It is hard to believe that the death of a man can remain unknown for several centuries.
It is even harder to believe that the death of one of the greatest composers of all time is indeed that. That composer, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, was a child prodigy. He performed for royalty, wrote and composed symphonies, and learned to play the violin and organ without instruction, all before he ever reached the age of seven. Mozart was truly blessed with a gift from God to hear the music before he ever wrote it. Many people were aware of that gift, including Antonio Salieri. Salieri was the court composer and was highly thought of until the works of Mozart became heard in Vienna.
Mozart was amazing and astounding and loved by all, except Salieri. Salieri sat and watched this man, this great wonder child”, and asked God why he had given this perverted and immature boy such a wondrous gift. He asked God why he had put the love of music in his heart if he was going to give the talent to Mozart. During the time that Salieri spent with Mozart, only his pain, hatred, and jealousy grew.
Salieri wished nothing but humiliation, failure, and perhaps even death on Wolfgang Mozart. I’m not sure that Antonio Salieri ever wanted Mozart dead so badly that he could have or would have killed him, as some historians have said. I believe that if Salieri had wanted Mozart dead, he would have acted more quickly. After all, why would Salieri, the man jealous of the work and popularity of Mozart, ever let him become such a success? Why didn’t Salieri act on his internal rage beforehand? Simple. Through the hatred that Salieri felt toward Mozart, he could not help but appreciate his finely mastered work.
I think that Mozart’s death was caused by alcohol. Mozart was always a heavy drinker, especially after he moved to Vienna. There could have been numerous explanations for his excessive drinking, one of which might have been stress. Looking at what Mozart accomplished, one might have thought that he was a hard worker and a serious man, always getting things done when they needed to be.
You would be right in thinking that Mozart was a very hard worker and always finished his work before starting it. However, the title of mature” was definitely not included among his many accomplishments. Mozart was indeed a partier. He loved to drink, dance, and play. I believe his drinking started out as a social occurrence, but soon became more of a pleasure. Unfortunately, Mozart would become more and more addicted to alcohol.
He became somewhat dependent on liquor. Even though it was never stated, it was obvious that his late-night sneak-outs” were associated with the stress of his work. Mozart would drink constantly during a meal and while he was writing music, which would have been how he spent the other twenty-three hours of his day. Mozart never learned how to manage his time so that he would have time to do other things, such as spending time with his family. He also never understood that there were limits to anything. That “blindness” included his love of alcohol.
The failure to learn time-management and boundary skills would drive him farther away from everything he wanted: his family, his work, and his life. The death of young Mozart was completely unexpected and appalling to all who knew him.
