Was Mozartâs personality really adapted into his music?
                         Art by Tim O'Brien
Music has greatly evolved generation after generation, the process of writing remain similar. But, how about the composition of music? In the viewpoint of todayâs music culture, songs are written, sounds are produced and put together mainly to express thoughts, feelings, and ideas onto an enthralling, paperless avenue. Captivating the audience has never been so easy and difficult at the same time, especially when thereâs a world wide web in existence to help promote oneâs work of art all around the globe. Musical savant, Wolfgang Mozart, and the rest who lived hundreds of years ago, never had this technological advantage. How we listen to his music today is completely different from how people of his generation heard it. Back then, fame was hard-earned. Their own compositions were not easily known, unless one would go on a tour, presenting in front of royalty or the archbishop, and eventually get noticed by the greater public. To get noticed at a larger scale meant realizing what kind of music various audiences leaned to, what languages they wanted music to be written in, which stories to adapt, and other factors that have gravely affected the artistry and the process of music composition in the century Mozart lived in.Â
In Peter Brownâs âAmadeusâ and Mozart: Setting the Record Straight, he mentions how, in the eighteenth century, the prerequisites of being a composer was âthe craftsmanship and the ability to provide new music appropriate to an occasion.â When we listen to his compositions today, we hear a different sound, and instantly compare or associate it to something of born of this generationâs standard. Back then, they didnât just appreciate the sound. The music always had to be appropriate for the occasion. It was strict, yes, but thatâs where Mozartâs renowned skills come in, working around what is considered to be âappropriateâ by society at the time, and putting his own touch to the sounds the audience will surely find astounding and different. Was Mozartâs personality really adapted into his music? I think not. Although a musician  is said to give away a piece of himself in every artwork, it may not always reflect their personality. In Mozartâs case, his  artistic products were not complete reflections of his personality, but rather, a reaction and reflection of the period he lived inâwhat kind of audiences he played for, what these audiencesâ taste was when it comes to art, and what kind of culture he was immersed in. An example of an inconsistency in the portrayal of Mozart in a film biography, it was heavily implied that the composition he wrote for the man in the Janus-faced black mask was in memory of his deceased father. But in reality, there was no basis for such thing. He simply wrote it because of the money it paid.
Looking into Mozartâs music is like looking into a prism. It gravely depends on how much light is present, with rays bouncing off to different directions creating a prismatic effectâa distortion afforded by several contrasting viewpoints into Mozartâs reality and art pieces. Listening to his brilliant artistic products and deciding whether or not it is reflective of his very own personality is a tough one to answer. We hear and understand things so differently, and we judge what we hear based on what we know, what we have heard, and what kind of sound we accept into our liking. What we think we know about Mozart might be inaccurate. After all, authors of written documents and literature about him may not at all be true, for nearly all authors, as mentioned by Brown, have their own beliefs and purpose. Mozart himself is a a man of pure talent and mystery. But even so, those who understand the culture of the eighteenth centuryâs music should and would not be surprised that Mozart and his music simply do not align.
