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Tag: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Bergman’s Enchanting “The Magic Flute”

From time to time, I guess even Ingmar Bergman needed a break from existential dread. How else to explain his delightful adaptation of “The Magic Flute?” Originally intended for television, Bergman’s playful and inventive 1975 film of Mozart’s 1791 singspiel had a lot to do with setting me on the path to become an opera lover.

The conceit, to set the action as a live performance in the historic Drottningholm Palace Theater (a reproduction, since there were concerns about the actual theater safely accommodating a film crew), is disarming and inspired. All the stagecraft is laid bare. The scenery is evidently painted plywood, the animals are all people in suits, and the characters pause from time to time to hold up little signs with moralistic aphorisms on them as they sing their arias.

Bergman’s film begins outside the actual theater and then enters the hall during the overture to register the facial expressions of a audience members as they anticipate the curtain rising. Most especially the camera lingers on the eager face of an impressionable young girl. It’s evident that the director would like us to experience it all from her perspective, through a lens of innocence.

By contrast, we’re also taken backstage, to glimpse Papageno, fallen asleep and nearly missing a cue, Sarastro between acts studying the score to “Parsifal,” and one of Monostatos’ minions reading a Donald Duck comic book.

Sure, there are moments of despair even here, as a couple of the characters contemplate suicide (we also get a memorable vision of hellfire), but it’s all dispelled in a decisive victory of good over evil, an endorsement of universal brotherhood, and a resolution of unalloyed joy.

It was Mozart’s librettist, Emanuel Schikaneder, who suggested during rehearsals that Papageno stammer in excitement at the recognition of his desired Papagena, in their famous duet. Here’s what Bergman does with it.

On Mozart’s birthday anniversary, I think it’s time to revisit this film.

Behold! Here it is on YouTube.

January 27, 2026
Pietro Nardini 300th Birthday

What, is no one celebrating the 300th birthday of Pietro Nardini?

Nardini was pupil of violinist Giuseppe Tartini, who found employment at the court chapel in Stuttgart for a few years in the 1760s. Then he returned home to become Kappelmeister to the Grand Duke of Tuscany in Florence.

Nardini met the teenage Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart on one of his trips to Italy in 1770-71. This was on the same tour during which Mozart liberated Allegri’s “Miserere” from the Sistine Chapel in Rome, copying it down from memory, though it was forbidden for the music to be distributed elsewhere. (The Pope let it slide.)

If we’re to believe Mozart’s father, Leopold, an accomplished violinist himself, Nardini played his instrument beautifully, but struggled in more difficult passages. A poet, then, if not a virtuoso. He was also criticized for his lack of depth. Hey, we can’t all be Tartini.

Still time to pick up a card and some flowers. It’s 300 candles on Nardini’s ice cream cake. Buon compleanno!

Sonatas for strings

Violin concertos

String quartets

April 12, 2022
Mozart’s Many Names Unveiled Happy Birthday!

What’s in name? Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart went by many in his lifetime.

He was baptized on January 28, 1756 (the day after his birth), as “Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart.”

Following the custom of the Catholic Church, the first two names represent his saint’s name (“Chrysostomus” meaning “golden mouth”). “Wolfgangus” is the Latin form of “Wolfgang” – “walks with wolves” – the name of Mozart’s maternal grandfather. “Theophilus” is from the Greek – “lover of God.” In German, this would be “Gottlieb,” and in Latin “Amadeus.”

Later in life, Mozart would refer to himself using the Italian (“Amadeo”) or the French equivalent, which is why you will sometimes encounter the pedantic “Amadè” in concert program notes.

Admittedly, after 1777, Mozart himself did seem to have a preference for “Amadè,” although he played a little fast and loose with the French accent (variously “Amadè,” “Amadé,” or just plain “Amade”).

He did use “Amadeus,” albeit facetiously, when signing some of his letters, in mock-Latin (“Wolfgangus Amadeus Mozartus”). But it was only after his death that this form really gained traction, employed even by the composer’s widow. This was taken up by biographers, critics, and musicians and became prevalent by the early 19th century.

In more recent times, Peter Shaffer’s play and its now-classic film adaptation have cemented “Amadeus” in the public consciousness.

But Mozart by any other name would smell as sweet. And with his scatological sense of humor, I’m sure he would have something to say about that!

Enjoy a bouquet of Mozart on his birthday, as WWFM – The Classical Network celebrates one of music’s greatest masters. It will be all-Mozart through 7 pm EST. Support classical music on the air waves and via internet streaming with your gift by calling today at 1-888-232-1212 or contributing online at wwfm.org. Thank you for your generous support!

https://wwwfm.secureallegiance.com/wwfm/WebModule/Donate.aspx?P=DEFAULT&PAGETYPE=PLG&CHECK=vOU2bz5JCWmgCDbf53nm9ezWDeZ%2beA1M

However it is you choose to cut his cake, the “art” was there right from the start. Happy birthday, Moz-ART!

January 27, 2022
Mozart Genius Obscenity & His Enduring Music

He was one of the few composers to excel in every category: symphony, concerto, chamber, choral, instrumental, opera and song. In less than 35 years, he created over 600 works, starting around the age of five. The masterpiece quotient is high. Even so, he seldom had two thalers to rub together. Such are the priorities of this world.

Happy birthday, Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart. We know him better as Wolfgang Amadeus.

Haydn wrote that “posterity will not see such a talent again in 100 years.”

Of course, he had his earthy side too. Here’s some of that Mozart they don’t teach you at school.

Lick my *** nicely,
lick it nice and clean,
nice and clean, lick my ***.
That’s a greasy desire,
nicely buttered,
like the licking of roast meat, my daily activity.
Three will lick more than two,
come on, just try it,
and lick, lick, lick.
Everybody lick their *** for themselves.

Want to plumb deeper? Sound off on your favorite Mozart pieces below.

January 27, 2021
Mozart’s Death Krampus Connection?

How is it that I never before drew the connection?

You know, every once in a while, how someone comes up with a new theory about the identity of Jack the Ripper, or claims to have discovered the secret of Elgar’s “Enigma Variations?” Well, it only just occurred to me, I may have solved the mystery of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s death. And it is far more sinister than any alleged poisoning by Antonio Salieri.

Mozart gave up the ghost on this date in 1791. A prodigy at the keyboard and on the violin, and a composer from the age of five, alas, in death he was also ahead of the curve.

Mozart was 35 at the time of his passing, yet there was always something childlike in his personality. At times, he seemed much younger than his years. There’s no question that he could be naughty. He was certainly disobedient to his father, autocrat though he was. He defied the Pope, was extravagant in his spending, was inappropriate in his speech, and could be perhaps a mite too arrogant for his own good.

The cause of Mozart’s death was recorded as “severe military fever.” Even so, over the years, there have been dozens of theories put forth as to the true nature of his passing. Acute rheumatic fever. Streptococcal infection. Influenza. Mercury poisoning. A rare kidney ailment. Even a bad pork chop. Combined, of course, with overwork.

Alas, we’ll never know for sure. Mozart was buried in a common grave – not a communal grave, or a pauper’s grave, as has been frequently stated, but one whose wooden marker has long since worn away.

Here’s the thing. December 5, the date of Mozart’s passing, also happens to be Krampusnacht. As a former native of Salzburg and later Vienna, Mozart should have known better. Because, you see, Austria is the dark, beating heart of the Christmas devil.

What exactly is Krampus? Why, he’s St. Nicholas’ austere helper. Horned, hairy, and egregiously long-tongued, Krampus emerges from his Alpine domain to assist the patron saint of children on the eve of his feast day. Saint Nick bestows small gifts to all the good girls and boys. The rest are handed over to Krampus.

For milder offenses, there is the sting of the switch; for the especially ill-behaved, there are chains, a short ride in a wicker basket, and drowning in a stream or immolation by hellfire. When a recalcitrant child hears the dull clatter of approaching cow-bells on December 5, he knows it’s all over. With anxiety a thousand times worse than the anticipation of a bad report card, the wee sinner pulls the sweat-soaked blankets over his head and prays vociferously for a stocking full of coal.

No doubt, Mozart was a chronic offender. Could he have withstood a sound thrashing in his weakened state?

Confutatis maledictus, indeed.

December 5, 2019

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