Mozart: What Shaped The Life Of The Prodigy? | Classical Destinations | Perspective

paper was light gold in medieval times [Music] i want tobacco sugar [Music] that everything we thought we knew about the world might turn out to be completely wrong [Music] come with us on a musical journey through some of the most magnificent places on earth great tongues and cities of europe steeped in history and beauty and resounding with the stories and music of the world's great composers [Music] mozart bach beethoven grieg vivaldi tchaikovsky just some of the greats in our classical destinations [Music] welcome to a musical journey which will take you into the fascinating world of classical music from an entirely new angle [Music] after all music didn't begin in people's heads it began where they began the places where they were born where they lived and died where they were happy and sad acclaimed and rejected our classical destinations will take us all over europe to some of its most beautiful cities but these destinations are part of the music part of what makes it what it is [Music] in our series the acclaimed violinist nikki vasilakis will also be with us to bring some of the music alive as we journey to europe's great classical destinations [Music] our first classical destination is alzberg in austria and here in this beautiful and lively city we'll visit many of the places that are now forever associated with mozart and which would have undoubtedly influenced his works birthplace of a man many people believe is the greatest composer who ever lived wolfgang amadeus mozart this is the old town of salzburg on the west bank of the river zalzak salzburg was originally a celtic settlement and then a roman center of trade in 696 a.d a priest by the name of rupert established a bishopric here later it became an archbishop brick with authority over a great part of bavaria the archbishops became more and more involved in worldly matters and in the 13th century were granted the title princes of the holy roman empire so began the rule of the prince archbishops of salzburg which continued up to the unification of austria in the early 1800s the economic power was based largely on the mining of salt from the mountains around the old town the name proves it salzburg literally means castle of salt [Music] [Music] salzburg and mozart go together hand in glove but it was here on the third floor of this apartment building in gertridge that mozart was born on the 27th of january 1756. [Music] baby mozart was christened johannes chrysostomus wolfgangus theophilius mozart small wondered then that he preferred the name amadeo a literal translation of the affiliates which he later coined himself wolfgang's father leopold was a violin master and instrumentalist in the court of the prince archbishop of zaltsburg he was also an accomplished composer and the author of an important early textbook on violin technique well-equipped therefore to recognize the precocious nature of his son's gift early on wolfgang was playing piano from the age of three and his earliest composition was written at the age of five in this house so leopold took it upon himself to be his children's unswerving tutor wolfgang's older sister nano was also extremely talented but the boy he was a genius this apartment rented from merchant johann hagenauer was the mozart family home between 1747 and 1773. there's an amazing assortment of mozart's early musical life on display here the composer's clavichord his piano as well as a fascinating assortment of documents and family portraits from the time wolfgang was six leopold took the family on a series of european tours presenting the miraculous youngster and his sister to an admiring aristocracy [Music] wolfgang also played the violin and even at this very young age he was as accomplished on this instrument as he was on the piano through leopold's connections the mozart children played for the crowned heads of england france and austria all were impressed so much so that after one concert the emperor and empress of austria encouraged wolfgang to write an opera he duly obliged with one in italian la finta semplice or the pretend simpleton he was 12 at the time [Music] this of course is exactly what mozart didn't grow up with though even in his day was a thriving thoroughfare get rid of the very street in which mozart was born which is now the hub of a major tourist industry entirely because of the boy who was born here salzburg manages to cast a certain charm over the most unlikely objects you can get everything here from your daily food to everything mozart and the flowers in the spring have to be seen to be believed this is exactly the sort of site mozart would have grown up with here in gertrude the church of saint blasius where he most certainly worshiped is set against the great rock on which salzburg's fortress is built nature tamed by man made into art in the name of god this stream fed by a spring of fresh water which flows down from up high in the manxberg rages down here and then right through the tongue it's not hard to imagine the young mozart toddling down through the markets to fetch water from here for his mother the locals still use this well today as well as the great tradition of classical music salzburg is also famous for something else that's close to many people's hearts coffee and here at tomaselli's there are connections with both music and coffee the cafe has been here since the early 1700s and the original italian owner signor tomaselli was actually an accomplished tenor mozart very much enjoyed the atmosphere here at thomas ellis though legend has it that he once wrote a letter of complaint about the quality of the coffee itself no doubt they've changed the baristas since then wolfgang wasn't only a child prodigy as both performer and composer he was a free spirit who certainly didn't win any prizes for being well behaved once when he was at the sistine chapel in rome mozart wrote out entirely from memory and without any mistakes at all gregorio allegri's misery in spite of the fact that the pope had explicitly forbidden its transcription under the penalty of excommunication as it happens mozart got away with it in fact the pope later made him a knight of the golden spur an amazing honor for someone so young he was only 14. leopold mozart was desperate for two things for money and for freedom from his employer the archbishop of zul's book his only real hope lay in his two exceptionally gifted children wolfgang and anna maria both of whom were quite precociously brilliant performers little by little though anna maria got sidelined and wolfgang proved to be a real money spinner but it meant a childhood spent on the road which was in fact no childhood at all and the road was long in the 18th century horsepower really meant horses [Music] the longest of these tours lasted three and a half years rather wrong time in the life of a small boy they went to london and back quite a journey and stayed in london for 18 months and it was there when he was only eight years old that wolfgang wrote his first little symphonies so the seven-year-old boy who left zartsburg was nudging puberty by the time he returned [Music] there were other extended trips as well to germany over to vienna down to italy three separate visits so salzburg's most famous son didn't really spend many of his formative years in zanzibar could talk when he was there though he did a little bit of work experience he started writing some music for the cathedral services an early church sonata tells us just how impressive this 11 year old composer really was [Music] the mirabelle palace was built in 1606 by prince archbishop wolf dietrich who was largely responsible for the shape of the old town as we know it today the building was intended for his mistress salome alt the daughter of a prominent local merchant the archbishop built this statue to her within the famous mirabelle gardens the palace was originally named altenau after zalome who had a total of 15 children to evolve sadly for her both got the sack in 1612 and the new archbishop renamed the palace mirabelle the palace was badly damaged by fire in 1818 and replaced by the current building a few things survived the chapel this magnificent staircase and the marble room [Music] accompanied by his sister nanel the young mozart played concerts on violin here in the marble room [Applause] [Music] hey [Music] [Applause] see [Music] [Applause] [Music] standing like a guardian over the town is the mighty castle known as feshtung hohensalzberg fortress it was begun by archbishop gephard the first in 1077 and was gradually added to over the following 700 years the best way to get there is by cable car unless you feel like with 20 minutes walk one of the smartest ways to see the city is with the salzburg card it opens all the main tourist doors and it's great value for your euro you could be forgiven for thinking that the fortress was built only to glorify the archbishops but over the centuries it's been both a refuge and a stronghold in times of war it's gradually expanded into a small self-contained town today it's the largest fully preserved fortress in europe it's also been used as a prison and both the dungeons and the torture chamber can be visited today now of course there's also a museum shops and restaurants there are also regular evening concerts performed here during the annual salzburg festival the fortress's commanding position means it offers a superb view the glory of salzburg is spread below and on the other side the soaring majesty of the austrian alps [Music] by the way this little house all alone in the fields is known as the hangman's cottage strange no one seemed to want to live near him back in the 16th and 17th centuries the prince archbishops copied the architecture of rome when designing their palaces and cathedrals so much so that salzburg is still called today the rome of the north [Music] there are daily tours of the cathedral in july and august where your eyes can drink deeply of salzburg baroque courtesy of the archbishops a fulsome brew with a complex palette wouldn't you agree but as in vogue as the archbishop's architectural tastes were they didn't have a monopoly on style [Music] the hotel golden nejirsch is perfectly located in the heart of the old town it was originally a 15th century inn and has been magnificently preserved for its 21st century guests [Music] many speakers composers and guest artists stay at the golden hirsch during the annual zarzburg festival which always starts with mozart week the hotel is only a short walk to the festival concert hall founded in 1841 the mozarteum university is world renowned and offers over 30 courses in music performing in the fine arts [Music] is a leading university professor who prepares her students for their professional life drawing from 33 years of stage experience many of the 400 teachers here have also been performers so they work for a practical rather than theoretical background the list of graduates is illustrious it includes the legendary conductor and local salzburg boy made good herbert from carry-on [Music] the salzburg festival has been described as europe's most prestigious festival event combine that with the splendor of this city with its beautiful preserved baroque architecture and you have the perfect backdrop for this annual event this festival is taking place in one of the most beautiful cities of the world this ancient salzburgian cities with its baroque architecture we have a very broad offer in in three artistic sectors drama opera and concert not only drama like avignon not only opera like byroid and exclusively dedicated to richard wagner but all the three and all performances are on a very high artistic level so the best singers conductors directors all over the world are coming to salzburg it has a certain clamour we had visitors from 57 different nations here in the last summer [Music] any place that had been the birthplace of mozart is perfectly entitled to boast about it hundreds of years later and it hardly does any harm south park is one of the most beautiful cities in the world but frankly mozart is far more consistently present in his hometown in death than he ever was during his short life it's quite ironic having spent so much of his childhood away from salzburg once he came back he couldn't wait to get out of it he needed the big city opportunities that vienna could offer zanzibar of his time was never ever going to be able to give him everything that he needed as it turns out he's given them a great deal more than they ever gave him i wonder how he'd feel if he came back to the town and saw all the statues erected in his honor or ate in one of the cafes named after him or one of the little chocolate balls with his picture on it or perhaps even caught an afternoon performance of the movie telling the story of his life [Music] salzburg's marionette theater became famous around the world through the movie version of the sound of music in the 1960s but the theater has been operating here in salzburg since 1913. dr gretel eicher is the current director of the theater which her family has run for years they see something they have not seen before in the world and it's really an exotic uh theater for people and it's it's something out of the world and we belong to this town and i don't know what the salzburg people will say if the salzburg mine is i'm not here again [Music] lord next to the magic flute it's the nazi of figaro that's i love very very much the music and the marionettes and the production and but i love all of the five ones [Music] and as evening falls in mozart's hometown what better thing to do than a mozart theater dinner show [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh [Music] the food and wine here aren't too bad either in 1769 mozart by now all of 13 was appointed concert master of the salzburg court orchestra an unsalaried position at the end of that year father and son set out on yet another extended journey this time to italy verona milan florence rome naples the young wolfgang met with dazzling success at every stage his opera mitridati ray di ponto written at the tender age of 14 was first staged in milan and he conducted the performance himself but all was not well back in salzburg in december 1771 the prince archbishop who was also the mozart's employer died the new archbishop proved to be less accommodating of mozart's trips away but wolfgang never very tactful and a teenager to boot soon found himself in the archbishop's bad books [Music] in 1773 the mozart's moved here to the tunsmeister house the dance master's house the old house on gitrajdegergasse had long been too small for the family this house more than solved that problem now like the haagen-hour house it is a museum open daily to the public it was severely damaged by bombing in 1944 but has been painstakingly and beautifully restored in the years before 1777 it became apparent to wolfgang that he would never have a decent job in salzburg so over the next four years he tried desperately to find an appointment somewhere else in europe how i detest salzburg he wrote salzburg is no place for my talent it was during this period that he fell in love for the first time with a young german girl called aloysia weber who was the daughter of a well-known tenor aloisian having first encouraged wolfgang rejected him things were not going mozart's way back in zartsburg the archbishop still seemed intent on keeping him on a short leash finally after numerous conflicts with his employer mozart resigned from the court in june 1781 [Music] his public beckoned the place to be if he wanted to reach that public was vienna from the city where mozart wrote his brilliant early works that's all from classical destinations this time where to next well not so far away [Music] our next journey takes us through some of the most picturesque austrian countryside as we head for vienna another magnificent city steeped in classical music history as well as following moats out there we'll be exploring the lives and music of schubert brahms and haydn so until our next destination it's goodbye from salzburg

Channel: Perspective

Views: 37,095

Keywords: Chamber music composer, Classical music, Classical music destinations, Classical musicians, Classical violinist, Cultural heritage, Europe, European cities, European culture, Famous works of Mozart, History, Influential composers, Instrumental music history, Mozart birthplace, Musical journeys, Niki Vasilakis, Parade Media, Performing arts, Perspective, Virtuoso violinist, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Id: iA8-WB1hX_A

Length: 25min 49sec (1549 seconds)

Published: Mon Sep 06 2021