{"id":45903,"date":"2024-08-11T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-08-11T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/e192f137-9cfd-4854-a409-c08adbe8cfd2"},"modified":"2024-08-11T12:07:16","modified_gmt":"2024-08-11T10:07:16","slug":"10-mozart-myths-debunked-from-being-buried-in-a-paupers-grave-to-a-penchant-for-wearing-brightly-coloured-wigs","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/rss_feed\/10-mozart-myths-debunked-from-being-buried-in-a-paupers-grave-to-a-penchant-for-wearing-brightly-coloured-wigs\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Mozart myths debunked: from being buried in a pauper’s grave to a penchant for wearing brightly coloured wigs"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By <\/p>

Published: Sunday, 11 August 2024 at 10:00 AM<\/p>

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Did Mozart transcribe Allegri’s Miserere<\/em> after hearing it just once? Does listening to his music make you cleverer? Did Salieri poison him, as the film Amadeus<\/em> suggests? We rethink 10 Mozart myths, commonly repeated as fact…<\/strong> <\/p>

1. Mozart myths: he died in a pauper’s grave<\/h2>
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart<\/a><\/strong> was buried in an unmarked \u2018simple\u2019 grave (not a communal pit), which was standard for Vienna\u2019s middle class at that time. The poor were buried in sacks whereas Mozart probably wore a black suit. His wife Constanze and his patron Gottfried van Swieten bought his coffin.<\/p>
<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Mozart’s burial, as depicted in the film, <em>Amadeus<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/composers-wives\">The wives of great composers: why behind every great man is often an even greater woman<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-2-he-had-tourette-s-syndrome\">2. He had Tourette’s Syndrome<\/h2><p> In 1992 the <em>British Medical Journal<\/em> claimed that Mozart\u2019s mannerisms and his scatological letters showed he had Tourette\u2019s. But his bums-and-poo humour was evidence of high spirits and was common in middle-class Vienna.<\/p><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/who-was-the-real-mozart-we-explore-the-man-behind-the-myths\">Who was the real Mozart? We explore the man behind the myths<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-3-mozart-myths-he-died-rehearsing-the-requiem\">3. Mozart myths: he died rehearsing the Requiem<\/h2><p>In the decades after Mozart’s death, the new Romantic ideas of composer-as-tortured-artist embroidered the story of the <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/story-behind-mozarts-requiem\">Requiem<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s composition. But the day-of-death rehearsal with friends, and his sobbing during the Lacrimosa, is fanciful: the last sing-through happened earlier.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Berliner Philharmoniker & Claudio Abbado \u2013 Mozart: Requiem In D Minor: Sequentia: Lacrimosa\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/KcnBPqOddSM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">The Berlin Philharmonic and Claudio Abbado perform the Lacrimosa from Mozart’s Requiem<\/figcaption><\/figure><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/most-famous-requiems\">Most famous requiems: how have composers portrayed death and the afterlife in music?<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-4-mozart-myths-salieri-poisoned-him\">4. Mozart myths: Salieri poisoned him<\/h2><p>As early as Dec 1791, the rumour was circulating that <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/antonio-salieri\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">A<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/?q=topic%2Fantonio-salieri\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ntonio Salieri<\/a><\/strong> poisoned Mozart. Alexander Pushkin wrote a play about it and as late as 1984, the film <em>Amadeus<\/em> was made based on the idea. But Constanze didn\u2019t think so, even though she said the dying, delirious Mozart mentioned it.<\/p><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/amadeus-the-greatest-film-about-classical-music\"><em>Amadeus<\/em>: the greatest classical music film ever made?<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-5-he-wrote-symphonies-nos-39-41-as-testament-for-posterity\">5. He wrote Symphonies Nos 39-41 as testament, for posterity<\/h2><p>There\u2019s no firm evidence Mozart heard them played. But he didn\u2019t write them for posterity: he was a pro, not an egotist. He undoubtedly wrote them for commercial performance, but was probably stymied by Vienna\u2019s 1788 recession.<\/p><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/best-of-mozart\">Best of Mozart: 9 essential works by the master of melody, and the recordings you should own<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-6-mozart-myths-as-a-teen-he-wrote-out-allegri-s-miserere-after-one-hearing\">6. Mozart Myths: as a teen, he wrote out Allegri’s <em>Miserere<\/em> after one hearing<\/h2><p>Remembering and transcribing the layout of this formulaic piece was within his powers, but no Mozart manuscript of <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/works\/best-recordings-allegri-s-miserere\">Allegri’s <em>Miserere<\/em><\/a><\/strong> is known. The only references are his father Leopold’s vague letter at the time, and his sister\u2019s recollections 20 years later.<\/p><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/articles\/musical-prodigies\">Tiger moms and drunken dads: 10 great musical prodigies and the parenting tactics that shaped them<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-7-he-constructed-a-system-for-generating-minuets-by-throwing-dice\">7. He constructed a system for generating minuets by throwing dice<\/h2><p>A portion of his String Quintet, K516 manuscript has music fragments possibly associated with the alphabet \u2013 but no instructions on how to \u2018convert\u2019 names to melodies, and nothing about dice.<\/p><ul><li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/article\/five-essential-works-wa-mozart\"><strong>Five essential works by Mozart<\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-8-mozart-myths-he-wore-brightly-coloured-wigs\">8. Mozart Myths: he wore brightly coloured wigs<\/h2><p>Not only did Mozart never wear the party-joke hairpieces featured in the film <em>Amadeus<\/em> \u2013 he rarely wore a wig (only for official occasions). What you see in those portraits is his own fair hair, dressed and beribboned, as society men did then.<\/p><figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Scene 44\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/x52x_SAqTQY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Mozart tries on wigs in the movie, <em>Amadeus<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><ul><li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/article\/10-mozart-works-you-might-not-know\"><strong>10 Mozart works you may not know<\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-9-listening-to-mozart-increases-your-intelligence\">9. Listening to Mozart increases your intelligence<\/h2><p>Rauscher, Shaw and Ky (1993) reported that hearing ten minutes of Mozart\u2019s Sonata K448 temporarily increased IQ scores, compared to silence, something that came to be known as ‘<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC1281386\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Mozart Effect<\/a><\/strong>‘. But nobody else has replicated this \u2013 they\u2019ve only concluded that it\u2019s an effect of mood.<\/p><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/science-of-music\/the-mozart-effect-does-mozart-actually-make-you-smarter\">The Mozart effect: does listening to Mozart actually make you smarter?<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-10-mozart-myths-a-photograph-of-constanze-mozart-was-taken-in-1840\">10: Mozart myths: a photograph of Constanze Mozart was taken in 1840<\/h2><p>An old lady seen standing in a group photo taken at the house of composer Max Keller is rumoured to be Mozart’s widow, Constanze. It is almost certainly not her \u2013 the lenses needed for such outdoor group shots were not pioneered until after her death in 1842.<\/p><ul><li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.classical-music.com\/features\/composers\/mozart-marriage\">How Mozart’s marriage stopped a visit from the police \u2013 on grounds of indecency<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul><p><em>Words: Rob Ainsley<\/em><\/p> <\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Published: Sunday, 11 August 2024 at 10:00 AM Did Mozart transcribe Allegri’s Miserere after hearing it just once? Does listening to his music make you cleverer? Did Salieri poison him, as the film Amadeus suggests? We rethink 10 Mozart myths, commonly repeated as fact… 1. Mozart myths: he died in a pauper’s grave Wolfgang […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":45904,"template":"","categories":[1,17],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"4"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/08\/10-mozart-myths-debunked-from-being-buried-in-a-paupers-grave-to-a-penchant-for-wearing-brightly-coloured-wigs.jpg",1200,800,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/08\/10-mozart-myths-debunked-from-being-buried-in-a-paupers-grave-to-a-penchant-for-wearing-brightly-coloured-wigs-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/08\/10-mozart-myths-debunked-from-being-buried-in-a-paupers-grave-to-a-penchant-for-wearing-brightly-coloured-wigs-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/08\/10-mozart-myths-debunked-from-being-buried-in-a-paupers-grave-to-a-penchant-for-wearing-brightly-coloured-wigs-768x512.jpg",768,512,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/08\/10-mozart-myths-debunked-from-being-buried-in-a-paupers-grave-to-a-penchant-for-wearing-brightly-coloured-wigs-1024x683.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/08\/10-mozart-myths-debunked-from-being-buried-in-a-paupers-grave-to-a-penchant-for-wearing-brightly-coloured-wigs.jpg",1200,800,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/37\/2024\/08\/10-mozart-myths-debunked-from-being-buried-in-a-paupers-grave-to-a-penchant-for-wearing-brightly-coloured-wigs.jpg",1200,800,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Published: Sunday, 11 August 2024 at 10:00 AM Did Mozart transcribe Allegri’s Miserere after hearing it just once? Does listening to his music make you cleverer? Did Salieri poison him, as the film Amadeus suggests? We rethink 10 Mozart myths, commonly repeated as fact… 1. Mozart myths: he died in a pauper’s grave Wolfgang…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/45903"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcmusicmagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}