Maestro

I just finished "Mozart: A Life" by Peter Gay. This book is from the Penguin Life Series, which also produced the Winston Churchill book I read last year. So, it was a short introduction to Mozart without deep details.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is my favorite composer. I also think he created more of the world's best music than any single human who has ever walked the earth. But, what inspired me to read an introductory biography was all of the rumored eccentricities of this genius. I was looking for context to the wonderful music I enjoy (well, that and interesting tidbits).

I am always fascinated by anyone we all agree qualifies as a "genius." As a devoted believer that no person can ever achieve alone, I always like to see how any biographer articulates the makings of genius.

Mozart certainly qualifies as brilliant based on his obvious natural gifts. And, like many savants, Mozart certainly balanced his musical brilliance with weaknesses or "eccentricities" in other realms (in Mozart's case those include financial management and fart jokes). As with all fully-developed geniuses, Mozart's gifts were fostered early and he passed the 10,000-hour mark for practice before most musicians could read sheet music. And, like all child stars, his father donated Mozart's childhood to the betterment of his son's craft.

TALENT

I'll get the superlatives out of the way first.

-- Mozart taught himself to play the violin before he was seven. He also played the harpsichord and organ by age eight.

-- Before he was eight, he had written sonatas for violin, harpsichord and other instruments. The following year he composed his first symphony.

-- He began working on opera by age 12.

-- Mozart left home with his father to tour Europe to perform for all sorts of nobility when he was six years old. When Mozart and his father returned home to Mozart's mother, her little boy was 10. (how many hours of practice do you suppose he logged on THAT trip?)

-- Mozart's sister, Nannerl, was an early blooming musician as well. But her four-year-old brother kept pace somehow even though her talent was considerable for her age.

-- Although he died by the age 35, Mozart produced as much music as composers who lived into their 70s. In the last year of his life alone, he wrote three Operas, most of the Requiem, and many quintets, concertos and other works. His pace never slowed even as his relationship with his father deteriorated.

-- Evidence suggests Mozart had a photographic memory. Anecdotes include tales of him finishing a piece in his head and then merely sitting down to write the finished product in one sitting.

So, he had talent. That is obvious. Although I am sure many of the stories have been embellished with time, there is no doubt this guy was more than the real deal.

But the miracle of Mozart seems to be that his unique focus overcame the self-destruction mechanism so prominent in most child stars. He seemed to have a genuine dedication to music that allowed him to thrive under extraordinary paternal pressure. He was even boastful of his talents and would defend himself by writing, "but it is true."

He was somehow able to continue a breakneck pace through his entire life that could be driven only by love or obsessive compulsion. All of this was on his own motivation even after his father's estrangement and then death. It is possible he worked himself to death making music (well, that and Rheumatic fever).

If Mozart's positive reaction to pressure while a young child star strikes you as odd, that isn't the only thing that will.


QUIRKS

The author stated that Mozart liked "scatology and anal humor." The thing that slayed me, though, was that the same sense of humor was evident from BOTH of his parents as well. Truth is usually crazier than fiction.

Some excerpts from letters written by Mozart to various people in his life:

-- "Now I wish a good night, shit into your bed until it creaks."

-- "My ass burns like fire! What can that mean! Perhaps muck wants out? Yes, yes, muck, I know you, see you, and taste you - and - what is this? - is it possible? - Ye Gods! - My ear, do you deceive me? - No, that's not how it is - what a long, sad sound!"

-- "be sure to come, otherwise it's a shit; then I shall, in my own high person, compliment you, put a seal on your ass, kiss your hand, shoot off the rear gun, embrace you, clean you behind and in front, pay to the last penny whatever I owe you, and sound out a solid fart, and perhaps let something drop."

-- (to his wife) ... "Prepare your dear, most beautiful nest daintily, for my little boy indeed deserves it; he has behaved himself very well and wishes for nothing but to possess your most beautiful ... Just imagine the rascal: as I write this, he sneaks onto the table and looks at me inquiringly. But far from idle I cuff his nose properly... now the rogue burns even more furiously and is almost out of control."

His other "quirk" was an inability to manage his money. Despite verifiable proof of earnings that would have been more than comfortable for his time, Mozart wrote letters full of shameful begging for money to his friends. By all accounts, his lifestyle would not bend to reality. I am always fascinated when I see brilliant people struggle with the most basic things. It sometimes makes me wonder if the price of true genius is complete idiocy in other facets of life. It isn't a hard-and-fast rule, but it sure is interesting to me.

RUMORS

Enough mystery has attached itself to Mozart to make him a bit of an international curiosity. He died at the tender age of 35 while working on a Requiem for an unnamed stranger. Although this led to many rumors about him being poisoned, it turns out the truth is much more mundane.

The author calls rumors of Salieri's involvement in Mozart's death to be preposterous. (On a side note, the movie is still awesome and I recommend it highly). It turns out Rheumatic fever, combined with the horrible treatment option of "bleeding out" worked in concert to end his brilliance early.

As for the stranger looking for a requiem, he was merely attempting to steal the work as his own. A rich nobleman and aspiring musician known to purchase musical works from struggling composers only to pass them off as his own was the mystery man who ordered the Requiem.

The fact that Mozart was being taken by a fraud and that the piece that fraud inspired has since become his most celebrated piece somehow makes perfect sense.