About Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria on January 27, 1756 as the seventh child of Leopold and Maria Anna Mozart.  Leopold Mozart was an accomplished musician himself and was solely responsible for the entire education, musical and other, of his children.  Mozart was quickly recognized as a child prodigy.  At the age of 3 he demonstrated perfect pitch; by 5 he was an accomplished harpsichord player; he was composing at 6; and at 7 he could read on sight, harmonize after a first hearing and could easily improvise any tune given him.  He had composed 34 symphonies, 16 quartets, 5 operas and over 100 other works before he had turned 18!

    Mozart was famous all over Europe for his outstanding abilities as a musician.  He performed almost everywhere, in public and private settings and before kings and queens.  He even proposed to the child princess of Vienna, Marie Antoinette, in 1762 when he was just a boy!  He could compose anywhere at any time – at meals, while talking to friends, and even when his wife was having a baby! 

    Mozart spent eight years in the service of Archbishop Colloredo as the third concertmaster in his court.  A personality clash between the Archbishop and the young Mozart eventually led to Mozart leaving the court and settling in Vienna, against his father’s wishes, where he was convinced he could make a living as a freelance musician, composer and teacher.  In 1782 Mozart married Constanze Weber.  The marriage was a happy one and produced 6 children, only 2 of whom survived infancy.   

    Mozart – the child prodigy and musical genius – died of fever on December 5, 1791 at the age of 35 and was buried in a commoners grave in Vienna.  In his short lifetime, he had composed over 600 works and was in the process of completing his Requiem Mass at the time of his death.  Most composers of Mozart’s era, including Haydn (his senior by 24 years) and Beethoven (his junior by 15 years), all found a speciality in which they composed; Mozart, however, excelled in all forms of musical genre including vocal music, concertos, chamber music, symphonies, sonatas and operas – for this reason he has been acclaimed the most universal composer in the history of Western music.  

Questions:

 

Note:  You may not refer back to the information on this page to answer these questions.

 

  1. Mozart was known as a child prodigy.  At what age did he first begin to compose?
  2. Who was the child princess Mozart proposed to in Vienna?
  3. List 3 musical genres in which Mozart composed...
  4. How many works did Mozart compose in his lifetime?

 

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