[HN Gopher] "Have Quotes About Salieri"
       ___________________________________________________________________
        
       "Have Quotes About Salieri"
        
       Author : tintinnabula
       Score  : 37 points
       Date   : 2025-03-13 17:14 UTC (5 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (contingentmagazine.org)
 (TXT) w3m dump (contingentmagazine.org)
        
       | moomin wrote:
       | It feels like the start of this article establishes three
       | interesting questions and the rest of it fails to answer them.
        
       | jovas wrote:
       | It upsets me that the only widely available versions of Amadeus
       | now is the "extended edition," which fundamentally alters the
       | film's core message.
       | 
       | In the original theatrical cut, Salieri is a deeply flawed but
       | fascinating character--a man consumed by jealousy, yet also in
       | awe of Mozart's genius. His sabotage of Mozart is tragic, not
       | just because of what it does to Mozart, but because Salieri
       | himself recognizes the beauty he is trying to destroy. There's a
       | complexity there: Salieri hates Mozart, but he also admires him.
       | He wishes, more than anything, that he could be his friend, but
       | he cannot overcome his own bitterness.
       | 
       | The extended edition, however, adds a crucial change: Salieri
       | doesn't just work against Mozart--he actively humiliates Mozart's
       | wife, Constanze. This transforms Salieri from a tormented,
       | conflicted figure into something much simpler: a villain. Instead
       | of a man waging a war against God through Mozart, he's just a
       | petty, lecherous schemer.
       | 
       | The real Antonio Salieri was not some scheming villain--he was a
       | respected composer, teacher, and conductor who mentored some of
       | the greatest musicians of the next generation, including
       | Beethoven, Schubert, and Liszt.
        
         | mikepurvis wrote:
         | The newly released 4K restoration is the original theatrical
         | version:
         | 
         | https://www.amazon.com/Amadeus-4K-Ultra-Digital-UHD/dp/B0DQQ...
        
         | jhbadger wrote:
         | And while there was some discord between Salieri and Mozart in
         | real life, it was more like friendly rivals rather than enemies
         | -- they even collaborated on at least one piece
         | https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/A-German-Composer-...
        
         | jeffreyrogers wrote:
         | I'm not sure if this is the case for the screenplay, but for
         | the actual play the playwright (who also wrote the screenplay)
         | rewrote the ending at least 6 times over 20 years and multiple
         | productions. The version of the play I read is similar to what
         | you describe as the original theatrical cut.
        
         | jancsika wrote:
         | > Beethoven
         | 
         | The mythical rivalry should be with Beethoven, not Mozart!
         | 
         | True tidbits:
         | 
         | * Beethoven actually referred to Salieri as his "most active
         | opponent" (Solomon's translation)
         | 
         | * Salieri criticized Beethoven's opera _Fidelio_ (as did a lot
         | of other composers of the time)
         | 
         | * Salieri didn't like Beethoven's late works. And apparently he
         | critiqued them so hard that he even caused Schubert, another of
         | his students, to not like Beethoven's music for a short time.
         | 
         | Armed just with that I could probably work slowly but surely
         | over time to turn all of HN full Q-anon on a Salieri vs.
         | Beethoven conspiracy. But I'll be good and vaccinate everyone
         | here-- Beethoven _also_ had a difficult relationship with his
         | other famous teacher Joseph Haydn. He was quite a moody guy!
         | And Salieri was a good sport-- he even sat in to play drums on
         | _Wellington 's Victory_. So in reality it's just good clean
         | musical friends having some fun.
        
           | chasil wrote:
           | "Salieri didn't like Beethoven's late works."
           | 
           | I remember that the concert introducing the fifth and sixth
           | symphonies was widely criticized. This was mid-life, not
           | late.
           | 
           | https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beethoven_concert_of_22_Dece.
           | ..
        
       ___________________________________________________________________
       (page generated 2025-03-13 23:00 UTC)