Was Mozart actually poisoned by Salieri? Here’s the truth
28 February ,
We all know the story: Mozart was slowly destroyed by an older composer who was consumed by his envy of the younger man's talent. But did that really happen?
Did Antonio Salieri plot Mozart's demise to the point of actually poisoning him? Or is it just as fanciful as all those serpents and magic bells in the younger composer's opera The Magic Flute?
Our resident Mozart specialist John Suchet sets the record straight.
The facts behind the myth. Meet Salieri…
This distinguished-looking fellow is Antonio Salieri (), a hugely influential composer of opera and a much in-demand teacher who taught Schubert, Beethoven and Liszt.
The chances are, however, that you've only ever heard of Salieri because he happened to be the arch-rival of the irrepressible Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Or was he?
via GIPHY
The rise of the poisoning tale
Within six years of Salieri's death, the Russian writer Pushkin wrote a play, Mozart and Salieri, which portrayed the danger of envy. In , Rimsky-Korsakov turned Pushkin's play into an opera.
In both, it is suggested that Salieri's jealousy of Mozart led
Amadeus vs. Salieri: A Feud Between Bitter Rivals
Published Aug 2, written by Marija Vucic, BA Natural Sciences and Graphics
“Salieri didn’t murder Mozart, but Pushkin for sure murdered Salieri.” This saying perfectly summarizes the context behind the traditional understanding of Antonio Salieri’s malice towards a fellow composer, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The idea of hostility between the two awe-inspiring minds arises from a play called Mozart and Salieri, written by the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin. In the play, published five years after Salieri’s death, Salieri murders Mozart. The piece was the basis for Peter Schaffer’s play, Amadeus (), and Milos Forman’s movie of the same name from The film is mostly historically accurate in portraying Mozart, but that cannot be said for the movie’s central point – the spiteful envy of Salieri.
The Splendor And Calamity Of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, celebrated nowadays as one of the greatest composers of all time, lived through the early years of his life as a child prodigy. His father, Leopold Mozart, a composer himself, recognized his son’s talent for the first time at the age of five. From that m
Mozart's Rivalry: The Historical Notes Behind 'Amadeus'
Fact vs. Fiction in the Famous Biopic
The rivalry between Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri has captivated audiences for centuries. Popularized by Peter Shaffer's play "Amadeus" and its film adaptation, this tale of musical genius and jealousy has become deeply ingrained in popular culture. While the dramatic portrayal of their relationship is largely fictional, it draws from kernels of truth and historical context.
Mozart and Salieri were indeed contemporaries in 18th-century Vienna, both vying for recognition in the competitive world of court music. Salieri, an accomplished composer in his own right, held prestigious positions at the Habsburg court. Mozart, a prodigy from Salzburg, sought to establish himself in the imperial capital. Their paths crossed professionally, but evidence of a bitter personal rivalry is scarce.
The myth of Salieri's murderous envy toward Mozart originated in Alexander Pushkin's play "Mozart and Salieri." This work of fiction, written years after both composers' deaths, laid the foundation for later dramatizations. Shaffer's "Amadeus" expanded on this theme, cre
How Amadeus Ignored Mozart's True Story
The film portrays Mozart's and Salieri's rivalry as so intense that the latter is driven almost to murder by his jealousy. In reality, however, Mozart and Salieri were rivals, in the sense that each spurred the other on toward greatness. As The Guardian noted, while there may have been "office politics" resulting in minor and infrequent beefs between the two men, they affectionately respected each other. What's more, after Mozart died, his widow, Constanze, hired Salieri (pictured above) to give music lessons to their son, according to The New York Times.
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However, after Mozart's death, Salieri might have changed his tune about his former rival, posits Erica Jeal, writing in The Guardian. She noted that after Mozart died, Salieri effectively went into early retirement, where he remained for the final two decades of his life. He wrote no music during that time, instead focusing on refining his earlier works. Meanwhile, Mozart only got bigger after his death, and his music continued to be performed, while Salieri's music was largely lost to history. Whether or not Mozart's posthumous popularity drove Salieri to quit composing
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