Can Mozart and Salieri Work It Out?

"Nearby were manuscripts of nine symphonies that Mozart wrote within two years, in his late teens. Bettany snapped photos. "My son's a composer"-Stellan Connelly Bettany, his older child with the actress Jennifer Connelly, is at the Royal College of Music-"and he's only written one symphony this year!""

"They passed the clavichord, which still had ink stains on it, presumably from late nights at the keyboard. Neither actor has had much musical experience. Bettany, as a London teen, used to busk by Westminster Pier. "You would get very adept at profiling people," he said. " Oh, they're French. I'm going to play the Cure! Because the Cure was huge in France.""

"For "Amadeus," the actors practiced piano for months before filming, in Hungary. "Then, when we got to Budapest, we were playing on fortepianos, where the keys are quite a bit smaller, so suddenly it got doubly difficult again," Sharpe recalled, eying Mozart's keys."

"McClellan said, "I'll just mention my quibble with your series, for what it's worth: the manuscripts didn't look like the actual manuscripts." He turned sheepish. "I'm not trying to be a jerk." "To clarify, Will and I didn't make them," Bettany said. They reached a tiny, oval-shaped engraving of Salieri. Finally! "So, you couldn't find a smaller one?" Bettany said."

Actors visited a Royal College of Music setting containing manuscripts and instruments tied to Mozart. Nine symphonies written within two years appeared alongside a clavichord with ink stains from late-night playing. Bettany photographed artifacts and noted his son’s composing work. Connelly’s older child was described as a composer with limited output that year. The actors had limited musical experience, with Bettany recalling busking and Sharpe recalling garage-band playing. For filming, they practiced piano for months, then faced smaller fortepiano keys in Budapest. A concern was raised about manuscripts not matching actual originals, and clarification followed that the materials were not made by the actors. Salieri’s engraving was found, and Salieri’s support for young musicians was praised.

Read at The New Yorker