Our Danube River cruise was magical, gliding effortlessly through Central Europe. We spent a day at Gottweig Abbey, high above the Danube in Austria, and that evening we attended a concert in Vienna. It was a small ensemble: three violins, a viola, 'cello, flute, clarinet, string bass, and percussion, with Pierre Pichler conducting. The overture to The Marriage of Figaro opened the program, followed by other familiar Mozart pieces, including A Little Night Music.
After the applause, the first violinist unexpectedly called out, “Maestro, would you like to play the violin?” Pichler took her proffered violin, made a dramatic motion with the bow and produced an abominable sound. He handed the instrument back and started towards the bassist, who shook his head vehemently. Then the clarinetist offered. He stood next to the conductor and gave instructions while continuing to hold the instrument. “Blow…No, blow harder. Now move your hands.” Pichler extended his arms out to the side and vigorously waggled his hands at the wrists. “No, put your hands on the clarinet.” The conductor placed his fingers on the clarinet, took a breath, and the opening glissando of George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue filled the air, followed by the adagio second movement of Mozart's clarinet concerto. (start at minute 12:55 for Anngunnir Arnadottir’s performance.)
Amadeus is largely fiction, but Salieri's love of Mozart's music engendered a deep appreciation in me when I first saw it in Bloomington, Indiana, (home of the world-class Indian University School of Music) in 1984. As the adagio swept over me in Vienna, I could hear Salieri's description of a Mozart serenade:
The beginning…like a rusty sequeezebox…And then, suddenly, high above it, an oboe. A single note, hanging there, unwavering. Until a clarinet took it over, sweetened it into a phrase of such delight…
This was a music I’d never heard, filled with such longing, such unfulfillable longing. It seemed to me that I was hearing the voice of God.
(hear the entire serenade that Salieri describes)
Yes, "such unfulfillable longing."
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