About this episode

Wes and Erin discuss the themes of longing and authority in the film 'Amadeus' and the contrasting musical talents of Salieri and Mozart.

If an understanding of music implies a love of structure, perhaps the musician’s relationship to his art mirrors the one he has with authority, both human and divine. Salieri, whose father was a man of commerce, sees God as a kind of bank manager who records prayers and sacrifices as payments on a long-term loan of musical talent. Salieri’s economics work just fine until the arrival of Mozart, who seems to have put up no collateral—he’s ”a giggling, dirty creature” in the words of Salieri—but has received the equivalent of a billion-dollar loan. Are Mozart’s gifts a glitch in divine accounting? Or are his flaws attendant on or even the result of his genius? And how can we account for the glitch in Salieri’s design, which permits longing to go unanswered by talent? Wes & Erin discuss the 1984 film “Amadeus,” directed by Milos Forman. Upcoming Episodes : Susan Sontag’s On Photography ; Withnail & I ; Waiting for Godot Pre-order Erin’s forthcoming book “Avail” here: http://subtextpodcast.com/avail For bonus content, become a paid subscriber at Patreon or directly on the Apple Podcasts app. Patreon subscribers also get early access to…

People in this episode

Hosts: Wes Alwan, Erin O'Luanaigh

Topics covered

• music
• authority
• genius
• longing
• film analysis
• Amadeus

Keywords

• Amadeus
• Mozart
• Salieri
• music
• authority
• longing
• film
• Milos Forman

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Avail

Books & works: Amadeus

More episodes of Subtext: Conversations about Classic Books and Films

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• The Character of Authority in Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” (Part 6) · February 23, 2026 · 32 min
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