Opera at the Superbowl

        This year, the National Anthem at the Superbowl was sung a little differently than we are used to...opera soprano Renée Fleming was chosen to sing. Some however did not think her voice was suited for this song (unlike Christina Aguilera...?). Or perhaps they just don't like opera, in which case they are the only ones missing out!
        I think the National Anthem should not be turned into a performance, but rather it should be a deep expression of patriotism. While on the one hand I think it could have been sung a little more plainly, without the quirky, unnecessary ritardo and accelerando, I also think Ms. Fleming did a splendid job in singing the Anthem, giving it her respect and talent without being showy. (Which is more than can be said of many a celebrity who has been given this same honor...)
        There is a well-written article on the performance that you can read here.
        What did you think?

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).

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

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

Mozart and King George VI

Yesterday I finally watched the movie "The King's Speech", which I had been wanting to watch for some time. I was not disappointed! It was a great movie...very inspirational. What does this have to do with Mozart, you may ask? Well, watch the video I recently uploaded and you'll find out. In the movie, King George VI (at the time Prince Albert, Duke of York), has a horrible stammer and meets with Lionel Logue, a speech therapist, to see if he can help him fix his problem. I don't want to explain any more because I don't want to ruin the movie for those who haven't seen it yet and want to.
I apologize for the poor quality of the video...I hope you can still enjoy it!

The Mozart piece you hear is the overture to The Marriage of Figaro, K. 492.
Mozart's Clarinet Concerto in A Major, K. 622, 1st Movement, 
is also one of the main pieces in the movie.

Troubles, come what may...

I can handle anything, now that I have my Mozart coffee thermos, Amadeus movie, and Amadeus Special-Edition Soundtrack.

Bring it on!

Amadeus: Fact and Fiction



Sir Peter Shaffer said of his play Amadeus (and the screenplay for the 1984 motion picture), "[Amadeus is] a fantasia based on fact. It is not a screen biography of Mozart, and was never intended to be." In this post, I recall some scenes from the film and compare them to facts of the composer's life. Fact means, "the movie had this in it", Fiction means, "the movie either made this up, or changed it slightly".

Fiction - After the premier of Die Entführung aus dem Serial, Mozart refers to his future mother-in-law, Frau Weber, as "my landlady". In reality, Mozart had been asked to leave the Weber boarding house 9 months before the opera's premier. (See Life.)

Fact - Mozart did not get along with the Archbishop of Salzburg. The Archbishop mistreated him and eventually dismissed him.

Fact/Fiction - Mozart married Constanze before his father's consent letter arrived in the mail. However, the movie makes it appear as if Leopold never consented to the marriage. Leopold was always somewhat cool toward Constanze, but he did consent to the marriage.

Fiction - Although it would be foolish to say that a proud Austrian such as Mozart didn't enjoy alcoholic beverages, he certainly wasn't an alcoholic, as the movie portrays him to be near the end of his life. His favorite drink was punch, which his friends said he drank in large quantities.

Fiction - Shortly before his death, Mozart slipped into unconsciousness and never awoke. This means that he probably died with his eyes closed, not open.

Fact - Salieri and his co-workers did work secretly to make Le Nozze di Figaro a failure. They asked the performers to request impossible alterations on their parts, infuriating Mozart to the point of threatening to withdraw the entire opera. The Emporer Joseph II stepped in, then, and ordered that everything return to how it was. The performers ended up liking their parts and the opera was a success until a new Salieri opera overshadowed it. As the movie mentions, the opera was withdrawn after only nine performances.

Fiction - Salieri did not kill Mozart, and it was not he who came to Mozart's door commissioning a Requiem Mass. In reality, the mysterious visitor was a messenger of the young Count Walsegg, who liked to commission pieces and pass them off as his own.

Fact - Mozart loved billiards. In the movie there are many instances where he is playing or writing music at his billiards table. Mozart's good friend, tenor Michael Kelly, mentioned in his memoirs that he enjoyed countless games of billiards with him, and never won.

Fiction - Mozart had not one child, but six. Unfortunately, only two survived to adulthood, Karl Thomas and Franz Xaver Wolfgang.

Fiction - Salieri was not with Mozart when he died. Present during Mozart's last hours on earth were his wife Constanze, her sister Sophie and his doctor.

Fiction - Constanze did not attend Mozart's funeral, which was held two days after his death, as she was too distraught.

Fiction - Mozart did not call Constanze "Stanzi", but "Stanzerl".

Fiction - As funny as it was in the movie, the Queen of Night aria in Die Zauberflöte was not inspired by Mozart's mother-in-law!

Hallelujah!

Happy Easter, everyone!
I don't think anyone can say this better, however, than Georg Friedrich Händel in his Hallelujah Chorus from his oratorio, Messiah...

April Fools Day

Mozart loved to play pracitcal jokes on his friends. Here are a couple of instances.

Emanuel Schikaneder wrote the libretto to The Magic Flute, K. 620. He also played the original Papageno (the birdwatcher). In the opera, Papageno sings with his magic chimes, and when he would pretend to strike the chimes, Mozart would play the chords on a keyboard glockenspiel offstage. During one performance, Mozart suddenly decided to play a short arpeggio on the glockenspiel where one wasn't written. Schikaneder figured that when the part would be repeated, Mozart would play the arpeggio again. However, when he went to strike the chimes, no noise came out. Mozart writes,

This time [Schikaneder] stopped and refused to go on. I guessed what he was thinking and again played a chord. He then struck the glockenspiel and said, "Shut up!" Whereupon everyone laughed. I am inclined to think that this joke taught many of the audience for the first time that Papageno does not play the instrument himself.

Another time, the theatre in Prague was practicing the premier of Don Giovanni, K. 527, with Mozart conducting. One singer, Teresa Bondini, was supposed to scream at one point in the opera. Mozart didn't think the shriek was realistic enough. So, while the orchestra played and the singers rehearsed the scene, he snuck around backstage. When it came time for Bondini to scream, Mozart reached out and grabbed her. The frightened Bondini let out a good, loud scream. Mozart, satisfied, told her, "Right! That's the way to shriek."

Mozart's Best Pieces

Enjoy!