Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Mozart showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood. Already competent on keyboard and violin, he composed from the age of five. He composed more than 600 works, many of which are acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, operatic, and choral music. Mozart died in Vienna in 1781, aged 35.

About Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in brief

Summary Wolfgang Amadeus MozartWolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, in the Holy Roman Empire. Mozart showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood. Already competent on keyboard and violin, he composed from the age of five. He composed more than 600 works, many of which are acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, operatic, and choral music. He is considered among the greatest classical composers of all time, and his influence on Western music is profound. Ludwig van Beethoven composed his early works in the shadow of Mozart, and Joseph Haydn wrote: ‘posterity will not see such a talent again in 100 years’ Mozart died in Vienna in 1781, aged 35, but the circumstances of his death have been much mythologized. He was the youngest of seven children, five of whom died in infancy. His elder sister was Maria Anna Mozart, nicknamed ‘Nannerl’. His only teacher was his father, Leopold, who was a devoted teacher to his children, including languages and academic subjects. His son’s musical talents became evident when he was young, and he gave up composing when his son’s musical talents came as a surprise to him. These began with an exhibition of his first prodigies in 1762 at the first court of Maximilian III of Bavaria, the Prince-elector of the Bavarian state.

He wrote his first three pieces of music within a few weeks of each other: K. 1a, 1b, and 1c. In early his years, he was his only teacher: he taught his children Solomon Solomon Solomon, while there is evidence that there is also evidence that he was keen to progress beyond what he was taught. He also taught his younger sister, Nannerl, to play the violin, and she was his first piano teacher. In 1763, he became the orchestra’s deputy Kapellmeister, and four years later, he married Anna Maria, née Pertl. He generally called himself ‘Wolfgang’ as an adult, but his name had many variants, including ‘Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart’, ‘Johannes’ and ‘Theophilus.’ In 1743 he was appointed as fourth violinist in the musical establishment of Count Leopolds Anton von Firmian, the ruling Prince-Archbishop of Salzberg. Four years later he married his wife Anna Maria in SalZburg. He had three children, one of whom was Wolfgang Amadè Mozart. His last years were spent in Vienna, where he composed many of his best-known symphonies, concertos, and operas, and portions of the Requiem, which was largely unfinished at the time of his early death at the aged of 35. He died in 1783.