Mozart in Salzburg

Getreidegasse, Salzburg, where Mozart was born at Number 9, is now a pedestrian-only shopping street inhabited by souvenir shops, designer outlets, cafes, ice cream parlors, jewelry stores; to its credit, Getreidegasse is mildly more eclectic than the shopping streets of some European cities, which consist mainly of Prada, Hugo Boss, Swarovski, etc., etc.  But it is still a touristy shopping street.

Mozart really didn't care for Salzburg too much and spent a tremendous amount of energy trying to go someplace, anyplace else; he finally took up residence in Vienna when he was about 25.  The fact that Mozart didn't like the city of his birth has not stopped Salzburg from profiting handsomely from his association with the city.  The Mozart Festival in Salzburg brings in Mozart lovers from all over the world.  I was more intrigued, however, by the souvenir and other shops selling merchandise with the Mozart name/image, so herewith is a brief display:

 The cologne and aftershave line, only$20 -- this stuff may be kitschy, but it's not cheap.  It's Mozart, after all.

 The Mozart dinner concert; probably not all that bad, actually.  Mozart and his brother composers were sometimes obliged to compose sort of 18th Century Muzak, music that would be played while guests arrived at events, while they ate supper, etc.  Mozart was good at it; some of his divertimentos are quite nice, but they're by no means equal to his concertos or operas and the like.

I have a Gordon Lightfoot CD called Gord's Gold, so I guess I can't complain that Mozart has one.

Mozart chocolates come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes, not only the chocolates but also the packaging.

Postcards, of course.

 I always thought Kugel was potato pudding, but not to the Mirabell folks.

Plates, cups, mugs, umbrellas, white chocolate liqueur, and any number of other things.  The variety is really quite amazing.

 More chocolates.

And, of course, Cafe Mozart -- the entrance --

-- and the exit.

Mozart died at age 35, and from what illness no one seems to know.  At the time of his death he was doing reasonably well financially, paying back money he had borrowed from friends to get him over a dry-spell.  (If you saw the movie Amadeus, it's mostly fiction.  But the costumes were nice.)

Mozart was a prolific composer, 21 piano concertos, 40 symphonies, 5 violin concertos, operas, choral music, quartets, sonatas -- pretty much the whole range.  Our hotel played Mozart for breakfast, which was a nice way to start the day. 

And I even have a Mozart tee-shirt!