Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is a prominent representative of the Vienna Classical School. He masterfully mastered various musical forms of his time, had a unique ear and a rare talent as an improviser. In a word, a genius. And around the life and death of a genius there are usually a lot of rumors and speculations. The composer passed away at the age of thirty-five. His early death was the subject of controversy, formed the basis of plots of literary works. How did Mozart die? What caused his sudden death? And where is Mozart buried?
The composer, whose biography has been of interest to researchers around the world for more than two centuries, died in 1791. Biographies of prominent people decided to start from birth. But Mozart’s biography is so vast that any period deserves close attention. This article will focus primarily on how Mozart died. There is a lot of speculation. But according to the official version, the cause of death was a long illness. But before proceeding with the description of Mozart's last days, his biography should be briefly described.
Childhood
Where was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart born? The childhood city of the youth of the great musician is Salzburg. Amadeus's father was a violinist. Leopold Mozart dedicated his life to children. He did everything so that his daughter and son received a worthy musical education. It is musical. From an early age, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, whose biography is presented in our article, as well as his older sister Nannerl, showed unique abilities.
Leopold began teaching his daughter to play the harpsichord quite early. Wolfgang was completely small at that time. But he followed his sister's lessons and repeated individual passages from musical works. Then Leopold decided that his son must certainly become a composer. Wolfgang, like his Nunnerl, began to speak very early. The audience was bewitched by the game of geeks.
Youth and the beginning of creativity
Since 1781, the hero of this article lived in Vienna. The works of Beethoven, Haydn - classic. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, along with these great musicians, created works that would never be forgotten. He managed to achieve such heights not only thanks to his innate talent, but also to perseverance, hard work.
How old was Mozart? The composer was only thirty-five. And ten years before his death, he settled in Vienna. During this short period of time, Wolfgang turned from a little-known musician into the greatest composer.
The house belonged to Weber, whose family had three unmarried daughters. One of them is Wolfgang's future wife, Constance. In the same year, when he first crossed the threshold of the Weber house, he began to create the opera "Abduction from Seral". The work was approved by the Viennese public, but the name of Mozart still had no weight in musical circles.
Glory
Mozart soon married Constance Weber. After the wedding, his relationship with his father went wrong. Mozart Sr. until the last days was hostile to his daughter-in-law. Wolfgang's fame peaks in the mid-eighties. A few years before his death, he begins to receive huge fees. The Mozarts move to a luxurious apartment, hire a maid and purchase a piano for the money crazy at that time. The musician makes friends with Haydn, who once even gives a collection of his works.
In February 1785, a piano concerto in D minor was presented to the public. “Why did the great Mozart die in poverty?” - one can sometimes hear such a question. What is the basis of the opinion about the financial disadvantage of the pianist and composer? Indeed, in the mid-eighties, Mozart was at the peak of his fame. He was one of the wealthiest musicians in Vienna in 1787. Four years before his death, he sent his son to a very expensive and prestigious educational institution. And in the same year, the great pianist entered the Masonic lodge. But in recent years , the composer's financial situation has been somewhat shaken. However, it was still far from poverty.
Financial difficulties
In 1789, Wolfgang's wife fell ill. He was forced to send her to a medical resort, which shook his financial situation. A few months later, Constance went on the mend. By that time, "Figaro's Wedding" was already a considerable success. Mozart began writing works for the theater. He had written operas before. But his early works were not successful.
The last year of life for Mozart was very fruitful. He wrote the symphony in G Minor, received the position of bandmaster. And finally, he began working on Requiem. This work Mozart ordered a stranger who wants to honor the memory of his wife.
Requiem
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, whose biography is surprisingly eventful, despite his early death, has written countless works. He had many students, he received during his life quite good fees from the publication of his works. Shortly before his death, he began to create his latest work - Requiem. The work so captured him that he stopped accepting students. Moreover, his well-being suddenly began to deteriorate every day.
How Mozart died was told years later by relatives, witnesses of the death of the great composer. Among them was the son of a musician. According to the memoirs of loved ones, Mozart suddenly became so ill that he had to call a doctor. And not some, but the best in Vienna. Indeed, the healer helped the musician. However, the improvement did not last long. Soon, Mozart came down completely.
Acute pro-fever
According to the recollections of Sophie Weber, the sister-in-law of the musician, after his condition worsened, his relatives decided to call another doctor. Mozart's cause of death is controversial, because his symptoms were so unusual that they did not allow doctors to come to a consensus on the diagnosis.
In recent weeks, the composer’s hearing has sharpened. He suffered from unbearable pain, even from the touch of his body on clothes. Mozart weakened every day. And, in addition, his condition worsened due to imperfect methods of medicine. The patient was regularly given blood: this therapeutic technique in those days was considered universal. The cause of Mozart’s death would perhaps have been established if he had lived in the 21st century. In the eighteenth century, treatment methods were, to put it mildly, ineffective. In the death certificate of a genius stood: acute prosovidny fever.
At that time, a good part of the Viennese population suffered from this disease. Doctors did not know how to treat it. Therefore, one of the doctors, visiting a dying man, concluded: he can no longer be saved.
General weakening of the body
Mozart’s life and work is the theme of many books, feature films and documentaries. His rare gift was discovered at an early age. But besides unique abilities, Mozart, contrary to the generally accepted opinion, is an extraordinary hard work. Much has been said about how Mozart died. There is a version that the great musician was poisoned by the envious Salieri. But contemporaries of the composer thought differently.
After Mozart’s death, some doctors claimed to have died of a serious infectious disease. His body could not fight as a result of general weakness. And Mozart was weakened physically as a result of many years of work without a break and rest.
Over the years, it has become increasingly difficult for researchers to establish a diagnosis of a musician. There are a lot of controversy in the recordings of Sophie Weber and other relatives. It was these circumstances that gave rise to a lot of versions about the death of Amadeus Mozart. Let's consider each of them.
Salieri
The version that Mozart died at the hands of an envious is the most common. And it was she who laid the foundation for the tragedy of Pushkin. According to this version, Mozart's life and work were surrounded by idleness. Nature supposedly endowed the musician with such a talent that no effort was required. All Mozart succeeded effortlessly, easily. But Salieri, on the contrary, with all his efforts, was not able to achieve a miserable share of what Mozart could do.
Pushkin's work is based on fiction. But many readers today do not distinguish the author’s fantasies from confirmed facts. Pushkin’s heroes argue that genius and evil are incompatible concepts. In the work of the Russian writer, Salieri interferes with Mozart's poison, because he does not agree with him. He believes that he sacrifices an idle but gifted composer to art.
The opinion that Salieri is a murderer is considered to be one of the versions also because at the beginning of the nineteenth century his confession was found in one of the church archives, in which he confessed and repented of his deed. There are no confirmed facts that this document really existed. However, even today, many admirers of Mozart’s work are sure that the genius was the victim of the envy of the “colleague”.
Constance
There is another version about poisoning. Her adherents believe that Mozart sent his wife to the next world. And one of the musician’s students helped her in this. If you believe the rumors, the passionate romance of Constance and Zyusmayr was accompanied by a showdown and extremely emotional reconciliation. The lover of the wife of Mozart was a very ambitious person, if not a careerist. And he could have entered into a love affair with Constance solely in order to plague his great teacher. But why did Zyuzmayr need to get rid of Mozart? What would his death give him?
In addition, this version is less plausible due to the fact that after the death of the musician, his diary was preserved. And he is a testament to the deepest devotion and love that reigned in the Mozart family.
Ritual murder
And finally, the latest version. If we take into account only those that speak of violent death, then this is perhaps the most believable. As already mentioned, the great musician was in the Masonic lodge. Masons, as a rule, help their "brothers." But they did not help Mozart when he was in dire financial difficulty. They even ignored the death of the composer, without canceling the next meeting as a sign of mourning.
Some researchers believe that the reason for the murder was the intention of Mozart to create his box. In one of the latest works - “The Magic Flute” - Masonic symbolism is used. To demonstrate something like this to the uninitiated was not accepted. Perhaps Mozart was killed by his Freemason brothers.
Burial
Where Mozart is buried is known. At the cemetery of St. Mark. The date of the burial remains controversial. According to the official version - December 6th. It is widely believed that Mozart was buried in a mass grave intended for the poor. But, according to historians, the burial took place in the third category. It was not a beggar’s funeral, but also not a magnificent farewell ceremony of the great composer, pianist, and teacher. As often happens, the true glory to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart came after his death.