Mozart's Starling - a podcast by Vermont Public Radio

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart loved birds. His letters to family and friends mention several pet canaries he had during the course of his life, but the most famous bird Mozart ever owned was his beloved starling. The story goes that Mozart frequented a pet store in Vienna and became enamored with a particular European starling. These birds have an uncanny ability to mimic vocal sounds and presumably Mozart taught the bird to recite the opening melody of the third movement of his Piano Concerto no. 17 in G major. Mozart purchased the bird on May 27, 1784. We know this because he marked it in an expense book, along with a transcription of the bird’s version of Mozart’s melody – which had a couple of mistakes. The mistakes didn’t matter to Mozart. In the book, after the transcription, Mozart wrote the words, “That was beautiful!”

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