Happy
Birthday Mozart!
Last
time we began the story of Mozart’s Requiem,
the piece he left unfinished at his untimely death. Today, let’s continue the
tale, finding out what happened to the unfinished work following the composer’s
passing.
After
her husband died, Constanze still needed the money from the Requiem commission and thus, after
asking several composer friends, found Franz Xaver Sussmayer to be willing to complete
the work. Sussmayer studied with Mozart, who had given his pupil instructions
on how he intended the work to be completed prior to his death. Sussmayer
likely agreed to this daunting task because he was a newer student who longed
for any experience he could obtain.
After
Mozart died, a Requeim Mass was held in December of 1791 in honor of the
composer. The completed “Requiem” and “Kyrie” movements were performed during
the mass. Several years later, in 1793, a benefit concert was held for Mozart’s
widow and sons. The version heard here was most likely the completed Requiem by Sussmayer. While other
composers have attempted to complete this Mozart masterpiece, Sussmayer’s
version has remained the most popular.
What
happened to the mysterious stranger who commissioned the work after Mozart
passed? Scholars believe the stranger to be Anton Leitgeb, valet of Count Franz
von Walsegg who commissioned the work. Walsegg was known to commission music
and then claim them as his own compositions. This was his plan with the Requiem, which he intended to use to
commemorate his late wife. Ten years following Mozart’s death, Constanze
actually had to pay him for the rights to publish the work under her husband’s
name!
Below
you can hear a performance of Mozart’s Requiem:
