Mozart in popular culture

The composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) led a life that was dramatic in many respects, including his career as a child prodigy, his struggles to achieve personal independence and establish a career, his brushes with financial disaster, and his death in the course of attempting to complete his Requiem. Authors of fictional works have found his life a compelling source of raw material. Such works have included novels, plays, operas, and films.

Fiction

• The first major works of literature inspired by Mozart were by the German writers E. T. A. Hoffmann and Eduard Mörike. Hoffmann published his Don Juan in 1812,^[1] Mörike his Mozart's Journey to Prague in 1856.^[2]
• Mozart appears in Hermann Hesse's novels Der Steppenwolf ^[3] and Die Morgenlandfahrt.
• In 1968, David Weiss published Sacred and profane: a novel of the life and times of Mozart,^[4] a narrative account on the composer's life drawing heavily on the documented historical record, but with invented conversations and other details.
• In modern fiction, the mystery surrounding the composer's death is explored within a popular thriller context in the 2008 novel The Mozart Conspiracy by British writer Scott Mariani,^[5] who departs from the established Salieri-poisoning theory to suggest a deeper political motive behind his death.
• Mozart has also featured as a sleuth in detective fiction, in Dead, Mister Mozart^[6] and Too many notes, Mr. Mozart,^[7] both by Bernard Bastable (who also writes as Robert Barnard). Bastable's stories involve the conceit of an alternate history scenario in which the young Mozart remained on in London at the time of his childhood visit to England, where he has lived a long – though not very prosperous – life as a hack musician, rather than returning to his native Salzburg or Vienna to die young and celebrated. The stories are set in the 1820s and have Mozart interacting with King George IV and his immediate family including the young Victoria.
• Charles Neider's Mozart and the Archbooby^[8] is an epistolary novel in which the young Mozart writes to his father about his new life in Vienna and his new problem, the Archbishop of Salzburg. Stephanie Cowell's Marrying Mozart: A Novel^[9] provides a fictionalised account of Mozart's relationship with Aloysia Weber before his marriage to her sister, Constanze.
• Mirrorshades: The Cyberpunk Anthology (1986) is a defining cyberpunk short story collection, edited by Bruce Sterling. It contains a story, the "Mozart in Mirrorshades" by Bruce Sterling and Lewis Shiner,^[10] in which Mozart appears as a DJ wannabe instead of being the real Mozart after he met the people and culture of his future.
• In The Amadeus Net,^[11] by Mark A. Rayner, Mozart is an immortal living in the world's first sentient city, Ipolis, where he supports himself by selling "lost" compositions and playing jazz piano in bars.
• The alternate history novel Time for Patriots has a trio of time travelers cure Mozart's wife of an abscess on her ankle (historically documented), which allows them to treat him when he falls ill. In consequence he does an opera based on Benjamin Franklin and composes other works until his death in 1805.

Drama

• Alexander Pushkin's play Mozart and Salieri^[12] is based on the supposed rivalry between Mozart and Antonio Salieri, particularly the idea that it was poison received from the latter that caused Mozart's death. This idea is not supported by modern scholarship.^[13]
• Peter Shaffer's 1979 play Amadeus^[14] focuses on the difference between true and sublime genius (Mozart) and mere high-quality craftsmanship (Salieri). Shaffer seems to have been especially taken by the contrast between Mozart's enjoyment of vulgarity (for which historical evidence exists, in the form of his letters to his cousin) and the sublime character of his music.
• In 2007, he was portrayed by John Sessions in the Doctor Who audio adventure 100 in a story that explored the ramifications of Mozart being granted immortality.^[15]

Film

• Stephen Haggard portrays Mozart in the 1936 British film Whom the Gods Love.
• Gino Cervi portrays Mozart in the 1940 Italian film Eternal Melodies.
• Hans Holt portrays Mozart in the 1942 Austrian film Wen die Götter lieben.
• Oskar Werner portrays Mozart in 1958 Austrian film Mozart.
• Cristopher Davidson portrays 14-year-old Mozart in Bologna in the 1984 Italian film Noi tre.
• Shaffer's 1979 play was made into the 1984 American film, Amadeus, directed by Miloš Forman. Mozart was portrayed by actor Tom Hulce, who was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor.
• Alexander Lutz [de] portrays Mozart in the 1991 Austrian film Wolfgang A. Mozart^[16]
• In the 2010 French film Mozart's Sister, a biopic of his older sister Nannerl, a young Mozart is played by French child actor David Moreau.
• Aneurin Barnard portrays Mozart in the 2017 film Interlude in Prague.
• Daniel Dorr portrays Mozart in the 2020 film Bill & Ted Face the Music.^[17]
• Mentioned during the "I've got a dream" song in the 2010 film Tangled.^{[citation needed]}

Mozart's music has been used extensively in films since the silent era. In 1930, Buñuel used his Ave Verum Corpus in L'Age d'Or,^[18] Papageno's "Ein Mädchen oder Weibchen" from The Magic Flute features in The Blue Angel (1930),^[19] the "Rondo alla Turca" in the 1939 film Wuthering Heights,^[20] "Là ci darem la mano" in The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945),^[21] "Il mio tesoro" in Kind Hearts and Coronets,^[22] the Symphony No. 34 in Vertigo (1958),^[23] Eine kleine Nachtmusik in The Ipcress File (1965) and in Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975),^[24] the Piano Concerto No. 21 in Elvira Madigan,^[25] and in The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), the march from Idomeneo in Barry Lyndon (1975),^[26] the Jupiter Symphony in Annie Hall (1977),^[27] and many others.

Theater

• Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's opera Mozart and Salieri, based on Pushkin's play, treats the Salieri poisoning legend.
• In Reynaldo Hahn's "comédie musicale" Mozart with words by Guitry, Mozart has amorous adventures in Paris in 1778.
• Michael Kunze's and Sylvester Levay's musical, Mozart!, premiered in 1999 to portray an older, more sensually inclined Mozart as he struggles with the spectre of his chaste and productive "porcelain" boyhood. The musical was composed in German but is currently performed in Hungarian.
• The Japanese musical Mademoiselle Mozart (マドモアゼル・モーツァルト) by Yoji Fukuyama was first performed in 2005 with Niizuma Seiko; it was revived in 2023, directed by Kaoru Kobayashi with Rio Asumi as Mozart / Eliza.^[28]
• The 2009 French musical Mozart, l'opéra rock premiered 2009 in Paris.^[29]
• A Japanese musical Nigero! (『逃げろ！』～モーツァルトの台本作者　ロレンツォ・ダ・ポンテ～ ["Run!" – Mozart's librettist, Lorenzo Da Ponte]) performed in 2023 with Sato Ryuji as Mozart.^[30]
• A Japanese musical Da Ponte (音楽劇『ダ・ポンテ』 [Musical drama "Da Ponte"]) performed in 2023; idea by Satomi Oshima, directed by Go Aoki, with Hirama Soichi as Mozart.^[31]

Popular music

• "Rock Me Amadeus" is a 1985 song by Austrian musician Falco from his album Falco 3; it was inspired by the movie Amadeus.^[29]
• The song "Travel" by The Gathering (on their album How to Measure a Planet?) was written for and about Mozart.^[32]
• The Wombles' second album Remember You're a Womble features Minuetto Allegretto, based on the 3rd movement of the Jupiter Symphony.^[33]
• Peter Schickele, in his P. D. Q. Bach persona, has paid 'tribute' to Mozart in several pieces, most notably "Ein Kleines Nachtsmusik" and "A Little Nightmare Music", the latter offering a humorous retelling of Mozart's conflicts with Salieri.
• Evanescence wrote a song featuring many parts of Mozart's Lacrimosa. The song was named Lacrymosa and it was recorded for their 2006 album The Open Door.

Children's literature

• Children's author Daniel Pinkwater has Mozart appear as a character in several of his books, including The Muffin Fiend,^[34] in which Mozart helps solve a crime involving an extraterrestrial creature who steals muffins from Vienna's bakeries.
• Mozart (as well as his sister Nannerl) are a major component in the second The 39 Clues book, One False Note.^[35]
• A young W. A. Mozart and Nannerl appear in the Magic Tree House book, Moonlight on the Magic Flute.

Comic strip

• Mozart, his wife, associates, etc., appear in a story arc in the comic strip Pibgorn.

Television

• In 1982, Mozart [fr], a six-episode TV series by Marcel Bluwal debuted with Christoph Bantzer as adult W. A. Mozart and Michel Bouquet as Leopold Mozart.^[36]
• The 13-part 1991 documentary series Mozart on Tour details Mozart's travels and how they influenced his music.
• Mozart appears in the episode "Calliope Dreams" of the Disney TV series The Little Mermaid (1992–1994).
• The Mozart Band is a 1995 animated television series produced by the BRB Internacional.
• In 2004, episode 11 of The Simpsons' fifteenth season, "Margical History Tour", features Mozart and Salieri in a mini-story with Bart as Mozart and Lisa as Antonio Salieri.^[29]
• The 2004 BBC three-part television series The Genius of Mozart by James Kent told parts of Mozart's life.^[37]
• Wunderkind Little Amadeus, a television show produced in Germany in 2006, focuses on Mozart's life as a child in Salzburg. It has aired in English in Australia (ABC) and North America (KQED Kids).
• Mozart appears in the Genie in the House, episode "Rock Me Amadeus" (2006).
• Mozart appears regularly in the TV series Mozart in the Jungle (2014–2018).^[29]
• Mozart is one of the main characters in the 2016 comedy anime ClassicaLoid.
• The 2024 BBC Two three-part television series Mozart: Rise of a Genius, narrated by Juliet Stevenson, tells the story of Mozart's life through his and his family's letters, interviews, re-enactments and live performances.^[38]

Video games

• The early music game, Amadeus Revenge (1988, Commodore 64) has the player play as Mozart to defend the integrity of his Piano Concerto No. 25 from the corrupting influence of rival musicians.^{[29][39][40][41]}
• The 1988 NES game The Adventures of Captain Comic features Sonata in A major, (K. 331) in the coast stage.
• Mozart appears in Scribblenauts and its sequels as something the player is able to summon.
• Mozart appears in the mobile game Fate/Grand Order as a Caster-class servant and an ally in the medieval France chapter.
• In the videogame Luigi's Mansion 3, a Boss Ghost bears the name Amadeus Wolfgeist, a pianist ghost who is located in an auditorium of The Last Resort.

Footnotes

1. Hoffmann 1814.
2. Mörike 1856.
3. Hesse 1974.
4. Weiss 1970.
5. Mariani 2008.
6. Bastable 1995.
7. Bastable 1996.
8. Neider 1991.
9. Cowell 2004.
10. Sterling & Shiner 1986.
11. Rayner 2005.
12. Pushkin 1830.
13. Solomon 1996, p. 587.
14. Shaffer 1981.
15. Shearman 2007.
16. Herz, Juraj (3 January 1994), Wolfgang A. Mozart (Biography, Drama), MR Filmproduktion, retrieved 24 October 2021
17. Rottenberg, Josh (29 August 2020). "How the team behind 'Bill & Ted Face the Music' assembled a band that could save the universe". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
18. White, Rob (2001). British Film Institute Film Classics. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9781579583286. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
19. "The Magic Flute and the Siren Song: the seduction of Professor Rath through Mozart's opera and Dietrich's 'Falling in love again', in Sternberg's classic 1930 film The Blue Angel". Retrieved 8 April 2018.
20. "Wuthering Heights | film by Wyler [1939]". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
21. Duncan, Dean W. (2003). Charms that Soothe: Classical Music and the Narrative Film. Fordham Univ Press. ISBN 9780823222803. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
22. Lee, M. Owen (2001). The Operagoer's Guide: One Hundred Stories and Commentaries. Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 9781574670653. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
23. "Vertigo". Alex Ross: The Rest Is Noise. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
24. Neumeyer, David Paul (17 August 2015). Meaning and Interpretation of Music in Cinema. Indiana University Press. ISBN 9780253016515. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
25. "Elvira Madigan | work by Mozart". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
26. Gengaro, Christine Lee (2 November 2012). Listening to Stanley Kubrick: The Music in His Films. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 9780810885653. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
27. Harvey, Adam (6 March 2007). The Soundtracks of Woody Allen: A Complete Guide to the Songs and Music in Every Film, 1969–2005. McFarland. ISBN 9780786429684. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
28. "Mademoiselle Mozart". Toho Theater. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
29. "The modern guide to Mozart: how genius infiltrates culture over time". ABC Online. 28 December 2018.
30. "逃げろ" [Run!]. nigero-stage.com. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
31. "Da Ponte". Toho Theater. Retrieved 22 May 2024.
32. Rutten, Hans. "Info about the song "Travel"". Cycling Colors. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
33. "The Wombles – Minuetto Allegretto (Live at Glastonbury 2011)". YouTube. 29 June 2013. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 8 April 2018.
34. Pinkwater 1986.
35. Korman 2008.
36. Mozart (TV mini-series) at IMDb
37. "The Genius of Mozart", BBC Two, 19 March 2004 – via BBC Genome Project
38. Marta Balaga (18 October 2024). "Fremantle Sells Mozart: Rise of a Genius in Key Territories as Producer Teases Docu-Drama: 'He Was the Original Child Star' (Exclusive)". Variety. Retrieved 5 February 2025.
39. Boffard, Rob. "The Bluffer's Guide to Construction Software: DIY Design – Amadeus Revenge". Retro Gamer, issue 94, p. 56, September 2011. ISSN 1742-3155.
40. De Simone, Alessandro, ed. "I Supergiochi Del Mese: Amadeus' Revenge C/64-128". Commodore Computer Club. Vol.7, No.53. Pg.106. 25 May 1988.
41. Houghton, David. "The 14 Most Over-Used Words in Video Game Titles". GamesRadar+. 20 March 2014.

Works cited

Biographic

• Solomon, Maynard (1996). Mozart: A Life (1st ed.). New York: Harper Perennial. ISBN 0-06-092692-9. OCLC 34162413.

Mozart in fiction

• Bastable, Bernard (1995). Dead, Mr. Mozart. London, UK: Little, Brown and Co. ISBN 978-0-316-91168-9. OCLC 34876132.
• —— (1996). Too Many Notes, Mr. Mozart (1st ed.). New York: Carroll & Graf Publishers. ISBN 978-0-7867-0315-9. OCLC 34583885.
• Cowell, Stephanie (2004). Marrying Mozart. New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-14-303457-5. OCLC 655746875.
• Hesse, Hermann (1974). Der Steppenwolf: Erzählung. Suhrkamp Taschenbuch, 175 (in German). Frankfurt: Suhrkamp Verlag. ISBN 978-3-518-36675-2. OCLC 29769128.
• Hoffmann, E. T. A. (1814). "Don Juan". Fantasiestücke in Callot's Manier (in German). Bamberg: Kunz. Retrieved 27 September 2010.
• Korman, Gordon (2008). One False Note. 39 Clues. Vol. 2. London, UK: Scholastic. ISBN 978-0-545-09060-5. OCLC 245561056.
• Mariani, Scott (2008). The Mozart Conspiracy. London, UK: Harper Collins Avon. ISBN 978-1-84756-080-3. OCLC 225446674.
• Mörike, Eduard (1856). Mozart auf der Reise nach Prag (in German) (2nd ed.). J. G. Cotte.
• Neider, Charles (1991). Mozart and the Archbooby. New York: Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-14-015402-3. OCLC 22983811.
• Pinkwater, Daniel (1986). The Muffin Fiend (1st ed.). New York: Lothrop Lee & Shepard Books. ISBN 978-0-688-04274-5. OCLC 12051996.
• Pushkin, Alexander (1830). "Motsart i Salyeri". Malenkie tragedii (in Russian).
• Rayner, Mark A. (2005). The Amadeus Net. Hoboken, New Jersey: ENC Press. ISBN 978-0-9752540-1-1. OCLC 317339608.
• Shaffer, Peter (1981). Amadeus (1st ed.). New York: Harper & Row. ISBN 978-0-06-014032-8. OCLC 6791087.
• Shearman, Robert (writer), John Sessions (actor), Nicholas Briggs (director) (2007). My Own Private Wolfgang. Doctor Who: 100. Maidenhead, England: Big Finish Productions. ISBN 978-1-84435-286-9. OCLC 181037109. Archived from the original on 21 November 2010. Retrieved 27 September 2010.
• Sterling, Bruce; Shiner, Lewis (1986). "Mozart in Mirroshades". Mirrorshades: The Cyberpunk Anthology. New York: Arbor House. pp. 223–239. ISBN 978-0-87795-868-0. OCLC 13945407.
• Weiss, David (1970). Sacred and Profane: A Novel of the Life and Times of Mozart. London: Hodder Paperbacks. ISBN 978-0-340-12803-9. OCLC 26290980.