Amadeus Quotes

Context

This line is spoken by Emperor Joseph II, played by Jeffrey Jones, in the film Amadeus, directed by Milos Forman (1984).

Maestro, if you please: the curtain has just fallen on Mozart's opera, The Abduction from the Seraglio, commissioned by Emperor Joseph II. The royal music-lover is giving young Mozart his critique, stating that there were "simply too many notes." Fact or fiction? Did King Joe really give Mozart this snarky review? Some diehard Mozart historians say "Yes indeedy!" But it most likely went down like this:

Emperor Joe: ''Too beautiful for our ears, my dear Mozart, and monstrous many notes.''

Maybe Head Honcho Joe got reincarnated as Simon Cowell on American Idol. Don't take his word for it, though. Watch this clip and weigh in with your two cents.

Where you've heard it

Before the movie, there was the Tony-award-winning play, written by Peter Shaffer. But the movie popularized the "too many notes" quote big-time. Since then it has surfaced as a movie soundtrack, a murder mystery novel, and an episode of the TV show Columbo.

Additional Notable References:

• Shredding guitarist
• The Song of Pi
• Debate.org

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

If you're with some Mozart or movie trivia junkies, then you should get a well-deserved snicker. If not, expect crickets and the logical question, "Like, did you count them?"