Mozart completed some 23 string quartets,
the first in 1770, at the age of fourteen, and the last in June 1790, the year before his death, when he wrote the first three quartets of a proposed set of six for the King Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia. Most his his compositions in this form were published in groups as part of a single opus.
Considered Mozart's most famous quartet is perhaps String Quartet No. 19 in C Major, KV. 465, nicknamed "Dissonance" on account of its unusual slow introduction.
Mozart loved J.S. Bach's music. He made arrangements for strings of several fugues from Bach's The Well-Tempered Clavier and composed original preludes to go with each.
Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart
(January 27, 1756-December 5, 1791)
Happy 265th Birthday, Mozart! Joining all Mozartians & Mozart admirers worldwide in celebrating the birthday anniversary of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, January 27.
On and around Mozart’s birthday, Mozarteum Foundation Salzburg
invites music lovers to wintry Salzburg. A musical
celebration and classical music experience taken to a whole new level
of the world’s leading Mozart festival!
As a special listening pleasure for Mozart's birthday anniversary today, I've decided to share my all-time favourite piano concerto of Mozart, his Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K.466, performed by no other than the legendary pianist Martha Argerich (1998).
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791).
Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K 466. (Cadenzas, L. v. Beethoven)
I. Allegro
II. Romance
III. Allegro Assai
Alexandre Rabinovitch, Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto.
Martha Argerich, piano.
Palazzo Giusti, Padova, September 1998. YouTube, uploaded by Faccconti. Accessed January 27, 2021.
This post was shared last November 13, 2019 at Facebook by my Mozartian friend, Sherry Davis, owner of The Chronicles of a Modern Day Mozartian. (Thanks, dear Sherry.)
The Nannerl Notenbuch, or Notenbuch für Nannerl (English: Nannerl's Music Book) is a book in which Leopold Mozart wrote pieces for his daughter, Maria Anna Mozart (known as "Nannerl"), to learn and play. It was written from 1759 to about 1764, when his younger son Wolfgang Mozart was 3 to 8 years old. Wolfgang also used the book in which his earliest compositions were recorded (some penned by his father).
The book contains simple short keyboard (typically harpsichord) pieces, suitable for beginners; there are many anonymous minuets, some works by Leopold, and a few works by other composers including Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach and the Austrian composer Georg Christoph Wagenseil. There are also some technical exercises, a table of intervals, and some modulating figured basses.
Interesting link (22 videos) by Ivan Rolon Piano: Nannerl's Music Book. I-XXIII (no video for XX)
Refer to the Table of Contents that summarises the contents of the notebook, here.
(Apology, this link is no longer available at Youtube. 6 April 2024.)Leopold Mozart - Nannerl Notenbuch, Volume #1, No 1 - 32. Completely created using virtual instruments. Instrumentation: Harpsichord. Composition Year: 1759 to about 1764. Movements: 32. YouTube, uploaded by Midi Mozart. Accessed October 28, 2020.
Wolfgang A. Mozart's earliest compositions at the age of 5. These are the first 5 completed pieces of music that he wrote, short pieces performed on the harpsichord. Kochel Catalogue n°1. YouTube, uploaded by fabonino1. Accessed October 28, 2020.
Wolfgang Mozart's Compositions in the Book
1. Andante in C, K. 1a.
2. Allegro in C, K. 1b.
3. Allegro in F, K. 1c.
4. Minuet in F, K. 1d.
5. Minuet in G, K. 1e.
6. Minuet in C, K. 1f.
7. Minuet in F, K. 2.
8. Allegro in B-flat, K. 3.
9. Minuet in F, K. 4.
10. Minuet in F "Triolen-Menuett", K. 5.
11. Klavierstück in C, K. 5a.
12. Andante in B-flat, K. 5b
The notebook originally contained 48 bound pages of music paper, but only 36 pages remain, with some of the missing 12 pages identified in other collections. Because of the simplicity of the pieces it contains, the book is often used to provide instruction to beginning piano players.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Venite populi, K.260 (KV 248a) is one of the composers few works for double choir (an offertorium for two choirs), and one of the few settings of this rare and unusual text. It deserves to be better known.
The 0ffertorium de venerabili sacramento “Venite populi” à 2 Chori K. 260/248a – dated Salzburg, 1767 by Mozart in his autograph score – clearly reveals a striving for more pronounced contrapuntal work. A
short, homophonic central movement is framed by two predominantly polyphonic movements that are fashioned from the same thematic material. The two-chorus texture offers many opportunities for interweaving, as well as contrast and echo effects of all kinds. It is not known who wrote the non-liturgical text. [Music Room]
Title:Venite populi, K.260 Composer: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Number of voices: 8vv Voicing: SATB.SATB Genre: Sacred, Motet, Eucharistic song
Language: Latin Instruments: 2 violins, cello, organ (continuo) OR organ (orchestra reduction)
Below, Mozart's Venite populi performed by the Scottish Chamber Choir. Director Mark Hindley, chamber organ Philip Sawyer, violin 1 Kate Miguda, violin 2 Simon Graham, cello Pete Harvey, double bass Emily Scott-Moncrieff. Recorded at Canongate Kirk, Edinburgh on 15 November 2014. Accessed October 27, 2020.
Latin Text:
Venite, populi, venite
de longe venite,
et admiramini gentes.
Venite, populi, venite,
an alia natio tam grandis,
quae habet Deos appropinquantes sibi,
sicut Deus noster adest nobis,
cujus in ara veram praesentiam
contemplamur jugiter per fidem vivam,
an alia natio tam grandis?
O sors cunctis beatior,
O sors sola fidelium,
quibus panis fractio
et calicis communio
est in auxilium.
Eja ergo epulemur
in azymis veritatis et sinceritatis,
eja ergo epulemur
et inebriemur vino laetitiae sempiternae;
an alia natio tam grandis?
Venite, populi, venite.
English Translation:
Come, O peoples, come;
come from afar,
and marvel, O races.
Come, O peoples, come;
is there any nation so great
that it has its gods so near to it
as our God is near to us,
whose true presence on his altar
we continually contemplate through living faith:
is there any nation so great?
O fate more blessed than all others,
O fate only of the faithful
for whom breaking bread
and sharing the cup
is a help
Therefore let us feast
on the unleavened bread of truth and sincerity,
Let us feast, therefore,
and become drunk with wine of eternal joy;
is there any nation so great?
Come, O peoples, come.
Resources:
A mere mention from A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Mozart, Wolfgang (... a litany 'de venerabili' (243); an offertorium for 2 choirs 'Venitepopuli' (260); a graduale 'Sancta Maria' (273); a serenade for the wedding...).
God is our Refuge, K. 20, is a motet for four voices in G minor by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Based on Psalm 46, it was composed in July 1765 during Mozarts' stay in London on the Mozart family grand tour as a gift for the British Museum along with one other supposed work: a set of variations in A major, K. 21a.
Sir: I am ordered by the Standing
Committee of the Trustees of the British Museum, to signify to You, that
they have received the present of the musical performances of your very
ingenious Son which you were pleased lately to make them, and to return
You their Thanks for the same." - A brief note from a secretary at the British Museum.
Original manuscript of Wolfgang Mozart's "God is my Refuge", composed in 1764 when he was nine years old.
Score:
The 23-bar work is scored for four voices: soprano, alto, tenor and bass, and is written in 3 2 time.
Lyrics
God is our refuge,
our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble,
a present help in trouble.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart began his series of preserved piano concertos with these four that he wrote in Salzburg, K. 37 and 39-41, the autographs dated by his father Leopold Mozart as having been completed in April (K. 37) and July (K. 39–41) of 1767.
Although these works were long considered to be original, they are now
known to be orchestrations of sonatas by various German virtuosi. The works on which the concertos are based were largely published in Paris, and presumably Mozart and his family became acquainted with them
or their composers during their visit to Paris in 1763–64.
The young Mozart seems to have begun to learn how to cope with the structural
problems of composing in the piano concerto form by using movement from the sonatas of other composers. It may be that his father had devised this as a compositional teaching method.
Here's a link: Mozart's Piano Concertos Nos. 1-4, K.37, 39-41. Produced by Decca in 12 videos. Artists: Robert Levin, harpsichord; The Academy of Ancient Music with Christopher Hogwood, conductor & director. Accessed July 28, 2020.
While living in Salzburg, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote seventeen Church Sonatas (sonata di chiesa), also known as
Epistle Sonatas, between 1772 and 1780. These are short single-movement
pieces intended to be played during a celebration of the Mass between
the Epistle and the Gospel.
Three of the sonatas (Nos.12,14,17), include oboes, horns, trumpets and
timpani. The rest, eight of the sonatas, are scored for organ and strings (with no violas, only
two violins and basso continuo), where in some of them (Nos
7-10,13-15,17) the organ has an obligato solo part, while in the
other nine sonatas Nos 1-6,11,12,16, the organ accompanies along with the figured
bass.
Most of these pieces would be inserted into any mass setting of the
appropriate key. Those requiring more instruments than the standard
"Salzburg Church Quartet" are meant to go with specific mass settings
that have that instrumentation.
The Symphony No. 1 in E♭ major, K. 16, was written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1764, while in London, UK. He was eight years. By this time, he was already notable in Europe as a wunderkind performer, but had composed little
music. The piece was written on the Mozart family's Grand Tour of Europe in London when they had to move to Chelsea during the summer of 1764 due to Mozart's father's throat infection. The house at 180 Ebury Street, now in the borough of Westminster, where this this symphony was written, is marked with a plaque.
This symphony was first performed on 21 February 1765. The work shows the influence of
several composers, including his father Leopold Mozart and the sons of Johann Sebastian Bach, in particular, Johann Christian Bach, an early symphonist working in London whom Mozart had met there.
Celebrating the genius of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart with three favourite overtures, six great piano concertos, and his final three symphonies.
This post is inspired by a recent series of performances hosted by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, February 1-10, 2018. The events featured the SSO with pianist Emanuel Ax, Maestro David Robertson, conducting.
I. Dramatic Mozart
Don Giovanni: Overture
Piano Concerto No.14 in E flat, K449
Piano Concerto No.20 in D minor, K466
Symphony No.40
II. Seductive Mozart
Cosi fan tutte: Overture
Piano Concerto No.16 in D, K.451
Piano Concerto No.17 in G, K453
Symphony No.39
III. Magnificent Mozart
The Marriage of Figaro: Overture
Piano Concerto No.19 in F, K.459
Piano Concerto No.27 in B flat, K.595
Symphony No.41 (Jupiter)
Resources:
Booklets, and SSO programs to subscribers. 2018.
Sydney Symphony Orchestra. SSO website. Accessed February 2018.
(c) 2018. Tel Asiado. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.
Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart
(January 27, 1756 - December 5, 1791)
What can I say of this beloved composer that I haven't already said? Inspired Pen Web joins Mozart lovers and enthusiasts worldwide in celebrating the 262nd birthday anniversary of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, January 27.
Alongside all the many articles written about Mozart, including those I've posted in this website, for this year 2018, the 262nd birthday anniversary of this beloved genius, I've decided to feature 12 of his music, thanks to Youtube, uploaded by olfux, and narrated by the late Peter Ustinov, two-time Academy Award-winning film actor, director, writer, journalist and raconteur.
2. Mozart and his music (2 of 12)
The years of traveling. Wolfgang Mozart, "das Wunderkind," performs
for the most dignified persons all over Europe with his father as absolute promoter and
accountant.
3. Mozart and his music (3 of 12)
Mozart's life as an adult begins with new journeys, but on
account of his father's professional necessity, now accompanied by his
mother. The first destinations were Augsburg and Mannheim.
In Mannheim he became acquainted with a new kind of music marking the end
of the Baroque period. In 1778 he composed 'Paris Symphony '
with many of the new musical features and to his father's dismay he fell in
love with the fifteen years old soprano Aloysia Weber.
4. Mozart and his music (4 of 12)
After many desperate warnings from his father against women Mozart and
his mother went to Paris on the fathers orders. Here a great artistic
war raged between supporters of Gluck and Piccini and in this war there
were no place for the young Mozart.
Depressed and lonely the mother collapsed and shortly after she died. On
his way home to his father Mozart passed by Munich to see Aloysia only
to be rejected by the now celebrated singer credited the Bavarian
Court.
Heartbroken he came home to Salzburg, but shortly after he was
comissioned to write an opera, Idomeneo, the premiere of which he
watched in Munich.
5. Mozart and his music (5 of 12)
After some time living at home in Salzburg with his father, Mozart moved to Vienna. After some time he marries Constanze Weber, Aloysia's younger sister, without his fathers approval. He now writes the Mass in C minor.
6. Mozart and his music (6 of 12)
Mass in C Minor. Mozart now composed with a new intensity and his
reputation grew hastily. Emperor Joseph II commissioned a new opera,
The Abduction from the Seraglio, which became the first of his five
greatest opera
7. Mozart and his music (7 of 12)
A happy period with one
masterpiece after another from Mozart's hand with an astonishing
speed. With help from his
librettist Lorenzo da Ponte, favoured by emperor Joseph II, and then
The marriage of Figaro which many has called an advance of the french
revolution, written in six weeks!
8. Mozart and his music (8 of 12)
At the height of his career as a composer Mozart's self-confidence was
boundless, but as a person he never grew up to act as an adult. He
was at times unspeakably childish and always as thoughtless as his work
was disciplined.
Symphony in G minor, Symphony in C major "Jupiter," Piano sonata in C
major.
9. Mozart and his music (9 of 12)
Vienna became a center for musical backbiting in which Mozart took part
with enthusiasm. He never forgot, that his opera, written when he was a
child - La finta semplice - The Pretended Simpleton - had been rejected
by older colleagues. His new opera - Don Giovanni - therefore had its
premiere in Prague, where later, it also became a great success in
Vienna.
10. Mozart and his music (10 of 12)
After the death of his father Mozart's marriage became less happy as
Constance's physical virtues could no longer hide her limited
intellectual capabilities. Besides they were often low on money.
11. Mozart and his music (11 of 12)
Cosi fan tutte - Sinfonia concertante for violin, viola and orchestra -
23 piano concertos - String quintet in G minor. Mozart was no
revolutionary, but he constantly changed the concept of the known forms
and often let the instruments sing like the human voice in
solo-parties.
In spite of his enormous popularity he never had an official employment. Gradually his personal
problems worsened and eventually the Vienna-public let him down. He tried
to find new strength by the free masons. In this sad period he was commissioned an opera for the celebration of the coronation of
Leopold II - La clemenca di Tito - and soon after, The magic flute, and
finally a requiem.
12. Mozart and his music (12 of 12)
Requiem.
A mysterious person ordered a requiem which would be well paid for on
certain conditions: Nor the composer or whom the requiem was written
for was ever to be revealed. (Later a count Wallsegg claimed the requiem
was his work). Mozart agreed, he needed the money and the deadly illness
of smallpox already raged in his body. He never completed the work (Franz Xaver Süssmayr was an Austrian composer
and conductor, Mozart's pupil and friend completed the unfinished Requiem in D Minor), and
on his deathbed listened with friends and family around him to the
Lacrimosa and died, 35 years old. He was buried in a massgrave which
was common practise with people of modest wealth and which Mozart himself
would have found naturally.
(c) 2018. Tel Asiado. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.
Composer: Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus
Opus/Catalogue Number: K.343 ; K6.336c
I-Catalogue Number: IWM 248
Key: F major (No.1) and C major (No.2)
Movements/Sections: 2 songs
O Gottes Lamm (O Lamb of God)
Als aus Ägypten (As from Egypt)
Year/Date of Composition: 1779
Language: German
Instrumentation: Voice, Piano
La clemenza di Tito (The Clemency of Titus), K. 621, is an opera seria in two acts composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to an Italian libretto by Caterino Mazzola, after Metastasio, an Italian poet and librettist, considered the most important writer of opera seria libretti. Mozart's La clemenza was started after the bulk of Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute), the last opera that Mozart worked on, was already written. The work premiered on 6 September 1791, at the Estates Theatre in Prague.
Sadly, Mozart did not live to hear the premiere of this opera since he passed away December 5, 1791.
Mozart's opera LA Clemenza di Tito about a power struggle. In ancient Rome, the ambitious daughter of a deposed emperor, Vitellia, manipulates Sesto her lover into attempting to assassinate the new Emperor Tito. The plot revolves around power struggle, political intrigue, love, betrayal, and jealousy,
culminating in the test of Emperor Tito's virtue, his decision to show
mercy rather than seek vengeance, and the ultimate theme of forgiveness.
Enjoy the video of Mozart's La Clemenza di Tito. YouTube, uploaded by Bergen Nasjonale Opera. Accessed September 6, 2025. This is a recording of the live stream of W. A. Mozart's opera La clemenza di Tito in Grieghallen in Bergen, 15th of March 2021, with six soloists, Edvard Grieg Kor and Edward Gardner conducting the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra.
Listening Pleasures:
Mozart's Opera La Clemenza di Tito. Uploaded by EGMusic Opera Production. Accessed September 6, 2018. Live performance at the Covent Garden, 1976. With Janet Baker, Yvette Minton, Werner Hollweg. Covent Garden Orchestra, conducted by J. Pritchard.
Over his short life, Mozart composed 18 numbered piano sonatas, sonatas for four hands, 36 violin sonatas, and 17 Church Sonatas, as well as trio sonatas for chamber instruments.
Mozart’s piano sonatas date from 1773 until 1788, with his style maturing at a truly remarkable rate. The earliest sonatas are very much in the galant style of W.F and CPE Bach, and in places Scarlatti’s influence can be detected. The late sonatas, such as K457, are full of surprises, with 'Papa' Haydn's influence to the fore. The years from 1773 to the late 80s
saw the rapid development of the piano from a novelty and experimental instrument, to the stage where its power and range provided composers with a palate of colours and expression. Mozart exploited the new instruments to maximum effect in his concertos and his sonatas.
Below is Wolfgang A. Mozart's Complete Piano Sonatas / Piano Pieces - Youtube. Sorry, it's an unknown recording.
Please refer to videos below for other Mozart Sonatas links.
At the age of 25, Wolfgang A. Mozart left Salzburg for Vienna. He arrives on the 16th of March, 1781, at 9 0'clock in the morning. The last ten years of his life will be spent
in this city. In this period he writes such masterpieces as the "Magic
Flute", his most important symphonies and the unfinished Requiem Mass as he lays dying.
In Vienna Mozart takes charge of his own works as an independent musician, becoming the first freelance composer by supporting himself through commissions for compositions and by giving piano lessons. He meets world famous composers and
librettists. Here is where he reaches the limits of his popularity.
Mozart marries Constanze Weber at the gothic St. Stephen's Cathedral in 1782, 4th of August.
Whilst composing the Requiem, Mozart became seriously
ill. He died on December 5, 1791 at the age
of 35. He died in the house at the corner of Rauhensteingasse and Himmelpfortgasse (1st floor). Sincee September 1790, it was Mozart's home. His body was consecrated in the same place where he married Constanze Weber: at St. Stephen's Cathedral.
Please watch at YouTube! We're no longer allowed to embed the video.
261st Birthday Anniversary of Mozart, 27 January 2017
Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart
(January 27, 1756 - December 5, 1791)
Inspired Pen Web joins all Mozart lovers worldwide in celebrating the 261st birthday anniversary of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, January 27. I'm particularly grateful to all my Facebook Mozart friends worldwide for all the continuous sharing of information. Many of these friends are musicians who perform and interpret the Maestro's music, musicologists, or long-time Mozart lovers who simply know a lot about the master's life and times.
Alongside all the many articles written about Mozart, including those found in this website (Inspired Pen Web), including my ever favourite DVD, "In Search of Mozart" produced/directed by Phil Grabsky in celebration of Mozart's 250th Anniversary, this year 2017, I've decided to feature a Mozart Documentary - The Man Behind The Great Symphony 40 - History Channel HD. (YouTube, uploaded by Dwig Padi. Accessed October 2, 2020.)
These 'Viennese Sonatinas' have been widely accepted into the standard teaching repertoire for Mozart's keyboard music.
Arguably the greatest composer, Mozart developed a brilliance and
maturity of style that encompassed the light and graceful along with the melancholy and passionate. He composed over 600 works, acknowledged as
pinnacles of operatic, symphonic, concertante, chamber, and choral
music. His influence on Western art music is profound being among the most enduringly popular of classical composers.
This set of six Sonatinas were thought to have been written after 1783 in Vienna. For your listening pleasure, I've chosen the brilliant interpretation by Cyprien Katsaris, French-Cypriot virtuoso pianist.
Note: The playlist is shuffled, and could play a piece from any of the 6 sonatinas. A link for those who want to play all - here.
Four of about twenty two operas of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart have remained extremely popular on stage and record. One of them is Don Giovanni.
Don
Giovanniis in two Acts, approximately two hours and thirty minutes. Libretto is in Italian by Lorenzoda Ponte after Giovanni Bertati's libretto for Giuseppe Gazzaniga's The Stone Guest, the contemporary version of the Don Juan legends.It was first performed First performance: National Theatre, Prague, in October 29, 1787. Subtitled "drama giocoso," the opera blends comedy, melodrama, and supernatural
elements. In Vienna, it was first performed May 7, 1788.
This day, May 1 (1786), Mozart's opera buffa Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro) is first performed, in Burgtheater, Vienna.
The Marriage of Figaro is one of the most popular operas of Mozart and most frequently performed worldwide. Le nozze di Figaro (English: The Marriage of Figaro), K. 492 is a comic (buffa) opera in four acts composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1786. The Italian libretto was written by Lorenzo Da Ponte, based on a stage comedy by Pierre Beaumarchais, La folle journee, ou le Mariage de Figaro (English: "The Mad Day, or The Marriage of Figaro"), which was first performed in 1784.
Sydney Philharmonia Choirs present: MOZART REQUIEM Easter Saturday, 26 March 2016, 2PM Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House
Don't miss! Book on line Sydney Opera House box office! Drawing on his musical genius and unparalleled understanding of the human voice, with passion and heavenliness, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart produces his last composition as he lays dying. His Requiem is music of profound humanity and splendid beauty. Join the charismatic Brett Weymark, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs' Artistic & Music Director, conduct Mozart's Requiem and an Australian premier from Tavener, with SPC's Symphony Chorus, Sydney Philharmonia Orchestra and fine line of soloists, this Easter Saturday, 26th March 2016, 2PM, Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House.
Soloists include:
Taryn Fiebig, Soprano
Sian Pendry, Mezzo soprano
Jonathan Abernety, Tenor
Michael Honeyman, Baritone
Shane Lowrencev, Bass
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart "Schlittenfahrt" from the Three German Dances No.3
"Schlittenfahrt" is the third dance in Wolfgang Mozart's Three German Dances (Teutsche), K. 605 he composed in 1791. The music may have been written by Mozart independently as it is very different in style from his other compositions. Schlittenfahrt means musical "sleigh ride," with the use of sleigh bells in the music piece clearly emphasizing this.
Before the sleigh bells enter, there is a series of repeating phrases that pass between the trumpets, woodwind and violins. The rise and fall of the sleigh bells make the piece seem like a sleigh ride would over snow. This is followed by beautiful trumpet solo that provides a peaceful and clear atmosphere to the music like in a winter's day.
The original repeating phrases then return, with a majestic fanfare from the trumpets that passes to the other instruments, then back to the sleigh bells, and finally, returns to the trumpet solo again, where the piece ends.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - German Dance No. 3 - Schlittenfahrt K. 605
