Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
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• There's an almost miraculous quality to his
  creativity, whether you consider Mozart's
  beginnings as a child prodigy (he composed his
  first symphony at the age of 8) or his
  versatility in mastering every musical form of
  his era.
• -Thomas May

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The Birth of a Genius
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg,
Austria on January 27, 1756.
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Anna Maria (Pertl) Mozart gave birth to seven
children. Only two of them survived --- Wolfgang
and his sister Maria Anna.
Leopold Mozart was a respected composer and
theorist in his own right but sacrificed his own
career to further his sons.
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Wolfgang and his sister, Nannerl, took music
lessons from their father, Leopold.
By the time he was only four years old, Wolfgang
was composing songs on the piano and by six he
was on tour performing for royalty.
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At age 11, Mozart wrote his first opera, Bastien
und Bastienne, soon followed by La finta
semplice.
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At the age of 13, Mozart found a job in the court
of the Archbishop of Salzburg, where he worked
for 12 years.
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Mozart moved to Vienna to seek his fortune but
despite his reputation, he had a hard time
finding work. Luckily, he met Joseph Haydn.
Haydn was quoted as saying to Leopold Mozart, I
tell you before God, and as an honest man, that
your son is the greatest composer that ever
lived.
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Things went better when Mozart visited Prague.
His opera The Marriage of Figaro was a huge
success.
The next year, 1787, Prague commissioned him to
write an opera to celebrate the emperor's niece
Don Giovanni
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The Minuteman
Mozart drove his rivals nuts because composing
was so easy for him. Musical ideas sprang into
his head, fully formed as if he were taking
dictation. His speed became legendary. When a
beggar approached him on the street, he whipped
out a sheet of paper and wrote a minuet trio. He
told the beggar to take it to a publisher who
bought it on the spot.
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Mozarts final composition was his Requiem. He
believed from the beginning that he was writing
this funeral mass for his own death. He worked
anxiously to complete the work only augmenting
his illness. He died with the piece unfinished
at the age of 35. A student, Franz Sussmayr,
completed it after his death. This is the
version most commonly heard.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is buried in an unmarked
grave outside Vienna.
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• His greatest compositions cut to the quick and
  establish an immediate bond with the listener, as
  if Mozart had discovered a code in sound to
  articulate the emotional reality that lies at the
  core of our humanity.
• -Thomas May.

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