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Austrian Culture: Mozart

Robert Easton

Mozart, a name synonymous with musical genius, is undoubtedly the best known and most popular classical composer the world has ever produced. He is the composer of over 600 pieces of music and was an astounding child prodigy, composing by the age of five and well used to performing in front of the kings and queens of Europe before he was ten years old.

Almost inevitably there was another side to this genius. There is no definite proof, but large amounts of circumstantial evidence point to Mozart suffering from various types of mental illness, including Attention Deficit Disorder, Tourettes Syndrome (which can cause sufferers to swear uncontrollably), bipolar disorder and even coprographia - an obsessive need to write down filth.

Christened Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus, Mozart was born in 1756 at 9 Getreidgasse in Salzburg, Austria. The house now houses the Mozart Museum. 'Theophilus' means 'favourite of the gods' and was used in various translated versions throughout his life, including the more familiar Latin 'Amadeus'.

At the time of Wolfgang's birth his father, Leopold Mozart, was one of the foremost music teachers in Europe. When his son's precocious talents became apparent around the age of three, Leopold abandoned his own composing career and dedicated himself to giving his son the most intense musical training.

Mozart made several European trips during his early life, including Munich, Mannheim, Paris, Vienna, Prague, Zurich and Paris. Later on he visited Italy and the Vatican City. Legend has it that whilst in the Vatican the child Mozart heard a performance of Gregorio Allegri's Miserere, which the Pope had decreed could only be played in the Vatican City. Having heard it only once, Mozart reproduced it exactly from memory to produce the world's first illegal copy of this piece of music.

His next foreign tour, which began in 1777, saw him visit Munich, Mannheim and Paris. In Mannheim he fell in love with Aloysia Weber, but she ended the relationship with him and he married her sister Constanze four years later.

In 1784 Mozart was initiated into a Vienna branch of the shadowy society know as the Freemasons. The Masons are a group who meet for the purpose of self-improvement, and the pursuit of truth and through charity, tolerance and mutual understanding.

However, their secrecy leads conspiracy theorists to blame them for all sorts of disasters - everything from the sinking of the Titanic to the conquests of Genghis Khan, as well as the death of Princess Diana Spencer and the re-election of George W Bush.

Mozart was an enthusiastic Mason until the day he died. He composed music for use in Masonic lodges and, apparently, Masonic symbolism is clearly visible in some of his work, most notably The Magic Flute.

Stories of Mozart dying penniless, based on the fact that he was buried in an unmarked grave, are exaggerated. Although in later life he did not enjoy the popularity of his early years, he was always well off and received commissions from all over Europe. He was able to keep servants through his life.

After Mozart's death his wife Constanze married a Danish diplomat and the two set about editing the more vulgar parts of Mozart's correspondences and writing a biography of his life.

Mozart was buried in an unmarked grave in St Mark's Cemetery in Vienna. The exact position of the grave is not known, a fact which has kept alive the mystery of his last resting place for more than 100 years.

In 2006 scientists used DNA testing to compare a skull thought to be Mozart's, which had been kept in a Museum in Salzburg for over 100 years, with bone from two skeletons from the Mozart family grave. However, test results showed that none of the skeletons were related, so nobody is any closer to solving the mystery.

It has been speculated that Mozart's extremely unusual childhood may have led to mental problems in later life. Mozart had several unusual obsessions, including with cats, shoe sizes and clocks. Until the age of 9 he was terrified of trumpets, and would allegedly lie on the ground and scream if he head one.

Mozart was also observed to twitch constantly and be unable to control various compulsions. One odd aspect to his behaviour, which has led to it being conjectured that he may have suffered from a disorder known coprographia - the need to write down filth, is his habit of writing excrement obsessed letters to his relatives.

The following is a quote from a letter to his mother: "Yesterday, though, we heard the king of farts/ It smelled as sweet as honey tarts/ While it wasn't in the strongest of voice/ It still came on as a powerful noise."

One composition of his was entitled "Lick Out My Arsehole", yet was still set to the most delightful, serene music.

The "Mozart Effect" is a name given to psychologist's findings that listening to Mozart can increase a person's spatial-temporal reasoning. These findings immediately sparked a mass Mozart-hysteria, with the US state of Georgia setting aside US$105,000 to give every new mother a free Mozart CD to play to their child.

Since this time there have been several other studies indicating that listening to Mozart can have a therapeutic effect on sufferers of disorders as diverse as epilepsy and autism.

One study found that the effect was the same whether the speed of the music was increased or decreased, raised or lowered two octaves, or even reversed. It was also found that listening to Mozart had a greater effect than the work of any other composer.

There are several theories to explain the Mozart Effect. One is that Mozart was so prodigious, and his brain activity was so high, that this must show up in his music, thus stimulating the brain activity of others. Another theory is based on the discovery that patterns of brain function, when translated into sound, somewhat resemble 18th century tonal music. Yet another theory states that since Mozart was obviously suffering from some mental disorders, he may have been using music to 'self-medicate' - therefore his music would naturally be useful to other sufferers.

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