covered by a coarse, grey powdered wig, which was pulled into the back by a large, black bow.

(I looked at the Croce portrait while I wrote!)

Yes, I'm Still Alive.

Contrary to popular belief, I have not fallen off the planet. I am alive and well, or, as well as a busy student can be. When the school year started, so did a horrible case of writer's block. There are some topics I would like to post about in the future, but I will need to do some more research first. Until then, I figured everyone can use a good laugh throughout the day, so I posted two of some of Mozart's most humorous letters, both written to his beloved sister Nannerl.

Year: 1770
Age: 14

...I only wish that my sister were in Rome, for this town would certainly please her, as St. Peter's church and many other things in Rome are regular. The most beautiful flowers are now being carried past in the street---so Papa has just told me. I am a fool, as everyone knows. Oh, I am having a hard time, for in our rooms there is only one bed and so Mamma can well imagine that I get no sleep with Papa......I have just now drawn St. Peter with his keys and with him St. Paul with his sword and St. Luke with my sister and so forth. I have had the honor of kissing St. Peter's foot in St. Peter's church and as I have the misfortune to be so small, I, that same old dunce

Wolfgang Mozart,
had to be lifted up.

Year: 1772
Age: 16

I hope you are well, my dear sister. When you receive this letter, my dear sister, my opera will be being performed that same evening. Think of me, my dear sister, and do your best to imagine, my dear sister, that you are watching and hearing it too, my dear sister. Admittedly that is difficult, as it is already eleven o'clock; what's more, I believe beyond any doubt that during the day it is brighter than at Easter. My dear sister, tomorrow we dine at Herr von Mayer's, and why is this, do you think? Guess! Because he has invited us. Tomorrow's rehearsal is at the theater, but the impresario, Signor Castiglioni, has urged me not to say anything about it, because otherwise everybody will come rushing along, and we don't want that. So, my child, I beg you not to tell anyone anything about it. Otherwise too many people would come rushing along. That reminds me, do you know what happened here today? I'll tell you. We left Count Firmian's to go home and when we reached our street, we opened the front door and what do you suppose happened then? We went in. Goodbye, my little lung. I embrace you, my liver, and remain, my stomach, ever your unworthy brother,

Wolfgang

Please, my dear sister, something is biting me - please scratch me.

Happy Birthday, Salieri!

Today, Antonio Salieri would have been 261 years old!
He was 6 years older than Mozart.

       Antonio Salieri was an Italian composer who lived during the same time as Mozart. He was a great teacher, most notably in voice. In performance and composition, he trained some very famous people: Franz Liszt, Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert and Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart.

       While the play and 1984 film Amadeus fictionalizes almost every aspect of the real composer's life, one humorous fact that was kept as part of Salieri's character was his great love of sugar. Once as a child, Salieri ran away from home to hear his older brother play the violin at a church. His father told them that if he ran away again, he would lock him in his room for a whole day with nothing to eat but bread and water. This didn't scare Salieri; planning to run away yet again, he hid a sack of sugar in his room. As long as he had sugar, he was fine with being locked in his room! The plan didn't work out too well however, since before he left, he told his sister of his secret. His sister then told his mother, who told his father, who took the sugar out of his room before he came back. Poor Salieri found himself locked in his room for the day, with nothing but bread and water!

       When he was 24 years old, Salieri began to work as the imperial royal chamber composer for Emporer Joseph II of Austria. He was also appointed Kapellmeister to the Italian opera.

       In 1775, when he was 25 years old, Salieri met his future wife, Therese von Helfersdorfer. Before he could marry her, Salieri had to prove to her guardian (whom her deceased father had appointed) that he was able to care for her finacially. When Therese's guardian found that Salieri could only count on 100 ducats annually, he turned him down. Emporer Joseph II heard of Salieri's problem, and raised his salary to 300 ducats a year! Salieri returned to Therese's guardian, who then consented to the marriage, which eventually produced 8 children.

       In his lifetime, Salieri composed 37 operas; his most famous probably being Axur, re d'Ormus, which in its time was performed more times than Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro or Don Giovanni. He also composed concertos, Masses, and several other Sacred works.

       Contrary to what most people have been led to believe, Salieri was not a poor composer, nor was he jealous of Mozart's gifts (at least not jealous enough to plot murder!).

       It has been said that as an old man, Salieri confessed to the murder of Mozart and tried to commit suicide. If he ever did confess to such a crime, let it be noted that during this time, Salieri suffered dimentia and was admitted to a mental hospital.

       Salieri died on May 7, 1825.

Antonio Salieri - Axur re d'Ormus - Finale

(1788)

Mozart vs. Beethoven

MOZART'S MUSIC HAS A NEW YOUTUBE ACCOUNT!

Our YouTube Channel is now: 

www.youtube.com/herrmozartsmusic

Please visit and subscribe!

The following video is on the new channel. Please enjoy...and comment!

Mozart's Wedding Day

Wolfgang and Constanze were married on

August 4, 1782 in Vienna, at Saint Stephen's Cathedral.

Wolfgang and Constanze's marriage certificate.



Saint Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna.




The inside of Saint Stephen's Cathedral. 



They had a very happy marriage together. Wolfgang's letters to Constanze -- written either while he was out pursuing work, or while she was at the spa in Baden -- remain tender, loving, and even a bit silly up until the last one.

For instance, on April 13, 1789 while he was in Dresden, Wolfgang wrote a letter to Constanze and told her of all the silly things he would do with her little portrait while he was away from her:

If I were to tell you all the things that I do with your portrait, you would laugh heartily. For instance when I take it out of its prison house I say "God bless you, Stanzerl! God bless you, you little rascal, -- Krallerballer -- Sharpnose -- little Bagatelle!" And when I put it back I let it slip down slowly and gradually and say "Nu, -- Nu, -- Nu, -- Nu;" but with the emphasis which this highly significant word demands, and at the last, quickly: "Good-night, little Mouse, sleep well!" Now, I suppose, I have written down a lot of nonsense (at least so the world would think); but for us, who love each other so tenderly, it isn't altogether silly.

Then, on July 7, 1791, just five months before his death, Wolfgang wrote to his wife who was at the spa in Baden:

You can not imagine how slowly time goes when you are not with me! I can't describe the feeling; there is a sort of sense of emptiness, which hurts -- a certain longing which can not be satisfied, and hence never ends, but grows day by day. When I remember how childishly merry we were in Baden, and what mournful, tedious hours I pass here, my work gives me no pleasure, because it is not possible as was my wont, to chat a few words with you when stopping for a moment. If I go to the Clavier and sing something from the opera [Die Zauberflöte] I must stop at once because of my emotions. -- Basta!

No doubt, August 4, 1782 remained one of the happiest memories in Wolfgang and Constanze's lives.

Happy Birthday, Nannerl!

Nannerl in 1763, wearing a dress given to her by
Empress Maria Theresa when she and Wolfgang performed for her.

Mozart's sister, Maria Anna Walburga Ignatia Mozart, or Nannerl for short, was born on July 30, 1751 in Salzburg. She was the fourth child born to Leopold and Anna Maria Mozart, but the first to survive infancy.

Nannerl was one of Mozart's greatest heroes. As a child he would watch her play the piano and take lessons from Leopold, and then he would try to play her pieces. Like her brother, Nannerl was a child prodigy, but since she was a woman, she couldn't pursue a career like him. 

On August 23, 1783, Nannerl married twice-widowed Johann Baptist Franz von Berchtold zu Sonnenburg and moved to St. Gilgen (the town where her mother was born). She took care of his five children and eventually had three of her own, two daughters and one son. 

Nannerl in 1785.

Wolfgang often composed piano duets to perform with his sister while they were young. In 1765, at nine years old, he composed this piece, which the two performed together:

On October 29, 1829, Nannerl passed away in Salzburg, where she lived after her husband died in 1801. 

Happy Birthday, Wolfgang, Jr.!

Mozart's youngest son, Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart (also known as Wolfgang, Jr.), was born on July 26, 1791 in Vienna, around five months before his father's death. Franz Xaver's never really getting to know his father seemed to have no impact on his veneration for him. His whole life, Franz Xaver had a great devotion to his father's music. He not only inherited Mozart's love for music; he became a fine composer/musician himself, studying under several teachers...most notably Antonio Salieri. 

In this video, one can certainly hear whose son he is! This is Franz Xaver Mozart's Violin Sonata in B Flat Major, 3rd Movement, Presto.

Franz Xaver passed away on July 29, 1844 in Karlsbad. His veneration for his father was so great that his tombstone reads:

May the name of his father be his epitaph, as his veneration for him was the essence of his life.

What Will They Come Up With Next?

Here is an article that I found on DiscoveryNews.com from Monday, July 11, 2011, if you'd like to read it. After this I don't think scientists can find any more diseases or conditions to blame for Mozart's death!


Lack of Vitamin D May Have Killed Mozart
If the composer had spent more time in the sun, he might have forestalled his early death.

During his short life, Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart suffered from many of the era's common illnesses, including smallpox, typhoid fever, tonsillitis and upper respiratory tract infections.

What exactly it was that killed him in December 1791 at age 35, however, is still a matter of debate -- with theories ranging from poisoning to renal disease.

Now, two researchers offer a new theory: vitamin D deficiency. In his high-latitude home in Austria, Mozart was probably running low on the sunshine vitamin for half the year. That deficiency may have put the musician at risk for many of the illnesses he suffered from.

If only Mozart had known about vitamin D and had access to supplements, he could have doubled his lifetime's output of work, mused William Grant, a retired NASA atmospheric physicist who has been following vitamin D research with great interest for the past decade. And, he argued, the same goes for several other famous musicians who died at young ages.

While some researchers remain skeptical, Grant thinks Mozart's story holds a cautionary tale for modern musicians, who might want to consider getting outside for a practice session or two.

"Almost every disease has a vitamin D connection these days," said Grant, who is not a doctor, but is affiliated with the Sunlight, Nutrition and Health Research Center, a pro-vitamin D research and education association. "I think modern-day musicians are unaware of the fact that by staying indoors, they are not getting the adequate amount of vitamin D that they need."

Mozart's death has long been shrouded in mystery. The musician was buried three days after he died, said William Dawson, a retired orthopedic surgeon, and past president of the Performing Arts Medicine Association. And an autopsy was never performed on his body.

Testimonies and reports about the composer's death were not reviewed until 30 years later. Even then, the documents were full of conflicting details. To complicate the situation even more, medical knowledge at the time -- more than two centuries ago -- was far behind what doctors know today. And since Mozart's time, the definitions of many medical terms have changed.

"They didn't know about vitamins," Dawson said. "They didn't know about bacteria. They didn't know about blood pressure. Mozart's physicians were as high quality as he could get. They just didn't have the knowledge or technology to treat him."

Dawson reviewed 81 references in the literature that addressed the question of what actually happened to Mozart at the end of his life. In a paper published last year in the journal Medical Problems of Performing Artists, he chronicled and organized those theories.

Many of the papers he looked at sited chronic kidney disease as the cause of lots of Mozart's problems, including his many secondary infections, like strep throat and pink eye. Those explanations are convincing enough, Dawson said, though he has his own pet theory for what ultimately killed the composer.

"They bled Mozart a lot as one of the treatments for his disease," he said. "I think they bled him too much and he died of acute blood loss."

Grant has a different point of view. He read Dawson's paper with a close eye on the time of year that Mozart tended to get sick. From 1762 to 1783, he wrote in a letter that was just published in the journal Medical Problems of Performing Artists, most of Mozart's infections occurred between mid-October and mid-May.

That's the time of year when people in places as far north as Austria simply can’t make enough vitamin D from sun exposure. Plenty of studies in recent years have linked adequate vitamin D levels with lower risks for influenza, pneumonia, cardiovascular disease, cancers, autoimmune diseases and more.

The current recommended daily intake of vitamin D is 600 IU for most people, but some experts now advocate taking as much as 4,000 IU, which is currently the recommended upper limit for the vitamin (something no one should do without talking to their doctor first).

Grant pointed to two other famous musicians with similar stories. British cellist Jacqueline Mary du Pré, for one, died in 1987 at age 42 from multiple sclerosis. And Austrian composer Gustav Mahler died in 1911 of bacterial endocarditis. Evidence now suggests that vitamin D can protect against both diseases.

There's no way to prove or disprove Grant's theory, Dawson said, but he urged some caution.

"I am tempted to say that this is an idea that has its adherents, and it's out there in the literature," Dawson said. "Whether people choose to believe it is up to the individual reader."

Pope Benedict XVI, Mozart and the Quest of Beauty

I was very excited to find this article on www.CatholicEducation.org. Enjoy!

Pope Benedict XVI, Mozart and the Quest of Beauty
By Mark Freer
Used with permission.

. . .

Everyone, it seems, loves Mozart. As a small boy I would march round and round the room to an old recording of the Haffner Symphony that my father used to play, and in my professional vocation as a musician that love has remained and grown. And I find myself in excellent company. The Pope's brother Msgr. Georg Ratzinger — for thirty years choirmaster of Regensburg Cathedral — recently gave an interview to the Swiss Catholic press agency KIPA, in which he divulged that Benedict XVI's favourite musical pieces are the Clarinet Quintet and the Clarinet Concerto. Inside the Vatican reported that Benedict was playing Mozart on his piano on the Sunday afternoon following his installation as Pope, when he returned to his old apartment to see his brother. And papal biographer George Weigel said in Newsweek after Benedict's election that "here is another surprise for cartoonists of the dour Ratzinger: he's a Mozart man, which I take to be an infallible sign of someone who is, at heart, a joyful person." Georg Ratzinger supplies further anecdotes:

Does he still find time to tickle the ivories?
Very seldom. But the last time I was in Rome with the Cathedral Choir the piano lid was open, and Mozart sonatas were lying there, open. He knows himself that his playing is hardly of an elevated standard, but he enjoys it. And his desire to make music still finds its most beautiful outlet in Mozart.
What sort of piano does he have then?
It's of no particular brand. We bought it when he was lecturing in Freising. The action is not so great, but it looks very nice, and the tone is fine. For the papal palace in Castelgandolfo the Steinway firm has donated a small grand piano, one which I also used to enjoy playing very much. There's talk of getting one for the Vatican too, but my brother says it's not worth it. For one thing he doesn't have much time, and also he gauges his own abilities realistically. For his own playing, his old piano is good enough.

Msgr Ratzinger also gives a musical portrait of their family home:

Reverend Kapellmeister, how did you and your brother come in contact with Mozart for the first time?
At home we played the harmonium. Our parents were of the view that it would prepare us for the organ. In one practice book was a piece of two lines reputed to be by Mozart. I could never identify it later. The "Mozart year" 1941 saw an intensification. During the 150th year after the composer's death there was a Mozart broadcast every Sunday, at lunch time. As I was the one in the family who was the most musically engaged, I was allowed to take my father's place at the table, which was directly next to the radio. Then in July I went with my brother to a Mozart concert put on by the Regensburg Cathedral choir. They sang excerpts from The Impresario in costume, and it was quite wonderful. I couldn't sleep the whole night.

Cardinal Ratzinger enjoying Mozart

But let's hear Pope Benedict himself on the subject. In the extended interview that was published ten years ago as Salt of the Earth we read:

You are a great lover of Mozart.
Yes! Although we moved around a very great deal in my childhood, the family basically always remained in the area between the Inn and the Salzach. And the largest and most important and best parts of my youth I spent in Traunstein, which very much reflects the influence of Salzburg. You might say that there Mozart thoroughly penetrated our souls, and his music still touches me very deeply, because it is so luminous and yet at the same time so deep. His music is by no means just entertainment; it contains the whole tragedy of human existence.

Penetrated our souls...so luminous...so deep...contains the whole tragedy of human existence, says the man who is now Pope. Many, including myself, would agree. The deeper one enters into Mozart's music — the more one seeks to find there, in between those little quavers and crotchets; — in short, the more one allows it to 'penetrate the soul', then the more it is felt as transcendent, sublime, consummately beautiful. 

Hans Urs von Balthasar was a close friend of Cardinal Ratzinger (together with Cardinal de Lubac and others they founded the Communio International Catholic Review, published today in fifteen countries). Balthasar dared to express himself in directly theological fashion, speaking of the "...miraculous Mozart, who... had the 'power of the heart' to sense infallibly the true and the genuine". Referring to The Magic Flute, he writes:

What must appear everywhere else as a vain image of fantasy or even of blasphemy — the definitive revelation of eternal beauty in a genuine earthly body — may well have become blessed reality just once, here, in the realm of the Catholic Incarnation.

And this astonishing passage from his Tribute to Mozart:

Do we not come from God and return to him, passing through the waters and fires of time, suffering and death? And why should we not permit ourselves to be led through the dissonances of our existence by the Zauberflöte, a tremendous adumbration of love, light and glory, eternal truth and harmony? Is there a better, indeed another manner to bear witness to the nobility of our divine filiation than to make present whence we came and where we are going? All those whom we take for our models tried to have it that way, and above all he who knew himself to be the Son of the Father, who had the face of the Father before his eyes always, and whose will he accomplished. Mozart serves by making audible the triumphal hymn of a prelapsarian and resurrected creation, in which suffering and guilt are not presented as faint memory, as past, but as conquered, absolved, fixed present.

All this will inevitably scandalise those who regard Mozart primarily as a Freemason, and The Magic Flute principally as a piece of Freemasonic symbology, both true enough in themselves. (Balthasar too — the "theologian of beauty" — is viewed in certain circles with suspicion. Yet the Holy Father, as Cardinal Ratzinger, said at von Balthasar's funeral, "the Church itself, in its official responsibility, tells us that he is right in what he teaches of the Faith".) The subject of Mozart's Freemasonry was raised with Georg Ratzinger:

Does it disturb you that Mozart was a Freemason?
It isn't for me to pass judgement on Mozart. He was a man with many difficulties arising from the period he lived in, and from the circumstances of his life. The issue of his Freemasonry disturbs me insofar as he was not only an ordinary member, but attained the rank of Master, and wanted to found his own lodge. Freemasonry was obviously fashionable at that time in Vienna. Certainly he hoped for material gain from his membership. Whether he reflected on the theological implications I don't know.

No thoughtful Catholic will have difficulty distinguishing Mozart's music from his Freemasonry, any more, for example, than separating Bach's work from his Lutheranism. If we were to dismiss every human work that had been created by a sinner, there might not be much left standing. I was once taken to task for leading a congregation in a "Protestant tune", to which I replied, "which note was Protestant, the E-flat or the B-flat?" 


Let us move on.

All beauty comes from God. There is no beauty that does not come from the Father through Christ, Himself the embodiment of all beauty. St Augustine, in a famous passage from the Confessions, addresses God as Beauty personified:

Late have I loved You, O Beauty ever ancient, ever new, late have I loved You!

Contrary to popular opinion, true beauty (the only kind there is, despite Satan's posturings) is objective. Truth and goodness are beautiful, just as the beautiful is true and good. A wonderful passage from Balthasar's The Glory of the Lordsays,

Beauty is the word that shall be our first. Beauty is the last thing which the thinking intellect dares to approach, since only it dances as an uncontained splendour around the double constellation of the true and the good and their inseparable relation to one another. [my italics] Beauty is the ... one without which the ancient world refused to understand itself, a word which ... has bid farewell to our new world, leaving it to its avarice and sadness.

In former times the liturgy, too, "refused to understand itself" apart from beauty: beauty was taken for granted. The fact that the holy liturgy has — in broad terms — been a casualty of the modern exaltation of ugliness is for Benedict XVI a matter of grave concern. He speaks scathingly of:

...mass culture geared to quantity, production and success. Pop music joins up with this culture... It is a reflection of what this society is, the musical embodiment of kitsch... Hindemith used the term brainwashing for this kind of noise, which can hardly be called music any more ... Is it a pastoral success when we are capable of following the trend of mass culture and thus share the blame for its making people immature or irresponsible? (A New Song for the Lord, p.108)

For him, "faith becoming music is part of the process of the Word becoming flesh" ( p.122 ). But there is no chance here of doing justice to the breadth and profundity of our theologian-Pope's writings. Here is one small taste:

It is not the case that you think something up then sing it; instead, the song comes to you from the angels, and you have to lift up your heart so that it may be in tune with the music coming to it. But above all this is important: the liturgy is not a thing the monks create. It is already there before them. It is entering into the liturgy of the heavens that has always been taking place. Earthly liturgy is liturgy because and only because it joins what is already in process, the greater reality. ( p.129 )

And a last word from Msgr. Georg Ratzinger:

Many describe your brother as the "Mozart of theology". What do you think of this title?
Joachim Cardinal Meisner of Cologne coined this phrase. It has a certain justification. My brother's theology is not as problematic and difficult as that of Karl Rahner... Directness, clarity and form: his work does seem to have these elements in common with Mozart's music.

 . . .

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Mark Freer. “Pope Benedict XVI, Mozart and the Quest of Beauty.” AD2000 (April, 2006).
AD2000 is published in Australia. Visit their web site here.
Printed with permission of the author, Mark Freer.
THE AUTHOR
Mark Freer is an Adelaide church musician and concert pianist. He is organist and choirmaster for the ecclesially approved Latin Mass at Holy Name Church, St Peters, and has performed and broadcast in Australia, Switzerland, Germany and Italy. At the 2005 international symposium in Lugano, Switzerland commemorating Hans Urs von Balthasar's 100th anniversary he presented a lecture and a Mozart concert accompanied by the leader of the Queensland Orchestra, Warwick Adeney; his seminar paper appeared in the Spring 2005 Communio journal entitled "The Triune Conversation in Mozart: Towards a Theology of Music". He may be contacted at mark.freer@mac.com.

Copyright © 2006 Mark Freer

What Mozart Really Looked Like? The Video! (Take Two)

This time it's on YouTube to stay!

Mystery Solved!

     I finally obtained information about Bimperl/Bimbes/Bimpes/Pimperl the dog. From 1773 - 1777, the Mozarts kept a female fox terrier, called these four names by different members of the family. Wolfgang and Anna Maria usually called her Bimperl, Bimpes or Bimbes, while Nannerl and Leopold called her Pimperl. These are all various forms of the same name.
     In 1777, Bimperl died and the Mozarts bought a male dog, giving him the same name.
     I found this information on the Mozart Forum.

Fox Terrier. Image from Wikipedia.