The incredible emotional impact of music, since ancient times forced to think about the mystical sources of its origin. The public interest in the select, marked by the talent of writing, gave rise to countless myths about musicians.
From ancient times to the present day, musical myths were also born in the struggle of the political and economic interests of people involved in the music industry.
Divine gift or devilish temptation
In 1841, the little-known composer Giuseppe Verdi, morally crushed by the failure of his first operas and the tragic death of his wife and two children, in despair threw a working libretto on the floor. In a mystical way, it opens on a page with a chorus of Jewish prisoners, and, shocked by the lines "O beautiful lost homeland! Dear, fatal memories!", Verdi begins to write music frantically ...
Intervention Providence at once changed the fate of the composer: the opera "Nabucco" was a huge success and gave him a meeting with his second wife, soprano Giuseppina Strepponi. And the slave choir was so fond of the Italians that it became the second national anthem. And other not only choirs, but also arias from operas by Verdi later began to be sung by the people as native Italian songs.
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Chthonic beginning in music often led to thoughts about the machinations of the devil. Contemporaries demonized the genius of Niccolò Paganini, who stunned the audience with his infinite talent for improvisation and passion for performance. The figure of the outstanding violinist was surrounded by gloomy legends: it was said that he had sold his soul for a magic violin and that his instrument contained the soul of his beloved soul.
When Paganini died in 1840, the myths about the musician played a cruel joke with him. Italian Catholic authorities banned burial at home, and the remains of the violinist only 56 years later found peace in Parma.
Fatal numerology, or the curse of the ninth symphony ...
The transcendent power and heroic pathos of Ludwig van Beethoven’s late Ninth symphony gave rise to holy awe in the hearts of listeners. Superstitious fear intensified after Franz Schubert, who caught a cold at Beethoven’s funeral, died, leaving behind nine symphonies. And then the "curse of the ninth", supported by lax calculations, began to gain momentum. Anton Brukner, Antonin Dvorak, Gustav Mahler, Alexander Glazunov and Alfred Schnittke were declared "victims".
Numerological research led to the emergence of another fatal myth about musicians, which allegedly lurks early death in 27 years. Superstition spread after the death of Kurt Cobain, and today Brian Jones, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison, Amy Winehouse and about 40 more people are credited to the so-called "Club-27".
Will Mozart help get smarter?
Among the numerous legends around the Austrian genius, the myth of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as a means of increasing IQ has a special commercial success. The hype began in 1993 with the release of an article by psychologist Francis Rauscher, who claimed that listening to Mozart accelerates child development. In the wake of the sensation, the recordings began to diverge by millions of copies around the world, and still, probably, in the hope of the "Mozart effect," his melodies are heard in stores, airplanes, on mobile phones and phone lines waiting.
The subsequent studies of Rauscher, which showed that neurophysiological indicators in children actually improve music lessons, no one so popularized.
Musical myths as a political tool
Historians and musicologists still argue about the causes of Mozart’s death, but the version that Antonio Salieri killed him with envy is just another myth. Officially, historical justice in relation to the Italian, who in fact was much more successful than his fellow musicians, was restored by the Milan court in 1997.
It is believed that Salieri was slandered by the musicians of the Austrian school in order to undermine the strong position of the Italian rivals in the Viennese court. However, in mass culture, thanks to the tragedy of A.S. Pushkin and the film Milos Forman, firmly entrenched a stereotype of "genius and crime."
In the 20th century, opportunistic considerations provided more than once food for myth-making in the music industry. The train of rumors and disclosures accompanying music serves as an indicator of interest in this sphere of public life and therefore has a right to exist.
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