SUBSIM Radio Room Forums - View Single Post - Did Mozart die from writing too much music

Takeda Shingen · 11-27-07, 06:27 PM

I'm a musicologist. The death of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart has become more a domain of legend, rather than fact. W. A. Mozart died on 5 December 1791. Legend places the time at 1 am, but no reliable sources indicate anything other than that his corpse was removed from the residence shortly after sunrise. Also, we know that his death was from an illness, but speculation on the type ranges from influenza to the plague. Still, there are others, mostly conspiracy types, that suppose that he was poisoned, either by mercury or arsenic.

What we do know is that Mozart held a busy schedule from early 1790 until his death. After being barred from the Salzburg court of Archbishop Corlloedo, he struck out to Vienna to find work as a freelance composer. The social structure of Europe dictated that composers for hire worked as court writers and musicians. In other words, they wrote music for the social and artistic functions of the local ruler. He tried to enter the court of the Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II, but was only marginally successful in achieving a part-time position. He was very successful as a keyboard virtuoso, but the required novelty of a new performer would be short lived in such a metropolis that was Vienna.

Exacerbating his financial problems was the fact that he was very determined to provide an extravagant lifestyle for his wife and two surviving children. This required that he travel far to promote his operas, as this is where the money was in composing. It was this travel and schedule, combined with some very poor weather in the waning days of the medieval cold period (see global warming discussion) that undoubtably caused his illness and death.

So, the short answer is: Yes, the schedule required of Mozart in his composition work killed him.

The long answer is more complicated: Mozart's schedule was a product of his self-imposed exile from the music industry of his day, as well as his desire to provide an unreasonable standard of living for his family given his handicapped means.

EDIT: The movie Amadeus is rather fanciful as a biographical depicition. Salieri was far more respected by his contemporaries than the brash upstart, Mozart.

11-27-07, 06:27 PM	#14
Takeda Shingen Navy Seal Join Date: Mar 2000 Posts: 8,643 Downloads: 19 Uploads: 0	I'm a musicologist. The death of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart has become more a domain of legend, rather than fact. W. A. Mozart died on 5 December 1791. Legend places the time at 1 am, but no reliable sources indicate anything other than that his corpse was removed from the residence shortly after sunrise. Also, we know that his death was from an illness, but speculation on the type ranges from influenza to the plague. Still, there are others, mostly conspiracy types, that suppose that he was poisoned, either by mercury or arsenic. What we do know is that Mozart held a busy schedule from early 1790 until his death. After being barred from the Salzburg court of Archbishop Corlloedo, he struck out to Vienna to find work as a freelance composer. The social structure of Europe dictated that composers for hire worked as court writers and musicians. In other words, they wrote music for the social and artistic functions of the local ruler. He tried to enter the court of the Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II, but was only marginally successful in achieving a part-time position. He was very successful as a keyboard virtuoso, but the required novelty of a new performer would be short lived in such a metropolis that was Vienna. Exacerbating his financial problems was the fact that he was very determined to provide an extravagant lifestyle for his wife and two surviving children. This required that he travel far to promote his operas, as this is where the money was in composing. It was this travel and schedule, combined with some very poor weather in the waning days of the medieval cold period (see global warming discussion) that undoubtably caused his illness and death. So, the short answer is: Yes, the schedule required of Mozart in his composition work killed him. The long answer is more complicated: Mozart's schedule was a product of his self-imposed exile from the music industry of his day, as well as his desire to provide an unreasonable standard of living for his family given his handicapped means. EDIT: The movie Amadeus is rather fanciful as a biographical depicition. Salieri was far more respected by his contemporaries than the brash upstart, Mozart.