Bach & Gould
 

Just a small clip of the greatest piano player (in the video is the one without the glasses) for Bach's music talking of the greatest composer of all time. I liked it and thought to share it:
http://s37.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2...R2O657H6EZ1NS0

Romy

This is OT but i just saw Amadeus and I really enjoyed it. has anyone ever seen this movie?

Thanks romy! I'll download it now. I've been listening to Mr. Gould all day yesterday & today because I bought his recording of the Fifth transcription by Liszt. He didn't record all nine symphony transcriptions, which is a bummer, but he recorded all of the Fifth & all of the Sixth.

Fun movie, Jimmy. I'd like to read the Schaffer play just to see how the film adaptation differed. Apparently there's also a director's cut available of the film, which I haven't seen.

I loved Amadeus, it's a fantastic film, I especially loved the final part, with all the Requiem speculation (and to listen to that music is always magic). Even if poor Salieri is portrayed as a villain and it wasn't fair. For instance Salieri introduced Mozart to Bach's music, was the tutor of one of Mozart's sons, and one of Beethoven, Lizt and Shubert's teachers. Moreover Mozart had to admire him since in his Magic flute he basically copied a passage of Salieri's Axur, re d'Ormus that was written 4 years earlier. Forman adapted Amadeus by Shaffer, a modernization of Mozart and Salieri by Pushkin, that was hugely based on rumours.

Romy

A lot of material in that film was very well researched. This is what my music teacher tells me at least. Some of the stuff in that movie is based upon rumours. Some differences..Mozarts wife didn't leave him in real life because of their relationship, she left to get treated for something. I found it to be a great movie. But WHY WAS SALIERI SO JEALOUS AND PISSED??!?!? By the end of the film Salieri was conducting fantastic operas and Mozarts were not doing to well. AKA the one about his father. His life was falling apart. Why was salieri so jealous. He had money and was famous....I understand about how God sent Mozart to mock him and make him feel mediocre, but still seems a little pointless to me.

IMO, Mozart was the greatest composer of all time, not Bach. sorry. and Amadeus was the final nail in the coffin that sealed the deal for me.
I LOVED LOVED LOVED that movie. Now, I cant get enough of Mozart.

I have watched that film numerous times and each time it strikes me that Salieri KNOWS he is inferior to Mozart in musical ability. He always was. the difference that I can see is that Salieri PRAYED to be gifted and Mozart just WAS. Salieri's prayers were never answered (at least as far as he was concerned, especially in comparison to Mozart's ability) and Mozart only needed his father to foster his musical talent. To me, it seemed Salieri blamed everything on the difference in fathers. Salieri's father was a merchant. Mozart's father was a musician, and not just ANY musician, but a Gifted musician, who gave that knowledge to his son. along with a structure of performance that ensured Mozart wouldnt lose his knowledge.

Mozart therefore had the edge. And secretly, though Salieri saw Mozart's genius, he resented him too, for the "easy" path he thought Mozart had in Musical circles. That is why, later, when he had the opportunity, he "hindered and harmed" "God's creature" on Earth, in other words, he obstructed Mozart's progress any way he could. out of spite.

Shaffer says he was influenced by the story of Cain & Abel in Genesis. In fact, Gregory Allen Robbins wrote an essay titled "Mozart & Salieri, Cain & Abel: A Cinematic Transformation of Genesis 4."

almost sounds like a cliche take on sibling rivalry....

That was a very interesting analysis, but even if the rivalry was definitely there and was harsh at times (even if judging by the still existing documents, it seemed it was more felt by Mozart than by Salieri), I really don't think Salieri poisoned Mozart, unfortunately Pushkin gave historic value to a rumour. As his contemporaries said when "Mozart and Salieri" was published, "Salieri probably didn't kill Mozart, but Pushkin killed Salieri".

About the greatest composer, of course Mozart is stellar (especially if you listen to it played by Horowitz, his albums started my love for classical music) but he just doesn't touch my soul as Bach, I think in his music there's an unreachable fusion between passion and spirituality, it's the same reason why I love Mantegna so much.

Romy