Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: A Biography

Classical Music / Composers Datebook:  January 27 

 

Arguably, the greatest composer of all time, Wolfgang Mozart composed more than 600 works including: 21 theatre/stage and opera works, 15 Masses, over 50 symphonies, 25 piano concertos, 12 violin concertos (many more violin sonatas),  27 concert arias, 17 piano sonatas, 26 string quartets, concertos for clarinet and other wind instruments, chamber music, and many other pieces. Together with the work of his older contemporary he called "Papa" Haydn, Mozart's music marks the height of the Classical era in its supposed purity of melody and symmetricality of form. Since his early death in 1791, the popularity of Mozart keep soaring that even younger musicians continue to translate his music to suit their generation.   

Johann Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, better known as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (January 27, 1756 – December 5, 1791) was born in Salzburg, Austria, to a musician father Leopold Mozart and mother, Anna Pertl. Of the seven children, only Mozart and his older sister (Maria Anna or "Nannerl" as family called her) survived infancy. Leopold Mozart was himself a composer and an excellent teacher. He was a court musician of the archbishop's chapel in Salzburg, and the author of a well-known book on violin-playing. 

 

 Mozart's Younger Years

Mozart's birthplace (German: geburtshaus) was at No. 9 Getreidegasse in Salzburg. As children, Nannerl and Wolfgang showed early musical promise.  

Taught by his father, Mozart was an infant prodigy. He began to play the harpsichord at the age of three, compose at the age of five, and wrote his first minuet at six. This time Mozart went on his first tour with his family. The family lived like this for years, touring and playing over Europe. Before his ninth birthday, he composed his first symphony, wrote his first oratorio at 11, and the first opera the following year.  

 

 Mozart's Youthful Years and First Love

 In Mannheim, Germany, he fell in love with a young soprano, Aloysia Weber. His love was not reciprocated. A year later, in 1778, his beloved mother died in Paris. With heartache from the double loss of his mother and first love, he returned to Salzburg. He found work at the court but unhappy with the court restrictions, Mozart left Salzburg for Vienna in  1781, and decided to go solo, a freelance musician.

 

 

Mozart's Marriage and Friendship with Haydn

Wolfgang Mozart married Constanze Weber, Aloysia's younger sister, on August 4, 1782.  The same year he also met the older Joseph Haydn, where a lasting friendship developed. Haydn's works had a strong influence on Mozart. In gratitude, he dedicated six string quartets to him, the six Haydn Quartets. From contemporary accounts Mozart and Haydn admired and respected each other and that the two of them quickly developed a deep friendship. Through the 1780s in Vienna, the two composers played together in impromptu quartets, with Haydn on violin and Mozart playing viola.

 

 

 

 Mozart and his wife Constanze Weber seemingly always lacked money, probably because he also gambled. He didn't have a good health, and his life was filled with difficulties. Yet we rarely see evidence of these hardships in his music, but rather, we hear a lively disposition and graceful spirit, credit to his mother. 

Wolfgang Mozart and Constanze's  Children

Wolfgang Mozart and Constanze had six children, but only two children survived: Carl Thomas Mozart (September 21, 1784 - 31 October 1858) and Franz Xavier (July 26, 1791 - July 29, 1944), both born in Vienna. Carl was the second son and the elder of the two surviving sons. He became a gifted pianist but before he finished his schooling, he left for Livorno in 1797 to begin his apprenticeship with a trading firm. Franz Xavier was only five months before his father's death. He was also known as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Jr. Unlike Carl Thomas, he became a composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher of the late classical period whose musical style was of an early Romanticism, heavily influenced by his father's mature style. 

Names and  birthdays of Wolfgang Mozart and Constanze's other four children that didn't survive infancy: 

1. Raimund Leopold Mozart - June 17, 1783 (died August 19, 1783)
2. Johann Thomas Leopold - October 18, 1786 (died November 15, 1786) 
3. Theresia Constanzia Adelheid Friedericka Maria Anna - December 27, 1787 (died June 29, 1788) 
4. Anna Maria - November 16, 1789 (died one hour after birth)

 

Mozart's Pet Starling

Mozart kept a pet starling for about three years. The starling is remembered for the anecdote of how Mozart came to purchase it, for the funeral commemorations Mozart provided for it, and in general, as an example of the composer's affection for birds.  

Amadeus the Play & Film

The play and film Amadeus certainly advertised Mozart, but immensely misrepresented his life and work. The myth depicting him as simple-minded with a miraculous gift of music is far from the complicated truth. It is a 1984 American period biographical drama film directed by Miloš Forman and adapted by Peter Shaffer from his 1979 stage play of the same name. The story is set in Vienna, Austria, during the latter half of the 18th century, and is a fictionalized story of Wolfgang A. Mozart from the time he left Salzburg in 1781, described by its writer as "fantasia on the theme of Mozart and Salieri". Mozart's music is heard extensively in the film's soundtrack. The film portrays a fictional rivalry between Mozart and the older Italian composer Antonio Salieri at the court of Emperor Joseph II. 

Amadeus the film stars F. Murray Abraham as Salieri and Tom Hulce as Mozart. Abraham and Hulce were both nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor, with Abraham winning. Amadeus the film received widespread acclaim and was a box office hit, considered one of the greatest films of all time, nominated for 53 awards and received 40, including eight Academy Awards (including the Academy Award for Best Picture), four BAFTA Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, and a Directors Guild of America award. As of 2021, it is the most recent film to have more than one nomination in the Academy Award for Best Actor category. In 1998, the American Film Institute ranked it 53rd on its 100 Years... 100 Movies list. In 2019, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Mozart was a comprehensively gifted musician. He belonged to the classical period of the second half of the 18th century, the "Age of Enlightenment", the complex movement involving the revolt of the spirit. Towards the end of his life Mozart turned from formal religion to Freemasonry. This period was also the "Age of Elegance." 

 

Featured Video: 

Mozart's famous Clarinet Concerto in A  major, K. 622, superbly performed by clarinetist  Arngunnur Árnadóttir, clarinet, with Cornelius Meister conducting the Iceland Symphony Orchestra. YouTube, accessed January 27, 2023. 

 

Mozart's Requiem 

While working on his "Requiem" in Vienna in late 1791, he died in late 1791 (Dec 5), at the age of 35. His pupil Franz Xaver Süssmayr completed  a version which was delivered to Count Franz von Walsegg, who commissioned the piece for a requiem service on 14 February 1792 to commemorate the first anniversary of the death of his wife Anna at the age of 20 on 14 February 1791. the following year. Mozart died believing even as he wrote it that it would be his own requiem.

The manuscript shows the finished and orchestrated Introit in Mozart's hand, and detailed drafts of the Kyrie and the sequence Dies irae as far as the first eight bars of the Lacrymosa movement, and the Offertory. It cannot be shown to what extent Süssmayr may have depended on now lost "scraps of paper" for the remainder; he later claimed the Sanctus and Benedictus and the Agnus Dei as his own.

The opening theme of the "Kyrie" is one used by both Bach and Handel. This is not surprising, as the influence of these Baroque masters, especially the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, was deep and lasting. 

This genius, from age three until he died at thirty-five, scarcely had a day's rest. His thoughts were always occupied with music. No other prodigy has approached Mozart's ability to combine a musical imagination with a total mastery of style and form, a perfect blending of the French elegance, German knowledge and Italian art.  

Arguably, there are masters of the highest caliber like Bach, Beethoven and Schubert, Tchaikovsky and Mendelssohn, Mahler & Wagner, to name a few, but no other has ever composed in the great range of genres at the same time excelled in all of them. A prolific composer, Mozart's major works include piano concertos, string quartets & quintets, violin sonatas, violin concertos, concertos for clarinet and other wind instruments, chamber music, masses, and more than 45 symphonies. He composed some 20 operas, including the four most famous ones: The Marriage of Figaro, Cosi fan tutte, The Magic Flute and Don Giovanni.

 

Mozart's Nationality: Was Herr Mozart German or Austrian

Technically, neither.  Salzburg was an independent ecclesiastical territory until 1803, ruled by a Prince - Archbishop. In spite of the fact that it was a part of the Holy Roman Empire of German Nation, its inhabitants didn't see themselves as either German or Austrians.

 

When Wolfgang labelled himself as a " true German " (" ehrlicher Teutcher"), he was implicitly referring to his language and to his cultural heritage (It should be taken into account that his father Leopold Mozart was Bavarian and the Mozarts had Swabian origins).

 

Mozart was first and foremost a citizen of Salzburg ( a "Salzburgian", even though it is not a commonly used term), and later a subject of the Habsburg Monarchy (when he moved to Vienna in 1781).

 

From a contemporary viewpoint, Wolfgang A Mozart can be considered Austrian.

 

(Note: I'd like to thank Lisa Mirren, a long-time Mozartian friend, for this input on Mozart's nationality.) 

 

Most recognizable photo of Mozart by Barbara Krafft.   

"Looking for Mozart: The Mozart Portrait by Barbara Krafft", by Elizabeth Jane Timms. February 14, 2019 (Mozart's photo, top right).

 

Mozart Week Festival  (January 26 - February 5)

Mozarteum Foundation Salzburg has hosted Mozart Week every year since 1956: a festival with a worldwide reputation, drawing the world’s best artists, and audiences that are every bit as international.

Salzburg is the world’s music capital, and not only during the summer festival. During Mozart Week, one immediately senses the unique flair of this city, especially in the concert halls. On and around 27 January, the City of Mozart honors Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart on his birthday with an internationally acclaimed concert series. 

January 26 - February 5, 2023.

Recommended reading:

A Mozart Pilgrimage: The Travel Diaries of Vincent & Mary Novello in the Year 1829. Edited by Nerina Medici & Rosemary Hughes. London: Eulenbooks, 1975. 

Mozart's Letters, An Illustrated Selection. Translated by Emily Anderson. Loondon: Barrie & Jenkins. 1990. 

Recommended listening:

Concert on the Occasion of Wolfgang A Mozart's 250th Birthday Anniversary. Performed by the Vienna Boys' Choir. (2006). Uploaded by EuroArtsChannel. Accessed January 27, 2018.  
From the Stephansdom, Vienna, 2006 (starts at 1:13) the Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s 250th anniversary. Sandrine Piau - soprano, Dietmar Kerschbaum - tenor, Wolfgang Bankl - bass, Bertrand de Billy - conductor. Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra. The Vienna Boys Choir (Wiener Sängerknaben) Chorus Viennensis.

Mozart: Symphony No.41 "Jupiter" / Mehta Wiener Philharmoniker (1991 Movie Live). Uploaded by Classical Music-192. Accessed January 27, 2018.

Mozart Clarinet Quintet in A, K.581. YouTube, uploaded by Am4d3usMOz4rt. Accessed January 27, 2018.  

Mozart - The Violin Concertos n°1,2,3,4,5,6,7 + Presentation (Century's recording : Josef Suk). Youtube, uploaded by Classical Music//Reference Recording (CM//RR). Accessed January 3, 2023.

More links:

13 Facts About  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Accessed September 14, 2018. (1) His father thrust him into the music business. (2) At 6 y.o., he hung out with the young Marie Antoinette. (3) Composed his first opera, aged 11. (4) His early triumphs didn't last - and his father blamed him for his mother's death.(5) He hated working in Salzburg. (6) He moved to Vienna in 1781, his life changed dramatically. (7) He insisted his children shouldn't be breast-fed. (8) He had a pet Starling. (9) He didn't attend his father's funeral. (10) His music spanned every form and style of his time. (11) His last composition remained unfinished (12) The reason for his death is most likely not because of poisoning. (13) His music and life are widely celebrated.

Amadeus the Film. en.wikipedia.org. Accessed January 27,  2009.

Great Composers: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. YouTube, uploaded by internsUKmaster. Accessed January 27, 2013.

In Search of Mozart (The Genius of Mozart in 8 videos).  Uploaded by Dario Alba. Accessed January 27, 2019.

Tchaikovsky Research: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Latest access, March 25, 2019

That's Mozart to Me! 

The Music of Mozart.  www.wolfgang-amadeus.at

Why Mozart has become an icon for today.  New York Times. Accessed December 5, 2009. Written by Richard Taruskin, a professor of music at the University of California at Berkeley. 

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Bio. YouTube, uploaded by Michael Burrows. Accessed January 27, 2020. 

Image Credit: 

Wolfgang A Mozart (Top right). Likely the most recognizable and famous photo of Mozart, a portrait by Barbara Krafft.  

Constanze Weber Mozart, wife of Wolfgang A Mozart, as portrayed in 1782 by her brother-in-law Joseph Lange. Wikipedia Commons / Public Domain.

 

Video Credit:

Wolfgang A. Mozart Pianist & Composer. YouTube, Biography. Accessed January 27, 2020.   

 

Resources:

 

1.   Dictionary of Composers and their Music, by Eric Gilder, Sphere Reference (1987)

2.  The Encyclopedia of Music, by Max Wade-Matthews & Wendy Thompson, House (2002)

3.  The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, 2nd Edition, edited by Stanley Sadie (2000)
4.  The Mozart Compendium: A Guide to Mozart's Life and Music, by H.C. Robbins Landon, Gen. Ed.  London: Thames & Hudson. (1990)

5.  The Oxford Companion to Music, edited by Alison Latham (2002)
6.  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Encyclopaedia Britannica (Online).  Accessed 27 January 2014.

7.  Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. en.wikipedia.org. Accessed December 2009. 

 

(c) December 5, 2009. Updated January 26, 2024. Tel Asiado. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.