“It’s possible that I became a musician because of one famous scene in Amadeus. The near-forgotten composer Salieri describes his first experience with a moment in Mozart’s Serenade for Winds (K.361), particularly how a melody in the oboe shifts into the clarinet. It’s strangely spiritual, and sad, and joyful, and erotic, and funny, all at the same time. This is a cult film that’s been referenced in Seinfeld and still makes me cry.”―vocalist/violinist/composer Caroline Shaw

Caroline Shaw is the youngest recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for Music (for Partita for 8 Voices, written for the Grammy-winning Roomful of Teeth, of which she is a member). Based in New York, she performs in solo and collaborative projects. Recent commissions include new works for Renée Fleming, Dawn Upshaw, and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s. She has produced for Kanye West (The Life of Pablo; Ye) and Nas (NASIR), and has contributed to records by The National, and by Arcade Fire’s Richard Reed Parry. She says she once she got to sing in three-part harmony with Sara Bareilles and Ben Folds at the Kennedy Center, which was “pretty much the bees’ knees and elbows.”

ABOUT THE FILM

Milos Forman’s passionate, lyrical account of the life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Tom Hulce), as told by Antonio Salieri (F. Murray Abraham)—the jealous composer obsessed with Mozart’s talent—won Best Picture in 1984.