Mozart’s Indian connection     

On this day, December 5, in 1791, composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died in Vienna. He was 35. Even today, Mozart is regarded by many as among the greatest music composers ever. What’s his connection to India?

Well, have you heard of the Mozart of Madras? That’s the title given to A R Rahman by his fans. Though Rahman doesn’t like the comparison and the title. Here are five cases where Mozart is linked to Indian music:

• You have heard Mozart’s music in the theme of Titan watches. The tune in this advertisement is Mozart’s. And the arrangement has been done by Rahman.

• And if you are fond of old Hindi songs, then you have listened to Mozart in the following song. The music of the first two lines here belongs to Mozart.

• Contemporary music groups use Mozart in their work too. Here is a mash up of Mozart and Carnatic music in a video by IndianRaga.

• Famed music composer Ilayaraja has a track called, ‘Mozart, I Love You’ in his non-film album titled “Nothing but Wind”.

Singer Asha Bhonsale feels that her late husband R D Burman didn’t get his due as a composer. She says in an interview that, “It’s sad but then Mozart died unsung too. And today thousands flock to his grave in Vienna”.

Interestingly, poisoning was thought of as the cause of Mozart’s untimely death. Then in 2009, 218 years after his death, scientists and researchers pointed the cause of death to – an infection.