Theories on Mozart's Death: Pork, Heart, and Murder

Introduction: Mozart's Life and Enduring Mystery

One of the greatest composers in history, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart created musical works that were unheard of in his time and are still considered works of genius today. Mozart was a man of many traits and was well known for his quirky personality, especially toward the end of his life. His death has been shrouded in mystery for many years, and theorists continue to work toward drawing a conclusive picture of what may have happened to the man in his final days. Before examining the various theories surrounding his death, it is helpful to have a grasp of who the man was.

Mozart, who was named after his grandfather, spent his life as a composer. It is said that he began his illustrious career at the tender age of three, when he learned to play the keyboard. By the age of five he had started composing — a feat that, by any standard in any era, is considered the mark of a prodigy. By his teenage years he was traveling the world and had added several other instruments to his repertoire. The ability to play many instruments served him well when he composed his symphonic works, because he could hear the music with his own ear before asking someone else to play it. He became a concert master in 1772 and continued his rapid climb to worldwide fame.

He tried in vain to obtain a court position, even using his mother's influence and traveling with her, until her death in 1778, at which point Mozart gave up that quest and concentrated again on his music full time. In Salzburg he was appointed a court organist, but arguments and tension with the archbishop led him to resign the position in 1781. Throughout all of these ventures he continued to compose and to build his reputation as a musical genius. He died in 1791, and since his death there have been many theories as to what killed him — ranging from a bad heart, to bad pork, to murder by a jealous peer. As the medical and scientific communities improve their technology, different theories continue to be debated and tested. Putting the cause of his death to rest seems to be an important goal in the music field, though the actual truth of the matter may never be known for certain. One thing frequently discussed is that his death was closely tied to his final great work, The Requiem. Many believe he was composing his own death, and that theory persists to this day.

There have been many theories about what killed the famous composer, but one of the newest and most interesting is the theory involving pork cutlets. It has been proposed that he died of rheumatic fever, pneumonia, murder, or syphilis, but this newer idea points to a bad pig. Mozart died at the age of 35, which was not entirely unusual for the era but was still considered young — especially for someone with the resources to seek the finest medical care available. Even then, however, medical science was rudimentary at best, and there was no method for detecting organisms and bacteria in the bloodstream. This complicates any investigation into his mysterious death, because a person could be poisoned or die of food poisoning and the truth would never have been discovered. Today's advanced medical technology could easily have identified the cause of his death, and scientists have worked to retrace his final days as carefully as possible.

The Trichinosis Theory: Death by Bad Pork

This particular theory blames the organism responsible for trichinosis, an illness usually contracted by eating undercooked or contaminated pork. During Mozart's lifetime, fewer facts were known about food safety, which meant fewer precautions were taken in the handling of meat. The symptoms he displayed before his death — a rash, high fever, sore and swollen joints and limbs — are consistent with trichinosis, and records indicate that Mozart ate pork shortly before he fell ill.

Mozart died fifteen days after he became ill. His doctors offered only a vague cause of death — "severe miliary fever" — and no autopsy was performed. Due to widespread rumors, a lack of records, and Mozart's hasty burial in an unmarked grave the following day, attended only by a gravedigger, speculation has given rise to as many theories as surround the assassination of President Kennedy. His wife, Constanze, stated that in his last days the composer believed he had been poisoned. This does not necessarily discount the bad pork theory, since it was possible that Mozart interpreted his own food poisoning as deliberate.

The main evidence for the pork theory comes from the symptoms combined with a letter Mozart wrote to his wife shortly before his death: "What do I smell? … Pork cutlets! Che gusto. I eat to your health," he wrote on October 7. Because the trichinosis organism was not identified by science for another fifty years, theorists argue that he could have died from it without anyone at the time being aware of the cause.

Another prominent theory holds that Mozart died of heart failure caused by rheumatic fever. "Mozart was probably the victim of an acute case of rheumatic fever," said Dr. Faith T. Fitzgerald, an internist and professor of medicine. Again, the ability to determine a cause of death was severely limited at the time he died, and the only approach available to modern scientists is to speculate based on recorded observations combined with the capabilities of current medical science.

Rheumatic Fever and Heart Failure

Today, rheumatic fever is rare, but in Mozart's lifetime it was a common ailment. He died during a historically documented epidemic of the illness across Europe, and scientists believe this epidemic may have claimed the composer's life. Because it is known that Mozart had experienced the disease several times as a child, advocates of this theory argue that repeated bouts could have damaged his heart, making it a plausible cause of death later in life. The rash and fever associated with rheumatic fever, as well as the swollen limbs that are a well-known symptom of heart failure, lend credibility to this theory.

Another clue cited by proponents of this theory is the fact that Mozart gave away his beloved canary near the end of his life. He had cherished the bird for the natural music it produced, yet he could no longer bear the sound of it singing. Irritability is a classic symptom of rheumatic fever according to modern medical understanding, and this behavioral change has been interpreted as further evidence of the disease.

Perhaps the most compelling and dramatic theory about Mozart's death is that he was murdered. Scientists and music historians have spent considerable time piecing this theory together, partly driven by the public's desire that his death be attributed to something more extraordinary than a common illness. Many people elevate their heroes and thus struggle to accept ordinary or mundane causes of death. Experts who do support the murder theory allege that the Italian composer Antonio Salieri was so consumed by jealousy and rage over the sublime beauty of Mozart's Requiem that he resolved to kill the man and eliminate what he saw as unbeatable competition.

Conclusion

There are many theories surrounding the death of Mozart. He was one of the most prolific and talented composers in history, and his fame at such a young age touched the chord of envy in many. Modern science has attempted to determine the exact cause of his death, but it will probably never be fully resolved. A scheming wife, a jealous peer, or plain bad pork are but a few of the possibilities that have been raised over the years. Each person must weigh the available theories against the evidence and reach their own conclusion, knowing that the full truth of what happened to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in December 1791 may remain a mystery forever.