I wonder, have you seen the film Amadeus, which was made in 1984? My father loved your music, and we went to the cinema to see it. Were he alive today, he would enjoy your weblog very much. If you have seen the film, what did you think of it? If not, perhaps you can use your Magic Box to download the film and then you could share your thoughts.
Your friend,
H.F.
Meine Damme,
Of course I have seen Amadeus--I would have to live under a rock not to have. I used to be asked this question a great deal when I was first introduced to this internet world, but in recent years not so much.
Your question first demands a little elucidation on the matter of the story itself. As I understand it, neither the writer nor the filmmaker had any desire to tell my life story, therefore, I am able to look beyond the obvious liberties that were taken where the truth is concerned. These accomplished gentlemen set out to tell a story about genius and envy. Mr. Schaffer himself said in an interview that he could have chosen any number of people to use as his subjects, but because he is a great appreciator of my work, he chose me. The selection of Salieri as the antagonist was based solely on the Rimsky-Korsakov opera, 'Mozart and Salieri', a tale that has no basis in the truth whatsoever.
As a man of the theater myself, I enjoy the use of creative license and I am especially drawn to theater pieces that make me think more deeply about what it is that makes us as human beings tick. On a lighter note, I adore well-written farce, so I can tell you that, for what it was meant to be, I like Amadeus. It is too bad, however, that so many people have elected to swallow it as being the truth instead of reading an actual biography and learning for themselves. Still, it brought nearly an entire generation of young people to pay attention to good music for the first time in their lives. I am honored to have been a small part of that.
In der Freundschaft,
Mozart
2 Expositions:
Sehr geehrter Herr,
That is the problem with any sort of dramatization of history, isn't it? Those liberties can confuse viewers, and give such a distorted understanding. In my own lifetime, I've seen current events depicted and reported in untruthful ways, which the public readily swallows. Small wonder that something like Amadeus has resulted in false "knowledge."
As you say, though, it is a consolation that people appreciate your wonderful music.
Anything that brings young minds to good music is all right by me!
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