Prologue
This story is intended to be a sequel to the great 1984 film, Amadeus.
It is recommended but not necessary that you view the film before
reading this sequel.
Antonio Salieri's Final Masterpiece
By: Michael Lawrence
"Woodeedoo! La Looka Fru!" a mental patient cried. The remarkably
energetic eighty-eight-year-old Antonio Salieri sat on a dented and
scratched piano bench scoffing at that unintelligible mental patient
flipping his hand in a ridiculous manner. He turned to that terribly
abused piano and wrote another note on a nearly blank sheet of music
giving a triumphant laugh.
"Antonio, it's time for your bath!" a nurse said suddenly from behind
him.
"Good God, you vicious beast, how dare you interrupt me! I was writing
a great?" Antonio Salieri paused for a moment and shot his arm in the
air in a majestic manner. "?MASTERPIECE!!" The nurse looked at the
music sheet that had five notes scribbled on it and gave Salieri a
pathetic look.
"I'm sure you were, Tony," she said. "I'm sure you were." Salieri
looked at the nurse in a shocked manner.
"BLOODY HELL!!" Salieri screamed, adjusting the ruffled sleeves on his
shirt. "I am the great ANTONIO SALIERI! I've written thousands upon
thousands of great masterpieces! Much more than a smelly nurse like
yourself could even dream of writing! So don't call me TONY, you filthy
twat! From now on, I am the GREAT MAESTRO, THE MAGNIFISCENT ANTONIO
SALIERI KING OF THE OPERA!!" At Salieri's insane verbal explosion, the
nurse retaliated by giving him another pathetic look but she inevitably
decided to satisfy Salieri's ridiculous notion.
"Even great maestros like yourself, the GREAT Antonio Salieri, need
their baths," the nurse said, sarcastically. Salieri looked into the
eyes of the nurse and smiled supremely.
"Very well then, you ugly wart frog," Antonio said defiantly while
sitting daintily into the wheelchair the nurse had prepared for
him.
The nurse began to stroll the once well-respected musician through the
corridors of the insane asylum. Hopelessly insane lunatics wandered
about muttering. Salieri was waving his index fingers around as if he
was directing one of his most popular symphonies. Then, all of the
sudden, something completely awful crept into Salieri's mind. It was
The Ode To Joy by?????WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART.
"Gahhhhhh!!" Antonio Salieri screamed as the nurse was still escorting
him to the bath. He leapt out of the slowly moving wheelchair with a
truly frightened expression on his face. "DAMN MOZART!! YOU BLOODY
BEAST!! I WAS BETTER THAN YOU WERE! CRACKLED TOADSCUM! You pranced
prettily around Germany, the crudest thing that hit the earth since
SATAN IN THE TREE OF EDEN! Why did you?OF ALL PEOPLE?have that
such??beautiful gift of music. Oh how beautiful those pieces were?lah
lah dee laaaah dee lah lah lah dum dummmmm," Salieri sat back down,
singing pleasantly, on that black, whickered wheelchair while resuming
to wave his two index fingers around. He was quietly humming a pleasant
tune from Mozart's once-controversial 'The Marriage of Figaro.'
However, Salieri's hum gradually began to increase. Pretty soon, after
about thirty seconds, he was screaming the song at the top of his
lungs.
"DAMN!!!" He yelled in rage while remaining in the wheelchair. The
nurse, this time, was actually frightened by this scream because he had
never done it with so much passion. Then Salieri quickly calmed down
and looked at the ceiling. "Dear God," Antonio Salieri said humbly.
"All the great songs I have written, people today have terribly
forgotten! I don't hate you God, I really don't! Even though what you
did was bloody rotten of you. But, dear God, please see that I do not
hate you anymore!?I don't." Salieri's calmness ceased as he violently
plopped down from the wheelchair to his knees. He tremendously waved
his clasped hands into the air. Tears were streaming down his wrinkled
face. "All I asked for was one?JUST ONE?masterpiece that would stick
into the minds of these people! You don't see, dear Lord! That's all I
need!! OH DEEEAAAAR GODDDDDD!!!" Antonio Salieri, in his long thin
pajamas and robe started to sob. His vertically extended arms shriveled
to between his legs. He collapsed on his side in fetal position
crying.
The nurse, deciding it was best to let him have it out with the
sobbing, simply watched. Some of the other patients started to imitate
Salieri's outcry to God. After about three minutes, Salieri's level of
crying decreased enough for the nurse to feel as if she would be able
approach him. She patted the man on the shoulder whose face was still
red. Without there having to be a word from the nurse, Salieri sniffled
and got back into the chair.
"By the looks of it," Salieri started, wiping off his tear-drenched
face. "I've gotten my bath all ready! BACK TO THE STABLES, WOMAN!??BACK
I SAY??MUSH? WOMAN, I SAID BACK!?? DISOBEY ME AND I'LL HAVE YOU TURNED
INTO GLUE!???oh bloody hell."
***
That night, Salieri was sleeping peacefully in a room filled with fifty
patients in his small, springy bed. Then, while he was still quite
serenely at rest, everything except Salieri and the bed faded out and
turned to purple. Streaks of yellow swished by at full speed while,
even if Salieri was conscious, there was no observable motion or sound.
Pretty soon, a deafening boom briefly filled the room; Salieri woke up
horrendously frightened. He screamed, shocked at the unusual appearance
of his surroundings. Then, the yellow streaks suddenly stopped and a
man appeared. At the sight of this man, Salieri looked as if he has
seen a ghost?because it was!
"M-M-M-M-M-M-Mozart!" Salieri screamed at the sight of this legendary
musician's ghost. "M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M-M" Salieri stuttered, utterly
frightened.
"Antonio Salieri," Mozart said, crossing his arms. "It has been a long
time, hasn't it?" Salieri was still stuttering while constantly placing
and replacing his shaking hand on his face.
"Salieri!" Mozart screamed. "SALERI!! Would you stop that?" Salieri
stopped the muttering, but the incontrollable shaking continued.
"I DIDN'T KILL YOU, MOZART!" Salieri screamed, his lips trembled
violently. "I KNOW WHAT THEY'VE BEEN SAYING, BUT I DIDN'T DO IT!"
Mozart laughed.
"I know you didn't, Salieri," Mozart said. "I died of pneumonia."
Despite this, Salieri continued to shiver. He was speechless. Mozart
let this trembling continue for about thirty seconds when he decided to
reveal the reason of his presence.
"We have heard your outcry," Mozart said. "I'm here to help you write a
masterpiece." Salieri's constant trembling still continued, but at a
lower level. Salieri adjusted himself to a more comfortable position on
that noisily springy bed. When it appeared that Salieri had let this
information sink in, Mozart let out a quick smile.
"But you're dead!" Salieri yelled, pointing at him, still quivering a
little bit.
"Of course I'm dead," Mozart said. "And you are eighty-eight years
old." Salieri's look of fright turned a bit more sour.
"Blimey," Salieri said. "Eighty-eight years of TORMENT!! Why, of all
people, did God choose ME to live so long!" Salieri looked more
relieved at this moment than frightened. "Thank God it has finally
happened! I, Antonio Salieri, am finally dead! Explains seeing you,
eh?" Mozart let out a goofy grin and tilted his head to the side.
"Oh you're not dead, dear Salieri," Mozart said. "You're in heaven!"
Salieri looked around at the floorless, endless purple and yellow
expanse.
"Wow, I thought there would be more clouds here," Salieri said looking
around. "And, what did you say? I'm not dead? Then why in hell's name
am I in heaven?"
"I've brought you here because this is the only place that God said I
could bring you," Mozart said. "And you're not allowed to see heaven's
actual appearance. This is merely an illusion that I have created."
Salieri, not frightened at all anymore, looked at Mozart with a
sneer.
"Well, you have terrible taste in color!" Salieri exclaimed. Mozart
suddenly laughed one of his trademark, ludicrously goofy laughs that
sounds, well?rather like a hyena! Salieri had a serious expression on
his face, rolled his eyes to look nastily into Mozart's. Boy did he
ever hate that laugh! Mozart continued this for about one minute and in
between laughs:
"Well, I'd better tell you why you're here," Mozart said out of breath
from all that hyena laughing. He calmed down for now. "I'm here to?"
Mozart waved his hand in a mystical/goofy fashion. "inspire your
greatest masterpiece!" Of course, Salieri had a suspicious glare in his
eyes.
"Really," Salieri said. "And how are you going to accomplish that?"
Mozart, who was still apparently recovering from Salieri's
not-at-all-funny joke, let out another mild string of laughs.
"Well, it's really quite easy," Mozart said now calmed down. "Actually,
it's so easy that I've all ready done it!" Mozart laughed again, but it
was short-lived. "When I send you back, you will write the greatest
masterpiece of all time. People will love that song?as it is your
dream." Mozart looked sympathetically to that under appreciated
musician and was smiling mildly.
Salieri woke up. He panted heavily and looked all around the room. His
fellow patients remained as they should be, snoring and muttering away
as normal. Salieri, still panting, put his fingers on his chest.
"What an odd dream," he said
***
Two days thereafter, Salieri's peculiar dream was still in vivid memory
though he was parading triumphantly around the mental institute
sneering at every patient he walked by. Then he passed the piano that a
patient who was only four foot ten was pounding on.
"Off!" Salieri exclaimed, pointing in the direction of the door. The
tiny patient obeyed while letting out a scared and awkward but quiet
shriek. Salieri then sat majestically down on that dreadfully dented
piano bench and scooted it noisily toward the piano. He played one of
his great pieces on that terribly out-of-tune piano while gracefully
rotating his upper body. When it was over, Salieri commenced to play
nonsense. Salieri does not normally plays nonsense like this; in fact,
he really hates doing it. However, this time he rather enjoyed doing
it. Salieri let his fingers randomly jolt around the keys. Then
something beautiful occurred. His left hand was gracefully playing a
most beautiful harmony. He removed his right hand, which was still
playing nonsense, from the keys to let this wonderful sound process in
his head. Then, he brought his right hand back to the upper part of the
keyboard to play a melody that fully complemented that excellent
harmony. Salieri closed his eyes and his wrinkled face smiled wider
than it ever had before. The patients stopped their muttering and
hopping to watch him. Oh what a beautiful song! Salieri decided that
the beautiful melody lasted long enough and suddenly changed it to a
more bouncy tone. The patients liked it and started to bounce with it.
Salieri's eyes remained closed while his arms jumped wildly about.
After the bouncy part lived its stay, Salieri started to play something
incredibly violent. The patients stopped bouncing while Salieri opened
his eyes to glare angrily at the yellowed piano keys. Even though it
was violent, it was still quite moving and beautiful. The patients
gawked, astonished at Salieri. Then it was over. Salieri pounded what
he thought to be the last chord. Some of the patients began to jump
about, but most of them let out an excited cheer.
"At last," Salieri said happily with a wide grin on his face.
***
Fortunately, Salieri had remembered every note of that song. On the
music sheet, he scribbled the final note and admired it for about
thirty seconds. He then looked up into the air and kissed it.
"Thank you," Salieri said facing gratefully into the air. He collected
the five pages his masterpiece was written on and kissed them as
well.
***
Approximately two years later, Salieri entered the office of the head
of the institute, Dr. Morton. The doctor set a newspaper on his desk
and motioned the ninety-year-old Salieri to sit down on a red velvet
chair at the front of his desk. Salieri did it calmly and crossed his
legs. He was wearing a clean black suit.
"Hello Antonio," the doctor said.
"Good day," Salieri responded.
"Well, I'm a little hesitant to release you, Antonio," the doctor said
smiling. "I don't run across too many ninety-year-olds who are in such
good health like yourself!"
"Which is why I should leave, doctor," Salieri said. "God has blessed
me with such a long life that it would be a shame to waste it
here."
"You're right," the doctor said. He stood up to shake Salieri's hand.
"Congratulations, sir. You are hereby released from St. Mary's."
Salieri stood up to meet the doctor's handshake.
"You have made me a very happy man," Salieri said smiling
pleasantly.
***
"Antonio Salieri!" the seventy-five-year-old Franz Joseph exclaimed
struggling with a fancy walking stick to get out of his favorite red,
velvet chair. He was obviously quite excited as he strained his tired
legs toward Salieri. "Long time no see!" They shook hands. Salieri
knelt down to kiss the emperor's pinky ring.
"Get up, get up!" Emperor Joseph II exclaimed, smiling. Salieri obeyed
and they commenced to shake hands more. "It's so great to see you
again!"
"Likewise, emperor," Salieri said. He brushed off his thighs.
"So, how have you been?" the emperor asked who found another chair to
sit on. He motioned for Salieri to sit down. "Have a seat." Salieri sat
on a fancy chair sitting across from the emperor.
"I have been very well, thank you," Salieri said as he pulled out five
sheets of music, suppressing a smile. Emperor Joseph II stared at those
pieces of paper.
"What's that?" the emperor asked. Antonio Salieri's wrinkled face
smiled widely. The emperor smiled back. "My, my! Have you written
something for me? By God, play it! It will be just like old times!"
Salieri, still smiling, lightly bowed. He slowly approached the grand
piano and set the sheets of music on the stand. He started to play. Oh
what a beautiful song! As Salieri played it, the emperor closed his
eyes in sheer ecstasy. When Salieri finally finished, the emperor
enthusiastically applauded. Salieri got up from the bench and bowed
modestly.
"Pip, pip!" the emperor yelled in absolute delight. "What a beautiful
song! Oh my! Hooray!" The emperor continued to applaud. Salieri smiled
quite modestly and pulled out a moderately thick stack of sheet music
from his bag.
"I put it to symphony," Salieri said. The emperor, still excited, quit
applauding, took the pile of music, and thumbed through it.
"Magnificent! Absolutely magnificent!" the emperor said happily. "My,
my, what a great song! Well, there's a young bloke, uhhh James Miner,
who I allowed the symphony, but I'll end him tomorrow. Simply
magnificent! Would you play it again?"
"Certainly," Salieri responded, sitting back down at the grand
piano.
***
That evening, emperor Joseph II's best manservant showed Salieri to the
most grandiose guest room of the palace. Salieri changed into a
wonderfully comfortable pair of silk pajamas. He grabbed the large pile
of sheet music and happily thumbed through it. This was, indeed, an
exciting moment for Antonio Salieri. He set the music down on the
bedside table.
***
The next morning, Antonio Salieri woke up. He cheerfully got out of bed
and stretched. He looked to the bedside table and?
"Oh no!" Salieri said worryingly. His thick pile of sheet music had
disappeared. Salieri panicked and began to frantically look throughout
the room. His frail hands upturned lamps, books, tables, anything that
the music could possibly be hiding under. He looked and looked, but
could not find it. Salieri quickly changed into a new suit and quickly
walked out of the room. Wherever Salieri went in the palace, he
upturned every piece of furniture he ran across. When he made it
through the hallway and into the palace's grand living room, he began
to make a mess of it too.
"Oh, where is it?!" Salieri yelled as he overturned a glass top table.
By this time, one of the maids alerted the emperor.
"Salieri!" Emperor Joseph II exclaimed. "What do you think you're
doing?!" Salieri continued overturning furniture, not even looking at
the emperor.
"It's gone," Salieri said under his breath while overturning a
couch.
"What's gone?" the emperor asked.
"MY MUSIC!" Salieri exploded. The emperor was taken aback.
"You're music?" the emperor asked.
"YES!" Salieri yelled rudely.
"Oh," the emperor said. He motioned a maid.
"Alert the other maids," the emperor said. "Tell them to stop whatever
they're doing to look for Antonio Salieri's music." The maid said
nothing and curtseyed. Even though Salieri heard this, he still
continued to frantically search for it.
***
It was of no use. Salieri's music was nowhere to be found.
"Can't you write it down again?" the emperor asked. "I have blank
sheets you can use, Antonio." Salieri was sitting on the couch with his
face buried in his palms.
"I can't!" Salieri cried, he sniffled loudly. "I have forgotten
it!"
"What?" the emperor asked. Salieri removed his face from his palms to
reveal his reddened eyes.
"I have forgotten it!" Salieri repeated, crying louder.
"How could you forget it?" the emperor asked. Salieri quickly arose
from the couch and started pacing around the room.
"I don't know!" Salieri yelled. He walked to the piano and sat down at
the bench. He began to play random notes, but unfortunately, nothing
reminded him of the song.
"Wait a second," the emperor said. "I remember it. Ummmm? yes. It went
dah dah dummm de lah dah. No, no, no, that's not it. Hold on? It went
dee dah DAH doo doolah lah dah. No wait that's not how it went? Oh I
think I have it, now. Dee doodad dum dilly dah dum. No that's not
right. Umm? maybe it went dim dum dee dah doo dah dimdah dah dee. No,
no." The emperor continued this for a while, but Salieri stopped it by
pounding a hard chord on the piano.
"Damn!" Salieri exclaimed.
***
Five days later, Salieri had abandon all hope of remembering his great
song. Emperor Joseph II invited him to meet the promising new composer,
James Miner, and to watch his debut concert.
"I am excepting great things out of this one," Joseph said to Salieri
who was sitting next to the emperor in the royal balcony. "Of course,
he will never measure up to you." Salieri just stared at the stage
which was hidden by a large, red velvet curtain. He could see the feet
of the instrument players of the symphony move around beneath the
curtain. After two minutes, the curtain opened and the audience
applauded. James Miner came out from back stage wearing a fancy tuxedo
and held his conductor's stick. He faced the audience and took a quick
bow. He then turned around to face the symphony. He tapped the stick
three times on the conductor's podium and raised both of his arms. Then
he began to move them signaling for the violins to start playing. It
was a pleasant tune, but in Salieri's opinion, it was nothing special.
The emperor sat uneasily in his chair. When the song was over, the
emperor applauded to be polite, but by looking at the emperor's annoyed
facial expression, there was nothing really polite about it at
all.
The conductor turned around and bowed stiffly. Then he faced the
symphony again to begin the second song. He tapped the conductor's
stick three times and raised his arms. Unlike Miner's last song, this
song was actually quite good. Salieri listened pleasantly to this song,
but there was something about it that stirred some sort of memory. Then
it hit him. The orchestra was playing Salieri's masterpiece! The
emperor, however, didn't seem to recognize it.
"That's my song!" Salieri exclaimed pointing to the orchestra. The
emperor broke out of his pleasant trance to look confusedly at
him.
"This?" the emperor asked. "This isn't your song!" Salieri's eyes
opened widely. He gasped and got up from his chair.
"This is my song! I remember it!" Salieri yelled as the orchestra
advanced to the bouncy portion of the song.
"No," the emperor said, while listening a little harder to the music.
"I don't think this is your song." Salieri sat back down and started to
cry.
Then, something unexpected occurred. On the stage, above the orchestra,
Salieri saw a giant, slightly transparent, smiling figure of Wolfgang
Amadeus Mozart. Salieri did not look frightened, however. Salieri's
haunting eyes stared into that of Mozart's as he slowly stood up from
his chair.
"Mozart," Salieri hissed. Emperor Joseph II heard this.
"Mozart?" the emperor asked concerned.
Salieri ignored the emperor and continued to stare into Mozart's eyes
as he slowly approached the outskirts of the balcony. He stepped onto
the edge. The symphony started to play the violent part of the
song.
"Salieri! What are you doing? Get off of there!" the emeror yelled.
Salieri continued to stare into Mozart's eyes. He paused for ten
seconds and then calmy leapt off.
Had Salieri survived the fall, he would have sworn that he heard
Mozart's ridiculous laughter.
