Welcome back.
Today, we will be talking about the five biggest...
Oh yeah, it's-
This channel's gonna go all conspiracy all of a sudden.
Joe Rogan, watch out!
Yeah, Joe Rogan.
Should we make one of those like,
clickbaity thumbnails? Like...
"The truth about Tchaikovsky."
"The dark secret about Sibelius."
- Ooh... - *gasps*
"Was Beethoven really deaf?"
Alright, anyway.
Anyway, let's get started.
Alright, the first one!
A ha ha ha ha...
If you haven't heard the Requiem,
what are you even...
do you even call yourself a classical musician?
You don't even deserve to watch this channel.
Go listen to a req-
No, finish this video,
and go listen to a requiem.
- 90% of people just click off. - Yeah.
So there's a lot of...
mystery and uncertainty surrounding Mozart's Requiem
and his death.
'Cause he actually composed it as he was dying.
So the first thing that was kinda strange was
Mozart got this from an anonymous commissioner.
Nobody knows who actually paid him to write this piece.
Mm...
A little bit suspicious!
It gets even more sus.
He wrote this piece while he was getting sick.
He was deteriorating health.
That in itself is kind of also a conspiracy 'cause...
no one really knows how Mozart died.
- There's a lot of debates. - Yeah.
Some people think he was poisoned.
Mozart himself thinks he was poisoned.
Other people thinks he just had some disease.
But then, even then,
- there's a lot of debate to what type of disease he got. - Yeah.
There's no evidence for this,
but one popular story actually was that
Salieri poisoned him.
Do you know who Salieri is?
He's meant to be Mozart's rival,
though some people said
they were actually close friends, but...
The "narrative" is they were rivals,
and Salieri hated him.
Because, apparently, Mozart was just a lot better.
Oh yeah, a lot more talented.
I think that's why
Mozart himself thought he was getting poisoned.
And it's funny 'cause...
you know, the movie, Amadeus, right?
In the movie, they actually portrayed the scene
where Mozart receives the commission
to write the requiem,
and the guy that gave it to him is
Salieri in a black mask...
Ooh...
...symbolising death.
Maybe Salielue-
Salier-
So hard to say the name.
(both) Salieri.
...knew he was gonna die,
and be like "You're gonna die anyway."
"I'm just letting you know."
- Yeah. - "Write your last requiem."
- Alright, but this is not just it, alright? - Yeah.
So Mozart actually never finished it.
He died while composing the Requiem.
It was finished off by a man named...
Brett: So off!
Very off. I'm sorry.
- "Süssmayr." - But that was Mozart's pupil.
Now here's the thing.
Süssmayr...
No, it's Süssmayr.
- Alright, see this is already sus, right? - Yeah, Süssmayr. Yeah, Süssmayr.
The Süssmayr.
When he was completing it,
he actually hand copied what Mozart had written up to,
and copied the whole thing.
so there's actually...
in the finished draft, there's no evidence showing...
- that Mozart- - what was Mozart's and what was his.
There is some...
I have read some evidence,
I don't know how legit it is,
that Mozart composed
up to the first 8 bars of the Lacrimosa,
which is... kind of the most famous one actually.
It's kinda creepy that he just finished that theme,
and then he was gone.
Regardless of how much Mozart actually composed,
here's the real seedy bit, alright?
In 1950,
- the unfinished manuscript was found in Brussels, - Yup.
and the last page was torn out.
Ooh...
So someone stole it from his death bed...
- Was it Salieri? - It was Salieri.
He's like "I can't give this guy all the credit."
Nobody knows. There's a lot of controversy.
All that we know is...
Beethoven said...
There you go.
- So you never really know. - Yeah.
But go check out the piece.
- Yeah. - It is haunting.
- It's not like any other Mozart though. - Yeah.
'Cause Mozart is usually so like...
light and cheerful,
and there's this freaking requiem that's just like death.
It's like "Yo, are you alright?"
He's like "Yeah, I'm dying."
Next one!
Was it a suicide note?
Mm...
Known as the Pathétique-
Pathétique?
- The Pathetic Symphony. - Yeah, yeah, known as the Pathetic Symphony.
I used to actually think that.
- Oh, the Pathetic S- Ha ha ha! - Yeah, I thought that's what it meant!
'Cause pathétique used to mean...
pathos, like passion, right?
I know the meaning means, like, Passionate Symphony.
We'll just call it the Pathetic-tique Symphony.
This was Tchaikovsky's last symphony.
6th one, yup.
Yeah, and then it was...
9 days after it premiered,
he died.
Dude...
How do you time that ****?
Yeah!
A lot of composers
died before hearing their last symphony.
- Yeah, but he actually did. - But it's like...
It was just too coincidental.
I know. I think maybe his willpower was just holding on.
He was like "Ugh!"
Or maybe something else happened.
So there has been a lot of theories going on.
During the first performance,
Rimsky-Korsakov asked Tchaikovsky
whether there was a programme to the new symphony.
So by programme, he means
- is there hidden meaning behind the symphony - Yeah.
- rather than just music for music itself, right? - Yes.
Yeah. And Tchaikovsky said there was,
but he wouldn't share it.
Mhm.
He basically said it's gonna be a mystery for anyone to guess.
And his quote's like...
I'm like...
"Dammit, Tchaikovsky."
I swear all the composers do this ****.
I know! It's just like
"I'm not gonna give you guys everything, ha ha ha ha."
But here's what gets really interesting.
There's so many stories about how Tchaikovsky died.
But the official "story" that he died was from cholera.
- Basically, cholera- Yeah. - From drinking tap water, right?
- Unboiled water, just tap water. - Unboiled water.
Glad we live in good times today.
Which is like, how do you live your whole life...
and then just one day, as a grown adult,
- forget to boil the water and die? That's so sus, right? - Yeah, the dumbest-
- That's the dumbest reason to die. - Yeah.
And right after the premiere of the last symphony.
Yeah, like...
If it was a freak accident,
- like something happened. - Yeah.
Okay.
But something within his control, with his like...
- habits. - Mhm.
How do you forget to just boil water?
- If you've been boiling water your whole life. - Yeah.
- So that's a bit suspicious already. - Mhm.
He had symptoms of "chlorea" after the premiere.
Cholera.
Whatever, but...
he also refused for doctor to examine him.
Really?!
That's suspicious.
Why would he not want a doctor to look at him?
Yeah.
It's like, he just wants to die. He doesn't want to...
reveal what's actually happening.
Like he died on the bathtub, saying
he wants to be left alone, all that stuff.
Yeah.
There's a few theories out there
why Tchaikovsky's-
- would have "committed suicide." - Mhm.
One of those says
"Back then the cholera disease"
"brought death only in the worst cases,"
"which is not his case."
Alright?
"An expert witness working in British National Poison Unit"
"stated that..."
"The reported symptoms of Tchaikovsky's illness"
"fit very closely with 'arsenic poisoning.'"
- Oh... Really!? - Mhm.
- So they're saying it isn't cholera. - Mhm.
- That's what they're saying. - Yeah.
But this ties in quite well to the context of the situation
Tchaikovsky was gay.
That at the time was very illegal...
Not very ille-
- It was just illegal in Russia. - Yeah.
Yeah, most- a lot of the world...
- was very harsh, yeah. - The whole world was like that. Probably, yeah.
So...
that probably, I think most probably
played a mental game with him.
- Mhm. - And he even faked a marriage.
His marriage was designed
to stop people gossiping about his love life.
Yeah, actually, apparently...
they were only married for six weeks as well.
- Bro. - Bro, he tried.
That is rough!
I mean he just gotta...
- I guess it's survival, right? Back then. - Yeah.
He had to try his best.
And in fact, it says here:
"He was in love with Vladimir Davydov."
Davydov?
Uh-huh.
His nephew.
I mean, you gotta do what you gotta do
to create good music, so-
Ha ha ha ha! I won't judge.
- I won't judge! - I'm not one to judge, but...
whatever...
- floats your cup of Chai Tea, Tchaikovsky. - Yeah.
One of the popular theories...
And again, there's no hard evidence,
people are still-
musicologists are still looking to it,
is that he was actually ordered to kill himself.
The order like, to restore his honour.
Yeah, the court ordered him to kill himself
because they found out about...
his...
- homosexuality. - Yeah.
And they didn't want that to become famous
because, you know, Tchaikovsky was a icon-
like a figure within Russia.
But you think about it, that narrative...
is a lot more believable.
That makes a lot more sense.
Before you guys go like
"Oh, maybe these guys are just thinking to much,"
"overthinking it."
I think, to me,
the biggest clue is in the music.
Tying back to with his 6th symphony suicide note, right?
Because it's not just the fact that
it was written-
I mean, it premiered 9 days and then he died, but...
it is the only symphony
that ends on such a depressing...
- Yeah. - 4th movement.
The only Tchaikovsky symphony, if I'm correct.
Yeah, it's not like triumphant.
The 3rd movement, and it's very triumphant.
It's the ending that you would expect from a symphony.
- And that's why everyone claps afterward. - Everyone claps. They're like
- "Oh yeah! WOO!!" - It sounds like an ending.
And then boom! Out of nowhere,
the final movement is actually the most tragic sounding...
almost sounds like a requiem.
- It sounds like... death. - Yeah.
And that's why
when you take all that into account,
it's very... like...
It's such a shame...
Tsk. Very tragic...
Alright, how's this one?
This one's for you music nerds out there.
What is the Enigma?
Oh!
Some of you might not know it,
but I'm sure all of you have heard this before.
It's basically a collection of 14 variations and a theme.
But it has become popularly known as
the Enigma Variations, because...
It is believed...
That there is a hidden...
Theme that goes throughout the piece.
And here is the thing, right?
Nobody knows what the theme is,
Elgar said there was a theme but he didn't tell people,
just like Tchaikovsky.
Ah! It's so annoying!
- He's like... - He's like, "you guys figure it out."
"Oh, you guys guess it out."
And to this day...
People have theories
but no one has conclusive answer to it.
All right, some background context.
It - Uh...
Elgar loved...
Codes.
He wrote this thing called the Dorabella Cipher.
Just coded a letter to his friend.
Why not?
In the premiere of the Enigma Variations, he wrote...
So that's the real...
Hidden theme.
So the famous opening theme...
Da la da la da la — That's not the actual enigma theme.
There's another theme that goes on throughout, right?
So, later on...
Elgar gave six conditions...
To the theme.
- Dude... - All right?
There's a theme...
He made a counterpoint to it...
And that counterpoint is the one he...
Kind of hides throughout the Enigma Variations.
So, kind of can be overlaid on top.
So, 19 bars.
So, anytime anyone came up with a solution that
violates one of these six conditions...
It's invalid.
Dude, it's like an escape room.
Some people think the theme is God Save the Queen.
- Some suggested Mozart's Prague Symphony. - Ooo.
Beethoven's...
Beethoven's Pathétique.
Some people even suggested...
A Lutheran melody called Ein feste Burg.
Personally, we are not...
- That skilled in music theory and - Yeah...
counterpoint to figure it out.
But if anyone of you are interested in that type of thing,
definitely check it out.
You know each variation's written for
a different friend as well, right?
- Wow... - So it's like coding your friend's personality into music.
What a nerd.
Yeah, like...
He had so much time, that guy.
I love it. Yeah.
All right, next one.
Where is the manuscript?
*Gasp*
It's his biggest project he spent.
All right?
- Like, 20 years composing, yeah. - Really?
And he never really officially published it.
- Okay. - So, the story goes that...
He's always...
Trying to finish it but he just burns it.
- You know, last few pages, just burned it. - Yeah, I've heard that he just destroyed it.
Why are you destroying it? Just keep it for reference.
- Yeah. - Like, come on, man.
25 years later, in 1945, he wrote...
Bro...
This guy's such a perfectionist.
- Yeah. - It's the typical...
Well, he did quit violin.
- He did. - Cause he was like, "I wasn't good enough."
- But then he composed the Sibelius concerto. - Yeah, I know.
It's like bro...
Yeah, it's like, dude, I'm pretty sure you're all right.
He wrote almost no music for the rest of his life.
And his daughter...
Said that the Symphony 8 did not exist.
So it's weird...
How his daughter said that, but he said he finished it...
And still not satisfied with it, all right?
Did he actually finish it or is he just drinking vodka
- and pretending to be productive but he's just not... - Yeah, probably. "Ahh! It's in my head."
So you don't really know...
If it's - If he's finished or not, right?
But there's fragments of it found...
...From scholars have been catalogued.
That there were sketches of this symphony....
The ending, but...
Several of the manuscripts have been...
They're just been identified but it's never complete.
No one really knows, like...
Was he just uncomfortable with it...
Was it...
Like he doesn't want to...
Share...
His experiments?
Cause, you know, composers always experiment.
They try things.
After a certain phase.
That's why we have these revolutions in composition.
No one really knows
what his real intention was about this.
So, we actually just found this too.
Literally, two days ago.
That...
Some musicians...
Tried to recreate...
An idea of what the 8th symphony
would have sounded like...
Based on these sketches that were being identified.
Again, it's tentative, there's no proof that that was...
His intention of the 8th symphony, but...
I don't know, you got to check this out.
- What an opening. - It's... It's just...
Yeah.
Those harmonies.
- You can tell he is evolving. - Ah...
Yeah.
He always sought after perfection, um...
His approach to symphony writing is the most...
Structural integrity you can get.
So, in the classical era,
Symphonies were 20 minutes, and then Beethoven...
Bruckner, Mahler became like over an hour long.
Sibelius was compressing it..
To see how concise...
He can present all the musical ideas.
And his 7th symphony was just 20 minutes.
One movement.
And it's just such a shame...
That we never heard this 8th one
cause I'm so curious what it would sound like.
- 15 minutes or what... - Maybe he wanted to do it
within 15 seconds, you never know.
Sacrilegious Sibelius.
All right, last...
Meme, I mean, conspiracy.
You guys may have heard about this.
But it's the curse of the 9th.
Ooo...
That's right.
Why did composers always die after the 9th symphony?
Some people did less -
Shostakovich.
Shostakovich did, but he is an exception.
A lot...
- But a lot of them... - I mean, here's a list, all right?
Schubert died in the middle of writing his 10th.
Bruckner died, his 9th was unfinished.
The list goes on.
To give you a bit of context, before Beethoven...
People wrote a lot of symphonies.
Haydn wrote a 107, Mozart wrote 41.
And here comes Beethoven...
This pivotal historic figure in classical music.
And he dies after the 9th one.
And since Beethoven...
People have been dying...
After the 9th.
Like what the ****?
They just drop dead after the 9th one.
I don't know why I am laughing, it's just so like...
- Why? - Yeah.
There's always stories about composers...
- Freaking out. - Yeah, they were genuinely scared to write the 9th one.
Some examples, all right?
Mahler was obsessed with the curse and...
After writing his 8th symphony,
he wrote "Song to the Earth", which is basically...
A symphony.
But he refused to call it a symphony
and called it a song cycle.
And then he wrote -
He eventually wrote the 9th symphony.
It's funny cause the end of the 9th symphony
almost sounds like death, right?
- It's freaking long. - It's like transcendent.
But then he was like...
I'm still alive.
I beat the curse!
So he went to start his 10th one and then he died.
It's like bro...
Philip Glass...
Wrote his 10th symphony before premiering his 9th.
He's like, "I'm not gonna perform my 9th,
I'm gonna write my 10th first."
This guy was thinking ahead.
Schoenberg even wrote about it, he's like...
Oh my god.
Might be just coincidence.
If there's some actual curse on composers...
- Who knows? - I also wonder what type of psychological...
Self...
Infliction, they could be doing with this curse.
Possibly.
What if these composers were possessed?
By some...
- Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. - Maybe they made a contract with the devil
- to get really good composing skills. - Yeah.
Like Paganini, but like...
- But yeah, but then you have to die by the 9th symphony. - The composer devil. It's like...
"All your symphonies will be remembered."
"But there's a 99% chance..."
"You have to give me your soul."
- "When you hit your 9th symphony, time's up." - And you can't even... Yeah, time's up.
"That's the rule." And they sign it.
That's so weird though, it's just...
And for Schoenberg to even say that.
Yeah.
He who wants to go beyond it must pass away.
Was that a quote from the devil?
- Composers out there, let us know. - Yeah.
- If you hit your - - Be careful.
Be careful if you hit your 10th symphony.
Once you go pass 11th and 12th, you're fine.
Yeah, all right, cool.
Did you enjoy this video?
Hope you did. If you did, hit like, subscribe.
Definitely helps the channel out and um...
Now it's practice time!