on reality, calling the work a "fantasia on the theme of Mozart and Salieri". The idea of animosity between Mozart and Salieri was popularized by Alexander Pushkin in 1830 in his play Mozart and Salieri. In it, Salieri actually murders Mozart on stage. The play was made into the opera Mozart and Salieri by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov 67 years later, which in turn had its first screen adaptation by silent-film director Victor Tourjansky in 1914. Another significant departure in the film is the portrayal of Salieri as a pious loner trapped in a vow of chastity, when in reality he was a married family man with eight children and at least one mistress. Mozart was indeed commissioned to compose a Requiem Mass by an anonymous benefactor. In reality, the patron turned out to be Count Franz von Walsegg, who was grieving after the death of his wife. Alternative version Amadeus premiered in 1984 as a PG-rated movie with a running time of 161 minutes. Director Miloš Forman introduced an R-rated version with nearly 20 minutes of restored footage. This version was released by the studios as a Director's Cut on September 24, 2002. Forman justified why those scenes were cut in the first place in the 1995 supplemental material for Pioneer's deluxe LaserDisc. However, he explains why the scenes were eventually restored in a subsequent 2002 interview with The A.V. Club: Music Film credits Music conducted and supervised by Neville Marriner Music coordinator: John Strauss Orchestra: Academy of St Martin in the Fields, conducted by Neville Marriner Choruses Academy Chorus of St Martin in the Fields, conducted by László Heltay Ambrosian Opera Chorus, conducted by John McCarthy The Choristers of Westminster Abbey, conducted by Simon Preston Instrumental soloists Piano Concerto No. 22 in E-flat major, K. 482: Ivan Moravec Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466: Imogen Cooper Adagio in C minor for Glass Harmonica, K. 617: Thomas Bloch with The Brussels Virtuosi, conducted by Marc Grauwels Parody backgrounds: San Francisco Symphony Chorus "Caro mio ben" by Giuseppe Giordani: Michele Esposito, soprano Original soundtrack recording The soundtrack album reached No. 1 in the Billboard Classical Albums Chart, No. 56 in the Billboard Popular Albums Chart, has sold over 6.5 million copies and received thirteen gold discs, making it one of the most popular classical music recordings of all time. It won the Grammy Award for Best Classical Album in