Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is a double-faced figure. The popular image of the composer depicts him in turn as demon or angel, stormy Dionysus or sunny Apollo. Mozart the demon appears as a sickly, monkeyish creature, prone to hoggish behavior, tormented by a tyrannical father, the authorities, and the envious Salieri who (the legend goes) murdered him at the young age of 35. Mozart is often portrayed as an outcast, a neglected genius, buried in a pauper’s grave. His music conjures sublime terror: Don Giovanni is dragged to hell to the sound of ominous chords; the Requiem Mass evokes the apocalypse. Yet Mozart is also seen as angel, an eternal innocent child. He is the son of the Enlightenment and a vessel for the voice of God. In his music we hear beauty, rationality, resolution—the embodiment of grace. His symphonies, concertos, and chamber works reflect balance and social harmony. While the Requiem gives us Mozart the tragic hero, the weightless voices of his Ave verum corpus, also composed in the last year of his life, offer us a promise of heaven.
In this virtual talk, Matteo Magarotto, Lecturer in Musicology at the Frost School of Music, will explore the origins of these two Mozarts, retracing the path that led from the earliest biographies, through Romantic-period tales, to the influential play (and film) Amadeus. A plenitude of musical examples will highlight—but also complicate—Mozart’s two-face image. (And if you are wondering whether Salieri poisoned Mozart, your curiosity should be satisfied).
This is the first of a three-talk series on Mozart, taking place on Zoom.
Use discount code ICON to receive $5 off per ticket when you buy more than one ticket for this lecture!
Frost students, faculty, and staff are admitted for free. Please wait for a separate communication with instructions.
TO BE REGISTERED, YOU MUST ORDER BY SEPTEMBER 3, 2020 @4:30 PM EDT.
