TV Reviews : Ustinov Tries to Explain ‘The Mozart Mystique’

Like Peter Ustinov? Then you’ll probably like “The Mozart Mystique,” airing tonight (9:30 p.m. on Channel 28, 9 p.m. on Channels 15 and 24).

Ustinov carries the two-hour program with characteristic zest, acting out both sides in Mozart’s correspondence with his father, lecturing sternly or marveling over the mystery of genius. He says, “Mozart was a genius both ingenuous and sophisticated, both trivial and profound, not by turns but at one and the same time.” Something much the same could be said of this show, written by Israela Margalit and directed by Jochen Richter.

There are attempts to summarize and elucidate the titular mystique at the beginning and end of the program, but generally Margalit and Ustinov settle for a straightforward biography, recounted chronologically.

Performance clips are frequent, and run a wide stylistic gamut. A two-hour show probably ought to have whole movements or arias, but the music is all excerpted, and identified only by the complete work. The stellar crop of conductors--Georg Solti, Helmuth Rilling, Colin Davis, Jeffrey Tate--and the lesser-known but talented soloists are named only in the rush of credits at the end.

Ustinov tells us little about the actual music, and what he does say is often vague, tautological or misleading. The program does not illuminate Mozart’s music; rather, the music--which follows the biographical chronology--seems chosen to illustrate Mozart’s life. Along the way Ustinov does some useful debunking. He rescues Salieri from the “Amadeus” mire of mediocrity and murder, and reminds us that Mozart was not quite so poor in his last days as legend would have it.

“The Mozart Mystique” may not go far toward explaining the phenomenon of Mozart’s genius, but Ustinov communicates the wonder of it admirably.