Month: January 2006

Mozart 2006 – Resurrection

Mozart was born some 250 years ago in Salzburg and I wonder how he would feel about the year 2006. Just yesterday I watched a documentation on Austrian TV that claimed to unravel the truth about the skull of Mozart. There was a lot of hype about the show as the skull has been in the center of speculations ever since it appeared and the big question always was “Is it for real?”. Well, the TV show promised to bring a final answer to the question in true CSI style.

I guess Mozart would turn over in his grave if he’d knew what they did to his ancestors for the sake of this “grave-entertainment”. Apparently that’s exactly what the forensic scientist did. The dug up a few of Mozart’s presumed relatives, only to find out that no one of the “Mozarts” in the family grave was related to each other, and they did not match the DNA extracted from the skull or the hair-samples from – did you know his full name – Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus – Mozart!

So finally, there is the ultimate answer, that we know nothing, that the mystery became even bigger and that we have to wait another 50 years till the 300 year anniversary.

Maybe that’s when the scientist get permission to dig up Mozarts sister, Maria Anna Walburga Ignatia Mozart (Nannerl) at the St. Peter’s cemetery (which did not gave permission of an exhumation of her body this time), take samples from her bones and share once and for all the truth about the skull of Mozart.

But I’m sure more money is made by not knowing the truth rather then having a final solution. So enjoy your Mozart liquor, your Mozart balls, Mozart beer and whatever clever merchandise products will appear in the Mozart year 2006!