Antonio Salieri was a successful composer, who wrote about forty operas; he was an excellent teacher, whose students included Beethoven, Schubert and Liszt, and he was, for a time, the most powerful musician at the Vienna court of the Habsburgs. He lived from 1750-1825 – not bad going if you think of Mozart, Schubert, Chopin and Mendelssohn, all of whom died young, but not so impressive if you consider the enduring fame of the composers who lived only half as long. Salieri, if he is remembered at all nowadays, is best known for his association with Mozart, and, most especially, as a suspect in Mozart’s death.

In this edition of the NACOcast, Nick talks to Ian Kyer, whose book on Salieri shows that the oft-maligned composer deserves a lot more respect! And as a very special bonus for NACOcast listeners, Ian Kyer has graciously allowed us to make available the full text of his novel as a downloadable PDF. Get it here:

PDF: https://radio.nac-cna.ca/podcast/NACOcast/NACOcast_Salieri-DamagingWinds.pdf

Music is this edition of the NACOcast:

Armida: Aria of Armida: "Tremo, dell'idol mio"

La Fiera Di Venezia - Vi Sono Sposa E Amante

Les Danaïdes - Act 2: Par Les Larmes Dont Votre Fille