Czy Mozart w chwili śmierci naśladował kotły? Anegdoty w kontekście fikcji literackiej o Wolfgangu Amadeuszu Mozarcie
Did Mozart, at the moment of his death, imitate drums? Anecdotes in the context of fiction inspired by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Author(s): Katarzyna Szczerbowska-Prusevicius
Subject(s): Sociology of Art
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego
Keywords: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; biographical fiction; anecdote; Wunderkind; prodigy;Requiem;
Summary/Abstract: Although ubiquitous in biographies of famous people, anecdotes are considered as unreliable sources in the scholarly world. Since real‑life events closely weaved into fictive elements are considered characteristic for this brief literary genre, it is especially hard to untangle them, in fact it seems an unfeasible task. If, however, instead of asking how reliable those stories are, we ask what is their cultural‑mnemonic potential, they will prove to be a worthwhile research subject. In the present article, I look into the mentioned issue using two examples coming from the opulent repertoire of stories about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: one concerning his visit to the imperial court in Vienna, and another encompassing accounts of the composer’s final days (anecdotes on singing Requiem and imitating drums). The said stories are often included in fictional prose pieces about Mozart. Their authors put them in different contexts and narrate differently, underscoring or obfuscating their various aspects. Comparing several versions of the very same anecdote allows us to trace transmutations of the artist’s image, but to an extent, also of the way the world is seen.

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