Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart
(January 27, 1756-December 5, 1791)
Happy 265th Birthday, Mozart! Joining all Mozartians & Mozart admirers worldwide in celebrating the birthday anniversary of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, January 27.
On and around Mozart’s birthday, Mozarteum Foundation Salzburg
invites music lovers to wintry Salzburg. A musical
celebration and classical music experience taken to a whole new level
of the world’s leading Mozart festival!
As a special listening pleasure for Mozart's birthday anniversary today, I've decided to share my all-time favourite piano concerto of Mozart, his Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K.466, performed by no other than the legendary pianist Martha Argerich (1998).
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791).
Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K 466. (Cadenzas, L. v. Beethoven)
I. Allegro
II. Romance
III. Allegro Assai
Alexandre Rabinovitch, Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto.
Martha Argerich, piano.
Palazzo Giusti, Padova, September 1998. YouTube, uploaded by Faccconti. Accessed January 27, 2021.
This post was shared last November 13, 2019 at Facebook by my Mozartian friend, Sherry Davis, owner of The Chronicles of a Modern Day Mozartian. (Thanks, dear Sherry.)
Starling. Watercolour painting by Cathy Binding. (27.01.22) In remembrance of Mozart's 266th birthday anniversary.
For about three years the composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart kept a pet starling.
The starling is remembered for the anecdote of how Mozart came to purchase it, for the affectionate funeral commemorations Mozart provided for it, and as an example of the composer's warm feelings for birds in general.
The Common Starling (Species: Sturnus vulgaris)
The common starling or European starling, also known simply as the
starling in Great Britain and Ireland, is a medium-sized passerine bird
in the starling family, Sturnidae. It is about 20 cm long and has
glossy black plumage with a metallic sheen, which is speckled with white
at some times of year, with life span two to three years.
The flirtatious starling
On May 27th, 1784, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart met a flirtatious little starling who sang (an improved version of!) the theme from his Piano Concerto Number 17 in G to him. Knowing a kindred spirit when he met one, Mozart wrote "That was wonderful" in his journal and took the bird home to be his pet, the first of the starling entry in the composer's expense book. The music Mozart jotted down in the book is fairly close to the opening bars of the third movement of his Piano Concerto No. 17 in G, K. 453, which he had completed a few weeks earlier (12 April). Presumably Mozart taught the bird to sing this tune in the pet store, or wherever it was that he bought it.
The Private Life of the Starling. YouTube, uploaded by Rod Willerton. Accessed January 27, 3021). Written, produced and narrated by the late Jeffery Boswall, The Private
Life of the Starling tells the life cycle of this fascinating bird.
It's been said that starlings are known to have a very strong capacity for vocal mimicry, attested by many elements of Mozart's A Musical Joke (1787) that "bear the vocal autograph of a starling".
The bird died on 4 June 1787. Mozart buried his starling in the garden with considerable ceremony. The notes taken by Georg Nikolaus von Nissen (the second husband of Mozart's wife Constanze) for purposes of writing his biography of Mozart described the ceremonies as:
"When a bird died, he arranged a funeral procession, in which everyone
who could sing had to join in, heavily veiled – made a sort of requiem,
epitaph in verse."
The same event is described by Franz Niemetschek, who had also interviewed Constanze:
He often wrote verse himself; mostly only of a humorous kind. [fn.:]
This was the case, among others, at the death of a much-loved starling,
which he had given a proper gravestone in his hired garden, and on which
he had written an inscription. He was very fond of animals, and –
particularly – birds.
Mozart's funeral poem is translated by a known author of several Mozart books, Robert Spaethling, into vernacular English as follows:
Hier ruht ein lieber Narr,
Ein Vogel Staar.
Noch in den besten Jahren
Mußt er erfahren
Des Todes bittern Schmerz.
Mir blut't das Herz,
Wenn ich daran gedenke.
O Leser! schenke
Auch du ein Thränchen ihm.
Er war nicht schlimm;
Nur war er etwas munter,
Doch auch mitunter
Ein lieber loser Schalk,
Und drum kein Dalk.
Ich wett', er ist schon oben,
Um mich zu loben
Für diesen Freundschaftsdienst
Ohne Gewinnst.
Denn wie er unvermuthet
Sich hat verblutet,
Dacht er nicht an den Mann,
Der so schön reimen kann.
—June 4, 1787. Mozart
Here rests a bird called Starling,
A foolish little Darling.
He was still in his prime
When he ran out of time,
And my sweet little friend
Came to a bitter end,
Creating a terrible smart
Deep in my heart.
Gentle Reader! Shed a tear,
For he was dear,
Sometimes a bit too jolly
And, at times, quite folly,
But nevermore
A bore.
I bet he is now up on high
Praising my friendship to the sky,
Which I render
Without tender;
For when he took his sudden leave,
Which brought to me such grief,
He was not thinking of the man
Who writes and rhymes as no one can.
Mozart's Starling Book by L.L. Haupt
In 2017, author Lyanda Lynn Haupt published Mozart's Starling, a wonderful story of Mozart's pet starling, along with a natural history of the bird. I immediately got a copy of my own.
The story goes that in 2013, Haupt, author of Crow Planet, rescued her own starling, Carmen, who has become a part of her family. In Mozart's Starling, she explores the unlikely bond between one of history's most controversial characters and one of history's most notoriously disliked birds. Part natural history, part story, Mozart's Starling delights as we also learn about language, music, and the secret world of starlings.
Spaethling offers further background:
"Mozart's poem on the death of his beloved pet bird ... is humorous, bittersweet, and self-reflective at a time of great loss and grief. His father [Leopold] had passed away, a close friend had died young, and he himself was deeply involved with Don Giovanni, his darkest comedy."
Image Credit:
Starling by Cathy Binding. Watercolour painting. (27.01.22). Accessed February 4, 2022. (Note: I'm most grateful to Cathy Binding, talented watercolour artist, who has kindly allowed me to share her lovely artwork, timely for Mozart's 266th birthday anniversary. It all started when I saw and admired her charming paintings of colourful birds in our private NBW Painting Class Group. Almost immediately, I thought of Mozart's pet starling, wondered, and decided to request, if she'd be able to create a painting of a starling in remembrance of my beloved composer. My joy, Cathy did, something beautiful and thoughtful! (featured above). I'd also like to acknowledge NBW Painting Class Group, formed by our excellent teacher and brilliant artist, Jenny Gilchrist, proprietor of Jenny Gilchrist's Northern Beaches Watercolour Class, and owner of NBW Painting Class Group. / Tel.)
