The idea of the play
To create his work, Alexander Pushkin used several sources . Researchers of his work believe that these may be the following sources:
- Rumors about Salieri.
- "The Cult of Mozart."
- The musical life of the artist Joseph Berglinger.
- Dramatic Scenes by Barry Cornwall.
- The Legend of Michelangelo: Genius and Villainy.
Unfortunately, there is no information about how the plan for his dramatic work came about. But among his papers were references to “certain German journals.”
It is known that in 1824 a rumor began to spread in Vienna that Antonio Salieri had confessed to the murder of the great composer. 30 years have passed since the crime, and the court conductor and famous composer himself spent a long time in a psychiatric hospital. This was published in many German newspapers and magazines. Some magazines with this rumor ended up in Pushkin’s possession. By the way, this version was already refuted then, in 1834.
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In Russia at the beginning of the 19th century, the “Cult of Mozart” arose . One of the main servants of this cult was Ulybyshev, who was known as a music critic. He believed that there were no more geniuses except Mozart. Therefore, the mention of a brilliant foreign composer was popular in literature.
When Alexander Pushkin began his work on the play, many were already familiar with the detailed biography of the alleged killer of a genius. The most detailed and realistic biography of this famous composer was written by Ignaz von Mosel, who published it in 1827. The composer himself died in 1825, so articles about him written after his death also found their way into Russian printed publications.
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In 1826, an excerpt from a book was published in one of the Russian magazines, which told about the remarkable and interesting life of one of the artists. This interested readers so much that the book was soon translated into Russian and fully published. The letters of Joseph Berglinger himself became a source of inspiration for Pushkin . It is believed that the first monologue of Pushkin’s main character is very similar to them. A brief retelling of “Mozart and Salieri” is presented in this article.
According to Dmitry Blagoy, “Dramatic Scenes” by the English poet Berry Cornwall, which Alexander Sergeevich read in Boldin, also became a significant impetus for Pushkin. Over time, Cornwall became the favorite writer of the “disgraced poet.”
It is known that Pushkin originally intended to call his cycle “Little Tragedies” “Dramatic Scenes.” He mentions this several times in letters to his friends. In design, Pushkin's dramas are very similar to those works that Cornwall wrote. There are also textual coincidences between the plays of the English poet and Pushkin.
Pushkin, of course, was familiar with the legend of Michelangelo. He also mentions him in his “little tragedy”, where in Salieri’s last monologue, trying to justify his act, he recalls the genius who committed a crime in the name of art .
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The heroes' first conversation
Like no one else, Pushkin was able to convey the full depth of psychological experiences in a short work. “Mozart and Salieri” (the summary of the play is the best proof of this) is a verbal duel between two characters in which their interests and life goals collide. However, outwardly they communicate very friendly, but the author structured their speeches in such a way that each phrase proves how different they are people and how irreconcilable the contradictions between them are. This is revealed already in their first conversation.
The theme of “Mozart and Salieri” is perhaps best revealed in the former’s appearance on stage, which immediately demonstrates his light and relaxed disposition. He brings with him a blind violinist who plays his composition poorly, and the poor musician's mistakes amuse him. Salieri is indignant because his friend mocks his own brilliant music.
Criticism of the play
Even during Pushkin’s lifetime, a barrage of criticism fell upon him due to the fact that he presented images of historical characters in a distorted light. This criticism was partly justified, since the “little tragedy” of the Russian poet, which spread throughout the world, contributed to the widespread dissemination of the myth of the poisoning of Mozart by Salieri.
Antonio Salieri, portrait by F. Rehberg, 1821
True, many admirers of Pushkin’s talent believed that the Russian genius took the names of two musicians only as an example and artistic image of the eternal struggle between good and evil, and never insisted that his tragedy was historically correct.
“Mozart and Salieri” - summary
Scene one
The first scene of the play opens with a story about Salieri. As a small boy, the future composer heard the sounds of an organ, and from then on music captivated him forever. He carefully “dissected” it, trying to figure out what parts a beautiful melody consists of. Salieri worked long and diligently, throwing aside all idleness. As a result, he achieved a high position in society and universal respect. So he lived peacefully and happily, enjoying the success he had achieved, until one day he caught himself being terribly jealous of the young composer Mozart. He was an outright slob, he treated music as an easy, pleasant pastime and composed it as easily as birds sing their songs. And at the same time, his music was so beautiful that even Salieri himself made the comparison not in his favor.
Illustration by Mikhail Vrubel. 1884
One day Salieri met Mozart in the company of a blind violinist. The amateur musician played Mozart's music ineptly, inevitably distorting it, but Mozart did not seem to be upset at all by this, but, on the contrary, was amused. Salieri was struck by such a frivolous attitude towards music! When a friend played him a melody that he had jotted down at night, Salieri was finally convinced that he had a genius in front of him. And he decided to “stop” Mozart, because Salieri considers such a life and such creativity “wrong.” The friends agree to dine together at a tavern, and Salieri prepares the poison that his beloved once left for him.
Scene two
During dinner, Mozart shares with Salieri the news that a couple of weeks ago a strange guest dressed in black came to him and asked him to compose a Requiem (a piece of mourning music) for him. And now the composer has already written the music, but the guest never returns. But Mozart was even glad of this, because now he already dreamed of keeping this melody for himself.
Salieri tries to console his friend, saying that his friend Beaumarchais, in moments of sadness, advised him to drink a glass of sparkling wine or re-read a book about the adventures of Figaro. Mozart asks his friend if it is true that Beaumarchais poisoned someone, as the rumors say. And he himself sums up that this could not have happened, because Beaumarchais is a brilliant author, and “genius and villainy cannot exist together!”
Salieri quietly pours poison into Mozart's glass. He drinks it, and at the request of his “friend” plays him his new creation, a requiem. Salieri understands that this is brilliant music!
By the end of the meal, Mozart becomes unwell and goes home. And Salieri is left alone, reflecting on the words of his comrade. “Is he really right, and I’m not a genius, since I was able to kill talent?”
Idea
The work “Mozart and Salieri” is the most philosophical work in the cycle of small tragedies, since it most fully expresses the problem of the confrontation between good and evil, embodied in the great composer and his envier. Pushkin ideally selected the heroes to realize his idea: after all, it is real, true creativity that becomes the arena of struggle between these two opposing principles. Therefore, this drama has existential significance. And if other works of the cycle under consideration have a fairly dynamic plot that moves the main idea, then in this play it’s the other way around: the author brought to the fore the philosophical idea that real creativity is the meaning of life, and the plot plays a supporting role, shading the writer’s idea.
Theme of the play "Mozart and Salieri"
The main theme of his tragedy, Pushkin made a comparison of two opposite principles: rationalistic, striving to organize everything, sort it out “on shelves”, check it with mathematical precision, and creative, which exists exclusively in the mode of inspiration and does not tolerate any violence against itself! Pushkin's fictional Salieri not only envied Mozart, but was seriously afraid that because of such geniuses who create according to divine guidance, without straining at all, the world would not need such hard workers like him.
Possibly the most recent lifetime portrait of Mozart, painted in 1790 in Munich. Artist Johann Georg Edlinger
