for Maria Anna Mozart
Virtuosic musical obsession
aesthetic grace, bravura elegance
harpsichord, voice, and violin
maestoso harmony of liberty
Fall from the vertiginous heights
composition immured within society’s
circumfluent atmosphere of misogyny
Sophistical arguments internalize, si ohgfrettn
deference becomes a form of self-mutilation
impeding precocious melodies
denying life giving freiheit
Vivace swirls of cascading notes
accelerado of primary drives, gusta,
drowning in the noise of a distorted reflection
Convex mirrors cede self-possession
to the obliterating reign of man
inspired scores, con fuoco, reduce to ash
Abandoning creation ma non troppo
deaf to internal pleas, grief consumes
assents to spiritual suicide
Sforzando genius
selbstverstümmelung prodigy
diminuendo dolce maestro
pyrotechnics detonate internally
Linked for OLN at dVerse Poets Pub hosted by poetic force of nature Natasha Head http://dversepoets.com/2012/05/01/openlinknight-week-42
Chromapoetica 
Sfortzando genius–dear Mozart. K.
Yes, she suffered greatly, all that genius and nowhere to go with it: no music academy accepted women, her father refused to teach her composition, and who would patronize a woman composer if he had?
Awful. I have been so angry lately on the women’s front. Amazing to me how it goes on – not at this level (here anyway), but at so many levels and here too. On a related matter, there is a wonderful piece in the Times about women writing poetry (or trying to) in Afghanistan. A very moving story. I’m sure you can find but I could send the link if you are interested. k.
Thank you K. I will look that up. I know precisely what you mean, it’s infuriating.
Oh, I really dig the mixture of languages here. Works so well. If ever a poem gets truly kicked off properly, this is it, killer opening Anna. Thanks
Thank you Fred, I wanted to get the reader’s attention. ‘Rage to master’ is a reference to Ellen Winner’s work on art, creativity, psychology, and genius. She posits it’s the primary emotional drive of profoundly gifted children.
Bravo, Anna… always appreciate when you talk about female artists who were thwarted .. stifling, I can only imagine. Wonderful dynamics captured here.. real sense of inner combustion, with the musical lexis fanning those flames. Wonderful.
Thank you Becky for such an eloquent compliment and one I will cherish! I didn’t want this to be a biographical poem and struggled over the inclusion of the German. Do you know Krzysztof Kielowski’s Three Colors: Blue? In the end I thought about the concept of liberty in that film and the main character Julie’s spiritual suicide after the death of her husband and child. It is also the ‘death’ of her music as she was the actual composer of her famous husband’s work. That gave me a nudge in the right direction as I began to see self-mutilation as internalized misogyny.
Rather painful to imagine how she must have felt. Another insightful and educational piece — I didn’t know Mozart had a talented sister.
Superb final piece to NaPoWriMo. 🙂
Thank you, I so rarely express fury in work that I am often unsure if I’ve accomplished anything useful. Congratulations on your NaPoWriMo win :). Through continued exposure I appreciate your work in a new way.
oy, it is rather sad our history of oppression and unfair treatment nad opportunity…love all the music embedded through out anna…love the final explosion as well….and way to cross the finish line of poetry month…
I appreciate your encouragement throughout the month Brian! You’re a powerhouse of poetry and have a generous spirit.
I read this yesterday, but had not the energy to comment. First, I was so surprised to learn her story, I had never known of her before, and second, your words, your mastery in pulling in all that she must have felt mixed with all these wonderful, musical words… a masterpiece. You are a virtuoso.
And now I have a sudden urge to listen to her brother’s requiem…
Thank you for coming back to comment, it means a great deal to me. I’m blushing back into my introvert’s haven, smiling all the way.
amazing piece Anna! must say… I googled selbstverstümmelung… and the images…. oh my… freaked me out, but gave me even more of an understanding of the poem! and a woot woot for finishing poetry month… I tried once and nearly drove myself crazy… smiles
Oh Anthony, that must have been a shock! Thank you for your encouragement, I’m relieved to be done.
first..of course loved that you wove in some german words..this starts like a piece of music and then skips halfway through into the sadness and grief that so many of the great and talented people suffered..well done anna
I’m happy you appreciated having the German included, I wavered and then was so attached to it I thought yes! Thank you for your kind words Claudia.
i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again… wunderbar! ;D… much to think on – explore and expose.
Thanks Arron! Yes, especially since today only about 15% of composers are women and a measly 2.4% of the top 500 films were scored by women. The percentage of composers has held steady since the early 20th century. The arts continue to enrage me with this lack of progress, must be why this is a recurring theme in my work :).
Wasn’t is so unfair that a woman could not be recognised as being the talent she was in whatever field she happened to be gifted in. So sad that someone else stole her thunder when she was the person deserving. I think you did her justice here Anna. Amazing write, again.
Worse for Maria Anna who was called a Wunderkind and toured around Europe only to be denied her passions in her mid-late teens. Thank you.
oh my…i’m bathing speechlessly in the cascading music of your lines……….and i know i’ll return to this fascinating piece to experience this again. bravo!:)
Yelena, how kind of you to say!
Anna! Anna! Anna! This reads like a great, lost symphony….Imagine all that the world has missed, all the brilliant talent, thoughts, ideas…what a brilliant and impassioned write…this has fired me up, Mz,Poetess….we have come so far…but still have so far to go. I bow to you today…thank you!
I try to imagine it all the time. The world is diminished and impoverished as a result. Happy to hear I’ve revved your injustice engine. Thank you for your activism.
I really like this stanza in particular:
Vivace swirls of cascading notes
accelerado of primary drives, gusta,
drowning in the noise of a distorted reflection
it seems to be the turning point into that depression and despair (spiritual suicide – perfect phrase.) I think that when emotions, which are expressed through the arts for us artists, are not validated selbstverstümmelung if often the consequence. My heart goes out to her and others like her.
Thank you Sheila, mine too!
Some of me own language here, music, but so sad such things were denied to talented souls female. Again reading was wonderful, enlightning, educational, and inspiring. It also made me thankful for the time we live in today. I always love my visits here!
Big smiles Henry, music is a universal language. Reading your comment has filled me with joy, reminding me there’s a point in communicating through art. I always enjoy your visits and appreciate your engagement with the work.
Pathetic, if they are good it shouldn’t matter who they are and they should be given a chance. Great mix and flow as always at your show.
Yeah, it’s often about feeling threatened in the end. Thanks Pat!
Great poem, Anna. Well done 🙂
Thanks Ayala :)!
I looked up the history – I had no idea…your poem fits this woman perfectly….what a life. Anna…as always, your word choices are just astounding…leave me tongue tied…I always feel like I’ve had an education after reading one of your poems!
Stu, if I engaged your curiosity enough to investigate her life further than I feel proud. Thank you, I take my job as a poet seriously and diction is a vital element. Each poem has its own ‘mini-lexicon’ so to speak.
great poetry Anna– love the exposé on gender bias. this line really spoke to me–
‘deference becomes a form of self-mutilation’
I found this piece exceptionally well penned and inspiring.
Thanks Christi, I have an ongoing frustration as I was sharing with Arron. How wonderful to hear it is inspiring.
This is terrific– the title so apt– Rage to Master– I’ve wanted to blog about that for some time– I love this poem and its garden of musical language, literally– but pray the one so gifted does not give up– to use the gifts to soar above all other tyranny– and life has many arrows in its quiver; you, however, are beyond equipped! xxxj
Yes, I went round and round on the title and then thought why not use the central drive. Thank you for your kind words, I try to be prepared :). ‘Soar above all other tyranny’ is a poem in itself.
It’s so hard to imagine living in a such a difficult time. I look at my daughter, and I’m so thankful the world is a different place. Even our mothers faced struggles we’ll never have to. You are brilliant, Anna. I always learn something new when I visit your site 🙂
Lori, it’s so good to see you again. I missed you! We are making progress and I look forward to the day when I don’t have to write the fury because equality is the reality.
I’m so glad that you celebrate the genius of a woman who, most unfortunately, represents so many other gifted spirits from the oast, whose voices and visions were obliterated by prejudice and unjust conventions. Your tribute is a fitting evocation of the injustice done her, as well as the sad echo of possibilities never realised.
Yes, it is hard to comprehend the sheer numbers and loss of creative energy and output.
I really enjoyed this and believe everything has been said above …thanks for sharing x x
Thanks Kez, so nice to see you again :)!
Oh Anna, so sorry just now reading this. I love Wolfgang’s work. To me Mozart is and always will be perfect. But I remember as a child when I fell in love with the early pieces and learned about his composing parts for his sister to play that I was curious about her. I’m sure there were things I could have researched about her at the library but I always kept getting lost in the card catalog of so many things when I was allowed to go there. … besides I was usually home practicing.
When I became aware of the sacrifice of women in music – it was Clara Schumann I focused on. My heavens to do what she did!!! and not with one frail and not that experienced a musician. I see her hand in very much of Robert’s work, and I see her influence in a completely different way in Brahm’s. In the latter though with the older children in a position to take care of the younger, I imagine it was fulfilling and at least she was performing again…but the compositions (because she did have the education) so much “given” away, so much she will never be given credit for – except perhaps for you and me.
Brilliant use of the musical terms in the way you built the piece. Of course i LOVE it!
Thanks Gay, I hear you on Clara and have always wanted to do a series on couples – Schumanns, Pollock and Krasner, Eames, etc. to look at that dynamic in more detail. Some day :). I am with you on giving credit and glad to have such a kind-hearted, talented, and generous poet friend to commiserate with, you’re an inspiration.
As are you to me. Thank you.