Press

December 5 marks the 230th anniversary of Wolfgang Amadé Mozart’s death, and with it came the abrupt conclusion of work on his last work, the moving Requiem K. 626. The composer died at 0:55 a.m. on December 5, 1791, in his apartment on Rauhensteingasse in Vienna.

Mozart’s death is closely linked to his last work, the Requiem. The story of the creation of this world-famous work has the makings of a true horror novel: a young, highly successful composer dies at the age of 35 while writing a requiem mass. What’s more, a mysterious gray messenger mediated between Mozart and a mysterious patron. Mozart’s wife Constanze already had a share in the creation of the legend. In an anecdote, she described the creation of the work and reported how her husband had worked on the Requiem with ardor. One day, she went with him to the Prater to distract him. There, Wolfgang Amadé told her in tears that he was convinced that he was writing this requiem mass for himself – what an oppressive premonition!

The Mozarteum Foundation Salzburg has vividly portrayed the legendary story of the Requiem’s creation in an explanatory video on the 230th anniversary of Wolfgang Amadé Mozart’s death.

You can find the video on youtube here: Mozarts Requiem

You can find the video on vimeo here: Mozarts Requiem