Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
A visit to Salzburg must include some discussion of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. He was born in Salzburg to a musician father January 27, 1756. By the age of six he was playing his first royal concert in Vienna for the Austrian royal family. At the of eight, he had toured London, Paris, Rome, Geneva, Frankfurt and the Hague with his father and sister who was also a musician. He only lived to be 35, but in that time he composed 626 pieces including 24 operas, 41 symphonies and over 40 concertos.
Mozart's birth house is located in the Altstadt at Number 9 on busy Getreidegasse. The home is a typical traditional Salzburg dwelling of the period and now serves as a museum with portraits, letters, music, instruments and personal objects belonging to the family on view. While we were there, the movie Amadeus was playing. The room contained several small displays with scenes from several of his operas. Salzburg has another Mozart house where he lived as a child. Mozart eventually moved to Vienna after a falling out with the Archbishop. It was while in Vienna he wrote "The Marriage of Figaro" and "The Magic Flute".
Salzburg and Mozart
Salzburg honors Mozart with two annual festivals. In late January, Mozart Week (Mozartwoche) marks the composer's birth with performances of his works. Performances usually include traditional concerts and piano concerto. In July and August the Salzburg Festival (Salzburger Festspiele) is an annual program of opera, drama and music. The festival is performed in various settings throughout the city and performances also include works by other composers. The Grosses Festspielhaus and other venues throughout Salzburg are currently undergoing considerable renovations. Next year 2006 marks the 250th Anniversary of Mozart's birth and the city plans on making it a special celebration.
In addition to the two festivals, Mozart is celebrated throughout the year. The Stiftskeller St. Peter's restaurant conducts nightly candle-lit concerts of Mozart's compositions. Local musicians and artists perform in period costumes while guests are served dinners made from traditional recipes. We missed the dinner concert, however we did manage dinner in the Stiftskeller St. Peter's, the oldest restaurant and bar in Central Europe. The restaurant has been in operation since 803 A.D. and was mentioned on the occasion of Charlesmagne's visit to Salzburg. The night we were there, we shared the dining room with several guests and their canine companions. Things were out of the ordinary in Salzburg.
On the tawdry side, the Mozart name in Salzburg is also used to sell candy. The Altstadt contains numerous candy and confectionaries which use the image and life-size cardboard cutout of Mozart to advertise and sell their wares. Marzipan is the big seller, but the chocolate and cherry concoctions aren't bad either!
