Grave Yards

Transformation and remembering are two components that are a part of death. When one dies, one’s spirit goes to another place, or becomes a different form, depending on one’s religious beliefs. The qualities and personality traits, and sometimes even opinions of others influence how one is remembered. Such qualities are then represented artistically on monuments or grave stones where one’s body is laid to rest. Mozart and Beethoven were Vienna’s finest composers, and their legacy lives on to this day. Placed next to each other, Beethoven’s grave and Mozart’s monument in Zentralfriedhof, their legacies are presently being compared and contrasted.

As the angel looks back on the accomplishments of Mozart’s past, his death will forever remain a tragic end to the story of a great musician and composer. The angel on the monument sits on the works of the late Mozart, mourning his death. She represents all who mourn for him and longs for his presence. It almost feels like he should be there, but he was buried in a mass grave. He achieved so much and gained nobility throughout his life time, but his death and burial were so devastating.

A butterfly and a snake in a continuous circle are placed on Beethoven’s grave stone as a representation of transformation. He was constantly going through changes his entire life. Unlike Mozart, composing didn’t come easy for Beethoven. He had to work hard to compose, but through working hard he transitioned from low to high status in the music world. He moved from place to place to due to his bombastic nature and not being a very polite tenant.  He began to go deaf at the end of his life, and went through his final transformation before his death. A hard working composer, but someone who was miserable throughout his life received an appropriate representation on his grave stone.

Mozart and Beethoven were two complete opposites in life, but both are appropriately remembered after death. Mozart’s style was free and artistic and Beethoven’s was hard and dramatic. Mozart’s monument was placed next to Beethoven’s grave in the fact they are both being remembered as two of Vienna’s finest composers in the most fitting way after their deaths.