Salieri the...villain?

Trio Anima Mundi is really excited...since we are now only a month away before the first concert of our 2022 Series!

In this first concert - The Salieri Connection - we feature a composer without playing a single note of his music...!

Let us explain...

For many, the name Salieri may be familiar from a popular, rather fictionalised Peter Shaffer play (and subsequent multi-Academy award-winning film) 'Amadeus'. There he is portrayed as the villian, the archnemesis of the composer 'loved by God', Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and the one who most likely drove Mozart to an early grave, possibly by poisoning him.

But was he really that evil?

Well, the short answer is...no!

Antonio Salieri (1750-1825) was a dominant figure in Vienna, reputed as a cosmopolitan musician and an important figure in the development of the opera in the late 18th century. Able to composer opera in three languages, he was director of Italian opera in the Habsburg court (1774-92) and Kapellmeister of the Austrian empire (1788-1824). As such, his influence was also felt as a teacher. Notable students included Franz Schubert, Franz Liszt, Johann Nepomuk Hummel...as well as Ludwig van Beethoven and Carl Reissiger.

Unfortunately Salieri did not write a piano trio - and it seems the false allegations of poisoning Mozart haunted him in the latter-part of his life - but both Beethoven and Reissiger produced piano trios amongst their earliest publications. You can hear the accomplishments of two of Salieri's top students in our first concert for the 2022 Series - Beethoven's Op.1, No.3, and Reissiger's No.1.

Performances will be at Montsalvat (2nd April - 2.30pm), Melbourne (3rd April - 4pm) and Geelong (10th April - 2.30pm). Grab your tickets at trioanimamundi.com/2022-series