Friday 27 January 2017

On the 260th Anniversary of the
Birth of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart


Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
was born on the 27th of January in 1756.
Today marks the 258th anniversary of his birth.
The following are my thoughts and images
from a visit in 2009 to his memorial
at St. Marx cemetery.

A wreath of roses and spring flowers
had been laid at the foot
of the grave stone marker,
and a white candle was burning nearby.

It has been snowing in Vienna, all week.
I imagined little Wolferl
being born on a day like this:
A heavy snow storm in the early morning hours,
with the clouds parting at noon,
allowing for a few minutes of sunshine
to caress the face of the newborn genius.

A bouquet of pale yellow roses
had been left by another Mozart loving soul.
They were frozen stiff,
as if to enshrine their beauty forever.
It warmed my heart thinking that someone
had come out all the way,
walked up the long hill,
maybe in a snow storm as I did,
to offer this token of love.

Another friend
had brought a single rose,

gently posing it
on the angel's pedestal.

A red rose kissed
by the winter morning's sun.

An angel,
keeping watch,
pensively,
cloaked in sunlight.

260 years,
so many years full of music, his music,
source of untold delights and
unimaginable moments of sheer joy.

Somewhere in these hallowed grounds,
Wolfgang Amadeus was laid to rest,
yet his music is with us, to this day.
Music of the spheres
brought down to earth,
not by celestial bodies,
but by a human genius.

The wreath,
a gift by Pension Mozart.

Photographed on 27 January 2009
at Vienna's St. Marx Cemetery
First published in 2009

Images and Text © by Merisi

13 comments:

  1. Thank you for showing us. I somehow missed this when I was in Vienna.

    Mersad
    Mersad Donko Photography

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wonderful pics, Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  3. what a nice spot Wolfie has ... i am a lover of cemeteries so thank you for this peek!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wonderful tribute for the great composer! And how lovely you said: "Music of the spheres
    brought down to earth,
    not by celestial bodies,
    but by a human genius."
    Thank you for this sensitive post! Greetings in january!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I RECALL FROM LAST YEAR!!!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Very fitting that two centuries on, tributes and visits are still made to him. His music will live on forever.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh, yes! William has said it perfectly!! Mozarts music will live on forever indeed!! A beautiful post for the day, Merisi!! Thank you for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love Mozart. He's my favourite classical composer. Well he and Beethoven. Hard to choose between such talent. You paid the great composer a wonderful tribute.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Aren't those frozen roses amazing? Merisi, I agree with your praise of those folks who braved the winter elements to honor Mozart on his birthday. xo

    ReplyDelete
  10. Gorgeous photos! Thanks for posting.:) Beautiful wintery, magical shots. Makes me miss Europe but I love it too ... eye candy and inspiration Merisi!

    ReplyDelete
  11. What a unique posting. Thanks for both the text and the images.

    ReplyDelete
  12. The flowers in the snow are just beautiful. I especially like the single rose by the angel's foot.

    ReplyDelete
  13. These are very very special pictures and thoughts.
    I have nice memories of this place from a different season, as you know.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to leave a note.