I was wondering...

Do you think there were bootleggers in the time of classical music? Think about it. It's the first performance of a new Mozart piece. As the crowd settles a guy in the back pulls out his quill pen and staff paper. As the concert begins, he transcribes the entire thing onto the paper. The next day, he's made copies and swaps it with his friends...


just a thought

kingofbizarre:

Actually, we know that such things did, in fact occur - though not, perhaps, in that "direct" a fashion.  It is, of course, common knowledge that Salieri was plagiarizing Mozart left and right.  And I'm sure he was not the first, nor the last.

After all, many of the great composers of the baroque and early romantic era also served as "court" musicians, composing music for the king, queen, prince, what have you.  So they were in prestigious positions.  Anyone who was jealous of that position - or had enough "ambition" to try to "unseat" the reigning court musician - would certainly have been calculating enough to create something that sounded similar to that person.  So plagiarizing was quite rampant.  And this was not "influence" (though that also occurred), but out-and-out rip-off.  [N.B.  This was also true of artists (e.g., Michelangelo, Rafael, etc.), who, in addition to "freelancing," were often "on retainer" to royalty.  In order to try to "unseat" them, other artists would plagiarize their styles, and sometimes their work.]

Still, there was an "upside" to this: it encouraged many composers to create new works.  And those who were not necessarily plagiarizing often created great works, some of which became as well-known as those of the composers they were trying to "copy" or "unseat."

If your "fantasy" were a tad bit more sci-fi, you would have the guy in the audience pull out a DAT recorder and record the concert...

Peace.

combine what cygnus said and what maani said and you get my opinion.

And Saglieri wasn't  plagiarizing ANYTHING...The rumor that Saglieri and Mozart were enemies is A BIG FAKE...

[QUOTE=Jim Garten]...but it said so in the film "Amadeus", so it must be true...[\QUOTE]

It's based on a stage play. Good movie by the way! Have you seen "Immortal beloved", where Gary Oldman casts Beethoven? Lots of pretty ladies in nice dresses, european landscapes and nice music.