The Genius of Mozart
Miniseries
The story begins with the composer's father Leopold, with whom he conducted a passionate, tortured correspondence; it is Leopold who knows Mozart's secrets. There is another voice: that of the music itself. Music is the key to unlocking the emotions of Mozart, starting in this film with the great piano works. Without this key, how can we ever understand the emotions that gave birth to some of the most beautiful sounds the world has ever heard? The first great phase of Mozart's brief life was that of the traveling child prodigy, gifted as a performer and writer of music, who grew into the genius who, working within the restrictions of his time, began to rewrite the musical rules. But there was another facet to Mozart: the adult thinker aware of the bigger picture, passionately attached to the progressive values of the Enlightenment, impressively well-read, a speaker of most European languages (even a little English), an Austrian Catholic, a Freemason, and above all a composer at the height of his formidable powers, determined to succeed in the most difficult and lucrative area of all: Opera. Towards the end of his life, Mozart mastered the language of instrumental and orchestral writing--and how both love and loss provoked in him an extraordinary burst of creativity. This was essentially crystallized in three ambitious works that changed the future course of music: his last, great trilogy of symphonies--numbers 39, 40 and 41--which he wrote in six short weeks.
Where to Watch Miniseries
3 Episodes
- Miracle of NatureE1
Miracle of NatureThe Genius of Mozart shows Mozart's musical development from child prodigy to supreme master of the keyboard. Leopold, his domineering father, reveals his dedication to promoting and nurturing the young Mozart's genius, but their relationship became strained as Mozart sought independence from his father. - The First RomanticE3
The First RomanticThe last turbulent years of Mozart's life, relived through the dramatised recollections of his wife Constanze and their friends. These were troubled times for Mozart: his father and four children all died, Constanze was very ill and financial problems beset him as the economy took a downturn and musicians found themselves unemployed.
