False conceptions of 18th century composers

[fantasticheria]

Time: 18th and mid-19th centuries

Comments

[redcoast]

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE5DD123EF930A35752C1A966958260

[redcoast]

But Mozart really is a good example. There have been rumors circulating for ever that he was murdered by Salieri and the two were bitter rivals.

[fantasticheria]

Thanks for the link! That's a good option.

I was thinking about Mozart's death, but for some reason feel a bit uncomfortable with the idea of making one of my characters be there at the time of his death. I'll have to think about it.

[redcoast]

He wouldn't necessarily have to be there at the time of his death to know that Salieri and Mozart collaborated on a number of works or what their relationship is like.

[girl_curve]

I don't know if it's really what you're looking for, but perhaps Franz Schubert? He's well-known now, but lots of people, well into the 20th century, had this strange conception of him as some sweet, virginal, chubby, facile, genius little composer who lived a merry but short life without angst, borderline alcoholism, syphilis from a prostitute or anything nasty like that. (They even made one of those musicals about him - Lilac Time, which is pure kitsch in the literal German sense.) But plenty of his friends outlived him (he died in 1828, they died uch later on in the 19th century) and if that's what you mean by "knowing" a composer... perhaps that's useful?

Plenty of info on the misconcenptions here - http://www.franzschubert.org.uk/intro/index.html

Go to "Articles" and then "Of Mushrooms and Lilac Blossom". Some of the book reviews are good too - look for the earlier books especially.

[fantasticheria]

This might actually work. My character could have spent time with him witnessing the darker side of his life. Thank you! :)

(To make a long story short, my character claims that he has lived for about 150 years and this is one of the ways he tries to prove it.)

[girl_curve]

Glad to help. I love Schubert so much I went to Vienna just to stalk him... at least, I went to his birthplace and the house where he died and ate in his favourite restaurants.

I'm really surprised that all the Schubert myths lasted so long! In one suburb of Vienna, Grinzing, there's a plaque on the wall containing a quote from one of his friend's diaries that suggested he was blind drunk there at least once. Moritz von Schwind (1804-1871) answered a lady's enquiry into what Schubert looked like with "Like a drunken cabby!" - when what she wanted to hear was "a cherubic face full of genius" or some such reply.

Schubert had quite a lot of friends - not all of whom saw him in his darkest moments, but at least he was frequently sociable. Oh - just about all his friends had some sort of creative talent - or had pretensions to one - whether they pursued it for a living or not, so that might be something you want for your character.

[fantasticheria]

My character is (or was) a pianist, so it is in order. :)

I only saw Schubert's grave and some monuments in Vienna, but I think I'll have to check out some of the places you mentioned when I visit the city next time..

[of_polyhymnia]

Beethoven would work well too- the "myth of Beethoven" arose very quickly, and still hasn't really been dispersed.