Comparing Amadeus And The Enjoyment Of Music

Mozart in Amadeus and The Enjoyment of Music: Compare and Contrast

“I pay no attention whatever to anybody’s praise or blame. I simply follow my own feelings.” ~Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is perhaps the most well-known composer of all time. Countless accounts of his life have been created through the years, and all of them approach the topic of his life with a slightly different perspective. Amadeus provides a humorous and insightful look into the life of Mozart through the flashbacks of an elderly Italian man named Salieri. In his old age, Salieri confesses to a priest that he felt God taunting him throughout life because he always had a profound appreciation for Mozart’s music, but yet could never produce anything like it. Therefore, he turned bitter and spent his life trying to ruin Mozart and his career. Through Salieri’s lense, the audience learns about Mozart’s unique personality. Mozart is shown in the movie as a musical prodigy with an impeccable ability to play and compose. However, Mozart also has a childish, socially awkward side that causes him to be misunderstood by many adults. He lacks practicality and appreciation for social graces, instead preferring to make inappropriate jokes and attend wild parties. Our class’s textbook, The Enjoyment of Music, also

However, the book’s portrayal is more brief and impersonal and focuses more on Mozart’s music than his life. The portrayals of Mozart’s life provided by the movie Amadeus and The Enjoyment of Music are similar in their