Symphony San Jose Presents AMADEUS Live Film In Concert, February 12-13, 2022

Symphony San Jose presents "Amadeus LIVE" with Live Orchestra and Chorale, Saturday, February 12 at 8pm and Sunday, February 13 at 2:00pm at San Jose Center for the Performing Arts, 255 Almaden Blvd. San Jose, CA 95113. Learn more at www.symphonysanjose.org.

Amadeus (1984) stars F. Murray Abraham as Antonio Salieri, court composer in Vienna, who confesses, in old age, to his sins against the young genius Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (played by Tom Hulce). Film is rated R.

Antonio Salieri (1750-1825) believes that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's music is divine and miraculous... "damn it!" Mozart (1756-1791) comes alive in all his mischief and glory in Milos Foreman's fanciful film-biography. It's prize-winning score, including portions of The Magic Flute, the Requiem in D minor, Don Giovanni, Symphony No 25 in G minor and much more, is 'one of the most popular classical music recordings of all time.' Hear it performed live by Symphony San Jose and the Symphony San Jose Chorale, as you watch the Academy Award-winning film unfold on the big screen above the stage.

The film begins in 1823 during the waning years of failed court composer Antonio Salieri's life. He has been committed to an insane asylum after attempting suicide.

Salieri tells the story of his relationship with Mozart to a local priest and claims that he was responsible for Mozart's death. For forty years, Salieri has held a deep grudge against God for making Mozart a musical genius although he considers Mozart an unprincipled, spoiled, lustful, conceited, man-child. Salieri pictures himself as a devout, God-fearing man who pledged his celibacy to God in return for a life as a composer. However, his heart is cold and cruel with jealousy. He plots against Mozart at every turn, and when Salieri's father dies, he disguises himself and hires Mozart to compose a requiem for him. He intends to murder the brilliant young man and take credit for the piece.

On November 20th, 1791, Mozart suddenly came down with fever and was wracked with pain. His arms and legs were severely swollen. In the following days his health significantly deteriorated. He died on December 5 after lapsing into a coma. The death certificate states he died of "severe miliary fever". Many other explanations of his death abound, including syphilis, trichinellosis, pharyngitis, lead poisoning, AND the premise of the film, "Amadeus", that Mozart was poisoned by his rival Antonio Salieri.

Considered one of the greatest films of all time, Amadeus was nominated for 53 awards and received 40, including eight Academy Awards, four British Academy Film Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, and a Directors Guild of America award.

It is the most recent film to have more than one Academy Award nominations in the Best Actor category. Both F. Murray Abraham and Tom Hulce were nominated, with Abraham winning the Oscar for his portrayal of Salieri. It also won for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay (based on Peter Shaffer's play of the same name), Best Sound, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, and Best Makeup.

In 1998, the American Film Institute ranked Amadeus 53rd on its "100 Years...100 Movies" list. In 2019, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.

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