All Things Mozart

Traveling in Austria, one of the first things you notice is the Austrian love affair with Wolfgang Mozart.  He is their creation, their favorite son, their mascot if you will. While we were in Salzburg, the city was busy preparing for the yearly Mozart Festival. A giant stage was set up along with bleachers and seats for the outdoor concerts. I was glad to miss the festival since the city was already jammed with more tourists than I cared for.  


Interestingly, although Mozart was born in Salzburg,  he received little support from its residents when he was alive. He lived most of his life in Vienna where he was appreciated and found work. Nonetheless, the city of Salzburg takes credit for him today and celebrates his work with a festival every year. In the spirit of today one can buy all things Mozart.  There are Mozart chocolates for sale nearly everywhere.  I bought a Mozart umbrella one day as it started to rain and I was without one. Unfortunately it broke the next day. Eight euros down the tube. Mozart scarves, plates, busts, you name it you can buy it with a Mozart motif.


We learned a lot about Mozart's life and death while in Austria. The seminal American movie "Amadeus" was dramatic but factually incorrect in several ways. One of the most interesting things the movie got wrong about him was his death.  He did not die a pauper as the movie asserts.  In the time of Mozart, as now, space was at a premium and most people were buried in a grave containing more than one person. In fact a coffin was invented that hinged and opened at the bottom.  A cart with the coffin was driven over the open grave and the bottom opened to release the body into the ground. It was a common practice and did not indicate the deceased was poor.  Later, some remains from what was purported to be Mozart's grave were moved and buried elsewhere to memorialize him. Were they his? Probably not.


Despite all the Mozart kitsch available in Salzburg there is a wonderful "show" that recreates Mozart's music and time.  In a restaurant dating back to 803 A.D. you can dine on recipes from the period and listen to pieces from his operas by candlelight. Yes, 803.  There is documentation that the emperor Constantine ate at this site in 803. Today the restaurant has a large room decorated with large candelabras, period wallpaper, a large overhead dome, and dining tables draped with white linens. Once the guests are seated, the electric lights dim so only candles light the room and the musicians, in period costume, begin to play. Appearing from the back, two singers, a soprano and a tenor, also in period dress begin to sing and come forward to join the musicians.  Between meal courses the singers perform snippets from 3 or 4 of Mozart's operas.  With the room lit only by candlelight and filled with music and song you are transported from modern Salzburg to another  place and time. Here, the genius of Mozart comes alive at last.