Antonio Salieri Guides, Tutorials

Antonio Salieri ( August 18, 1750 - May 7, 1825), born in Legnago , Italy, near the Austrian dukedom of Mantua, was a composer and conductor who received considerable public acclaim in his day. He studied violin and harpsichord with his brother Francesco, who was a student of Giuseppe Tartini. After the death of his parents, he moved to Padua, then to Venice, where he studied thoroughbass with Giovanni Pescetti . In 1766 Salieri met Florian Leopold Gassmann , who invited him to attend the court of Vienna and there trained him in composition based on Fux's Gradus ad Parnassus. He remained in Vienna for the remainder of his life, and in 1774Events January 21 Mustafa III, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire dies and is succeeded by his brother Abd-ul-Hamid I. May 10 Louis XVI becomes King of France. June 2 Intolerable Acts: The Quartering Act, requiring American colonists to let British soldiers int, when Gassmann died, Salieri was appointed the court composer by Emperor Joseph IIJoseph II ( March 13, 1741 February 20, 1790) was a Holy Roman Emperor ( 1765 1790). He was the eldest son of the empress Maria Theresa and her husband Francis I. Joseph was one of the so-called " enlightened monarchs". Joseph was born in the midst of the, and Imperial Royal KapellmeisterA Kapellmeister is nowadays the director or conductor of an orchestra or choir. When used today, it suggests involvement in orchestra or choir policy (for example, selecting repertoire, concert schedules, choosing guest conductors and so on) as well as co in 1788Events January 1 First edition of The Times previously The Daily Universal Register was published. January 2 Georgia ratifies the United States Constitution and becomes the 4th U. January 9 Connecticut ratifies the United States Constitution and becomes t.

During his time in Vienna he acquired great prestige as a composer and conductor, particularly of operaCharles Garnier's Opera, Paris, opened 1875 Opera is an art form consisting of a dramatic stage performance set to music. The drama is presented using the typical elements of theater such as scenery, costumes, and acting. However, the words of the opera,, and also of chamberChamber music is a form of Classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accomodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any "art music" that is performed by a small number of performers with one perform and sacred music . The most successful of his 39 operas were Armida ( 1771Events January 22 Spain cedes the Falkland Islands to England. July 17 Massacre at Bloody Falls: Chipewyan chief Matonabbee traveling as the guide to Samuel Hearne on his arctic overland journey, massacre a group of unsuspecting Inuit. September 8 In Cali), La scuola de´ gelosi ( 1778), Der Rauchfangkehrer ( 1781), Les Danaïdes ( 1784), which was first presented as a work of Gluck's, Tarare ( 1787), Axur, re d´Ormus ( 1788), Palmira, regina di Persia ( 1795), Falstaff o sia Le tre burle ( 1799). He wrote comparatively little instrumental music, including two piano concertos and a concerto for organ written in 1773, a concerto for flute, oboe and orchestra (1774), a set of 26 variations on "La Follia di Spagna" (1815) and several serenades for winds.

He attained an elevated social standing, and frequently associated with other celebrated composers such as Joseph Haydn. As children, Beethoven, Schubert, and Liszt all benefitted from his tutelage. He also taught Czerny, Hummel, and a son of Mozart's, Franz Xaver.

Allegations by Mozart

In Vienna in the 1790s, Mozart accused Salieri of plagiarism and of attempting to murder him with poison. As Mozart's music became more popular over the decades and Salieri's music was forgotten, Mozart's unsubstantiated allegations gained credence and tarnished Salieri's reputation.

The biographer Alexander Wheelock Thayer believes that Mozart's suspicions of Salieri could have originated with an incident in 1781 when Mozart applied to be the music teacher of the Princess of Württemberg, and Salieri was selected instead. In the following year Mozart once again failed to be selected as the Princess's piano teacher.

Later on, when Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro was not liked by either the Emperor Joseph II nor by the public, Mozart blamed Salieri for the failure. "Salieri and his tribe will move heaven and earth to put it down," wrote Leopold Mozart. But at the time of the premiere of Figaro, Salieri was busy in France with his own opera Les Horaces. Thayer believes that the intrigues surrounding the failure of Figaro were instigated by the poet Giovanni Battista Casti against the Court Poet, Lorenzo da Ponte, who wrote the Figaro libretto.

Later on, when da Ponte was in Prague preparing the production of Mozart's setting of his Don Giovanni, the poet was ordered back to Vienna for a royal wedding for which Salieri's Axur, re d´Ormus would be performed. Obviously, Mozart was not pleased by this.

And yet Salieri did not intend to hinder Mozart's career. When Salieri was appointed Kapellmeister in 1788, instead of bringing out an opera of his own, he revived Figaro.

When in his later years, Salieri's health declined and he was hospitalized, there were rumors that Salieri confessed to Mozart's murder. Salieri's two nurses attested that Salieri said no such thing and that at least one of the two of them was with Salieri throughout his hospital stay.

After Salieri's death, the opera by Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Mozart et Salieri ( 1898) started a tradition of dramatic license crossing into slander based on Mozart's allegations, continued by the play by Peter Shaffer, Amadeus ( 1979; and the Oscar-winning original film based on the play, released in 1984, and "Director's Cut" was released on 2001 with an additional 20 minutes of footage).

In addition to the false allegations of murder, the movie also hurts Salieri's reputation by falsely portraying him as a mediocre composer and as a blasphemer burning a crucifix. His talent is patent throughout his works, and his religious devotion is undisputed by his biographers. Some are even daring to suggest Mozart was the plagiarist.[1]

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Allegations by Mozart

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