Unique photo of Mozart's widow revealed

The Guardian Unlimited ^ | July 7, 2006 | Luke Harding

[Guenevere]

I haven't seen Immortal Beloved..but on your recommendation, I will :)

One of my favorite scenes in Amadeus..is when Mozart (while dying) is dictating to Solieri The Requiem...

...it was exciting to watch his quick mind compose the notes, sound out the music, make corrections...and convey the score to his nemesis/admirer.

Incredible drama!

[AnAmericanMother]

Anonymous, but sourced. Part of a collection of manuscripts discovered in the abbey at Beuern (hence "Carmina Burana" - "Songs of Beuern"). This particular poem and others were set to music by Carl Orff.

[Guenevere]

sigh

[MattinNJ]

LOL

[HostileTerritory]

Amazing find, thank you for sharing!

This conjures up the same spookiness as viewing the daguerrrotype of Andrew Jackson.

[bd476]

Cornell University:

Mozart and the Keyboard Culture of His Time

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Commodification & Kitsch

In the drawing-room culture of the late-eighteenth century, sentimentality and sensibility loomed large. The cult of sensibility prescribed a code of conduct, particularly with regard to individuals’ reactions to art and culture.

Displaying the right sentiment in response to the contemplation of art proved taste, education and class. Emotions became stylized into mannerisms; education was commodified in the possession of art, and art was commodified in kitsch.



In the “emotional playspace” that kitsch represents, we can experience heightened emotions without fear of the consequences. Within kitsch, emotions can be safely indulged—circumscribed and prescribed. Represented by classics in art, emotions become safe.

The kitsch industry was an outgrowth of the Kenner und Liebhaber (dilettante and amateur) market, intimately tied to the drawing room. Bildung (education) became the main indicator of class. Music making, commonly centered around the piano, was the safe and appropriate pastime of ladies in the drawing rooms. It was the forum for the exploration of emotions as well as the display of one’s own appropriate sensitivity.

Mozart spoke to this domestic setting not only through his music, but also through his image. The Mozartian image as a representation has gathered connotations intimately tied to the self-understanding of the bourgeoisie.

Bildung and Bürgertum (bourgeoisie), emotion and composure, come together in the image of Mozart. His music is accessible and clear, it is popular, yet its high standard is impossible to deny.

Mozart’s image is manifold. It ranges from the dark, sinister and unconventional connotations of Don Giovanni to hints of seriousness and exclusivity, from an air of indulgence to an awareness of tradition and perfection—the image of the classic.

The darkness of the Requiem, the melancholy of the G minor symphony, and the delightful tinkling of Papageno’s music-box arias, as well as the sparkle of the ubiquitous "Kleine Nachtmusik," not to forget the romanticism of his Piano Concerto K. 467: Mozart encompasses all emotions.

Commodification & Kitsch
Mozart and the Keyboard Culture of his time Credits

[KarlInOhio]

A FReeper on another Mozart thread recommended "Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Complete Works". 170 CDs of Mozart.

For a while the price at amazon.de was about $100 with shipping compared to about $300 from amazon.com. I just checked and the German price has gone up while the American amazon.com price has dropped a lot, so there isn't a huge price difference anymore.

[cbkaty]

Actually I am in custody of the lateast photo....at least the guy on ebay said it was....

I bet you all expected this on this thread.....GRIN...

[InvisibleChurch]

is this one of those da vinci code clues?

[HostileTerritory]

I only have to recall that if I were there when the picture was taken, the smell from this group would have knocked me back about ten feet.

And God forbid if they breathed in your direction, on top of the body odor.

[bd476]

finnigan2 wrote: "- Perhaps more importantly, there was no deodorant either. Whenever I'm tempted to become sentimental over these old pictures, I only have to recall that if I were there when the picture was taken, the smell from this group would have knocked me back about ten feet."

ROFL!

Hey wait a second, Finnigan. You must be thinking of the French.

[bd476]

Thank you for that link. That's a cool photo!

[Lee'sGhost]

Looks like Marty Feldman to me.

[The Great RJ]

If two of Mozart's children survived past childhood are there any living Mozart descendants?

[AnnaZ]

I played Mozart for all my babies, but, regardless, now the 6 and 10-year-olds like Rancid and Nickleback (e.g.). LOL.

This week, however, has been all Tchaikovsky, all the time. We saw the Austin Symphony perform it on the 4th with the Texas National Guard on the cannons, and it made them believers. Even the 3-year-old is requesting it.

= )

[bd476]

The Great RJ wrote: "If two of Mozart's children survived past childhood are there any living Mozart descendants?"

That's an excellent question. It would be interesting to discover if any of his descendants had inherited his musical genius or if anyone had passed along The Mozart Effect.

[exit82]

Looking at the photo and the sketch in post #10, I think Constanze is the women on the right. The face type of the woman on the left is narrow and long, where post #10 shows a rounder face.

It's hard to believe a woman of 78 has dark hair, completely dark hair. She looks like late 40's or so, which could be the age of an eldest daughter of Max Keller.

I think the photo we are looking at has been reversed from the original. If the original had something written on the back, and said Constanze was on the left, it the image has been reveresed by the newspaper or the town, the accompanying attribution descritption would be reveresed as well.

Anyway, viewing a 166 year old photograph is way cool--like being in a time machine.

[Junior_G]

Very cool. It's amazing to consider that the first photos were taken just a little more than a decade after Thomas Jefferson and John Adams passed away. In fact, there is a photo of John Quincy Adams out there somewhere that I've seen. He was a frizzled old bird when they took the shot.

[bd476]

Cornell University:

Mozart and the Keyboard Culture of His Time

Leopold Mozart with Mozart and Maria Anna

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Leopold Mozart with Mozart and Maria Anna, called Nannerl. Watercolor by Louis Carrogis de Carmontelle, Paris, November 1763. Original owned by the British Museum.

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Leopold Mozart with Wolfgang and Maria Anna

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This is probably the original painting from which several copies, including an engraving, were made. The original was executed at the request of the Mozarts’ Parisian patron, Baron Melchior von Grimm.

Leopold Mozart

[blam]

"Very cool. It's amazing to consider that the first photos were taken just a little more than a decade after Thomas Jefferson and John Adams passed away. In fact, there is a photo of John Quincy Adams out there somewhere that I've seen. He was a frizzled old bird when they took the shot."

Yup. And, the first FAX was sent in the mid-1800's in Italy.