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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart[a][b] (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition resulted in more than 800 works of virtually every genre of his time. Many of these compositions are acknowledged as pinnacles of the symphonic, concertante, chamber, operatic, and choral repertoire. Mozart is widely regarded as among the greatest composers in the history of Western music,[1] with his music admired for its "melodic beauty, its formal elegance and its richness of harmony and texture".[2]

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Portrait, c. 1781
Born(1756-01-27)27 January 1756
Getreidegasse 9, Salzburg
Died5 December 1791(1791-12-05) (aged 35)
WorksList of compositions
SpouseConstanze Mozart
Parent(s)Leopold Mozart
Anna Maria Mozart
RelativesMozart family
Signature

Born in Salzburg, then in the Holy Roman Empire and currently in Austria, Mozart showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood. Already competent on keyboard and violin, he composed from the age of five and performed before European royalty. His father took him on a grand tour of Europe and then three trips to Italy. At 17, he was a musician at the Salzburg court but grew restless and travelled in search of a better position.

While visiting Vienna in 1781, Mozart was dismissed from his Salzburg position. He stayed in Vienna, where he achieved fame but little financial security. During his final years there, he composed many of his best-known symphonies, concertos, and operas. His Requiem was largely unfinished by the time of his death at the age of 35, the circumstances of which are uncertain and much mythologised.

Life and career

 
Mozart's birthplace at Getreidegasse 9, Salzburg

Early life

Family and childhood

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born on 27 January 1756 to Leopold Mozart (1719–1787) and Anna Maria, née Pertl (1720–1778), at Getreidegasse 9 in Salzburg.[3] Salzburg was the capital of the Archbishopric of Salzburg, an ecclesiastic principality in the Holy Roman Empire (today in Austria).[c] He was the youngest of seven children, five of whom died in infancy. His elder sister was Maria Anna Mozart (1751–1829), nicknamed "Nannerl". Mozart was baptised the day after his birth, at St. Rupert's Cathedral in Salzburg. The baptismal record gives his name in Latinized form, as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart. He generally called himself "Wolfgang Amadè Mozart"[4] as an adult, but his name had many variants.

Leopold Mozart, a native of Augsburg,[5] then an Imperial Free City in the Holy Roman Empire, was a minor composer and an experienced teacher. In 1743, he was appointed as the fourth violinist in the musical establishment of Count Leopold Anton von Firmian, the ruling Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg.[2] Four years later, he married Anna Maria in Salzburg. Leopold became the orchestra's deputy Kapellmeister in 1763. During the year of his son's birth, Leopold published a violin textbook, Versuch einer gründlichen Violinschule, which achieved success.[6]

When Nannerl was seven, she began keyboard lessons with her father, while her three-year-old brother looked on. Years later, after her brother's death, she reminisced:

He often spent much time at the clavier, picking out thirds, which he was ever striking, and his pleasure showed that it sounded good. ... In the fourth year of his age his father, for a game as it were, began to teach him a few minuets and pieces at the clavier. ... He could play it faultlessly and with the greatest delicacy, and keeping exactly in time. ... At the age of five, he was already composing little pieces, which he played to his father who wrote them down.[7]

 
Mozart family on tour: Leopold, Wolfgang, Nannerl; watercolour by Carmontelle, c. 1763[8]

These early pieces, K. 1–5, were recorded in the Nannerl Notenbuch. There is some scholarly debate about whether Mozart was four or five years old when he created his first musical compositions, though there is little doubt that Mozart composed his first three pieces of music within a few weeks of each other: K. 1a, 1b, and 1c.[9]

In his early years, Wolfgang's father was his only teacher. Along with music, he taught his children languages and academic subjects.[10] Biographer Solomon notes that, while Leopold was a devoted teacher to his children, there is evidence that Mozart was keen to progress beyond what he was taught.[10] His first ink-spattered composition and his precocious efforts with the violin were of his initiative and came as a surprise to Leopold,[11] who eventually gave up composing when his son's musical talents became evident.[12]

1762–73: Travel

While Wolfgang was young, his family made several European journeys in which he and Nannerl performed as child prodigies. These began with an exhibition in 1762 at the court of Prince-elector Maximilian III of Bavaria in Munich, and at the Imperial Courts in Vienna and Prague. A long concert tour followed, spanning three and a half years, taking the family to the courts of Munich, Mannheim, Paris, London,[13] Dover, The Hague, Amsterdam, Utrecht, Mechelen and again to Paris, and back home via Zürich, Donaueschingen, and Munich.[14] During this trip, Wolfgang met many musicians and acquainted himself with the works of other composers. A particularly significant influence was Johann Christian Bach, whom he visited in London in 1764 and 1765. When he was eight years old, Mozart wrote his first symphony, most of which was probably transcribed by his father.[15]

 
Mozart aged 14 in January 1770 (School of Verona, attributed to Giambettino Cignaroli)

The family trips were often challenging, and travel conditions were primitive.[16] They had to wait for invitations and reimbursement from the nobility, and they endured long, near-fatal illnesses far from home: first Leopold (London, summer 1764),[17] then both children (The Hague, autumn 1765).[18] The family again went to Vienna in late 1767 and remained there until December 1768.

After one year in Salzburg, Leopold and Wolfgang set off for Italy, leaving Anna Maria and Nannerl at home. This tour lasted from December 1769 to March 1771. As with earlier journeys, Leopold wanted to display his son's abilities as a performer and a rapidly maturing composer. Wolfgang met Josef Mysliveček and Giovanni Battista Martini in Bologna and was accepted as a member of the famous Accademia Filarmonica. There exists a myth, according to which, while in Rome, he heard Gregorio Allegri's Miserere twice in performance in the Sistine Chapel. Allegedly, he subsequently wrote it out from memory, thus producing the "first unauthorized copy of this closely guarded property of the Vatican". However, both origin and plausibility of this account are disputed.[19][20][d][21]

In Milan, Mozart wrote the opera Mitridate, re di Ponto (1770), which was performed with success. This led to further opera commissions. He returned with his father twice to Milan (August–December 1771; October 1772 – March 1773) for the composition and premieres of Ascanio in Alba (1771) and Lucio Silla (1772). Leopold hoped these visits would result in a professional appointment for his son, and indeed ruling Archduke Ferdinand contemplated hiring Mozart, but owing to his mother Empress Maria Theresa's reluctance to employ "useless people", the matter was dropped[e] and Leopold's hopes were never realized.[22] Toward the end of the journey, Mozart wrote the solo motet Exsultate, jubilate, K.165.

1773–77: Employment at the Salzburg court

 
Tanzmeisterhaus [de], Salzburg, Mozart family residence from 1773; reconstructed 1996

After finally returning with his father from Italy on 13 March 1773, Mozart was employed as a court musician by the ruler of Salzburg, Prince-Archbishop Hieronymus Colloredo. The composer had many friends and admirers in Salzburg[23] and had the opportunity to work in many genres, including symphonies, sonatas, string quartets, masses, serenades, and a few minor operas. Between April and December 1775, Mozart developed an enthusiasm for violin concertos, producing a series of five (the only ones he ever wrote), which steadily increased in their musical sophistication. The last three—K. 216, K. 218, K. 219—are now staples of the repertoire. In 1776, he turned his efforts to piano concertos, culminating in the E concerto K. 271 of early 1777, considered by critics to be a breakthrough work.[24]

Despite these artistic successes, Mozart grew increasingly discontented with Salzburg and redoubled his efforts to find a position elsewhere. One reason was his low salary, 150 florins a year;[25] Mozart longed to compose operas, and Salzburg provided only rare occasions for these. The situation worsened in 1775 when the court theatre was closed, especially since the other theatre in Salzburg was primarily reserved for visiting troupes.[26]

Two long expeditions in search of work interrupted this long Salzburg stay. Mozart and his father visited Vienna from 14 July to 26 September 1773, and Munich from 6 December 1774 to March 1775. Neither visit was successful, though the Munich journey resulted in a popular success with the premiere of Mozart's opera La finta giardiniera.[27]

1777–78: Journey to Paris

 
Mozart wearing the badge of the Order of the Golden Spur which he received in 1770 from Pope Clement XIV in Rome. The painting is a 1777 copy of a work now lost.[28]

In August 1777, Mozart resigned his position at Salzburg[29][f] and on 23 September ventured out once more in search of employment, with visits to Augsburg, Mannheim, Paris, and Munich.[30]

Mozart became acquainted with members of the famous orchestra in Mannheim, the best in Europe at the time. He also fell in love with Aloysia Weber, one of four daughters of a musical family. There were prospects of employment in Mannheim, but they came to nothing,[31] and Mozart left for Paris on 14 March 1778[32] to continue his search. One of his letters from Paris hints at a possible post as an organist at Versailles, but Mozart was not interested in such an appointment.[33] He fell into debt and took to pawning valuables.[34] The nadir of the visit occurred when Mozart's mother was taken ill and died on 3 July 1778.[35] There had been delays in calling a doctor—probably, according to Halliwell, because of a lack of funds.[36] Mozart stayed with Melchior Grimm at Marquise d'Épinay's residence, 5 rue de la Chaussée-d'Antin.[37]

While Mozart was in Paris, his father was pursuing opportunities of employment for him in Salzburg.[38] With the support of the local nobility, Mozart was offered a post as court organist and concertmaster. The annual salary was 450 florins,[39] but he was reluctant to accept.[40] By that time, relations between Grimm and Mozart had cooled, and Mozart moved out. After leaving Paris in September 1778 for Strasbourg, he lingered in Mannheim and Munich, still hoping to obtain an appointment outside Salzburg. In Munich, he again encountered Aloysia, now a very successful singer, but she was no longer interested in him.[41] Mozart finally returned to Salzburg on 15 January 1779 and took up his new appointment, but his discontent with Salzburg remained undiminished.[42]

Among the better-known works which Mozart wrote on the Paris journey are the A minor piano sonata, K. 310/300d, the "Paris" Symphony (No. 31), which were performed in Paris on 12 and 18 June 1778;[43] and the Concerto for Flute and Harp in C major, K. 299/297c.[44]

Vienna

1781: Departure

 
Mozart family, c. 1780 (della Croce); the portrait on the wall is of Mozart's mother.

In January 1781, Mozart's opera Idomeneo premiered with "considerable success" in Munich.[45] The following March, Mozart was summoned to Vienna, where his employer, Archbishop Colloredo, was attending the celebrations for the accession of Joseph II to the Austrian throne. For Colloredo, this was simply a matter of wanting his musical servant to be at hand (Mozart indeed was required to dine in Colloredo's establishment with the valets and cooks).[g] He planned a bigger career as he continued in the archbishop's service;[47] for example, he wrote to his father:

My main goal right now is to meet the emperor in some agreeable fashion, I am absolutely determined he should get to know me. I would be so happy if I could whip through my opera for him and then play a fugue or two, for that's what he likes.[48]

Mozart did indeed soon meet the Emperor, who eventually was to support his career substantially with commissions and a part-time position.

In the same letter to his father just quoted, Mozart outlined his plans to participate as a soloist in the concerts of the Tonkünstler-Societät, a prominent benefit concert series;[48] this plan as well came to pass after the local nobility prevailed on Colloredo to drop his opposition.[49]

Colloredo's wish to prevent Mozart from performing outside his establishment was in other cases carried through, raising the composer's anger; one example was a chance to perform before the Emperor at Countess Thun's for a fee equal to half of his yearly Salzburg salary.

The quarrel with the archbishop came to a head in May: Mozart attempted to resign and was refused. The following month, permission was granted, but in a grossly insulting way: the composer was dismissed literally "with a kick in the arse", administered by the archbishop's steward, Count Arco. Mozart decided to settle in Vienna as a freelance performer and composer.[50]

The quarrel with Colloredo was more difficult for Mozart because his father sided against him. Hoping fervently that he would obediently follow Colloredo back to Salzburg, Mozart's father exchanged intense letters with his son, urging him to be reconciled with their employer. Mozart passionately defended his intention to pursue an independent career in Vienna. The debate ended when Mozart was dismissed by the archbishop, freeing himself both of his employer and of his father's demands to return. Solomon characterizes Mozart's resignation as a "revolutionary step" that significantly altered the course of his life.[51]

Early years

Mozart's new career in Vienna began well. He often performed as a pianist, notably in a competition before the Emperor with Muzio Clementi on 24 December 1781,[50] and he soon "had established himself as the finest keyboard player in Vienna".[50] He also prospered as a composer, and in 1782 completed the opera Die Entführung aus dem Serail ("The Abduction from the Seraglio"), which premiered on 16 July 1782 and achieved considerable success. The work was soon being performed "throughout German-speaking Europe",[50] and thoroughly established Mozart's reputation as a composer.

 
1782 portrait of Constanze Mozart by her brother-in-law Joseph Lange

Near the height of his quarrels with Colloredo, Mozart moved in with the Weber family, who had moved to Vienna from Mannheim. The family's father, Fridolin, had died, and the Webers were now taking in lodgers to make ends meet.[52]

Marriage and children

After failing to win the hand of Aloysia Weber, who was now married to the actor and artist Joseph Lange, Mozart's interest shifted to the third daughter of the family, Constanze.

The courtship did not go entirely smoothly; surviving correspondence indicates that Mozart and Constanze briefly separated in April 1782.[53] Mozart faced a challenging task in getting his father's permission for the marriage.[54] The couple were finally married on 4 August 1782 in St. Stephen's Cathedral, the day before his father's consenting letter arrived in the mail.[54]

The couple had six children, of whom only two survived infancy:[55]

  • Raimund Leopold (17 June – 19 August 1783)
  • Karl Thomas Mozart (21 September 1784 – 31 October 1858)
  • Johann Thomas Leopold (18 October – 15 November 1786)
  • Theresia Constanzia Adelheid Friedericke Maria Anna (27 December 1787 – 29 June 1788)
  • Anna Maria (died soon after birth, 16 November 1789)
  • Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart (26 July 1791 – 29 July 1844)

1782–87

In 1782 and 1783, Mozart became intimately acquainted with the work of Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel as a result of the influence of Gottfried van Swieten, who owned many manuscripts of the Baroque masters. Mozart's study of these scores inspired compositions in Baroque style and later influenced his musical language, for example in fugal passages in Die Zauberflöte ("The Magic Flute") and the finale of Symphony No. 41.[2]

In 1783, Mozart and his wife visited his family in Salzburg. His father and sister were cordially polite to Constanze, but the visit prompted the composition of one of Mozart's great liturgical pieces, the Mass in C minor. Though not completed, it was premiered in Salzburg, with Constanze singing a solo part.[56]

Mozart met Joseph Haydn in Vienna around 1784, and the two composers became friends. When Haydn visited Vienna, they sometimes played together in an impromptu string quartet. Mozart's six quartets dedicated to Haydn (K. 387, K. 421, K. 428, K. 458, K. 464, and K. 465) date from the period 1782 to 1785, and are judged to be a response to Haydn's Opus 33 set from 1781.[57] Haydn wrote, "posterity will not see such a talent again in 100 years"[58] and in 1785 told Mozart's father: "I tell you before God, and as an honest man, your son is the greatest composer known to me by person and repute, he has taste and what is more the greatest skill in composition."[59]

From 1782 to 1785 Mozart mounted concerts with himself as a soloist, presenting three or four new piano concertos in each season. Since space in the theatres was scarce, he booked unconventional venues: a large room in the Trattnerhof apartment building, and the ballroom of the Mehlgrube restaurant.[60] The concerts were very popular, and his concertos premiered there are still firm fixtures in his repertoire. Solomon writes that during this period, Mozart created "a harmonious connection between an eager composer-performer and a delighted audience, which was given the opportunity of witnessing the transformation and perfection of a major musical genre".[60]

With substantial returns from his concerts and elsewhere, Mozart and his wife adopted a more luxurious lifestyle. They moved to an expensive apartment, with a yearly rent of 460 florins.[61] Mozart bought a fine fortepiano from Anton Walter for about 900 florins, and a billiard table for about 300.[61] The Mozarts sent their son Karl Thomas to an expensive boarding school[62][63] and kept servants. During this period Mozart saved little of his income.[64][65]

On 14 December 1784, Mozart became a Freemason, admitted to the lodge Zur Wohltätigkeit ("Beneficence").[66] Freemasonry played an essential role in the remainder of Mozart's life: he attended meetings, a number of his friends were Masons, and on various occasions, he composed Masonic music, e.g. the Maurerische Trauermusik.[67]

1786–87: Return to opera

 
Fortepiano played by Mozart in 1787, Czech Museum of Music, Prague[68]

Despite the great success of Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Mozart did little operatic writing for the next four years, producing only two unfinished works and the one-act Der Schauspieldirektor. He focused instead on his career as a piano soloist and writer of concertos. Around the end of 1785, Mozart moved away from keyboard writing[69][page needed] and began his famous operatic collaboration with the librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte. The year 1786 saw the successful premiere of The Marriage of Figaro in Vienna. Its reception in Prague later in the year was even warmer, and this led to a second collaboration with Da Ponte: the opera Don Giovanni, which premiered in October 1787 to acclaim in Prague, but less success in Vienna during 1788.[70] The two are among Mozart's most famous works and are mainstays of operatic repertoire today, though at their premieres their musical complexity caused difficulty both for listeners and for performers. These developments were not witnessed by Mozart's father, who had died on 28 May 1787.[71]

In December 1787, Mozart finally obtained a steady post under aristocratic patronage. Emperor Joseph II appointed him as his "chamber composer", a post that had fallen vacant the previous month on the death of Gluck. It was a part-time appointment, paying just 800 florins per year, and required Mozart only to compose dances for the annual balls in the Redoutensaal (see Mozart and dance). This modest income became important to Mozart when hard times arrived. Court records show that Joseph aimed to keep the esteemed composer from leaving Vienna in pursuit of better prospects.[72][1]

In 1787, the young Ludwig van Beethoven spent several weeks in Vienna, hoping to study with Mozart.[73] No reliable records survive to indicate whether the two composers ever met.

Later years

1788–90

 
Drawing of Mozart in silverpoint, made by Dora Stock during Mozart's visit to Dresden, April 1789

Toward the end of the decade, Mozart's circumstances worsened. Around 1786 he had ceased to appear frequently in public concerts, and his income shrank.[74] This was a difficult time for musicians in Vienna because of the Austro-Turkish War: both the general level of prosperity and the ability of the aristocracy to support music had declined. In 1788, Mozart saw a 66% decline in his income compared to his best years in 1781.[75]

By mid-1788, Mozart and his family had moved from central Vienna to the suburb of Alsergrund.[74] Although it has been suggested that Mozart aimed to reduce his rental expenses by moving to a suburb, as he wrote in his letter to Michael von Puchberg, Mozart had not reduced his expenses but merely increased the housing space at his disposal.[76] Mozart began to borrow money, most often from his friend and fellow mason Puchberg; "a pitiful sequence of letters pleading for loans" survives.[77] Maynard Solomon and others have suggested that Mozart was suffering from depression, and it seems his musical output slowed.[78] Major works of the period include the last three symphonies (Nos. 39, 40, and 41, all from 1788), and the last of the three Da Ponte operas, Così fan tutte, premiered in 1790.

Around this time, Mozart made some long journeys hoping to improve his fortunes, visiting Leipzig, Dresden, and Berlin in the spring of 1789, and Frankfurt, Mannheim, and other German cities in 1790.

1791

Mozart's last year was, until his final illness struck, a time of high productivity—and by some accounts, one of personal recovery.[79][h] He composed a great deal, including some of his most admired works: the opera The Magic Flute; the final piano concerto (K. 595 in B); the Clarinet Concerto K. 622; the last in his series of string quintets (K. 614 in E); the motet Ave verum corpus K. 618; and the unfinished Requiem K. 626.

Mozart's financial situation, a source of anxiety in 1790, finally began to improve. Although the evidence is inconclusive,[80] it appears that wealthy patrons in Hungary and Amsterdam pledged annuities to Mozart in return for the occasional composition. He is thought to have benefited from the sale of dance music written in his role as Imperial chamber composer.[80] Mozart no longer borrowed large sums from Puchberg and began to pay off his debts.[80]

He experienced great satisfaction in the public success of some of his works, notably The Magic Flute (which was performed several times in the short period between its premiere and Mozart's death)[81] and the Little Masonic Cantata K. 623, premiered on 17 November 1791.[82]

Final illness and death

 
Posthumous painting by Barbara Krafft in 1819

Mozart fell ill while in Prague for the premiere, on 6 September 1791, of his opera La clemenza di Tito, which was written in that same year on commission for Emperor Leopold II's coronation festivities.[83] He continued his professional functions for some time and conducted the premiere of The Magic Flute on 30 September. His health deteriorated on 20 November, at which point he became bedridden, suffering from swelling, pain, and vomiting.[84]

Mozart was nursed in his final days by his wife and her youngest sister, and was attended by the family doctor, Thomas Franz Closset. He was mentally occupied with the task of finishing his Requiem, but the evidence that he dictated passages to his student Franz Xaver Süssmayr is minimal.[85]

Mozart died in his home on 5 December 1791(1791-12-05) (aged 35) at 12:55 am.[86] The New Grove describes his funeral:

Mozart was interred in a common grave, in accordance with contemporary Viennese custom, at the St. Marx Cemetery outside the city on 7 December. If, as later reports say, no mourners attended, that too is consistent with Viennese burial customs at the time; later Otto Jahn (1856) wrote that Salieri, Süssmayr, van Swieten and two other musicians were present. The tale of a storm and snow is false; the day was calm and mild.[87]

The expression "common grave" refers to neither a communal grave nor a pauper's grave, but an individual grave for a member of the common people (i.e., not the aristocracy). Common graves were subject to excavation after ten years; the graves of aristocrats were not.[88]

The cause of Mozart's death is not known with certainty. The official record of hitziges Frieselfieber ("severe miliary fever", referring to a rash that looks like millet seeds) is more a symptomatic description than a diagnosis. Researchers have suggested more than a hundred causes of death, including acute rheumatic fever,[89][90] streptococcal infection,[91][92] trichinosis,[93][94] influenza, mercury poisoning, and a rare kidney ailment.[89]

Mozart's modest funeral did not reflect his standing with the public as a composer; memorial services and concerts in Vienna and Prague were well attended. Indeed, in the period immediately after his death, his reputation rose substantially. Solomon describes an "unprecedented wave of enthusiasm"[95] for his work; biographies were written first by Schlichtegroll, Niemetschek, and Nissen, and publishers vied to produce complete editions of his works.[95]

Appearance and character

 
Detail of portrait of Mozart by his brother-in-law Joseph Lange

Mozart's physical appearance was described by tenor Michael Kelly in his Reminiscences: "a remarkably small man, very thin and pale, with a profusion of fine, fair hair of which he was rather vain". His early biographer Niemetschek wrote, "there was nothing special about [his] physique. ... He was small and his countenance, except for his large intense eyes, gave no signs of his genius." His facial complexion was pitted, a reminder of his childhood case of smallpox.[96] Of his voice, his wife later wrote that it "was a tenor, rather soft in speaking and delicate in singing, but when anything excited him, or it became necessary to exert it, it was both powerful and energetic."[97]

He loved elegant clothing. Kelly remembered him at a rehearsal: "[He] was on the stage with his crimson pelisse and gold-laced cocked hat, giving the time of the music to the orchestra." Based on pictures that researchers were able to find of Mozart, he seemed to wear a white wig for most of his formal occasions—researchers of the Salzburg Mozarteum declared that only one of his fourteen portraits they had found showed him without his wig.[96]

Mozart usually worked long and hard, finishing compositions at a tremendous pace as deadlines approached. He often made sketches and drafts; unlike Beethoven's, these are mostly not preserved, as his wife sought to destroy them after his death.[98]

Mozart lived at the center of the Viennese musical world, and knew a significant number and variety of people: fellow musicians, theatrical performers, fellow Salzburgers, and aristocrats, including some acquaintance with Emperor Joseph II. Solomon considers his three closest friends to have been Gottfried von Jacquin, Count August Hatzfeld, and Sigmund Barisani; others included his elder colleague Joseph Haydn, singers Franz Xaver Gerl and Benedikt Schack, and the horn player Joseph Leutgeb. Leutgeb and Mozart carried on a kind of friendly mockery, often with Leutgeb as the butt of Mozart's practical jokes.[99]

He enjoyed billiards, dancing, and kept pets, including a canary, a starling, a dog, and a horse for recreational riding.[100] He had a startling fondness for scatological humour, which is preserved in his surviving letters, notably those written to his cousin Maria Anna Thekla Mozart around 1777–1778, and in his correspondence with his sister and parents.[101] Mozart also wrote scatological music, a series of canons that he sang with his friends.[102] Mozart was raised a Catholic and remained a devout member of the Church throughout his life.[103][104]

Works, musical style, and innovations

Style

Mozart's music, like Haydn's, stands as an archetype of the Classical style. At the time he began composing, European music was dominated by the style galant, a reaction against the highly evolved intricacy of the Baroque. Progressively, and in large part at the hands of Mozart himself, the contrapuntal complexities of the late Baroque emerged once more, moderated and disciplined by new forms, and adapted to a new aesthetic and social milieu. Mozart was a versatile composer, and wrote in every major genre, including symphony, opera, the solo concerto, chamber music including string quartet and string quintet, and the piano sonata. These forms were not new, but Mozart advanced their technical sophistication and emotional reach. He almost single-handedly developed and popularized the Classical piano concerto. He wrote a great deal of religious music, including large-scale masses, as well as dances, divertimenti, serenades, and other forms of light entertainment.[105]

The central traits of the Classical style are all present in Mozart's music. Clarity, balance, and transparency are the hallmarks of his work, but simplistic notions of its delicacy mask the exceptional power of his finest masterpieces, such as the Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor, K. 491; the Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550; and the opera Don Giovanni. Charles Rosen makes the point forcefully:

It is only through recognizing the violence and sensuality at the center of Mozart's work that we can make a start towards a comprehension of his structures and an insight into his magnificence. In a paradoxical way, Schumann's superficial characterization of the G minor Symphony can help us to see Mozart's daemon more steadily. In all of Mozart's supreme expressions of suffering and terror, there is something shockingly voluptuous.[106]

During his last decade, Mozart frequently exploited chromatic harmony. A notable instance is his String Quartet in C major, K. 465 (1785), whose introduction abounds in chromatic suspensions, giving rise to the work's nickname, the "Dissonance" quartet.

Mozart had a gift for absorbing and adapting the valuable features of others' music. His travels helped in the forging of a unique compositional language.[107] In London as a child, he met J. C. Bach and heard his music. In Paris, Mannheim, and Vienna he met with other compositional influences, as well as the avant-garde capabilities of the Mannheim orchestra. In Italy, he encountered the Italian overture and opera buffa, both of which deeply affected the evolution of his practice. In London and Italy, the galant style was in the ascendent: simple, light music with a mania for cadencing; an emphasis on tonic, dominant, and subdominant to the exclusion of other harmonies; symmetrical phrases; and clearly articulated partitions in the overall form of movements.[108] Some of Mozart's early symphonies are Italian overtures, with three movements running into each other; many are homotonal (all three movements having the same key signature, with the slow middle movement being in the relative minor). Others mimic the works of J. C. Bach, and others show the simple rounded binary forms turned out by Viennese composers.

 
Facsimile sheet of music from the Dies Irae movement of the Requiem Mass in D minor (K. 626) in Mozart's handwriting (Mozarthaus, Vienna)

As Mozart matured, he progressively incorporated more features adapted from the Baroque. For example, the Symphony No. 29 in A major K. 201 has a contrapuntal main theme in its first movement, and experimentation with irregular phrase lengths. Some of his quartets from 1773 have fugal finales, probably influenced by Haydn, who had included three such finales in his recently published Opus 20 set. The influence of the Sturm und Drang ("Storm and Stress") period in music, with its brief foreshadowing of the Romantic era, is evident in the music of both composers at that time. Mozart's Symphony No. 25 in G minor K. 183 is another excellent example.

Mozart would sometimes switch his focus between operas and instrumental music. He produced operas in each of the prevailing styles: opera buffa, such as The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Così fan tutte; opera seria, such as Idomeneo; and Singspiel, of which Die Zauberflöte is the most famous example by any composer. In his later operas, he employed subtle changes in instrumentation, orchestral texture, and tone colour, for emotional depth and to mark dramatic shifts. Here his advances in opera and instrumental composing interacted: his increasingly sophisticated use of the orchestra in the symphonies and concertos influenced his operatic orchestration, and his developing subtlety in using the orchestra to psychological effect in his operas was in turn reflected in his later non-operatic compositions.[109]

Köchel catalogue

For unambiguous identification of works by Mozart, a Köchel catalogue number is used. This is a unique number assigned, in regular chronological order, to every one of his known works. A work is referenced by the abbreviation "K." or "KV" followed by this number. The first edition of the catalogue was completed in 1862 by Ludwig von Köchel. It has since been repeatedly updated, as scholarly research improves knowledge of the dates and authenticity of individual works.[110]

Instruments

Although some of Mozart's early pieces were written for harpsichord, he also became acquainted in his early years with fortepianos made by Regensburg builder Franz Jakob Späth. Later when Mozart was visiting Augsburg, he was impressed by Stein fortepianos and shared this in a letter to his father.[111] On 22 October 1777, Mozart had premiered his triple-piano concerto, K. 242, on instruments provided by Stein. The Augsburg Cathedral organist Demmler was playing the first, Mozart the second and Stein the third part.[112] In 1783 when living in Vienna he purchased an instrument by Walter.[113] Leopold Mozart confirmed the attachment which Mozart had with his Walter fortepiano: "It is impossible to describe the hustle and bustle. Your brother's pianoforte has been moved at least twelve times from his house to the theatre or to someone else's house."[114]

Influence

 
Mozart Monument [de], Mozartplatz, Frankfurt

His most famous pupil was Johann Nepomuk Hummel,[115] a transitional figure between the Classical and Romantic eras whom the Mozarts took into their Vienna home for two years as a child.[116] More important is the influence Mozart had on composers of later generations. Ever since the surge in his reputation after his death, studying his scores has been a standard part of classical musicians' training.[117]

Ludwig van Beethoven, Mozart's junior by fifteen years, was deeply influenced by his work, with which he was acquainted as a teenager.[118] He is thought to have performed Mozart's operas while playing in the court orchestra at Bonn[119] and travelled to Vienna in 1787 hoping to study with the older composer. Some of Beethoven's works have direct models in comparable works by Mozart, and he wrote cadenzas (WoO 58) to Mozart's D minor piano concerto K. 466.[120][i]

Composers have paid homage to Mozart by writing sets of variations on his themes. Beethoven wrote four such sets (Op. 66, WoO 28, WoO 40, WoO 46).[121] Others include Fernando Sor's Introduction and Variations on a Theme by Mozart (1821), Mikhail Glinka's Variations on a Theme from Mozart's Opera The Magic Flute (1822), Frédéric Chopin's Variations on "Là ci darem la mano" from Don Giovanni (1827), and Max Reger's Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Mozart (1914), based on the variation theme in the piano sonata K. 331.[122] Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, who revered Mozart, wrote his Orchestral Suite No. 4 in G, Mozartiana (1887), as a tribute to him.[123]

References

Notes

  1. ^ Sources vary in how Mozart's name should be pronounced in English. Fradkin 1996, a guide for radio announcers, strongly recommends [ts] for letter z (thus /ˈwʊlfɡæŋ ˌæməˈdəs ˈmtsɑːrt/ WUULF-gang AM-ə-DAY-əs MOHT-sart), but otherwise considers English-like pronunciation fully acceptable. The German one is [ˈvɔlfɡaŋ ʔamaˈdeːʊs ˈmoːtsaʁt] .
  2. ^ Baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart. Mozart's exact name involved many complications; for details, see Mozart's name.
  3. ^ Source: Wilson 1999, p. 2. The many changes of European political borders since Mozart's time make it difficult to assign him an unambiguous nationality; for discussion, see Mozart's nationality.
  4. ^ For further details of the story, see Miserere (Allegri) § History.
  5. ^ Eisen & Keefe 2006, p. 268: "You ask me to take the young Salzburger into your service. I do not know why not believing that you have need for a composer or of useless people. ... What I say is intended only to prevent you from burdening yourself with useless people and giving titles to people of that sort. In addition, if they are at your service, it degrades that service when these people go about the world like beggars."
  6. ^ Archbishop Colloredo responded to the request by dismissing both Mozart and his father, though the dismissal of the latter was not actually carried out.
  7. ^ Mozart complains of this in a letter to his father, dated 24 March 1781.[46]
  8. ^ More recently, Wolff 2012 has forcefully advocated a view of Mozart's career at the end of his life as being on the rise, interrupted by his sudden death.
  9. ^ For further details, see Beethoven and Mozart.

Citations

  1. ^ Buch 2017, "Introduction".
  2. ^ a b c Eisen & Sadie 2001.
  3. ^ Arnold, Rosemarie; Taylor, Robert; Eisenschmid, Rainer (2009). Austria. Baedeker. ISBN 978-3-8297-6613-5. OCLC 416424772.
  4. ^ Deutsch 1965, p. 9.
  5. ^ Solomon 1995, p. 21.
  6. ^ Solomon 1995, p. 32.
  7. ^ Deutsch 1965, p. 455.
  8. ^ Solomon 1995, p. 44.
  9. ^ Andante in C major, K. 1a, Allegro in C major, K. 1b, Allegro in F major, K.1c: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
  10. ^ a b Solomon 1995, pp. 39–40
  11. ^ Deutsch 1965, p. 453.
  12. ^ Solomon 1995, p. 33.
  13. ^ "Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Composer | Blue Plaques". English Heritage. from the original on 12 April 2021. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  14. ^ Grove 1954, p. 926.
  15. ^ Meerdter, Joe (2009). "Mozart Biography". midiworld.com. from the original on 1 July 2017. Retrieved 20 December 2014.
  16. ^ Halliwell 1998, pp. 51, 53.
  17. ^ Halliwell 1998, pp. 82–83.
  18. ^ Halliwell 1998, pp. 99–102.
  19. ^ "Allegri's Miserere: Conclusions". www.ancientgroove.co.uk. from the original on 9 November 2022. Retrieved 11 November 2022.
  20. ^ Gutman 2000, p. 271.
  21. ^ Chrissochoidis, Ilias (Summer 2010). "London Mozartiana: Wolfgang's disputed age & early performances of Allegri's Miserere". The Musical Times. Vol. 151, no. 1911. pp. 83–89. Provides new information on this episode.
  22. ^ Halliwell 1998, pp. 172, 183–185.
  23. ^ Solomon 1995, p. 106.
  24. ^ Solomon 1995, p. 103.
  25. ^ Solomon 1995, p. 98.
  26. ^ Solomon 1995, p. 107.
  27. ^ Solomon 1995, p. 109.
  28. ^ Vatican 1770.
  29. ^ Halliwell 1998, p. 225.
  30. ^ Sadie 1998.
  31. ^ Drebes, Gerald (1992). . gerald-drebes.ch (in German). Archived from the original on 7 February 2015.
  32. ^ Deutsch 1965, p. 174.
  33. ^ Solomon 1995, p. 149.
  34. ^ Halliwell 1998, pp. 304–305.
  35. ^ Abert 2007, p. 509.
  36. ^ Halliwell 1998, p. 305.
  37. ^ "Letter by W. A. Mozart to his father" 22 January 2023 at the Wayback Machine, Paris, 9 July 1778 (in German); in English 22 January 2023 at the Wayback Machine; Mozarteum
  38. ^ Halliwell 1998, chs. 18–19.
  39. ^ Solomon 1995, p. 157.
  40. ^ Halliwell 1998, p. 322.
  41. ^ Sadie 1998, §3.
  42. ^ Jean Massin; Brigitte Massin, eds. (1983). Histoire de la musique occidentale. Paris: Fayard. p. 613. He wrote during that period that, whenever he or someone else played one of his compositions, it was as if the table and chairs were the only listeners.
  43. ^ Deutsch 1965, p. 176.
  44. ^ Einstein 1965, pp. 276–277.
  45. ^ Sadie 1980, vol. 12, p. 700.
  46. ^ Spaethling 2000, p. 235.
  47. ^ Spaethling 2000, p. 238.
  48. ^ a b Spaethling 2000, p. 237; the letter dates from 24 March 1781.
  49. ^ Spaethling 2000, pp. 238–239.
  50. ^ a b c d Sadie 1998, §4
  51. ^ Solomon 1995, p. 247.
  52. ^ Solomon 1995, p. 253.
  53. ^ Solomon 1995, p. 259.
  54. ^ a b Solomon 1995, p. 258
  55. ^ Solomon 1995, pp. 265–266.
  56. ^ Solomon 1995, p. 270.
  57. ^ See Barry 2000 for detailed discussion of the influence of Opus 33 on the "Haydn" quartets.
  58. ^ Landon 1990, p. 171.
  59. ^ Mozart & Mozart 1966, p. 1331. Leopold's letter to his daughter Nannerl, 14–16 May 1785.
  60. ^ a b Solomon 1995, p. 293
  61. ^ a b Solomon 1995, p. 298
  62. ^ Solomon 1995, p. 430.
  63. ^ Solomon 1995, p. 578.
  64. ^ Solomon 1995, §27.
  65. ^ Solomon 1995, p. 431.
  66. ^ Solomon 1995, p. 321.
  67. ^ Rushton, Julian (2005). Mozart: An Extraordinary Life. Associated Board of the Royal School of Music. p. 67.
  68. ^ "Czech Museum of Music to display "Mozart" piano". Radio Praha. 31 January 2007. from the original on 2 December 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
  69. ^ Solomon 1995
  70. ^ Freeman 2021, pp. 131–168.
  71. ^ Palmer, Willard (2006). W. A. Mozart: An Introduction to His Keyboard Works. Alfred Music Publishing. p. 4. ISBN 978-0-7390-3875-8.
  72. ^ Solomon 1995, pp. 423–424
  73. ^ Haberl 2006, pp. 215–255.
  74. ^ a b Sadie 1998, §6
  75. ^ Solomon 1995, pp. 427, 432.
  76. ^ Lorenz 2010.
  77. ^ Sadie 1980, vol. 12, p. 710.
  78. ^ Steptoe 1990, p. 208.
  79. ^ Solomon 1995, §30.
  80. ^ a b c Solomon 1995, p. 477
  81. ^ Solomon 1995, p. 487.
  82. ^ And not as previously stated on 15 November; see Abert 2007, p. 1307, fn 9
  83. ^ Freeman 2021, pp. 193–230.
  84. ^ Solomon 1995, p. 491.
  85. ^ Solomon 1995, pp. 493, 588.
  86. ^ "Mozart's final year and death—1791". Classic FM (UK). from the original on 19 December 2017. Retrieved 17 December 2017.
  87. ^ Sadie 1980, vol. 12, p. 716.
  88. ^ Walther Brauneis [in German]. (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 April 2014.
  89. ^ a b Wakin 2010
  90. ^ Crawford, Franklin (14 February 2000). . EurekAlert!. American Association for the Advancement of Science. Archived from the original on 26 April 2014. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  91. ^ Becker, Sander (20 August 2009). "Voorlopig is Mozart bezweken aan streptokok" [For the time being Mozart succumbed to streptococcus]. Trouw. from the original on 24 April 2014. Retrieved 25 April 2014..
  92. ^ Bakalar, Nicholas (17 August 2009). "What Really Killed Mozart? Maybe Strep". The New York Times. from the original on 30 June 2014. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
  93. ^ Hirschmann, Jan V. (11 June 2001). "Special Article: What Really Killed Mozart?". JAMA Internal Medicine. 161 (11): 1381–1389. doi:10.1001/archinte.161.11.1381. PMID 11386887. from the original on 2 February 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  94. ^ Dupouy-Camet, Jean (22 April 2002). "Editor's Correspondence: Trichinellosis Is Unlikely to Be Responsible for Mozart's Death". JAMA Internal Medicine (Critical comment and reply). 162 (8): 946, author reply 946–947. doi:10.1001/archinte.162.8.946. PMID 11966352. from the original on 2 February 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
  95. ^ a b Solomon 1995, p. 499
  96. ^ a b "Discovered, new Mozart portrait that shows musician without his wig". The Telegraph. 11 January 2013. Archived from the original on 10 January 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  97. ^ Solomon 1995, p. 308.
  98. ^ Solomon 1995, p. 310.
  99. ^ Solomon 1995, §20.
  100. ^ Solomon 1995, p. 319.
  101. ^ Solomon 1995, p. 169.
  102. ^ A list of the canons may be found at Mozart and scatology#In music.
  103. ^ Goldstein, Jack (2013). 101 Amazing Mozart Facts. Andrews UK Limited.
  104. ^ Abert 2007, p. 743.
  105. ^ Grove 1954, pp. 958–982.
  106. ^ Rosen 1998, p. 324.
  107. ^ Solomon 1995, ch. 8. Discussion of the sources of style as well as his early imitative ability.
  108. ^ Heartz 2003.
  109. ^ Einstein 1965, p. [page needed].
  110. ^ Zaslaw & Cowdery 1990, pp. 331–332.
  111. ^ "The Letters of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. (1769–1791), by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart". www.gutenberg.org. from the original on 26 December 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  112. ^ Layer, Adolf; Ullrich, Hermann (2001). Demmler [Demler, Dümmler], Johann Michael. Oxford Music Online. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.07542.
  113. ^ Latcham, Michael (1997). "Mozart and the pianos of Gabriel Anton Walter". Early Music. XXV (3): 383–400. doi:10.1093/earlyj/XXV.3.383.
  114. ^ Bauer, Wilhelm (1963). Mozart: Briefe und Aufzeichnungen (PDF). (PDF) from the original on 20 February 2021. Retrieved 5 February 2021.
  115. ^ Kroll, Mark (Summer 2007). "Hummel and the Romantics". Early Music America. 13 (2): 20–23 (20). ProQuest 222748015 – via ProQuest.
  116. ^ Solomon 1995, p. 574.
  117. ^ See, for example: Temperley, Nicholas (October 1961). "Mozart's Influence on English Music". Music & Letters. 42 (4): 307–318. doi:10.1093/ml/42.4.307. JSTOR 732768.
  118. ^ Jahn, Otto; Townsend, Pauline D.; Grove, George (1882). Life of Mozart. London, Novello, Ewer & Co.
  119. ^ Raptus Association for Music Appreciation.
  120. ^ Churgin 1987, pp. 457–458.
  121. ^ Churgin 1987, p. 458.
  122. ^ March, Greenfield & Layton 2005.
  123. ^ Wiley, Roland John (2001). "Tchaikovsky, Pyotr Il′yich". Grove Music Online. Oxford: Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.51766. (subscription or UK public library membership required)

Sources

Further reading

See Buch 2017 for an extensive bibliography

External links

Digitized documents
  • Works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at Project Gutenberg
  • Works by or about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at Internet Archive
  • Works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)  
  • "Mozart" Titles; Mozart as author at Google Books
  • Digital Mozart Edition 18 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine (Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum)
  • "Mozart" titles from Gallica (in French)
  • From the British Library
    • Mozart's Thematic Catalogue
    • Mozart's Musical Diary
    • Background information on Mozart and the Thematic Catalogue
  • (in German) (Baden State Library)
Sheet music

wolfgang, amadeus, mozart, mozart, redirects, here, other, uses, mozart, disambiguation, january, 1756, december, 1791, prolific, influential, composer, classical, period, despite, short, life, rapid, pace, composition, resulted, more, than, works, virtually, . Mozart redirects here For other uses see Mozart disambiguation Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart a b 27 January 1756 5 December 1791 was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period Despite his short life his rapid pace of composition resulted in more than 800 works of virtually every genre of his time Many of these compositions are acknowledged as pinnacles of the symphonic concertante chamber operatic and choral repertoire Mozart is widely regarded as among the greatest composers in the history of Western music 1 with his music admired for its melodic beauty its formal elegance and its richness of harmony and texture 2 Wolfgang Amadeus MozartPortrait c 1781Born 1756 01 27 27 January 1756Getreidegasse 9 SalzburgDied5 December 1791 1791 12 05 aged 35 ViennaWorksList of compositionsSpouseConstanze MozartParent s Leopold MozartAnna Maria MozartRelativesMozart familySignatureBorn in Salzburg then in the Holy Roman Empire and currently in Austria Mozart showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood Already competent on keyboard and violin he composed from the age of five and performed before European royalty His father took him on a grand tour of Europe and then three trips to Italy At 17 he was a musician at the Salzburg court but grew restless and travelled in search of a better position While visiting Vienna in 1781 Mozart was dismissed from his Salzburg position He stayed in Vienna where he achieved fame but little financial security During his final years there he composed many of his best known symphonies concertos and operas His Requiem was largely unfinished by the time of his death at the age of 35 the circumstances of which are uncertain and much mythologised Contents 1 Life and career 1 1 Early life 1 1 1 Family and childhood 1 1 2 1762 73 Travel 1 2 1773 77 Employment at the Salzburg court 1 3 1777 78 Journey to Paris 1 4 Vienna 1 4 1 1781 Departure 1 4 2 Early years 1 4 3 Marriage and children 1 5 1782 87 1 5 1 1786 87 Return to opera 1 6 Later years 1 6 1 1788 90 1 6 2 1791 1 6 3 Final illness and death 2 Appearance and character 3 Works musical style and innovations 3 1 Style 3 2 Kochel catalogue 3 3 Instruments 4 Influence 5 References 5 1 Notes 5 2 Citations 5 3 Sources 6 Further reading 7 External linksLife and career nbsp Mozart s birthplace at Getreidegasse 9 SalzburgEarly life Family and childhood See also Mozart s name Mozart family and Mozart s nationality Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born on 27 January 1756 to Leopold Mozart 1719 1787 and Anna Maria nee Pertl 1720 1778 at Getreidegasse 9 in Salzburg 3 Salzburg was the capital of the Archbishopric of Salzburg an ecclesiastic principality in the Holy Roman Empire today in Austria c He was the youngest of seven children five of whom died in infancy His elder sister was Maria Anna Mozart 1751 1829 nicknamed Nannerl Mozart was baptised the day after his birth at St Rupert s Cathedral in Salzburg The baptismal record gives his name in Latinized form as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart He generally called himself Wolfgang Amade Mozart 4 as an adult but his name had many variants Leopold Mozart a native of Augsburg 5 then an Imperial Free City in the Holy Roman Empire was a minor composer and an experienced teacher In 1743 he was appointed as the fourth violinist in the musical establishment of Count Leopold Anton von Firmian the ruling Prince Archbishop of Salzburg 2 Four years later he married Anna Maria in Salzburg Leopold became the orchestra s deputy Kapellmeister in 1763 During the year of his son s birth Leopold published a violin textbook Versuch einer grundlichen Violinschule which achieved success 6 When Nannerl was seven she began keyboard lessons with her father while her three year old brother looked on Years later after her brother s death she reminisced He often spent much time at the clavier picking out thirds which he was ever striking and his pleasure showed that it sounded good In the fourth year of his age his father for a game as it were began to teach him a few minuets and pieces at the clavier He could play it faultlessly and with the greatest delicacy and keeping exactly in time At the age of five he was already composing little pieces which he played to his father who wrote them down 7 nbsp Mozart family on tour Leopold Wolfgang Nannerl watercolour by Carmontelle c 1763 8 These early pieces K 1 5 were recorded in the Nannerl Notenbuch There is some scholarly debate about whether Mozart was four or five years old when he created his first musical compositions though there is little doubt that Mozart composed his first three pieces of music within a few weeks of each other K 1a 1b and 1c 9 In his early years Wolfgang s father was his only teacher Along with music he taught his children languages and academic subjects 10 Biographer Solomon notes that while Leopold was a devoted teacher to his children there is evidence that Mozart was keen to progress beyond what he was taught 10 His first ink spattered composition and his precocious efforts with the violin were of his initiative and came as a surprise to Leopold 11 who eventually gave up composing when his son s musical talents became evident 12 1762 73 Travel Main articles Mozart family grand tour and Mozart in Italy While Wolfgang was young his family made several European journeys in which he and Nannerl performed as child prodigies These began with an exhibition in 1762 at the court of Prince elector Maximilian III of Bavaria in Munich and at the Imperial Courts in Vienna and Prague A long concert tour followed spanning three and a half years taking the family to the courts of Munich Mannheim Paris London 13 Dover The Hague Amsterdam Utrecht Mechelen and again to Paris and back home via Zurich Donaueschingen and Munich 14 During this trip Wolfgang met many musicians and acquainted himself with the works of other composers A particularly significant influence was Johann Christian Bach whom he visited in London in 1764 and 1765 When he was eight years old Mozart wrote his first symphony most of which was probably transcribed by his father 15 nbsp Mozart aged 14 in January 1770 School of Verona attributed to Giambettino Cignaroli Antiphon Quaerite primum regnum Dei K 86 73v source source track Composed 9 October 1770 for admission to the Accademia Filarmonica di Bologna Performed by Phillip W Serna treble tenor amp bass viols The family trips were often challenging and travel conditions were primitive 16 They had to wait for invitations and reimbursement from the nobility and they endured long near fatal illnesses far from home first Leopold London summer 1764 17 then both children The Hague autumn 1765 18 The family again went to Vienna in late 1767 and remained there until December 1768 After one year in Salzburg Leopold and Wolfgang set off for Italy leaving Anna Maria and Nannerl at home This tour lasted from December 1769 to March 1771 As with earlier journeys Leopold wanted to display his son s abilities as a performer and a rapidly maturing composer Wolfgang met Josef Myslivecek and Giovanni Battista Martini in Bologna and was accepted as a member of the famous Accademia Filarmonica There exists a myth according to which while in Rome he heard Gregorio Allegri s Miserere twice in performance in the Sistine Chapel Allegedly he subsequently wrote it out from memory thus producing the first unauthorized copy of this closely guarded property of the Vatican However both origin and plausibility of this account are disputed 19 20 d 21 In Milan Mozart wrote the opera Mitridate re di Ponto 1770 which was performed with success This led to further opera commissions He returned with his father twice to Milan August December 1771 October 1772 March 1773 for the composition and premieres of Ascanio in Alba 1771 and Lucio Silla 1772 Leopold hoped these visits would result in a professional appointment for his son and indeed ruling Archduke Ferdinand contemplated hiring Mozart but owing to his mother Empress Maria Theresa s reluctance to employ useless people the matter was dropped e and Leopold s hopes were never realized 22 Toward the end of the journey Mozart wrote the solo motet Exsultate jubilate K 165 1773 77 Employment at the Salzburg court nbsp Tanzmeisterhaus de Salzburg Mozart family residence from 1773 reconstructed 1996After finally returning with his father from Italy on 13 March 1773 Mozart was employed as a court musician by the ruler of Salzburg Prince Archbishop Hieronymus Colloredo The composer had many friends and admirers in Salzburg 23 and had the opportunity to work in many genres including symphonies sonatas string quartets masses serenades and a few minor operas Between April and December 1775 Mozart developed an enthusiasm for violin concertos producing a series of five the only ones he ever wrote which steadily increased in their musical sophistication The last three K 216 K 218 K 219 are now staples of the repertoire In 1776 he turned his efforts to piano concertos culminating in the E concerto K 271 of early 1777 considered by critics to be a breakthrough work 24 Despite these artistic successes Mozart grew increasingly discontented with Salzburg and redoubled his efforts to find a position elsewhere One reason was his low salary 150 florins a year 25 Mozart longed to compose operas and Salzburg provided only rare occasions for these The situation worsened in 1775 when the court theatre was closed especially since the other theatre in Salzburg was primarily reserved for visiting troupes 26 Two long expeditions in search of work interrupted this long Salzburg stay Mozart and his father visited Vienna from 14 July to 26 September 1773 and Munich from 6 December 1774 to March 1775 Neither visit was successful though the Munich journey resulted in a popular success with the premiere of Mozart s opera La finta giardiniera 27 1777 78 Journey to Paris nbsp Mozart wearing the badge of the Order of the Golden Spur which he received in 1770 from Pope Clement XIV in Rome The painting is a 1777 copy of a work now lost 28 In August 1777 Mozart resigned his position at Salzburg 29 f and on 23 September ventured out once more in search of employment with visits to Augsburg Mannheim Paris and Munich 30 Mozart became acquainted with members of the famous orchestra in Mannheim the best in Europe at the time He also fell in love with Aloysia Weber one of four daughters of a musical family There were prospects of employment in Mannheim but they came to nothing 31 and Mozart left for Paris on 14 March 1778 32 to continue his search One of his letters from Paris hints at a possible post as an organist at Versailles but Mozart was not interested in such an appointment 33 He fell into debt and took to pawning valuables 34 The nadir of the visit occurred when Mozart s mother was taken ill and died on 3 July 1778 35 There had been delays in calling a doctor probably according to Halliwell because of a lack of funds 36 Mozart stayed with Melchior Grimm at Marquise d Epinay s residence 5 rue de la Chaussee d Antin 37 While Mozart was in Paris his father was pursuing opportunities of employment for him in Salzburg 38 With the support of the local nobility Mozart was offered a post as court organist and concertmaster The annual salary was 450 florins 39 but he was reluctant to accept 40 By that time relations between Grimm and Mozart had cooled and Mozart moved out After leaving Paris in September 1778 for Strasbourg he lingered in Mannheim and Munich still hoping to obtain an appointment outside Salzburg In Munich he again encountered Aloysia now a very successful singer but she was no longer interested in him 41 Mozart finally returned to Salzburg on 15 January 1779 and took up his new appointment but his discontent with Salzburg remained undiminished 42 Among the better known works which Mozart wrote on the Paris journey are the A minor piano sonata K 310 300d the Paris Symphony No 31 which were performed in Paris on 12 and 18 June 1778 43 and the Concerto for Flute and Harp in C major K 299 297c 44 Vienna 1781 Departure nbsp Mozart family c 1780 della Croce the portrait on the wall is of Mozart s mother In January 1781 Mozart s opera Idomeneo premiered with considerable success in Munich 45 The following March Mozart was summoned to Vienna where his employer Archbishop Colloredo was attending the celebrations for the accession of Joseph II to the Austrian throne For Colloredo this was simply a matter of wanting his musical servant to be at hand Mozart indeed was required to dine in Colloredo s establishment with the valets and cooks g He planned a bigger career as he continued in the archbishop s service 47 for example he wrote to his father My main goal right now is to meet the emperor in some agreeable fashion I am absolutely determined he should get to know me I would be so happy if I could whip through my opera for him and then play a fugue or two for that s what he likes 48 Mozart did indeed soon meet the Emperor who eventually was to support his career substantially with commissions and a part time position In the same letter to his father just quoted Mozart outlined his plans to participate as a soloist in the concerts of the Tonkunstler Societat a prominent benefit concert series 48 this plan as well came to pass after the local nobility prevailed on Colloredo to drop his opposition 49 Colloredo s wish to prevent Mozart from performing outside his establishment was in other cases carried through raising the composer s anger one example was a chance to perform before the Emperor at Countess Thun s for a fee equal to half of his yearly Salzburg salary The quarrel with the archbishop came to a head in May Mozart attempted to resign and was refused The following month permission was granted but in a grossly insulting way the composer was dismissed literally with a kick in the arse administered by the archbishop s steward Count Arco Mozart decided to settle in Vienna as a freelance performer and composer 50 The quarrel with Colloredo was more difficult for Mozart because his father sided against him Hoping fervently that he would obediently follow Colloredo back to Salzburg Mozart s father exchanged intense letters with his son urging him to be reconciled with their employer Mozart passionately defended his intention to pursue an independent career in Vienna The debate ended when Mozart was dismissed by the archbishop freeing himself both of his employer and of his father s demands to return Solomon characterizes Mozart s resignation as a revolutionary step that significantly altered the course of his life 51 Early years See also Haydn and Mozart and Mozart and Freemasonry Mozart s new career in Vienna began well He often performed as a pianist notably in a competition before the Emperor with Muzio Clementi on 24 December 1781 50 and he soon had established himself as the finest keyboard player in Vienna 50 He also prospered as a composer and in 1782 completed the opera Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail The Abduction from the Seraglio which premiered on 16 July 1782 and achieved considerable success The work was soon being performed throughout German speaking Europe 50 and thoroughly established Mozart s reputation as a composer nbsp 1782 portrait of Constanze Mozart by her brother in law Joseph LangeNear the height of his quarrels with Colloredo Mozart moved in with the Weber family who had moved to Vienna from Mannheim The family s father Fridolin had died and the Webers were now taking in lodgers to make ends meet 52 Marriage and children After failing to win the hand of Aloysia Weber who was now married to the actor and artist Joseph Lange Mozart s interest shifted to the third daughter of the family Constanze The courtship did not go entirely smoothly surviving correspondence indicates that Mozart and Constanze briefly separated in April 1782 53 Mozart faced a challenging task in getting his father s permission for the marriage 54 The couple were finally married on 4 August 1782 in St Stephen s Cathedral the day before his father s consenting letter arrived in the mail 54 The couple had six children of whom only two survived infancy 55 Raimund Leopold 17 June 19 August 1783 Karl Thomas Mozart 21 September 1784 31 October 1858 Johann Thomas Leopold 18 October 15 November 1786 Theresia Constanzia Adelheid Friedericke Maria Anna 27 December 1787 29 June 1788 Anna Maria died soon after birth 16 November 1789 Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart 26 July 1791 29 July 1844 1782 87 In 1782 and 1783 Mozart became intimately acquainted with the work of Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel as a result of the influence of Gottfried van Swieten who owned many manuscripts of the Baroque masters Mozart s study of these scores inspired compositions in Baroque style and later influenced his musical language for example in fugal passages in Die Zauberflote The Magic Flute and the finale of Symphony No 41 2 In 1783 Mozart and his wife visited his family in Salzburg His father and sister were cordially polite to Constanze but the visit prompted the composition of one of Mozart s great liturgical pieces the Mass in C minor Though not completed it was premiered in Salzburg with Constanze singing a solo part 56 Mozart met Joseph Haydn in Vienna around 1784 and the two composers became friends When Haydn visited Vienna they sometimes played together in an impromptu string quartet Mozart s six quartets dedicated to Haydn K 387 K 421 K 428 K 458 K 464 and K 465 date from the period 1782 to 1785 and are judged to be a response to Haydn s Opus 33 set from 1781 57 Haydn wrote posterity will not see such a talent again in 100 years 58 and in 1785 told Mozart s father I tell you before God and as an honest man your son is the greatest composer known to me by person and repute he has taste and what is more the greatest skill in composition 59 From 1782 to 1785 Mozart mounted concerts with himself as a soloist presenting three or four new piano concertos in each season Since space in the theatres was scarce he booked unconventional venues a large room in the Trattnerhof apartment building and the ballroom of the Mehlgrube restaurant 60 The concerts were very popular and his concertos premiered there are still firm fixtures in his repertoire Solomon writes that during this period Mozart created a harmonious connection between an eager composer performer and a delighted audience which was given the opportunity of witnessing the transformation and perfection of a major musical genre 60 With substantial returns from his concerts and elsewhere Mozart and his wife adopted a more luxurious lifestyle They moved to an expensive apartment with a yearly rent of 460 florins 61 Mozart bought a fine fortepiano from Anton Walter for about 900 florins and a billiard table for about 300 61 The Mozarts sent their son Karl Thomas to an expensive boarding school 62 63 and kept servants During this period Mozart saved little of his income 64 65 On 14 December 1784 Mozart became a Freemason admitted to the lodge Zur Wohltatigkeit Beneficence 66 Freemasonry played an essential role in the remainder of Mozart s life he attended meetings a number of his friends were Masons and on various occasions he composed Masonic music e g the Maurerische Trauermusik 67 1786 87 Return to opera nbsp Fortepiano played by Mozart in 1787 Czech Museum of Music Prague 68 Despite the great success of Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail Mozart did little operatic writing for the next four years producing only two unfinished works and the one act Der Schauspieldirektor He focused instead on his career as a piano soloist and writer of concertos Around the end of 1785 Mozart moved away from keyboard writing 69 page needed and began his famous operatic collaboration with the librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte The year 1786 saw the successful premiere of The Marriage of Figaro in Vienna Its reception in Prague later in the year was even warmer and this led to a second collaboration with Da Ponte the opera Don Giovanni which premiered in October 1787 to acclaim in Prague but less success in Vienna during 1788 70 The two are among Mozart s most famous works and are mainstays of operatic repertoire today though at their premieres their musical complexity caused difficulty both for listeners and for performers These developments were not witnessed by Mozart s father who had died on 28 May 1787 71 In December 1787 Mozart finally obtained a steady post under aristocratic patronage Emperor Joseph II appointed him as his chamber composer a post that had fallen vacant the previous month on the death of Gluck It was a part time appointment paying just 800 florins per year and required Mozart only to compose dances for the annual balls in the Redoutensaal see Mozart and dance This modest income became important to Mozart when hard times arrived Court records show that Joseph aimed to keep the esteemed composer from leaving Vienna in pursuit of better prospects 72 1 In 1787 the young Ludwig van Beethoven spent several weeks in Vienna hoping to study with Mozart 73 No reliable records survive to indicate whether the two composers ever met Later years 1788 90 See also Mozart s Berlin journey nbsp Drawing of Mozart in silverpoint made by Dora Stock during Mozart s visit to Dresden April 1789Toward the end of the decade Mozart s circumstances worsened Around 1786 he had ceased to appear frequently in public concerts and his income shrank 74 This was a difficult time for musicians in Vienna because of the Austro Turkish War both the general level of prosperity and the ability of the aristocracy to support music had declined In 1788 Mozart saw a 66 decline in his income compared to his best years in 1781 75 By mid 1788 Mozart and his family had moved from central Vienna to the suburb of Alsergrund 74 Although it has been suggested that Mozart aimed to reduce his rental expenses by moving to a suburb as he wrote in his letter to Michael von Puchberg Mozart had not reduced his expenses but merely increased the housing space at his disposal 76 Mozart began to borrow money most often from his friend and fellow mason Puchberg a pitiful sequence of letters pleading for loans survives 77 Maynard Solomon and others have suggested that Mozart was suffering from depression and it seems his musical output slowed 78 Major works of the period include the last three symphonies Nos 39 40 and 41 all from 1788 and the last of the three Da Ponte operas Cosi fan tutte premiered in 1790 Around this time Mozart made some long journeys hoping to improve his fortunes visiting Leipzig Dresden and Berlin in the spring of 1789 and Frankfurt Mannheim and other German cities in 1790 1791 Mozart s last year was until his final illness struck a time of high productivity and by some accounts one of personal recovery 79 h He composed a great deal including some of his most admired works the opera The Magic Flute the final piano concerto K 595 in B the Clarinet Concerto K 622 the last in his series of string quintets K 614 in E the motet Ave verum corpus K 618 and the unfinished Requiem K 626 Mozart s financial situation a source of anxiety in 1790 finally began to improve Although the evidence is inconclusive 80 it appears that wealthy patrons in Hungary and Amsterdam pledged annuities to Mozart in return for the occasional composition He is thought to have benefited from the sale of dance music written in his role as Imperial chamber composer 80 Mozart no longer borrowed large sums from Puchberg and began to pay off his debts 80 He experienced great satisfaction in the public success of some of his works notably The Magic Flute which was performed several times in the short period between its premiere and Mozart s death 81 and the Little Masonic Cantata K 623 premiered on 17 November 1791 82 Final illness and death Main article Death of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart nbsp Posthumous painting by Barbara Krafft in 1819Mozart fell ill while in Prague for the premiere on 6 September 1791 of his opera La clemenza di Tito which was written in that same year on commission for Emperor Leopold II s coronation festivities 83 He continued his professional functions for some time and conducted the premiere of The Magic Flute on 30 September His health deteriorated on 20 November at which point he became bedridden suffering from swelling pain and vomiting 84 Mozart was nursed in his final days by his wife and her youngest sister and was attended by the family doctor Thomas Franz Closset He was mentally occupied with the task of finishing his Requiem but the evidence that he dictated passages to his student Franz Xaver Sussmayr is minimal 85 Mozart died in his home on 5 December 1791 1791 12 05 aged 35 at 12 55 am 86 The New Grove describes his funeral Mozart was interred in a common grave in accordance with contemporary Viennese custom at the St Marx Cemetery outside the city on 7 December If as later reports say no mourners attended that too is consistent with Viennese burial customs at the time later Otto Jahn 1856 wrote that Salieri Sussmayr van Swieten and two other musicians were present The tale of a storm and snow is false the day was calm and mild 87 The expression common grave refers to neither a communal grave nor a pauper s grave but an individual grave for a member of the common people i e not the aristocracy Common graves were subject to excavation after ten years the graves of aristocrats were not 88 The cause of Mozart s death is not known with certainty The official record of hitziges Frieselfieber severe miliary fever referring to a rash that looks like millet seeds is more a symptomatic description than a diagnosis Researchers have suggested more than a hundred causes of death including acute rheumatic fever 89 90 streptococcal infection 91 92 trichinosis 93 94 influenza mercury poisoning and a rare kidney ailment 89 Mozart s modest funeral did not reflect his standing with the public as a composer memorial services and concerts in Vienna and Prague were well attended Indeed in the period immediately after his death his reputation rose substantially Solomon describes an unprecedented wave of enthusiasm 95 for his work biographies were written first by Schlichtegroll Niemetschek and Nissen and publishers vied to produce complete editions of his works 95 Appearance and character nbsp Detail of portrait of Mozart by his brother in law Joseph LangeMozart s physical appearance was described by tenor Michael Kelly in his Reminiscences a remarkably small man very thin and pale with a profusion of fine fair hair of which he was rather vain His early biographer Niemetschek wrote there was nothing special about his physique He was small and his countenance except for his large intense eyes gave no signs of his genius His facial complexion was pitted a reminder of his childhood case of smallpox 96 Of his voice his wife later wrote that it was a tenor rather soft in speaking and delicate in singing but when anything excited him or it became necessary to exert it it was both powerful and energetic 97 He loved elegant clothing Kelly remembered him at a rehearsal He was on the stage with his crimson pelisse and gold laced cocked hat giving the time of the music to the orchestra Based on pictures that researchers were able to find of Mozart he seemed to wear a white wig for most of his formal occasions researchers of the Salzburg Mozarteum declared that only one of his fourteen portraits they had found showed him without his wig 96 Mozart usually worked long and hard finishing compositions at a tremendous pace as deadlines approached He often made sketches and drafts unlike Beethoven s these are mostly not preserved as his wife sought to destroy them after his death 98 Mozart lived at the center of the Viennese musical world and knew a significant number and variety of people fellow musicians theatrical performers fellow Salzburgers and aristocrats including some acquaintance with Emperor Joseph II Solomon considers his three closest friends to have been Gottfried von Jacquin Count August Hatzfeld and Sigmund Barisani others included his elder colleague Joseph Haydn singers Franz Xaver Gerl and Benedikt Schack and the horn player Joseph Leutgeb Leutgeb and Mozart carried on a kind of friendly mockery often with Leutgeb as the butt of Mozart s practical jokes 99 He enjoyed billiards dancing and kept pets including a canary a starling a dog and a horse for recreational riding 100 He had a startling fondness for scatological humour which is preserved in his surviving letters notably those written to his cousin Maria Anna Thekla Mozart around 1777 1778 and in his correspondence with his sister and parents 101 Mozart also wrote scatological music a series of canons that he sang with his friends 102 Mozart was raised a Catholic and remained a devout member of the Church throughout his life 103 104 Works musical style and innovationsSee also List of compositions by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart List of operas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Mozart s compositional method Style Symphonie Nr 40 G minor K 550 Movement 1 Molto allegro source source Overture to Don Giovanni source source Both performed by the Fulda Symphonic Orchestra conductor Simon Schindler Mozart s music like Haydn s stands as an archetype of the Classical style At the time he began composing European music was dominated by the style galant a reaction against the highly evolved intricacy of the Baroque Progressively and in large part at the hands of Mozart himself the contrapuntal complexities of the late Baroque emerged once more moderated and disciplined by new forms and adapted to a new aesthetic and social milieu Mozart was a versatile composer and wrote in every major genre including symphony opera the solo concerto chamber music including string quartet and string quintet and the piano sonata These forms were not new but Mozart advanced their technical sophistication and emotional reach He almost single handedly developed and popularized the Classical piano concerto He wrote a great deal of religious music including large scale masses as well as dances divertimenti serenades and other forms of light entertainment 105 The central traits of the Classical style are all present in Mozart s music Clarity balance and transparency are the hallmarks of his work but simplistic notions of its delicacy mask the exceptional power of his finest masterpieces such as the Piano Concerto No 24 in C minor K 491 the Symphony No 40 in G minor K 550 and the opera Don Giovanni Charles Rosen makes the point forcefully It is only through recognizing the violence and sensuality at the center of Mozart s work that we can make a start towards a comprehension of his structures and an insight into his magnificence In a paradoxical way Schumann s superficial characterization of the G minor Symphony can help us to see Mozart s daemon more steadily In all of Mozart s supreme expressions of suffering and terror there is something shockingly voluptuous 106 During his last decade Mozart frequently exploited chromatic harmony A notable instance is his String Quartet in C major K 465 1785 whose introduction abounds in chromatic suspensions giving rise to the work s nickname the Dissonance quartet Mozart had a gift for absorbing and adapting the valuable features of others music His travels helped in the forging of a unique compositional language 107 In London as a child he met J C Bach and heard his music In Paris Mannheim and Vienna he met with other compositional influences as well as the avant garde capabilities of the Mannheim orchestra In Italy he encountered the Italian overture and opera buffa both of which deeply affected the evolution of his practice In London and Italy the galant style was in the ascendent simple light music with a mania for cadencing an emphasis on tonic dominant and subdominant to the exclusion of other harmonies symmetrical phrases and clearly articulated partitions in the overall form of movements 108 Some of Mozart s early symphonies are Italian overtures with three movements running into each other many are homotonal all three movements having the same key signature with the slow middle movement being in the relative minor Others mimic the works of J C Bach and others show the simple rounded binary forms turned out by Viennese composers nbsp Facsimile sheet of music from the Dies Irae movement of the Requiem Mass in D minor K 626 in Mozart s handwriting Mozarthaus Vienna As Mozart matured he progressively incorporated more features adapted from the Baroque For example the Symphony No 29 in A major K 201 has a contrapuntal main theme in its first movement and experimentation with irregular phrase lengths Some of his quartets from 1773 have fugal finales probably influenced by Haydn who had included three such finales in his recently published Opus 20 set The influence of the Sturm und Drang Storm and Stress period in music with its brief foreshadowing of the Romantic era is evident in the music of both composers at that time Mozart s Symphony No 25 in G minor K 183 is another excellent example Mozart would sometimes switch his focus between operas and instrumental music He produced operas in each of the prevailing styles opera buffa such as The Marriage of Figaro Don Giovanni and Cosi fan tutte opera seria such as Idomeneo and Singspiel of which Die Zauberflote is the most famous example by any composer In his later operas he employed subtle changes in instrumentation orchestral texture and tone colour for emotional depth and to mark dramatic shifts Here his advances in opera and instrumental composing interacted his increasingly sophisticated use of the orchestra in the symphonies and concertos influenced his operatic orchestration and his developing subtlety in using the orchestra to psychological effect in his operas was in turn reflected in his later non operatic compositions 109 Kochel catalogue Main article Kochel catalogue For unambiguous identification of works by Mozart a Kochel catalogue number is used This is a unique number assigned in regular chronological order to every one of his known works A work is referenced by the abbreviation K or KV followed by this number The first edition of the catalogue was completed in 1862 by Ludwig von Kochel It has since been repeatedly updated as scholarly research improves knowledge of the dates and authenticity of individual works 110 Instruments Although some of Mozart s early pieces were written for harpsichord he also became acquainted in his early years with fortepianos made by Regensburg builder Franz Jakob Spath Later when Mozart was visiting Augsburg he was impressed by Stein fortepianos and shared this in a letter to his father 111 On 22 October 1777 Mozart had premiered his triple piano concerto K 242 on instruments provided by Stein The Augsburg Cathedral organist Demmler was playing the first Mozart the second and Stein the third part 112 In 1783 when living in Vienna he purchased an instrument by Walter 113 Leopold Mozart confirmed the attachment which Mozart had with his Walter fortepiano It is impossible to describe the hustle and bustle Your brother s pianoforte has been moved at least twelve times from his house to the theatre or to someone else s house 114 InfluenceSee also Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in popular culture nbsp Mozart Monument de Mozartplatz FrankfurtHis most famous pupil was Johann Nepomuk Hummel 115 a transitional figure between the Classical and Romantic eras whom the Mozarts took into their Vienna home for two years as a child 116 More important is the influence Mozart had on composers of later generations Ever since the surge in his reputation after his death studying his scores has been a standard part of classical musicians training 117 Ludwig van Beethoven Mozart s junior by fifteen years was deeply influenced by his work with which he was acquainted as a teenager 118 He is thought to have performed Mozart s operas while playing in the court orchestra at Bonn 119 and travelled to Vienna in 1787 hoping to study with the older composer Some of Beethoven s works have direct models in comparable works by Mozart and he wrote cadenzas WoO 58 to Mozart s D minor piano concerto K 466 120 i Composers have paid homage to Mozart by writing sets of variations on his themes Beethoven wrote four such sets Op 66 WoO 28 WoO 40 WoO 46 121 Others include Fernando Sor s Introduction and Variations on a Theme by Mozart 1821 Mikhail Glinka s Variations on a Theme from Mozart s Opera The Magic Flute 1822 Frederic Chopin s Variations on La ci darem la mano from Don Giovanni 1827 and Max Reger s Variations and Fugue on a Theme by Mozart 1914 based on the variation theme in the piano sonata K 331 122 Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky who revered Mozart wrote his Orchestral Suite No 4 in G Mozartiana 1887 as a tribute to him 123 ReferencesNotes Sources vary in how Mozart s name should be pronounced in English Fradkin 1996 a guide for radio announcers strongly recommends ts for letter z thus ˈ w ʊ l f ɡ ae ŋ ˌ ae m e ˈ d eɪ e s ˈ m oʊ t s ɑːr t WUULF gang AM e DAY es MOHT sart but otherwise considers English like pronunciation fully acceptable The German one is ˈvɔlfɡaŋ ʔamaˈdeːʊs ˈmoːtsaʁt Baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart Mozart s exact name involved many complications for details see Mozart s name Source Wilson 1999 p 2 The many changes of European political borders since Mozart s time make it difficult to assign him an unambiguous nationality for discussion see Mozart s nationality For further details of the story see Miserere Allegri History Eisen amp Keefe 2006 p 268 You ask me to take the young Salzburger into your service I do not know why not believing that you have need for a composer or of useless people What I say is intended only to prevent you from burdening yourself with useless people and giving titles to people of that sort In addition if they are at your service it degrades that service when these people go about the world like beggars Archbishop Colloredo responded to the request by dismissing both Mozart and his father though the dismissal of the latter was not actually carried out Mozart complains of this in a letter to his father dated 24 March 1781 46 More recently Wolff 2012 has forcefully advocated a view of Mozart s career at the end of his life as being on the rise interrupted by his sudden death For further details see Beethoven and Mozart Citations Buch 2017 Introduction a b c Eisen amp Sadie 2001 Arnold Rosemarie Taylor Robert Eisenschmid Rainer 2009 Austria Baedeker ISBN 978 3 8297 6613 5 OCLC 416424772 Deutsch 1965 p 9 Solomon 1995 p 21 Solomon 1995 p 32 Deutsch 1965 p 455 Solomon 1995 p 44 Andante in C major K 1a Allegro in C major K 1b Allegro in F major K 1c Scores at the International Music Score Library Project a b Solomon 1995 pp 39 40 Deutsch 1965 p 453 Solomon 1995 p 33 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Composer Blue Plaques English Heritage Archived from the original on 12 April 2021 Retrieved 25 September 2020 Grove 1954 p 926 Meerdter Joe 2009 Mozart Biography midiworld com Archived from the original on 1 July 2017 Retrieved 20 December 2014 Halliwell 1998 pp 51 53 Halliwell 1998 pp 82 83 Halliwell 1998 pp 99 102 Allegri s Miserere Conclusions www ancientgroove co uk Archived from the original on 9 November 2022 Retrieved 11 November 2022 Gutman 2000 p 271 Chrissochoidis Ilias Summer 2010 London Mozartiana Wolfgang s disputed age amp early performances of Allegri s Miserere The Musical Times Vol 151 no 1911 pp 83 89 Provides new information on this episode Halliwell 1998 pp 172 183 185 Solomon 1995 p 106 Solomon 1995 p 103 Solomon 1995 p 98 Solomon 1995 p 107 Solomon 1995 p 109 Vatican 1770 Halliwell 1998 p 225 Sadie 1998 Drebes Gerald 1992 Die Mannheimer Schule ein Zentrum der vorklassischen Musik und Mozart gerald drebes ch in German Archived from the original on 7 February 2015 Deutsch 1965 p 174 Solomon 1995 p 149 Halliwell 1998 pp 304 305 Abert 2007 p 509 Halliwell 1998 p 305 Letter by W A Mozart to his father Archived 22 January 2023 at the Wayback Machine Paris 9 July 1778 in German in English Archived 22 January 2023 at the Wayback Machine Mozarteum Halliwell 1998 chs 18 19 Solomon 1995 p 157 Halliwell 1998 p 322 Sadie 1998 3 Jean Massin Brigitte Massin eds 1983 Histoire de la musique occidentale Paris Fayard p 613 He wrote during that period that whenever he or someone else played one of his compositions it was as if the table and chairs were the only listeners Deutsch 1965 p 176 Einstein 1965 pp 276 277 Sadie 1980 vol 12 p 700 Spaethling 2000 p 235 Spaethling 2000 p 238 a b Spaethling 2000 p 237 the letter dates from 24 March 1781 Spaethling 2000 pp 238 239 a b c d Sadie 1998 4 Solomon 1995 p 247 Solomon 1995 p 253 Solomon 1995 p 259 a b Solomon 1995 p 258 Solomon 1995 pp 265 266 Solomon 1995 p 270 See Barry 2000 for detailed discussion of the influence of Opus 33 on the Haydn quartets Landon 1990 p 171 Mozart amp Mozart 1966 p 1331 Leopold s letter to his daughter Nannerl 14 16 May 1785 a b Solomon 1995 p 293 a b Solomon 1995 p 298 Solomon 1995 p 430 Solomon 1995 p 578 Solomon 1995 27 Solomon 1995 p 431 Solomon 1995 p 321 Rushton Julian 2005 Mozart An Extraordinary Life Associated Board of the Royal School of Music p 67 Czech Museum of Music to display Mozart piano Radio Praha 31 January 2007 Archived from the original on 2 December 2019 Retrieved 14 December 2018 Solomon 1995 Freeman 2021 pp 131 168 Palmer Willard 2006 W A Mozart An Introduction to His Keyboard Works Alfred Music Publishing p 4 ISBN 978 0 7390 3875 8 Solomon 1995 pp 423 424 Haberl 2006 pp 215 255 a b Sadie 1998 6 Solomon 1995 pp 427 432 Lorenz 2010 Sadie 1980 vol 12 p 710 Steptoe 1990 p 208 Solomon 1995 30 a b c Solomon 1995 p 477 Solomon 1995 p 487 And not as previously stated on 15 November see Abert 2007 p 1307 fn 9 Freeman 2021 pp 193 230 Solomon 1995 p 491 Solomon 1995 pp 493 588 Mozart s final year and death 1791 Classic FM UK Archived from the original on 19 December 2017 Retrieved 17 December 2017 Sadie 1980 vol 12 p 716 Walther Brauneis in German Dies irae dies illa Day of wrath day of wailing Notes on the commissioning origin and completion of Mozart s Requiem KV 626 PDF Archived from the original PDF on 7 April 2014 a b Wakin 2010 Crawford Franklin 14 February 2000 Foul play ruled out in death of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart EurekAlert American Association for the Advancement of Science Archived from the original on 26 April 2014 Retrieved 26 April 2014 Becker Sander 20 August 2009 Voorlopig is Mozart bezweken aan streptokok For the time being Mozart succumbed to streptococcus Trouw Archived from the original on 24 April 2014 Retrieved 25 April 2014 Bakalar Nicholas 17 August 2009 What Really Killed Mozart Maybe Strep The New York Times Archived from the original on 30 June 2014 Retrieved 24 April 2014 Hirschmann Jan V 11 June 2001 Special Article What Really Killed Mozart JAMA Internal Medicine 161 11 1381 1389 doi 10 1001 archinte 161 11 1381 PMID 11386887 Archived from the original on 2 February 2016 Retrieved 26 January 2016 Dupouy Camet Jean 22 April 2002 Editor s Correspondence Trichinellosis Is Unlikely to Be Responsible for Mozart s Death JAMA Internal Medicine Critical comment and reply 162 8 946 author reply 946 947 doi 10 1001 archinte 162 8 946 PMID 11966352 Archived from the original on 2 February 2016 Retrieved 26 January 2016 a b Solomon 1995 p 499 a b Discovered new Mozart portrait that shows musician without his wig The Telegraph 11 January 2013 Archived from the original on 10 January 2022 Retrieved 7 May 2018 Solomon 1995 p 308 Solomon 1995 p 310 Solomon 1995 20 Solomon 1995 p 319 Solomon 1995 p 169 A list of the canons may be found at Mozart and scatology In music Goldstein Jack 2013 101 Amazing Mozart Facts Andrews UK Limited Abert 2007 p 743 Grove 1954 pp 958 982 Rosen 1998 p 324 Solomon 1995 ch 8 Discussion of the sources of style as well as his early imitative ability Heartz 2003 Einstein 1965 p page needed Zaslaw amp Cowdery 1990 pp 331 332 The Letters of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 1769 1791 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart www gutenberg org Archived from the original on 26 December 2021 Retrieved 5 February 2021 Layer Adolf Ullrich Hermann 2001 Demmler Demler Dummler Johann Michael Oxford Music Online Oxford University Press doi 10 1093 gmo 9781561592630 article 07542 Latcham Michael 1997 Mozart and the pianos of Gabriel Anton Walter Early Music XXV 3 383 400 doi 10 1093 earlyj XXV 3 383 Bauer Wilhelm 1963 Mozart Briefe und Aufzeichnungen PDF Archived PDF from the original on 20 February 2021 Retrieved 5 February 2021 Kroll Mark Summer 2007 Hummel and the Romantics Early Music America 13 2 20 23 20 ProQuest 222748015 via ProQuest Solomon 1995 p 574 See for example Temperley Nicholas October 1961 Mozart s Influence on English Music Music amp Letters 42 4 307 318 doi 10 1093 ml 42 4 307 JSTOR 732768 Jahn Otto Townsend Pauline D Grove George 1882 Life of Mozart London Novello Ewer amp Co Raptus Association for Music Appreciation Churgin 1987 pp 457 458 Churgin 1987 p 458 March Greenfield amp Layton 2005 Wiley Roland John 2001 Tchaikovsky Pyotr Il yich Grove Music Online Oxford Oxford University Press doi 10 1093 gmo 9781561592630 article 51766 subscription or UK public library membership required Sources Abert Hermann 2007 W A Mozart Translated by Spencer Stewart Cliff Eisen ed New Haven Yale University Press ISBN 978 0 300 07223 5 OCLC 70401564 Barry Barbara R 2000 The Philosopher s Stone Essays in the Transformation of Musical Structure Hillsdale New York Pendragon Press ISBN 978 1 57647 010 7 OCLC 466918491 Buch David 2017 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Oxford Bibliographies Music Oxford Oxford University Press doi 10 1093 OBO 9780199757824 0193 subscription required Churgin Bathia Autumn 1987 Beethoven and Mozart s Requiem A New Connection PDF The Journal of Musicology 5 4 457 477 doi 10 2307 763840 JSTOR 763840 Deutsch Otto Erich 1965 Mozart A Documentary Biography Peter Branscombe Eric Blom Jeremy Noble trans Stanford Stanford University Press ISBN 978 0 8047 0233 1 OCLC 8991008 Einstein Alfred 1965 Mozart His Character His Work Galaxy Book 162 Arthur Mendel Nathan Broder trans 6th ed New York City Oxford University Press ISBN 978 0 304 92483 7 OCLC 456644858 Eisen Cliff Keefe Simon P eds 2006 The Cambridge Mozart Encyclopedia Cambridge Cambridge University Press ISBN 978 0 521 85659 1 Eisen Cliff Sadie Stanley 2001 Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Grove Music Online Oxford Oxford University Press doi 10 1093 gmo 9781561592630 article 6002278233 subscription or UK public library membership required Fradkin Robert A 1996 The Well Tempered Announcer A Pronunciation Guide to Classical Music Bloomington Indiana University Press ISBN 978 0 253 21064 7 Freeman Daniel E 2021 Mozart in Prague Minneapolis Calumet Editions ISBN 978 1 950743 50 6 Grove s Dictionary of Music and Musicians 5th ed New York Macmillam Press 1954 Gutman Robert 2000 Mozart A Cultural Biography London Harcourt Brace ISBN 978 0 15 601171 6 OCLC 45485135 Halliwell Ruth 1998 The Mozart Family Four Lives in a Social Context New York City Clarendon Press ISBN 978 0 19 816371 8 OCLC 36423516 Haberl Dieter 2006 Beethovens erste Reise nach Wien die Datierung seiner Schulerreise zu W A Mozart Neues Musikwissenschaftliches Jahrbuch in German 14 OCLC 634798176 Heartz Daniel 2003 Music in European Capitals The Galant Style 1720 1780 1st ed New York City W W Norton amp Company ISBN 978 0 393 05080 6 OCLC 50693068 Landon Howard Chandler Robbins 1990 1791 Mozart s Last Year London Flamingo ISBN 978 0 00 654324 4 OCLC 20932333 Lorenz Michael 9 August 2010 Mozart s Apartment on the Alsergrund Archived from the original on 1 November 2014 Retrieved 27 September 2010 March Ivan Greenfield Edward Layton Robert 2005 Czajkowski Paul ed Penguin Guide to Compact Discs And DVDs 2005 2006 30th ed London Penguin ISBN 978 0 14 102262 8 OCLC 416204627 Mozart Wolfgang Mozart Leopold 1966 Anderson Emily ed The Letters of Mozart and his Family 2nd ed London Macmillan ISBN 978 0 393 02248 3 OCLC 594813 Mozart s Letters Mozart s Life Selected Letters Translated by Robert Spaethling W W Norton 2000 Mozart Mozart s Magic Flute and Beethoven Raptus Association for Music Appreciation Archived from the original on 27 November 2010 Retrieved 27 September 2010 Rosen Charles 1998 The Classical Style Haydn Mozart Beethoven 2nd ed New York City W W Norton amp Company ISBN 978 0 393 31712 1 OCLC 246977555 Sadie Stanley ed 1998 The New Grove Dictionary of Opera New York Grove s Dictionaries of Music ISBN 978 0 333 73432 2 OCLC 39160203 Sadie Stanley ed 1980 The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians 6th ed London Macmillan ISBN 978 0 333 23111 1 OCLC 5676891 Solomon Maynard 1995 Mozart A Life 1st ed New York City HarperCollins ISBN 978 0 06 019046 0 OCLC 31435799 Steptoe Andrew 1990 The Mozart Da Ponte Operas The Cultural and Musical Background to Le nozze di Figaro Don Giovanni and Cosi fan tutte Oxford Clarendon Press ISBN 978 0 19 816221 6 OCLC 22895166 Award of the Papal Equestrian Order of the Golden Spur to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Vatican Secret Archives 4 July 1770 Archived from the original on 18 September 2010 Retrieved 27 September 2010 Wakin Daniel J 24 August 2010 After Mozart s Death an Endless Coda The New York Times Wilson Peter Hamish 1999 The Holy Roman Empire 1495 1806 London MacMillan Wolff Christoph 2012 Mozart at the Gateway to His Fortune Serving the Emperor 1788 1791 New York Norton ISBN 978 0 393 05070 7 Zaslaw Neal Cowdery William eds 1990 The Compleat Mozart A Guide to the Musical Works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart New York and London W W Norton amp Company ISBN 978 0 393 02886 7 Further readingSee Buch 2017 for an extensive bibliography Badura Skoda Eva Badura Skoda Paul 2018 Interpreting Mozart The Performance of His Piano Pieces and Other Compositions 2nd ed Routledge ISBN 9781135868505 Baumol William J and Hilda Baumol On the economics of musical composition in Mozart s Vienna Journal of Cultural Economics 18 3 1994 171 198 online Braunbehrens Volkmar 1990 Mozart Lebensbilder G Lubbe ISBN 978 3 7857 0580 3 Cairns David 2006 Mozart and His Operas Berkeley California University of California Press ISBN 978 0 520 22898 6 OCLC 62290645 Holmes Edward 2005 The Life of Mozart New York Cosimo Classics ISBN 978 1 59605 147 8 OCLC 62790104 first published by Chapman and Hall in 1845 Kallen Stuart A 2000 Great Composers San Diego Lucent ISBN 978 1 56006 669 9 Keefe Simon P Mozart Routledge 2018 Keefe Simon P ed Mozart in Context Cambridge University Press 2018 Marshall Robert Lewis Bach and Mozart Essays on the Enigma of Genius University of Rochester Press 2019 Mozart Wolfgang 1972 Mersmann Hans ed Letters of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart New York Dover Publications ISBN 978 0 486 22859 4 OCLC 753483 Reisinger Elisabeth The Prince and the Prodigies On the Relations of Archduke and Elector Maximilian Franz with Mozart Beethoven and Haydn Acta Musicologica 91 1 2019 48 70 excerpt Schroeder David Experiencing Mozart A Listener s Companion Scarecrow 2013 excerpt Swafford Jan 2020 Mozart The Reign of Love New York Harper ISBN 978 0 06 243357 2 OCLC 1242102319 Till Nicholas 1995 Mozart and the Enlightenment Truth Virtue and Beauty in Mozart s Operas New York City W W Norton amp Company ISBN 978 0 393 31395 6 OCLC 469628809 Woodfield Ian The Early Reception of Mozart s Operas in London Burney s Missed Opportunity Eighteenth Century Music 17 2 2020 201 214 External links nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart nbsp Wikiquote has quotations related to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart nbsp Wikisource has original works by or about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Homepage for the Salzburg Mozarteum Foundation Discovering Mozart BBC Radio 3 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at IMDbDigitized documentsWorks by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at Project Gutenberg Works by or about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at Internet Archive Works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at LibriVox public domain audiobooks nbsp Mozart Titles Mozart as author at Google Books Digital Mozart Edition Archived 18 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum Mozart titles from Gallica in French From the British Library Mozart s Thematic Catalogue Mozart s Musical Diary Background information on Mozart and the Thematic Catalogue Letters of Leopold Mozart und Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in German Baden State Library Sheet musicComplete sheet music scores from the Neue Mozart Ausgabe Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum Mozart scores from the Munich Digitization Center MDZ Mozart titles from the University of Rochester Free scores by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at the International Music Score Library Project IMSLP Free scores by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in the Choral Public Domain Library ChoralWiki Free typeset sheet music of Mozart s works from Cantorion org The Mutopia Project has compositions by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at the Musopen project Portals nbsp Classical music nbsp Opera nbsp Biography nbsp Music Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart amp oldid 1197289240, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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