Amadeus a Man of Class? A Look at Mozart Through the Movies

The class system in Vienna in the time of Mozart and Salieri was that of a caste system. Where the Bourgeoisie class controls several areas of the super structure of their society. The proletariat or working class of the society was not allowed to engage in a lot of cultural activities such as music concerts. Mozart being a very talented composer since childhood was part of the elite class, but being part of the elite doesn't always mean you are a great musician.

The head of the elite class the Emperor was a sub par musician more of a connoisseur the arts and other highly developed tastes. Funny though how actors can play such contrasting roles such as in the case of Jeffery Jones who plays the Emperor in Amadeus, and also the principal in "Ferris Bueller's Day Off". He is a tribute to the art of acting and the range of possibilities an actor can accomplish.

Opera singing to me takes a lot of talent to produce so I respect the singer and their music, but it is definitely an acquired taste that I have not gained yet. Modern day female singers owe a lot to those first female singers who showed the importance of women in the art and music community. The invention of the microphone has made singing more flexible for the singer since they do not have to strain there voice to reach people in the way back. Mme Cavalieri the opera singer in Amadeus was part of the upper elision society and is a intelligent woman of class.

Vienna in the 18th century was a hotspot of music and prided it self on its opera. Since Mozart was from Germany he preferred to do a opera in German, but the elite of Vienna hated the idea of a German opera tainting their culture climate. If the idea of a German opera was hated by the elite then a French opera would be despised because of the revolution of the French people those ideas were banned from the Italian arts.

When Mozart was told at first he could not have his opera in German he threw a fit almost like a baby. He did not take it in the refined manner. Even though Mozart wanted German opera there had to be hotspots of Italian opera throughout Europe because of its voice emanating from Vienna.

The stunts that Mozart pulled off at the party impressed me because of the musical knowledge it takes to perform them, but I was very disappointed in the way he made fun of Salieri. Salieri was a hard working man and shouldn't be ostracized just because he doesn't have the innate ability that Mozart has. The depiction of Mozart really shed some new light on how Mozart as a person acted and the character of the man. Mozart even though he impressed me with his gifted mind, musically and linguistically. I still view him as a vulgar man especially with his use of profanities.

The game I stayed out of, but learned a good amount because of it. I've known several people like Mozart. Going to Loyola High School I meet a lot of stuck up classmates who were extremely smart and would make sure everyone knew how intelligent they were. Which of course included show boating like in the case of Mozart. The definition of a prodigy is a young person who is so brilliant to understand different areas of society like for example language and music. Mozart definitely fits under that definition.

I have always viewed Mozart's music as the one of the highest quality music humanity has created, but Mozart as a man was shifted due to the portrayal of him in this movie. I have grown over the course of the movie and class to appreciate classical music especially the work of Mozart. I can decipher different pieces with greater ease instead of having the stereotype that all classical music sounds the same.

The abilities that Mozart and Salieri have to "glass over" music were obtain through hard work. Mozart started at a very young age so his skills developed as he developed making him very adapt to the language. Salieri who didn't have that initial exposure as a child learned it later in life and gained the ability, but not as naturally as Mozart did. Not just anyone can obtain this skill it takes hard work and practice with the use of a logical mind. I could probably obtain the skill with enough practice, but it still is a feat to accomplish.

I enjoyed the movie a lot it gave me a new insight on a great composer's life. I never knew about Salieri until this movie, but the conflict between the two really spark my interest in the movie. Sometimes the plot was a little slow and I did not like the actor as Mozart, but that doesn't negate the impressions he imposed on me of Mozart's character.
All around I enjoyed the movie and learned a lot of things about the time period and composers who defined its music theme.