Mozart Died of Strep Throat (Maybe), Not at the Murderous Hands of an F. Murray Abraham Character
August 18th 2009 at 2:29pm by RobbTodd
It turns out that F. Murray Abraham didn't kill Mozart after all -- well, not if you believe the Dutch. Researchers now say that strep throat killed the composer, who died in 1791 at the age of 35. Previous causes were believed to have been poisoning (damn you, Salieri!), rheumatic fever, and disease caused by eating raw pork that is hard to say 10 times fast: trichinosis.
Mozart made a huge comeback in the '80s, of course, after Peter Shaffer's play "Amadeus" was adapted into an Oscar-winning movie, which stared Abraham as Mozart's rival Antonio Salieri, and the long-lost Tom Hulce in the title role.
In the clip above, check out some piano pieces recently identified as being written by Mozart as a child. The kid was good!
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