Salieri VS Mozart!!!

If you haven't seen "Amadeus", you should. It's kind of legit, and although quite a bit of artistic license was taken in the telling of the story, it was actually kind of accurate. What's most amazing to me is that the story is told from Mozart's rival's point of view rather than Mozart himself. But one thing has always captured my attention, and that's the differences found in each of the composer's beginnings.

Antonio Salieri wanted to study and compose music from a very young age. He prayed for it, thought of it constantly, and made it his passion, even though his father wouldn't allow him near any instrument. Mozart, however, was thrust into a world of musical virtuosity at a very young age. He wrote full scores before he was seven years old, showing that he was a musical genius, and his contrastingly strict and harsh father forced him to pursue the greatest depth of his potential. His father's discipline and demanding nature turned Mozart into one of the greatest musicians the world has ever seen.

This isn't unlike the world of piano and the way it is being flipped on it's head currently. In the United States, piano has been taught in a very specific way. We start with the foundations, often not even beginning with how to read music, then slowly inch our way towards, dynamics, staccato vs. legato touch, Sight reading, and often ending with how to use the pedals (unfortunately). But this is starting to change now that the United State's no longer has the greatest piano players. I'd venture to say that era ended with Glenn Gould, as well as the end of the Jazz Era (before the Bebop years).

The United States is slowly beginning to pick up the Chinese approach to playing piano, which is very similar to what Mozart would have endured as a child. In China, a child is often given a difficult, classical piece of music to start their musical journey. Everything is asked of them from a young age (often five years old!); pedaling, dynamics, legato or staccato touch (depending on the song, obviously), etc. They are so successful in what they do precisely because of their attention to detail and desire to command a great amount of knowledge and skill early on. This is in everything they do, from memorizing, sight-reading, scales, or whatever. And the United States is beginning to learn our lesson.

Pushing our youth harder in music is slowly becoming the new trend, and it won't take but another generation or so until we not only have another Glenn Gould, but a new Viktor Borge and our own Lang Lang as well (some consider him to be the greatest pianist alive right now). A new breed of super pianists are on their way within the next generation or so, and I pray that they hold off until I find a secure job so I can have work too.

The point in all of this? Mozart was encouraged in his endeavors and he is known as one of the greatest musicians of all time. Salieri was NOT encouraged and he is known as the man who killed Mozart. Just saying...