Wolfgang Amadeus Mozartwas born on the 27th of January in 1756.
Today marks the 256th anniversary of his birth.
The following are my thoughts and images
from a visit in 2009 to his memorial
at St. Marx cemetery.
A wreath of roses and spring flowershad been laid at the foot
of the grave stone marker,
and a white candle was burning nearby.
It has been snowing in Vienna, all week. I imagined little Wolferl
being born on a day like this:
A heavy snow storm in the early morning hours,
with the clouds parting at noon,
allowing for a few minutes of sunshine
to caress the face of the newborn genius.
A bouquet of pale yellow roseshad been left by another Mozart loving soul.
They were frozen stiff,
as if to enshrine their beauty forever.
It warmed my heart thinking that someone
had come out all the way,
walked up the long hill,
maybe in a snow storm as I did,
to offer this token of love.
Another friendhad brought a single rose,
gently posing it on the angel's pedestal.
A red rose kissedby the winter morning's sun.
An angel,keeping watch,
pensively,
cloaked in sunlight.
256 years,so many years full of music, his music,
source of untold delights and
unimaginable moments of sheer joy.
Somewhere in these hallowed grounds,Wolfgang Amadeus was laid to rest,
yet his music is with us, to this day.
Music of the spheres
brought down to earth,
not by celestial bodies,
but by a human genius.
The wreath,a gift by Pension Mozart.
Photographed in January 2009
at Vienna's St. Marx Cemetery
First published in 2009
He gave us so much in his short life.
ReplyDeleteAs Leonard Cohen says in one of his songs "you will live forever, when you've done a line or two" and Mozart did many, many lines of beautiful music.
He is one of my favorite composers. As a child I played a lot of his music as I took classical piano. We toured his home in Salzburg many years ago. Great tribute to one of our greatest composers of all time.
ReplyDeleteSam
happy birthday wolfie!
ReplyDeleteLovely photos and tribute to a man blessed with talent from the heavenly Kingdom... thank you for sharing your gifts!
ReplyDeleteRoses in the snow. such an incredible image. So compelling.
ReplyDeleteAnd there you are photographing in the snow. I love the look of the frozen roses, so delicate and fragile.
ReplyDeleteThis is so wonderful for me and my wife to see. Thanks for reposting them. I wondered if the mass graves were ever marked and apparently the area is designated. Wonderful photos that you have shared.
ReplyDeleteThank you all for your kind comments!
ReplyDeleteL.D. Burgus:
Contrary to popular lore, Mozart was not buried in a mass grave! It is true that his coffin was put in a grave with other people, 4 or 5, but that was a standard procedure at the time.
L.D. Burgus,
ReplyDeleteif you click on the "St. Marx" label, you'll find images of Mozart's memorial throughout the years and seasons.
From Wikipedia:
ReplyDeleteMozart's Funeral
The funeral arrangements were made by Mozart's friend and patron Baron Gottfried van Swieten. Describing his funeral, the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians states, "Mozart was buried in a common grave, in accordance with contemporary Viennese custom, at the St. Marx Cemetery outside the city on 7 December." Jahn (1856) wrote that Salieri, Süssmayr, van Swieten and two other musicians were present.[13] The tale of a storm and snow is false; the day was calm and mild."
More here: Death of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
So, so beautiful Merisi! One of my favorite posts yet! Schönes Wochenende!
ReplyDeleteMusic of Mozart is the Joy, the grâce, he was a genius.
ReplyDeleteThank you Merisi for this visit to Mozart...
Truly our greatest composer. I aspire to play the Adagio from his Clarinet Concerto.
ReplyDeleteAwesome Post! Most of people don’t honor the person who buried in the cemetery. I really feel proud of you that you are honoring 256th Anniversary.
ReplyDelete