When it comes to classical music, most people immediately think of Mozart. And this is no coincidence, because he achieved phenomenal success in all musical directions of his time.
Today, the works of this genius are very popular all over the world. Scientists have repeatedly conducted research related to the positive influence of Mozart's music on the human psyche.
With all this, if you ask anyone you meet, can he tell at least one interesting fact from biographies of Mozart, - he is unlikely to give an affirmative answer. But this is a storehouse of human wisdom!
So, we bring to your attention the biography of Wolfgang Mozart ().
The most famous portrait of Mozart
Short biography of Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born on January 27, 1756 in an Austrian city. His father Leopold was a composer and violinist in the court chapel of Count Sigismund von Strattenbach.
Mother Anna Maria was the daughter of the commissioner of the trustee of the almshouse in St. Gilgen. Anna Maria gave birth to 7 children, but only two of them managed to survive: daughter Maria Anna, who was also called Nannerl, and Wolfgang.
During the birth of Mozart, his mother almost died. Doctors made every effort to ensure that she survived, and the future genius would not be left an orphan.
Both children in the Mozart family showed excellent musical abilities, since their biographies from childhood were directly related to music.
When his father decided to teach little Maria Anna to play the harpsichord, Mozart was only 3 years old.
But in those moments when the boy heard the sounds of music, he often approached the harpsichord and tried to play something. Soon he was able to play some of the pieces of music he had heard earlier.
The father immediately noticed the extraordinary talent of his son and also began to teach him to play the harpsichord. The young genius grasped everything on the fly and composed plays at the age of five. A year later, he mastered playing the violin.
None of the Mozart children attended school, as their father decided to teach them different things himself. The genius of little Wolfgang Amadeus was manifested not only in music.
He zealously learned any sciences. So, for example, when the study began, he was so carried away by the subject that he covered the entire floor with different numbers and examples.
Tour of Europe
When Mozart was 6 years old, he played so magnificently that he could easily perform in front of an audience. This played a decisive role in his biography. The flawless performance was complemented by the singing of the elder sister Nannerl, who had a magnificent voice.
Father Leopold was extremely happy with how talented and gifted his children were. Seeing their opportunities, he decides to go on tour with them to the largest cities in Europe.
Wolfgang Mozart as a child The head of the family had high hopes that this trip would make his children famous and help improve the financial situation of the family.
And indeed, soon the dreams of Leopold Mozart were destined to come true.
Mozarts managed to perform in the largest cities and capitals of European states.
Wherever Wolfgang and Nannerl appeared, overwhelming success awaited them. The audience was discouraged by the talented acting and singing of the children.
The first 4 sonatas by Wolfgang Mozart were published in 1764. While in, he met the son of the great Bach - Johann Christian, from whom he received a lot of useful advice.
The composer was shocked by the child's abilities. Young Wolfgang benefited from this meeting and made him an even more skillful master of his craft.
In general, I must say that throughout his biography, Mozart constantly studied and improved, even when it seemed that he had reached the limits of his skill.
In 1766 Leopold became seriously ill, so they decided to return home from the tour. Moreover, the constant travels were overwhelming for the children.
Biography of Mozart
As we have already said, Mozart's creative biography began from the moment of his first tour at the age of 6.
When he turned 14, he went to Italy, where he again managed to amaze the audience with the virtuoso performance of his own (and not only) works.
In Bologna, he participated in various music competitions with professional musicians.
Mozart's playing impressed the Academy of Constance so much that they decided to confer the title of academician on him. It is worth noting that such an honorary status was given to talented composers only after they were at least 20 years old.
Returning to his native Salzburg, Mozart continued to compose various sonatas, symphonies and operas. The older he got, the deeper and deeper his works were.
In 1772 he met Joseph Haydn, who in the future became not only a teacher for him, but also a reliable friend.
Family difficulties
Soon, Wolfgang, like his father, began to play at the court of the archbishop. Due to his special talent, he always had a huge number of orders.
However, after the death of the old bishop and the arrival of a new one, the situation changed for the worse. A trip to Paris and some German cities in 1777 helped to distract from the surging problems.
During this period of the biography of Mozart, serious material difficulties arose in their family. For this reason, only his mother was able to go with Wolfgang.
However, this trip was unsuccessful. The works of Mozart, which differed from the music of that time, no longer aroused much admiration among the public. After all, Wolfgang was no longer that little "miracle boy" capable of delighting only with his appearance.
The situation of the day was darkened even more, since in Paris his mother fell ill and died, who could not bear the endless and unsuccessful trips.
All these circumstances prompted Mozart to return home again to seek his fortune there.
Career heyday
Judging by the biography of Mozart, he lived almost always on the brink of poverty, and even poverty. Nevertheless, he was offended by the behavior of the new bishop, who perceived Wolfgang as a simple servant.
Because of this, in 1781, he made a firm decision to leave for Vienna.
The Mozart family. On the wall is a portrait of his mother, 1780 There the composer met Baron Gottfried van Steven, who was then the patron saint of many musicians. He advised him to write several compositions in style to diversify the repertoire.
At that moment, Mozart wanted to become a music teacher with the Princess of Württemberg - Elizabeth, but her father preferred Antonio Salieri, whom he depicted in the poem of the same name, as the killer of the great Mozart.
The 1780s became the most rosy years in Mozart's biography. It was then that he wrote such masterpieces as The Marriage of Figaro, The Magic Flute and Don Juan.
Moreover, nationwide recognition came to him, and he enjoyed immense popularity in society. Naturally, he began to receive large fees, which he had only dreamed of before.
However, soon in the life of Mozart came a black streak. In 1787, his father died, and then his wife Constance Weber fell ill, and a lot of money was spent on her treatment.
After the death of Emperor Joseph 2, Leopold 2, who was very cold about music, was on the throne. It also made things worse for Mozart and his fellow composers.
Mozart's personal life
Mozart's only wife was Constance Weber, whom he met in the capital. However, the father did not want his son to marry this girl.
It seemed to him that Constance's close relatives were simply trying to find a profitable husband for her. However, Wolfgang made a firm decision, and in 1782 they got married.
Wolfgang Mozart and his wife Constance Their family had 6 children, of which only three survived.
Death of Mozart
In 1790, Mozart's wife required expensive treatment, which is why he decided to give concerts in Frankfurt. He was well received by the audience, but the fees from the concerts were very modest.
In 1791, in the last year of his life, he wrote the well-known Symphony 40, as well as the unfinished Requiem.
At this time, he became seriously ill: his arms and legs were severely swollen and constant weakness was felt. At the same time, the composer was tormented by sudden bouts of vomiting.
The Last Hours of Mozart's Life, painting by O'Neill, 1860 He was buried in a common grave, where several more coffins were located: so difficult was the financial situation of the family at that time. That is why the exact burial place of the great composer is still unknown.
The official reason for his death is considered to be rheumatic inflammatory fever, although biographers are still controversial on this issue today.
There is a widespread belief that Mozart was poisoned by Antonio Salieri, who was also a composer. But this version has no reliable confirmation.
If you liked Mozart's short biography - share it with your friends on social networks. If you generally like biographies of great people and - subscribe to the site InteresnyeFakty.org... It's always interesting with us!
Did you like the post? Press any button.
Collegiate YouTube
1 / 5
✪ Mozart's Requiem (Requiem de Mozart - Lacrimosa - Karl Böhm - Sinfónica de Viena)
✪ Mozart - Requiem (HD)
✪ Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart G Minor Over The Mosques
✪ Mozart superstar (documentary) HD
✪ The Best of Mozart
Subtitles
Final illness and death
Mozart's last illness began in Prague, where he came to direct the production of his opera Titus's Mercy, as evidenced by Franz Xaver Nimechek, author of the composer's first biography. Upon Mozart's return to Vienna, his condition gradually worsened, but he continued to work: he completed the Concerto for clarinet and orchestra for Stadler, wrote Requiem, conducted the premiere of The Magic Flute on September 30, 1791.
Nimechek cites the story of his wife, Constance, that shortly before her death, while walking in the Prater, where she took her husband to get distracted from gloomy thoughts, Mozart began to say that he was composing a Requiem for himself, that he would soon die: “ I feel too bad and won't last long: of course, they gave me poison! I cannot get rid of this thought. " According to Nimechek's book (1798), the conversation took place no earlier than the second half of October, but its second edition (1808) indicates that already in Prague the composer had a premonition of death. In 1829, Constance told an English composer Novello and his wife, that Mozart had spoken about poisoning six months before his death, but when she called this idea "absurd," Wolfgang agreed with her.
2 days before his final bed (November 18), Mozart conducted the Little Masonic Cantata. On November 20, Mozart's joints became inflamed, he could not move and was in severe pain. The details of Mozart's death are described by his early biographer - and future husband of Constance - Georg Nikolaus von Nissen. Nissen took the information from the notes provided to him by Constance's sister, Sophie Weber. According to her testimony, "[the disease] began with a tumor in the arms and legs, which were almost completely paralyzed, later he began to vomit suddenly [...] two hours before his death, he remained completely conscious." His body was so swollen that he could no longer sit in bed and move without assistance.
He was treated by Dr. Nicolaus Closset, the family's family physician since 1789. For consultations Klosset invited Dr. Sallaba (German: Mathias von Sallaba), a physician at the General Hospital of Vienna. During Mozart's last illness, all the means available to the medicine of that time were used: emetic, cold compresses, bloodletting. As Dr. Guldener von Lobos later wrote, who communicated with both doctors, Klossett believed that Mozart was seriously ill, and feared complications in the brain. According to a decree of 1784, in the event of the death of a patient, the attending physician left a note in his house, drawn up in his native language, and not in Latin, where the duration of the disease and its nature were indicated in an accessible way to a non-specialist. The note was addressed to those who had to examine the body and briefly define the type of disease. According to Karl Beer's assumption, the diagnosis "acute millet fever" (German hitziges Freiselfieber), listed in the protocol of the examination of the body, comes from Closset.
Mozart died after midnight on December 5, 1791. According to eyewitnesses, his desperate wife threw herself on the bed next to her husband in order to contract the same disease and die after him.
Constance fell ill and was not present at her husband's funeral. On December 6, the composer's body was taken to St. Stephen's Cathedral, where a church service was held in the Cross Chapel at three o'clock in the afternoon. The uncrowded ceremony was attended by van Swieten, Salieri, Süsmeier, servant Joseph Diner, conductor Roser, cellist Orsler. The coffin, before it could be sent to the cemetery, was installed in the "Chapel of the Dead", since in accordance with the decrees of Emperor Leopold II, prescribing the preservation of public order, when buried in winter, the dead were transported around the city only after 6 pm. In addition, from the moment of death to the moment of burial, “twice 24 hours” had to elapse, this precaution was taken to prevent the accidental burial of those who fell asleep in a lethargic sleep.
Subsequently, it was no longer possible to determine where Mozart was buried. All this gave rise to further accusations of avarice of van Swieten, who allegedly failed (or did not want) to organize a decent funeral for the great composer. Suspicions also fell on him in an effort to hide Mozart's grave, for the same purpose he seemed to keep Constance from visiting the cemetery. But it is unlikely that van Swieten, who died in 1803, is guilty of the fact that she only visited seventeen years after the funeral, at the insistence of the Viennese writer Griesinger, and could not find the grave. Many years later, Constance, giving an explanation for her absence from the funeral, pointed out that the winter was "extremely harsh." However, this is not true: according to the Vienna Central Office for Meteorology and Geodynamics, the weather on December 6 and 7, 1791 was mild, windless, without precipitation. The storm, which, according to the author of the feuilleton in the Vienna newspaper Morgen Post (1855), allegedly scattered those who saw off at the Stubentor gate, did not happen.
The stories that the composer's grave was immediately lost do not correspond to reality: Albrechtsberger and his wife, and later their grandson, visited her. His pupil Freystedtler, Viennese musicians Karl Scholl and Johann Dolezalek were also aware of the burial place of Mozart.
Hypotheses
Poisoning
For the first time, the assumption of poisoning arose shortly after the death of Mozart. On December 12, 1791, the correspondent of the Berlin newspaper Musikalisches Wochenblatt Georg Sievers from Prague wrote:
In 1798, in his biography of Mozart, Nimeczek published the story of Constance about a conversation with her husband in the Prater and Mozart's words about the poisoning. It is difficult to say whether this conversation really took place, which is known only from Constance, but even if everything was as she said, this cannot serve as proof of poisoning. Later in the biography of Mozart, written by the second husband of Constance, Georg Nissen(published in 1828), contains extensive information about poisons and at the same time it is denied that the composer was poisoned.
Salieri
Almost thirty years after the death of Mozart, the version of the poisoning is supplemented by the name of the poisoner - Salieri. By that time, the once brilliant composer, known not only throughout Austria, but also in Europe, suffering from a mental disorder, was living out his days in a hospital. Rumors that he had killed Mozart were apparently known to Salieri. The latter's student, Ignaz Moscheles, visited him in October 1823. Moscheles' widow included the story of this visit in his biography:
In Salieri's obituary written Friedrich Rochlitz and published by the Leipzig "Universal Musical Gazette" on June 27, 1825, told about the last days of the life of the deceased:
However, Rokhlitz does not mention the name of Mozart in connection with the confessions to the "crimes" allegedly made by Salieri.
In May 1824 the poet Calisto Bassi, an Italian, scattered leaflets in the Vienna concert hall (or handed out in front of the entrance to it), where the performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony took place. In an ode glorifying Beethoven, Bassi inserted stanzas dedicated to Mozart, and a poem about a certain unnamed elder, about "pale sickness ... on the side of the one who holds a goblet of poison in his hand," about "envy, jealousy and black atrocities." ... The rhyme was seen as a trick against Salieri, but Bassi, summoned to explain to the director of the Court Chapel, claimed that he had no intention of offending the composer. Nevertheless, he was rebuked in the press. The only copy of this leaflet, kept in the Vienna Palace of Justice, died in a fire in 1927. It is not known whether anyone made a copy of it before 1927
Back in 1824, Giuseppe Carpani appeared in a Milan magazine to refute the rumors. In his article “Letter from Mr. G. Carpani in Defense of Maestro Salieri, Falsely Accused of Poisoning Maestro Mozart,” he extolled Salieri's human qualities, arguing that he and Mozart respected each other. Carpani's article was accompanied by a certificate from Dr. von Lobes, who received information about Mozart's illness and death directly from the doctors who treated him.
Until now, there is no information that Salieri made any confessions. In a testimony dated June 5, 1824, confirmed by Dr. Roerik, Salieri's attending physician, the orderlies who had been inseparable with the old composer since the onset of his illness, claim that they had never heard such confessions from him.
If Mozart was given a single lethal dose, Salieri could not do this: he last saw Mozart at the end of the summer of 1791, and, as Ephraim Lichtenstein noted: “... such chemicals are not known, the latent period of action which on the body would have lasted for such a long time after a single intake of a massive (lethal) dose. "
If we assume that Mozart received poison in small portions for quite a long time, then only those who were constantly with him could give it to the composer.
The legend of the murder of Mozart by his colleague Salieri formed the basis of Pushkin's little tragedy "Mozart and Salieri" (). In Pushkin, Salieri - an unconditional talent who achieved fame through hard work - cannot bear how easily everything goes to a genius rival, and decides to commit a crime. Initially, Pushkin intended to call the little tragedy "Envy". During the life of Pushkin, the play was twice staged in the benefit performances of actors, but had no success. P. A. Katenin, noting the "dryness of action" as a failure, found in this work of Pushkin "the most important flaw":
Pushkin depicts people of the 18th century, using the ideas of his contemporary era. He creates the hero-genius characteristic of romanticism, lonely, incomprehensible, who is opposed by the enemy. But both Mozart and Pushkin's Salieri are far from the real-life Mozart and Salieri. Nevertheless, in the Soviet Union, and later in Russia, where Pushkin's authority was indisputable, fiction turned out to be stronger than life facts (S. Fomichev). According to musicologists, it was Pushkin's work that contributed to the spread of the legend of the poisoning.
In 1898, based on the tragedy of Pushkin, the libretto of the opera of the same name by Rimsky-Korsakov was written. In his book Mozart and Salieri, the tragedy of Pushkin, the dramatic scenes of Rimsky-Korsakov, dedicated to the works of Pushkin and Rimsky-Korsakov, Igor Belza reported on the recording of Salieri's suicide confession, who confessed to the poisoning of Mozart and even when and where he "poured poison on him." The recording was allegedly made by his confessor. According to Belza, in 1928 Guido Adler found it and copied it in the Vienna archives and told about it to Boris Asafiev, who was then in Vienna. However, no such document was found either in the Vienna archives, or in the archives of Adler himself. "Osterreichische Musikzeitschrift" in November 1964 wrote about this: "But even in Vienna itself, no one knew that, it turns out, there is a written confession of Salieri, where he confesses to a crime!" There were no reports of Salieri's confession in Asafiev's papers either. As Korti notes, Igor Belza, reporting this record, referred exclusively to Adler and Asafiev, who had died by that time.
Masons
The version of the poisoning of Mozart by the Freemasons was first expressed by Daumer in a series of stories about the death of Mozart. The libretto of Mozart's last opera, The Magic Flute, uses the symbolism of the "brotherhood of freemasons" (the composer and his father have been members of the Masonic Lodge "Trust" since 1784) and depicts the opposition between Christianity and Freemasonry. But Mozart was not sure of the truth of the Masonic path. The composer decided to create his own Masonic society - "The Cave" - and shared these plans with the musician Anton Stadler. Stadler allegedly informed the Freemasons who gave him the task of poisoning Mozart. Supporters of the version accuse the Freemasons Van Swieten and Puchberg of organizing a "hasty funeral", ascribe to them the initiative to bury the composer in a common grave, ostensibly to hide the traces of the crime.
The hypothesis was further developed in 1910 in the book Mehr Licht by Hermann Alvardt, who argued that Jews were behind the Freemasons who killed Mozart. In 1926 Erich and Matilda The Ludendorffs repeated this version. In 1936, Matilda Ludendorff, in Mozarts Leben und Gewaltsamer Tod, argued that the assassination of the German composer Mozart was orchestrated by “Judeo-Christians” (or “Judeo-Romans”), as well as “Jewish Masons”, Jesuits and Jacobins. Mozart became a Freemason under pressure from his father and was persecuted by the Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg Jerome von Colloredo(also a Freemason) because he refused to compose "Italian cosmopolitan music." The story with Städler and the plan for the creation of the "Cave" also found their place in Ludendorff's book.
Masons poisoned Mozart and according to doctors of medicine Johannes Dalchow, Gunther Duda and Dieter Kerner. Revealing the secrets of the order in The Magic Flute, Mozart condemned himself to death. Freemasons allegedly made a sacrifice in honor of the consecration of their new temple. The famous Requiem for Mozart was commissioned by the Masons, so they let the composer know that he was chosen as a victim.
The absurdity of this version is that the content of "The Magic Flute" rather presented the ideas of Freemasonry, echoing the ideals of Voltaire and the Great French Revolution, in the most favorable light. Confirmation that Viennese Freemasons are delighted with Mozart's new opera is the order for the Masonic Cantata, which in fact became his last completed work. In the end, the author of the libretto Emanuel Schikaneder, also a freemason, survived, which refutes the version about the involvement of the Freemasons in the poisoning of Mozart.
Version of Kerner, Dalkhov, Duda
However, mercuric chloride poisoning is accompanied by characteristic external signs, including the onset of symptoms of sublimate kidney and symptoms of renal failure. During Mozart's last illness, a similar clinical picture, as Isaac Trachtenberg notes, was not traced in him. In chronic poisoning, the patient should have observed signs of mercury erethism and a slight tremor of the hands, which would manifest itself through a change in handwriting. Nevertheless, the manuscript of the scores of the last works - "The Magic Flute" and "Requiem" - do not contain signs of "mercury tremor". Professor of the Institute for the History of Medicine (Cologne) Wilhelm Kutner in his report "Is the Mystery of Mozart's Death Solved?" sublimate. The same conclusion was reached at one time by the dermatologist Alois Greiter (Heidelberg) and the toxicologist Joseph Seiner (Brno). Later, in 1970, Kutner pointed out that evidence of Mozart's hand trembling was never found, which Körner himself admitted in the discussion, but promised to provide evidence.
Constance Mozart and Susmeier
There is speculation that Mozart was poisoned by Franz Xaver Susmeier and his wife Constance, who were lovers. In 1791, Constance gave birth to a boy, also named Franz Xaver. According to rumors, this was not the son of Mozart, but his pupil Süsmeier.
Many years later, in 1828, in order to put an end to gossip, Constance in the biography of Mozart, written by Nissen, placed an anatomical drawing of the left ear of her first husband. The composer had his birth defect, which of all children was inherited only by Franz Xaver. This circumstance played a role in the emergence of another assumption about the causes of Mozart's death, this time natural, made by the American pathologist Arthur Rappoport.
Poisoning during treatment
Hofdemel. Murder out of jealousy
The day after Mozart's death, the Viennese supreme court clerk and freemason Franz Hofdemel mutilated his pregnant wife Mary Magdalene with a razor and committed suicide. Mozart taught Magdalene Hofdemel to play the piano and, apparently, entered into a relationship with her. He dedicated his last concerto for piano and orchestra to his student. Biographers of the 19th century hushed up this episode. For a long time in Vienna, the belief persisted that Hofdemel beat Mozart with a stick, and that he died of a stroke. According to another version, the Freemasons used Hofdemel to eliminate Mozart with poison. It is known that the death of the clerk was reported only on December 10, so that this tragedy was not connected in any way with the death of Mozart. Magdalena Hofdemel (German: Maria Magdalena Hofdemel) survived and later gave birth to a boy, whom many considered the son of Mozart.
Death from natural causes
Systemic rheumatic disease
Professor-therapist Efrem Lichtenstein, based on well-known materials, analyzed the history of Mozart's illness. From early childhood, Wolfgang was distinguished by poor health. The busy schedule of concert tours, in which the young Mozart and his sister Nannerl were accompanied by their father, negatively affected the condition of the children, mainly the boy. The illnesses that plagued Wolfgang during his first travels are known from the letters of Leopold Mozart. The German researcher Gerhard Boehme also notes the connection between the diseases subsequently transferred at this time:
Liechtenstein also notes Mozart's subsequent recurrent sore throats, fevers, and later - brain disorders. Everything indicates that the composer became a victim of a rheumatic infection that struck the heart, brain, kidneys, joints. As Liechtenstein suggests in his essay "The Story of Mozart's Illness and Death," Mozart may have developed circulatory problems in years filled with hard work and nervous shocks. The consequence of this was edema and ascites, which at that time doctors incorrectly considered an independent disease - dropsy. Modern medicine knows that a latent process of cardiac decompensation is possible, which manifests itself later through swelling.
Rappoport version
In 1981 in Vienna, at the International Congress of Clinical Chemistry, the American pathologist Arthur Rappoport made a presentation "A unique and still undisclosed theory about the genetic, anatomical basis of Mozart's death." In it, relying on his own long-term observations, Rappoport argued about the relationship between inherited anatomical deformities of the ear and renal disease. The pathologist believes that Mozart had a congenital defect in the urinary or renal tract. This theory was supported by dermatologist Alois Greiter. The indolent kidney disease was aggravated by the fact that the composer contracted the so-called rheumatic-inflammatory fever. Excessive bloodletting (according to Karl Beer, Mozart lost at least two liters of blood due to bloodletting) did the job. Summing up, Rappoport noted: "I hope I have provided a strong help to those who are convinced that Mozart was not poisoned, not killed, not taken by force." When later Mario Corti, while working on the Mozart and Salieri series on Radio Liberty, wanted to interview Rappoport, he refused, saying that he was in trouble due to his hypothesis.
Death from the consequences of traumatic brain injury
In 1842, this skull was donated to the engraving artist Jacob Girtl. Possession of such relics was common in that era. Jacob's brother, professor of anatomy Joseph Girtl, took up the study of the skull and came to the conclusion that it was indeed Mozart's skull. Some of the bones were separated during the study and subsequently lost. In 1901, the conclusions of Professor Girtl were refuted by the scientists of Salzburg.
It was only in the early 1990s that the paleontologist Gottfried Tichy became interested in the skull, which had until that time been kept in the storerooms of the Salzburg Mozarteum. The scientist published the results of studying the skull using modern methods of forensic science in The Economist. According to Tichy, the skull could have belonged to Mozart: the rounded shape of the male skull is typical for the inhabitants of southern Germany. Its owner was physically weak, had a large head (like Mozart), according to the condition of the teeth, the age of the deceased was 30-35 years. The structure of the facial bones coincided with the images of the composer, created during his lifetime.
It came as a surprise to find Tychy a very thin fissure 7.2 cm long, extending from the left temple to the crown of the head. It was the result of an intravital trauma and by the time Mozart died, it was almost overgrown, only in the lower part there were traces of bleeding. It is known that the composer suffered from dizziness and headache in the last year of his life, which, according to Tychy, was the result of a traumatic brain injury sustained by a blow or a fall. According to Tichy's hypothesis, Mozart died of a hematoma and later developed infection.
see also
Notes (edit)
- Gennady Smolin. Genius and villainy // "Around the World". - 2006. - No. 1.
- Mozart was killed not by Salieri, but by his own mother? (unspecified) ... "Arguments and Facts" Aif.ru. Date of treatment August 17, 2014.
- Nikolay Fedorov. Mozart: Murder with Many Unknowns // "Around the World". - 2015. - No. 1.
- , with. 54.
- , with. 60.
- , with. 43, 46-47.
- , with. 375-376.
- , with. 503.
- , with. 376.
- , with. 16.
- As Karl Behr points out, who specially studied the funeral regulations adopted in Austria at the end of the 18th century, given the fact that the transportation of the dead took place in the dark, no funeral processions were carried out.
- , with. 504.
- , with. 81-82.
- , with. 82-83.
- , with. 83, 86.
- Kushner B. In defense of Antonio Salieri. Part 3: Illness, death and funeral of Mozart. Was there a secret?
- Kushner B. In defense of Antonio Salieri. Part 4: Pushkin and Salieri. Are genius and villainy compatible?
- , with. 75-78.
- , with. 503-504.
- , with. 87.
- Cit. Quoted from: Abert G.
- , with. 375.
- Kushner B. In Defense of Antonio Salieri. Part 3: Illness, death and funeral of Mozart. Was there a secret?
- Cit. Quoted from: Kushner B. In Defense of Antonio Salieri. Part 3: Illness, death and funeral of Mozart. Was there a secret?
- Kushner B. In Defense of Antonio Salieri
- Quoted from Corti
There are over eighty theories of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's death ...
How dropout doctors healed Mozart to death
The true causes of death of the brilliant composer are explored by the German journalist, biologist and philosopher Jörg Zittlau in his new book "Could be worse. Stories of famous patients and their would-be doctors "
The evening of July 15, 1791 in Vienna did not bode well. After an extremely sunny and hot day, everyone here happily awaited the coming coolness. The mood was good, they talked a lot, washed bones for someone and laughed, because Austria and its capital shone in such splendor that the rest of Europe could only envy. However, at the house No. 970 on Rauensteingasse, a kind of mysterious performance began. A man emerged from the approaching carriage, deeply wrapped in a black cloak with a hood so that it was impossible to see his face. He entered the house and went up to the second floor where Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart lived. The man in black informed the composer that a distinguished gentleman would like to order him a requiem. He kept silent about the name of the customer, but said that “a man who was and will always be very dear to him died. He would like to celebrate the day of this death every year quietly, but with dignity, and asks you to compose a Requiem for him for this. "
Mozart was bewildered not only by the request of a person, but also by his whole appearance, by the solemnity that was in his words. He accepted the order, although this meeting reinforced in him the fear for his life and confidence in the nearness of the end. Less than five months later, the composer really died - and since then countless legends about his death and about the attitude that the black messenger had towards her have not ceased to multiply.
In our time, it is already known that this messenger did not come to announce to Mozart about his own death. The visitor was neither a rival to Mozart Antonio Salieri, nor an official, as shown in Milos Forman's film Amadeus. On the contrary, it was the man who ordered the requiem on behalf of Count Franz von Walsegg-Stuppach in memory of his deceased wife. The tragic piece of music was actually performed later.
In any case, neither the Black Man nor anyone else brought the end of Mozart closer. The composer himself could prolong his life for many years - if he cared more about his health, the choice of doctors and medicines.
Golden pills
As a young child, Wolfgang became acquainted with the diagnoses and treatment methods of that time. He and his sister Nannerl were presented to the public by their father, Georg Leopold Mozart, as rare young musical talents. For this, he removed from them all the joys of a carefree childhood and imposed a heavy burden of constant travel. The Mozart family made, for the most part in a wheelchair, a tour throughout Europe, which undermined Wolfgang's already fragile health. Already in the fall of 1762 - he was six years old - on the way to Vienna, the boy fell seriously ill. His father noted: “He cried out in pain ... When he was lying in bed, I tried to understand what exactly was hurting him; I found some spots the size of a kreutzer, red and somewhat raised. He had a fever, and we treated him with black powder and also margrave powder. "
Both of these remedies were Leopold's usual medicines, who had all the family's medical supplies in his hands. However, he received instructions from eminent doctors and pharmacists.
"Black powder" pulvis epilepticus niger, was then, as its Latin name suggests, a remedy for the treatment of epilepsy. It was also considered, as is now aspirin, a remedy for colds and general ailments. The medicine consisted of ground parts of lime charcoal, oyster shells, ivory, antler and amber. In 1774, he was struck out of the medical manual as a useless remedy. However, Leopold (and later Wolfgang Amadeus) Mozart still prescribed it in pharmacies.
Margrave powder was especially beloved among pharmacists and doctors. It was prepared from a mixture of nine or ten different ingredients, which included peony root dug out during the waning moon, ivory, mistletoe, coral and fern growth. The way it was used was especially remarkable. The powder was wrapped in a piece of gold foil and then swallowed like a gilded pill. By this they hoped to enhance the effect of medicinal herbs. At least the gold foil did not cause any harm, but due to the way it was used, the drug greatly added in price.
When treating young Mozart, none of the drugs led to the expected result, the child only got worse. Countess von Zinzendorf's doctor was called, who diagnosed the boy with scarlet fever, which, according to modern medical historians, was quite close to the truth. Apparently, the young musician suffered from erythema nodosum, an inflammation of the subcutaneous fat layer: it is caused by an allergy combined with an infection. The doctor, however, did not know anything about this yet. He reappointed the Margrave powder, although it still had no effect. In addition, he prescribed the use of various other means, among which was the juice from broken poppy heads, rich in opiates. This is how little Wolfgang experienced his first intoxication.
He could not recover for a long time, but somehow the treatment allowed him to get back on his feet. His father exclaimed, "The boy's illness pushed us back four weeks." In addition, the doctors were too expensive for the trip to pay off. When the Mozarts returned to Salzburg in January 1763, Wolfgang was already suffering from rheumatic fever, possibly a consequence of an untreated erythema nodosum. She remained forever his faithful companion in life and was later regarded as one of the reasons for his death.
Angina, smallpox, typhoid
Although weakened by the disease, both miracle children moved on. The path lay through the major cities of Europe. In February 1764, Wolfgang suffered such a severe form of angina that the father spoke of the condition of his son: "It depends only on the grace of the Lord whether He will raise this miracle of nature out of bed or take it to Himself." In July 1765, both children contracted typhus, from which the sister lost weight so that only skin and bones remained. About a year later, Wolfgang had to suffer another exacerbation of his rheumatism of the joints. But the father drove his children further. In September 1767, he again came to Vienna, where smallpox was raging at that very time. The brother and sister immediately fell ill with a life-threatening infection. The medicines were black powder and margrave powder. Wolfgang raved about this all day long - but he and his sister survived this torment too.
At the beginning of 1769, Leopold Mozart realized that it no longer made sense for him to travel with both children.
Nannerly by that time was already eighteen years old, and she could not be exhibited as a "miracle child"
But thirteen-year-old Wolfgang was still a novelty in countries where he had not yet been seen.
So, father and son went on the Italian trip alone.
This tour, as expected, was the most successful, so they repeated it two years later.
During the trip, Wolfgang developed an illness, which, among his other ailments, was especially noticeable. Nannerl wrote in one of her letters that her brother was once a "beautiful child", but after a recent stay in Italy, his smallpox scars acquired a "foreign yellow color" that completely disfigured him.
It looked like liver inflammation, although apparently it wasn't. Leopold and Wolfgang were silent about the disease.
Was there a poisoner?
In September 1777, father and son were going on a new tour, but Leopold's Salzburg employer, Archbishop Jerome Count von Colloredo, forbade the trip. Wolfgang was to go on vacation with his mother. Anna Maria Mozart suffered from shortness of breath and obesity; and the fact that she gave birth to seven children, of whom only two reached adulthood, influenced her both mentally and physically.
The journey was a breath of fresh air for Mozart. Anna Maria could no longer restrain her son, inclined to idleness and extravagance. The trip ended already in Mannheim, where Wolfgang fell in love with an unknown singer, and therefore forgot all his musical ambitions. However, not everything went as well as he would like, because, firstly, he did not have enough money, and secondly, he fell ill again. He developed a cough, a runny nose, headache and sore throat, against which he - as expected - prescribed black powder for himself.
After he managed to recover in half, he and his mother went to Paris. This was Anna Maria's last trip: she developed a fever (possibly typhus) and died. Wolfgang returned to Mangame, to his great love, but she did not want to know more about him, and he could not stay there. The disappointed genius had no choice but to go back to Salzburg to his father. But even here he did not stay long. He left for Vienna, where he hoped to find more opportunities to express his ideas. He did not find a job, but he met a new love. His former beloved from Mannheim, together with her family, came to the Austrian capital at a work invitation. She had a sister named Constance, whom Wolfgang immediately decided to marry. They were married against Leopold's wishes on August 4, 1782.
And then success came to the musician.
Everyone in Vienna wanted to hear him, everyone was hungry for his compositions. Money went uphill, and Wolfgang and his wife could afford to rent an apartment in the most expensive and beautiful part of the city. But the stage of material well-being turned out to be short. Already six years later, Mozart's economic position was hopelessly shaken. There were two reasons for this: the Viennese public was unpredictable in their musical preferences, and Wolfgang and Konstanza were unpredictable in the way they burned money. The musician's health also began to deteriorate. He assumed that someone had poisoned him, but did not express any specific considerations about the identity of the poisoner. The signs of his illness were incomprehensible: weakness, depression, complete lack of strength, fearfulness and spiritual apathy. By the end of 1791, he was increasingly forced to stay in bed. The doctor prescribed him complete rest and forbade him to work, which terrified the musician - he had no money, but he had to support his family.
Vinegar didn't help
From November 20, Mozart could no longer leave his bed. The arms and legs were swollen, and swelling appeared all over the body. They tried to fight them with a tight nightdress. The musician was now looked after by two doctors: Thomas Franz Klosset and Mathias von Sallaba. The latter was an expert in the treatment of poisoning, but this should not be considered a specific indication of the cause of the death of the composer. After all, Sallaba was, firstly, caused not by Mozart, but by his colleague, and, secondly, in his diagnosis he spoke not of poisoning, but of "fever with a rash." At that time, this concept with equal success was used to designate any fever, although the combination of "fever" is from a medical point of view pleonasm - and this is a clear hint that Mozart's doctors could not even roughly classify the cause of his suffering. Sophie, Mozart's sister-in-law, who diligently cared for the patient, later argued that doctors could not agree on a method of treatment.
On the evening of December 4, 1791, the patient developed severe fever and intolerable headaches. They sent for Dr. Clossett, but he was at the theater and ordered to convey that he would arrive immediately after the performance. He showed up a little later than one hour after midnight. The doctor ordered Mozart's sister-in-law to wash the patient's temples and forehead with vinegar and cold water. Sophie objected that the cold could harm such a grave patient. But Dr. Klossett did not want to hear about it: after all, he was the attending physician! Then Sophie put a wet handkerchief on Mozart's forehead. Here we can rightfully ask ourselves why the physician did not do it himself, if he was so confident in his methods of treatment. In any case, as Sophie said, after a cold touch, a shiver ran through Mozart's body - and he died. The creator of The Magic Flute was not even thirty-six years old.
The investigation will show
Antonio Salieri
Since then, gossip and controversy about what caused Mozart's death have not subsided.
There are over eighty theories of his death.
This demonstrates how difficult it is to get accurate information about the method of treatment when the patient died so long ago. A lot of speculation has arisen regarding the methods of Dr. Klosset and Dr. Sallab, because they did not leave behind any notes on this matter. Given the fame of their patient, this looks like a serious omission. For the first time, a Viennese physician, Dr. Eduard Vincent Guldner von Lobes, was entrusted with a medical examination of Mozart's death. He concluded that the musician had not been poisoned, but had died of rheumatic inflammatory fever and was suffering from the typical symptoms of inflammation of the meninges. “These diagnoses do not correspond to what we mean by them today, and their meaning remains vague,” says therapist and life researcher of Mozart, Dr. Kaspar Franzen of the University Hospital Regensburg. Moreover, Guldner never saw the subject of his expertise in person; his conclusion was based rather on the oral testimony of Mozart's doctors and was not completely accurate.
Nevertheless, inflammation of the meninges and rheumatic fever are the basis for various theories of poisoning put forward in recent years. In them, in addition to Salieri, Franz von Walsegg-Stuppach and the wife of the composer Constance, who was allegedly associated with one of Mozart's students, some of his creditors are also named as poisoners. Even Freemasons, to whom Mozart belonged since 1784 and whose ritual the composer depicted in The Magic Flute, fell under suspicion. For all of these theories, there are both supporting evidence and difficult questions to answer. There is also no serious motivation. Indeed, Mozart was no longer so loved in Vienna, the moment of glory was short, after which his star began to roll down smoothly and uncontrollably. Towards the end of his life, he was too insignificant and harmless for anyone to need to kill him.
If it really was poisoning, then rather not from base motives, but from a desire to help a sick Mozart, that is, through an oversight or mistake. After all, the composer thought for a long time that he had contracted syphilis. Most likely, the fear was unfounded, but in those days syphilis was one of the most common and hotly discussed diseases. Among Mozart's friends was a certain Gottfried van Swieten, whose father, a physician by profession, treated his patients with wine mixed with mercury - Liquor mercurii Swietenii - quite effective, but also very risky remedy against the notorious infection. It is possible that van Swieten recommended this medicine for Mozart, who took it, apparently, with the same zeal with which he had previously been treated with his powders, and therefore greatly exceeded the prescribed dose. It is not possible to check this, because not a trace remained of Mozart's body. After his death, he was buried "in the third class", and when his widow, seventeen (!) Years later, began looking for his grave, she learned that the cemetery had been dug up.
The name of Mozart, the creator of immortal symphonies and operas, is dear to millions of people. The premature death of the brilliant composer amazed his contemporaries and caused various rumors. Descendants brought many fantastic inventions, poetic liberties, distorted ideas to the stories about Mozart. Until now, even in popular literature about Mozart, the legend obscures the truth and does not adequately reflect the actual circumstances of the tragic ending of the life of the great composer. This article provides the latest data on Mozart's illness, cause of death and funeral.
DIAGNOSES, HYPOTHESES, INTERPRETATIONS
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's life was cut short in the thirty-sixth year ... What led to the death of the brilliant composer?
The protocol of the medical examination noted that Mozart died of acute millet fever. Modern science does not use such a term. And in the 18th century, this term was already a relic. In the writings of the Viennese medical school, there is no description of the disease under this name. Obviously, the diagnosis "millet fever" was included in the examination protocol because this name was common and was clearer than the Latin name of the disease.
Immediately after Mozart's death, various conflicting rumors spread about the nature of his illness. They talked about dropsy, dropsy of the heart, nervous fever, nervous consumption, tabes dorsum, tuberculosis, and poisoning. It is known that the legend of the poisoning is immortalized in Pushkin's "little tragedy" "Mozart and Salieri" and the opera of the same name by Rimsky-Korsakov.
Mozart scholars - music historians who study the life of Mozart - unanimously deny the poisoning version. The failure of the rumor about the violent death of the creator of the "Magic Flute" was confirmed by a scientific session of the Central Institute of Mozart Studies in Salzburg (1964), which heard a special report on the topic "The Legend of the Poisoning of Mozart." How did Mozart's illness proceed? Who treated him and can you trust the diagnosis?
DOCTORS MOZART
For the past two years, Wolfgang has been under the supervision of Thomas Franz Klosset, MD. Apprentice, assistant and successor to the renowned clinician Maximilian Stoll, Klosset headed the department at the Vienna General Hospital. Among his writings is a book on putrid fever. The Vienna Medical Yearbook of 1814 says about him: "By nature, a keen observer and deep thinker, he possessed a rare practical skill."
Mathias von Sallaba, also a student of Stoll, a doctor at the General Hospital, who was popular in the Austrian capital as a practicing physician and who won recognition as a scientist in his youth, was invited to the consultation with Mozart. Sallaba's book "The Natural History of Diseases", where much attention is paid to various kinds of fevers and especially rheumatic-inflammatory fever, was published in the year of Mozart's death.
The famous Viennese pathologist Eduard Guldener von Lobes reported in letters of 1824 that both of these doctors, whom he personally met, diagnosed Mozart with rheumatic-inflammatory fever. Guldener was in Vienna during those sorrowful days (Mozart died in December 1791). In the literature, an attempt was made to discredit the important testimony of the pathologist by referring to the fact that he arrived in Vienna allegedly eleven years after Mozart's death. However, it has been documented that this is not the case.
One of the books published in 1794 describes a council that took place at the beginning of 1790 in Vienna. Among the participants in this council, Guldener is mentioned. The documents also show that in June 1793, Guldener signed himself as a "Vienna practitioner." Since 1800, Guldener has been the chief physician of the Austrian capital. There is no reason to doubt the veracity and significance of the testimony of this highly qualified specialist.
To be continued.
Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus (1756-1791) - Austrian composer. A representative of the Viennese classical school, a musician of universal talent, manifested from early childhood. Mozart's music reflected the ideas of the German Enlightenment and the "Storm and Onslaught" movement, embodied the artistic experience of various national schools and traditions.
2006 was declared by UNESCO as the year of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, as exactly 250 years have passed since the birth of the great composer and 215 years since the day of his death. The "God of Music" (as he is often called) left this world on December 5, 1791, at the age of 35, after a strange illness.
No grave, no cross
National pride of Austria, musical genius, imperial and royal conductor and chamber composer did not receive a separate grave or a cross. He found rest in a common grave in Vienna's St. Mark's Cemetery. When the wife of the composer Constance, 18 years later, decided for the first time to visit his grave, the only witness who could indicate the approximate place of burial - the gravedigger - was no longer alive. The plan of the cemetery of St. Mark was found in 1859 and a marble monument was erected at the supposed burial place of Mozart. Today, it is all the more impossible to pinpoint the exact place where he was lowered into a pit with two dozen unfortunate vagabonds, homeless beggars, poor people without family and tribe.
The official explanation for the poor funeral is the lack of money due to the extreme poverty of the composer. However, there is information that the family had 60 guilders left. Burial in the third category, worth 8 guilders, was organized and paid for by Baron Gottfried van Swieten, a Viennese philanthropist, to whom Mozart donated many of his works out of friendship for free. It was van Swieten who persuaded the composer's wife not to take part in the funeral.
Mozart was buried already on December 6, with incomprehensible haste, without elementary respect and an official announcement of death (it was made only after the funeral). The body was not brought into St. Stephen's Cathedral, and Mozart was the assistant conductor of this cathedral! The farewell ceremony, with the participation of a few accompanying persons, was hastily carried out at the chapel of the Holy Cross, adjacent to the outer wall of the cathedral. The widow of the composer, his brothers in the Masonic lodge, was absent.
After the funeral service, only a few people - including Baron Gottfried van Swieten, composer Antonio Salieri and Mozart's student Franz Xaver Süsmair - went to see the composer on his last journey. But none of them reached the cemetery of St. Mark. As van Swieten and Salieri explained, heavy rain that turned into snow prevented.
However, their explanation is refuted by the testimony of people who well remembered this warm, foggy day. And also - the official certificate of the Central Institute of Meteorology of Vienna, issued in 1959 at the request of the American musicologist Nikolai Slonimsky. The temperature that day was 3 degrees Celsius according to Reaumur (1 degree of the Reaumur scale = 5/4 degrees of the Celsius scale - N.L.), there was no precipitation; at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, when the funeral service for Mozart was performed, only a "weak east wind" was noted. The archive extract for that day also read: "the weather is warm, foggy." However, fog is quite common for Vienna at this time of the year.
Meanwhile, back in the summer, while working on the opera Die Zauberflöte, Mozart felt unwell and became increasingly suspicious that someone was encroaching on his life. Three months before his death, while walking with his wife, he said: “I feel that I will not last long. Of course, they gave me poison ... "
Despite the official entry in the office of St. Stephen's Cathedral about the death of the composer from "acute pan-shaped fever", the first cautious mention of the poisoning appeared in the Berlin Musical Weekly on December 12, 1791: "Since his body was swollen after death, they even claim that he was poisoned. "
In search of a definitive diagnosis
Analysis of various evidence and studies of dozens of specialists allow us to draw up an approximate picture of Mozart's symptoms of the disease.
From summer to autumn 1791 he has: general weakness; weight loss; periodic pain in the lumbar region; pallor; headache; dizziness; instability of mood with frequent depression, fearfulness and extreme irritability. He faints with loss of consciousness, his hands begin to swell, loss of strength increases, and vomiting joins all this. Later, symptoms such as a metallic taste in the mouth, handwriting abnormalities (mercury tremors), chills, abdominal cramps, foul (foul-smelling) body odor, fever, generalized swelling, and rash appear. Mozart died with an excruciating headache, but his consciousness remained clear until his death.
Among the works devoted to the study of the cause of death of the composer, the most fundamental works belong to doctors Johannes Dalchow, Gunther Duda, Dieter Kerner ("W. A. Mozart. Chronicle of the last years of life and death", 1991) and Wolfgang Ritter (Chach was Is He Killed? ”, 1991). The number of diagnoses in the Mozart case is impressive, which in itself is suggestive, but, according to scientists, none of them stand up to serious criticism.
Under "acute millet fever", designated as the official diagnosis, medicine of the 17th century understood an infectious disease that was acute, accompanied by a rash, fever and chills. But Mozart's illness proceeded slowly, exhaustingly, and the swelling of the body did not at all fit into the clinic of a millet fever. Physicians may have been confused by a severe rash and a fever in the final stages of the disease, but these are characteristic signs of a number of poisonings. Note in addition that in the event of an infectious disease, one should have waited for the infection of at least someone from the inner circle, which did not happen, and there was no epidemic in the city.
"Meningitis (inflammation of the meninges)", which appears as a possible disease, also disappears, since Mozart was able to work almost to the very end and retained complete clarity of consciousness, there were no cerebral clinical manifestations of meningitis. Moreover, one cannot speak of "tuberculous meningitis" - Mozzarology with absolute certainty excludes tuberculosis from the composer's anamnesis. Moreover, his medical history is practically clear until 1791, the last year of his life, which, moreover, accounts for the peak of his creative activity.
The diagnosis of heart failure is absolutely contradicted by the fact that shortly before his death, Mozart conducted a long cantata, which requires a lot of physical exertion, and somewhat earlier - the opera The Magic Flute. And most importantly: there is not a single evidence of the presence of the main symptom of this disease - shortness of breath. The legs would swell, not the arms and body.
The clinic of "ephemeral rheumatic fever" also does not find its confirmation. Even if you think about heart complications, there were no signs of heart weakness, such as, again, shortness of breath — heart sick Mozart could not sing “Requiem” with his friends before his death!
There is no compelling reason to assume the presence of syphilis, both because the disease has a clinical picture, and because Mozart's wife and two sons were healthy (the youngest was born 5 months before his death), which is excluded with a sick husband and father.
"Normal" genius
It is also difficult to agree with the fact that the composer suffered from mental pathology in the form of all kinds of fears and mania of poisoning. The Russian psychiatrist Alexander Shuvalov, having analyzed (in 2004) the history of the composer's life and illness, came to the conclusion: Mozart is "a rare case of a universally recognized genius who did not suffer from any mental disorder."
But the composer had reasons for concern. The assumption of renal failure is closest to the true clinical picture of the disease. However, renal failure as "pure uremia" is excluded if only because renal patients at this stage lose their ability to work and spend the last days in an unconscious state.
It is impossible for such a patient to write two operas, two cantatas, a clarinet concerto in the last three months of his life and move freely from city to city! In addition, an acute disease develops first - nephritis (inflammation of the kidneys) - and only after many years of chronic stage there is a transition to the final one - uremia. But in the history of Mozart's illness there is no mention of the inflammatory kidney damage he suffered.
It was mercury
According to a number of scientists, including toxicologists, Mozart's death was due to chronic mercury poisoning, namely, from repeated intake of mercury chloride - mercury chloride - into the body. It was given at significant intervals: for the first time - in the summer, the last time - shortly before death. Moreover, the final phase of the disease is similar to true kidney failure, which served as the basis for the erroneous diagnosis of renal failure of an inflammatory nature.
This delusion is understandable: although in the 18th century a lot was known about poisons and poisoning, doctors practically did not know the clinic of mercury (mercury) intoxication - then, in order to eliminate rivals, it was more customary to use the so-called aqua Toffana (no name of the famous poisoner who made a hellish mixture from arsenic, lead and antimony); the sick Mozart also thought about aqua Toffana in the first place.
All the symptoms observed in Mozart at the onset of the disease are identical to the signs of acute mercury poisoning, which is well studied at the present time (headache, metallic taste in the mouth, vomiting, weight loss, neuroses, depression, etc.). At the end of a long period of poisoning, toxic kidney damage occurs with final uremic symptoms - fever, rash, chills, etc. The fact that the musician retained a clear consciousness and continued to write music, that is, was able to work, which is characteristic for chronic mercury poisoning.
A comparative analysis of Mozart's death mask and his lifetime portraits gave, in turn, the basis for the conclusion: the deformation of facial features is clearly caused by intoxication.
Thus, there is much evidence in favor of the fact that the composer was poisoned. There are also assumptions about who and how could have done this.
Possible suspects
First of all, mercury had to be found somewhere. The poison could come through Gottfried van Swieten, whose father, physician-in-law Gerhard van Swieten, was the first to treat syphilis with "Swieten's tincture of mercury" - a solution of mercuric chloride in vodka. In addition, Mozart often visited the von Swieten home. The owner of the mercury mines, Count Walsegzu-Shtuppach, the mysterious customer of the Requiem, a man prone to mystification and intrigue, also had the opportunity to supply the murderers with poison.
There are three main versions of Mozart's poisoning. However, almost all researchers agree that it was unlikely that one person could do it.
Version one: Salieri.
When the defenders of the Italian composer Antonio Salieri (1750-1825) claim that he “had everything, but Mozart had nothing” and therefore he could not envy Mozart, they are disingenuous. Yes, Salieri had a reliable income, and after leaving the court service, a good pension awaited him. Mozart really had nothing, nothing but ... GENIUS. However, he passed away not only in the most fruitful year in terms of creativity, but also in a year that was crucial for the fate of him and his family - he received a decree on admission to a position that gave material independence and the opportunity to create calmly. At the same time, significant, long-term orders and contracts for new compositions came from Amsterdam and Hungary.
It seems quite possible in such a context the phrase uttered by Salieri in the novel by Gustav Nicolai (1825): “Yes, it's a pity that such a genius has left us. But actually the musicians were lucky. Had he still lived, no one would have given us all a piece of bread for our compositions. "
It was the feeling of envy that could push Salieri to the crime. It is known that other people's creative successes caused Salieri deep irritation and a desire to resist. Suffice it to mention a letter from Ludwig van Beethoven of January 1809, in which he complains to the publisher about the intrigues of enemies, "of which the first is Monsieur Salieri." Franz Schubert's biographers describe Salieri's intrigue, undertaken by him to prevent the ingenious "king of songs" from getting nothing but a place as a humble music teacher in distant Laibach.
Soviet musicologist Igor Belza in 1947 asked the Austrian composer Josef Marx if Salieri really committed villainy? The answer was instantaneous, without hesitation: "And who of the old Viennese doubts this?" According to Marx, his friend, music historian Guido Adler (1885-1941), while studying church music, discovered in a Vienna archive a record of Salieri's confession from 1823, containing a confession of this heinous crime, with detailed and convincing details, where and under what circumstances poison was given to the composer. The church authorities could not agree to violate the secrecy of confession and did not give their consent to make this document public.
Salieri, tormented by remorse, tried to commit suicide: he cut his throat with a razor, but survived. On this occasion, there are supporting records in Beethoven's "conversational notebooks" for 1823. There are other references to the content of Salieri's confession and the failed suicide.
The intention to commit suicide matured in Salieri no later than 1821 - by that time he had written a requiem for his own death. In a farewell message (March 1821), Salieri asked Count Haugwitz to serve in a private chapel a funeral service for him and perform the requiem sent to save his soul, for "by the time the letter is received, the latter will no longer be among the living."
The content of the letter and its style are indicative of Salieri's absence of mental illness. Nevertheless, Salieri was declared mentally ill and his confession delusional. Many researchers believe that this was done to avoid a scandal: after all, both Salieri and Sviteni were closely associated with the ruling Habsburg court, which, to some extent, overshadowed the crime. Salieri died in 1825, as is clear from the death certificate, "of old age", having received the Holy Gifts (which Mozart did not receive).
And now is the time to recall the tragedy of Pushkin "Mozart and Salieri" (1830) and the angry attacks of some Europeans on the author for the fact that "he did not want to present his two characters as they were in reality" Salieri's name.
While working on the tragedy, Pushkin wrote an article "Refutation to Critics", in which he spoke unequivocally:
“… Burdening historical characters with fictional horrors is neither surprising nor generous. Slander in poems has always seemed to me uncommendable. " It is known that this work took the poet more than one year: Pushkin carefully collected various documentary evidence.
The Pushkin tragedy served as a strong impetus for research in this direction. As D. Kerner wrote: "If Pushkin had not captured Salieri's crime in his tragedy, on which he worked for many years, the mystery of the death of the greatest composer of the West would never have received a solution."
Second version: Zyusmayr.
Franz Xaver Süsmayr, a student of Salieri, then a student of Mozart and an intimate friend of his wife Constanza, who after Mozart's death again went to study with Salieri, was distinguished by great ambitions and was heavily ridiculed by Mozart. The name of Süsmayr remained in history thanks to the Requiem, to the completion of which he was involved.
Constanta quarreled with Süsmair. And then she diligently erased his name from her husband's documentary heritage. Süsmair died in 1803 under strange and mysterious circumstances; in the same year, Gottfried van Swieten passed away. Given the closeness of Süsmayr to Salieri and his career aspirations, combined with an overestimation of his own talents, as well as his romance with Constanta, many researchers believe that he could have been involved in the poisoning more in the role of a direct performer, since he lived in the composer's family. Perhaps Constanta also learned that her husband was receiving poison - this largely explains her further behavior.
It becomes clear, in particular, the unseemly role that, according to some contemporaries, Constanta played by “revealing the truth” on the day of the funeral about the alleged love affair of Mozart and his student Magdalena to her husband - lawyer Franz Hsfdemel, friend and brother of Mozart in the Masonic lodge ... In a fit of jealousy, Hofdemel tried to stab his pregnant, beautiful wife with a razor - neighbors saved Magdalena from death, hearing the screams of her and their one-year-old child. Hofdemel committed suicide, also using a razor. Magdalena survived, but remained disfigured. It is believed that in this way Constanta tried to switch suspicions of her husband's poisoning to a poor lawyer.
Indeed, this gave rise to a number of researchers (for example, the British historian Francis Carr) to interpret this tragedy as an outbreak of jealousy of Hofdemel, who poisoned Mozart.
Be that as it may, the youngest son of Constanta, musician Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart, said: "Of course, I will not become as great as my father, and therefore there is nothing to fear from envious people who could encroach on my life."
The third version: the ritual murder of the "rebellious brother".
It is known that Mozart was a member of the Charity Masonic Lodge and had a very high level of dedication. However, the Masonic community, which usually renders assistance to fellows, did nothing to help the composer, who was in a very strained financial situation. Moreover, the brothers-Masons did not come to accompany Mozart on his last journey, and a special meeting of the lodge dedicated to his death took place only a few months later. Perhaps, a certain role in this was played by the fact that Mozart, being disappointed with the activities of the order, planned to create his own secret organization - lay "Grotto", the charter of which had already been written to him.
The worldview differences between the composer and the order reached their height in 1791; it is in these discrepancies that some researchers see the cause of Mozart's early death. In the same 1791, the composer wrote the opera Die Zauberflöte, which was a resounding success in Vienna. It is believed that Masonic symbolism was widely used in the opera, many rituals are revealed that only initiates should know. That could not go unnoticed. Georg Nikolaus Nissen, the second husband of Constanta and later biographer of Mozart, called The Magic Flute "a parody of the Masonic order."
According to J. Dalchow, “those who hastened the death of Mozart, eliminated him with a“ proper rank ”poison - mercury, that is, Mercury, the idol of the muses.
... Or maybe all versions are links in the same chain?
