W.A. Mozart: Requiem, KV 626

W.A. Mozart: Requiem, KV 626

A musical work so famous, so controversial, that even those who are not connoisseurs of classical music are familiar with it: Mozart’s Requiem was famously composed as the musical genius was dying in 1791. He was working at the behest of an anonymous patron, Count Franz von Walsegg (1763–1827), an amateur musician who had a habit of commissioning works from composers and then passing them off as his own. Although the first two movements were complete upon his death on December 5th, the last two were incomplete and had to be finished by Joseph Leopold Eybler (1765–1846) and Franz Xaver Süßmayr (1766–1803) under the direction of his widow Constanze (1762–1842). She then sent it to von Walsegg with a counterfeit signature so as to collect the commission, which she badly needed at the time. Maintaining this illusion, she claimed Mozart had composed the piece for his own funeral and had been poisoned, contributing to the various myths that immediately sprung up regarding the circumstances of both his death and the composition of the Requiem. The mythologizing of Mozart during the 19th century, a common occurrence in the era of Romanticism when details were lacking.

The Life of a Musical Genius

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–91) is perhaps the most famous composer of all time, his life has been the subject of novels and films. He began composing at the age of 5 with his first symphony coming at the age of 8, making him a sensation overnight as a child prodigy, and went on to create over 600 pieces of music. Although achieving tremendous success, Mozart struggled financially, like many musicians, and was impoverished upon his death. Although he was not buried in a common grave as is falsely believed, he was buried in a commoner’s grave, which was subject to excavation after ten years unlike an aristocratic one, thus leaving no lasting tomb for the great composer. Memorial services and concerts in his honor were well-attended in Vienna and Prague, and his reputation only increased following his death.