Amadeus is not a name you hear used much anymore. At least not in the United States.

I remember back in 1986 when Falco's song "Rock Me Amadeus" came out. Part of the chorus keeps repeating "Amadeus, Amadeus." (Pretty much have that stuck in your head now, don't you?) All around the country, people were trying to figure out what Falco was saying and what the song was about. I remember that at one point a friend and I thought he was saying "Hot Potatoes, Hot Potatoes" instead of "Amadeus, Amadeus." Oh, those were the days. Wild and crazy, we were.

In fact, though, the song was inspired in part by the movie "Amadeus" which was coming out at the same time. The movie, of course, was based on the life of famous classical composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Both Mozart and Falco were born in Austria. Mozart in Salzburg and Falco (Johann Holzel actually) in Vienna. Falco is credited as being the first high-profile white rapper. I think Mozart would have liked rap.

Both died at fairly young ages. Mozart at the age of 35 and Falco at the age of 40. Falco died as the result of injuries sustained when the car he was driving hit a bus. That's a violent way to die. Mozart died as the result of a fever and associated illness I guess. That's a very warm way to die. Mozart died on my birthday, December 5. Falco died on February 6 which is 12 days before my mother's birthday of February 18. That is pretty much where similarities between Mozart and Falco and my family end. My mother and I are both very much alive ... most days. Hopefully the people who know us see that as a good thing. Mozart and Falco, like I said, are both no longer with us. That is unfortunate. If he were still alive today, Mozart would be pushing the ripe old age of 252. That's up there pretty good. Falco would be much younger. For those of you who are fractionally-oriented, Falco would be about one-fifth the age of Mozart. That is really something to think about ... for those of you who are fractionally-oriented. And of course you cannot think about that without also thinking of Beethoven's Fifth ... or a fifth of something else perhaps at this point. Beethoven was a little younger than Mozart and sought to study with Mozart. Beethoven lived longer than Mozart did but still died fairly young at 56. He was, however, born 12 days after my birthday which has an interesting tie back to Falco's death and my mother's birthday.

(Please stick with me on this ... I promise we're getting someplace good.)

Mozart left behind, in addition to his music, a series of letters. Many were written to his sister and also to a cousin. He was know, especially in his younger years, for jokes and references that had sexual or scatological overtones. He wrote a canon titled "Leck mich im Arsch." I'll let you figure out what that translates to in English. It's not very nice.

I read that recently a number of additional letters from Mozart were discovered in a locked antique cabinet in Vienna. These were letters he had written to Frau Joy Mueller. Frau Mueller had been a friend of Mozart's mother's. A lady of wealth and aristocracy, Frau Mueller became good friends with Wolfgang from the time he was very young. He called her by her first name which would have been rather unusual for a young boy at that time I suspect. But Mozart was known for unusual and precocious behavior.

When Mozart's mother fell gravely ill and eventually died on a trip to Paris (another reason to never go there), Frau Mueller promised Frau Mozart that she would watch after her son, and make sure that he was always provided for. His mother did not trust Wolfgang to manage his money and personal affairs on his own. And, in fact, she was correct in that lack of trust.

Many times during his short life, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart found himself penniless and even homeless. Each time, Frau Joy Mueller would provide him with money and the comforts to which he was accustomed, helping him get back on his feet until he squandered his money away once again. But she was always there to bail him out.

Mozart never forgot Frau Mueller. He was always very appreciative. On his deathbed, in the midst of a fever and aware that he was probably not long for this world, some of Mozart's last thoughts and words focused on just how very much he owed to Joy.






(Those of you who are aware of Mozart's famous song "Ode To Joy" are, I would assume, really hating me right now. The rest of you may carry on as you were.)