Austria) and
christened
Johannes
Chrysostomus
Wolfgangus
Theophilus Mozart,
after his
grandfather on his
mother's side and
after the Saint on
his date of birth,
Johannes
Chrysostomus. Later,
his father shortened
'Wolfgangus' to
'Wolfgang';
translated 'Theophilus'
to 'Amadeus' (love
of God); and dropped
off 'Johannes
Chrysostomus.'
A child prodigy
from a musical
family, he began
composing at the age
of five and was
showcased as a
wonder-boy in the
courts of
Europe. His
father
Leopold Mozart
was also a composer,
and some of the
piano pieces of
W.A. Mozart,
especially the duets
and pieces for two
pianos, he wrote to
play together with
his sister Nannerl.
Mozart lived much of
his life in Salzburg
but traveled Europe
extensively. Leopold
was a harsh father,
and he took
advantage of his
children's musical
talents by
exhibiting them.
Mozart took ill
during his
childhood, and
Leopold expressed
more concern over
the loss of income
than over Mozart
himself. The cold
weather and constant
travel may have
contributed to
Mozart's later
illness.
As a man, he
became a
Freemason, and
worked fervently and
successfully to
convert his father
before his death.
The Magic Flute
is widely believed
to contain Masonic
themes or meanings.
He was in the same
masonic lodge as
Joseph Haydn.
Despite his
brilliance, Mozart
had a difficult
life. Often he
received no payment
for his work, and
the substantial sums
he received on other
occasions were soon
consumed by his
extravagant
lifestyle.
Gradually, his
health declined,
until he finally
died of an illness
before he could
complete his last
work, a
requiem. In
popular legend,
Mozart died
penniless and
forgotten, to be
buried in a pauper's
grave. In fact,
although he was no
longer as
fashionable in
Vienna as he had
once been, he
continued to receive
rich commissions
from more distant
parts of Europe,
Prague in
particular. Many of
his begging letters
survive, but they
are evidence not of
poverty but of his
ability to always
spend more than he
earned.
Mozart spent his
final years in
Vienna, where
one of the
apartments he lived
in is still to be
visited at Domgasse
5 behind St.
Stephen's Cathedral.
In this house Mozart
composed
Le nozze di Figaro
in 1786.
Mozart lived just
a little over half
of Beethoven's life
span, yet was
amazingly prolific
from early childhood
until his death in
1791.
He left a rich body
of
chamber and
orchestral music,
and a series of
operas that are
generally regarded
as some of the
finest ever written,
especially The
Marriage of Figaro,
Don Giovanni,
and The Magic
Flute. Although
he made smaller
contributions to the
development of new
musical forms than
Bach, Beethoven,
and Haydn, the
perfection of his
execution is such
that he is usually
ranked alongside
them as one of the
greatest composers
of all time.
Mozart's
distinction as a
genius and prodigy
has sometimes
operated as a cause
of confusion and
distraction in the
estimation of his
music, since
Mozart's greatness
as a composer
derives from what
many regard as the
beauty, profundity,
expressive and
emotional subtlety,
unique imagination,
and grandeur of his
music. None of these
characteristics seem
obviously connected
with or dependent on
the fact that he
composed at an early
age, had a
prodigious musical
memory, was a
performing virtuoso
as a child, could
compose entire
compositions in his
head, could write an
entire work on the
day of its first
performance, could
write out the
entirety of
Gregorio Allegri's
Miserere
after hearing it one
time, and so on.
Major composers
since Mozart's time
have worshipped or
been in awe of him.
Beethoven told
his pupil Ries that
he (Beethoven) would
never be able to
think of a melody as
great as that of the
first movement of
Mozart's 24th piano
concerto, and did
Mozart homage by
writing variations
on his themes (such
as the two sets of
Variations for Cello
and Piano on themes
from Mozart's Magic
Flute) and cadenzas
to several of the
piano concerti, most
notably the Concerto
No. 20 (K. 466).
(After their only
meeting, Mozart
noted that Beethoven
would "give the
world something to
talk about.")
Tchaikovsky
wrote his
Mozartiana in
praise of him; and
Mahler died with
"Mozart" the last
word on his lips.
The music critic
James Swejda, asked
for his religion,
replied "Mozart".
Yet the focus on
Mozart's "genius"
rather than on the
greatness of his
music is aided and
abetted by his music
itself, which is
perhaps the most
"mysterious" of all
classical music. For
it lends itself even
less than that of
the other major
classical composers
to being described
in words or having
its essence reduced
to particular
aesthetic or
technical concepts
or principles, in
the way that Bach is
described as the
master of
counterpoint and
Beethoven as the
master of symphonic
form and
development.
In the decades
following Mozart's
death there were
several attempts to
inventory his
compositions, but it
was only in
1862 that
Ludwig von Köchel,
a Viennese botanist,
mineralogist, and
educator, succeeded
in this enterprise.
Köchel's stout book
of 551 pages was
entitled
"Chronological-Thematic
Catalogue of the
Complete Musical
Works of WOLFGANG
AMADE MOZART".
Köchel
is the source of the
ubiquitous "K" (or
KV) prefix on the
numbers given to
Mozart's works
instead of the more
usual "Opus".
The rivalry
between Mozart and
Antonio Salieri
is the subject of
Aleksandr Pushkin's
play Mozart and
Salieri,
Nicolai
Rimsky-Korsakov's
opera Mozart et
Salieri and
Peter Shaffer's
play
Amadeus,
later made into a
film. In fact,
Salieri admired
Mozart. Most of the
dramas based on
Mozart's life are
largely
fictionalized.
In the late 20th
Century, Mozart's
music found an
unusual application
in the emerging
field of accelerated
learning, also known
as SALT
(Suggestive-accelerative
learning and
teaching) techniques
or
Superlearning.
Researchers in this
work, led by
Bulgarian
psychologist
Georgi Lozanov,
discovered that
listening to such
music promoted
enhanced learning.
Popular Works
for Mozart
Eine kleine
Nachtmusik
(Serenade for
String Quartet &
Bass K.525)
Concerto
for Clarinet and
Orchestra in A
major
(K.622)
Piano Sonata in
A Major
(K.331), the
last movement of
which is the
famous Rondo
alla Turca
Piano Sonata in
C Major
(K.545)
Piano
Concerto No. 21
(K. 467), which
featured in the
film Elvira
Madigan
Symphony No. 40
(K.550)
Symphony No. 41,
the Jupiter
symphony (K.
551)
The opera
Don Giovanni
(K.527)
The opera
Le Nozze di
Figaro
(The Marriage of
Figaro) (K.492)
The opera
Die Zauberflöte
(The Magic
Flute) (K.620)
The opera
Cosi fan tutte
(K.588)
The
Requiem (K.
626)
Mozart's Operas
- Die
Schuldigkeit des
ersten Gebotes,
K. 35 (1767)
- Apollo
et Hyacinthus,
K. 38 (1767)
- Bastien
et Bastienne,
K. 50 (1768)
- La finta
semplice,
K. 51 (1768)
-
Mitridate,
K. 87 (1770)
- Ruggiero
(1771)
- Ascanio
in Alba, K.
111 (1771)
- Betulia
Liberata,
K. 118 (1771),
on the subject
of
Judith and
Holofernes
Il sogno
di Scipione,
K. 126 (1772)
Lucio
Silla, K.
135 (1772)
La finta
giardiniera,
K. 196 (1774)
Zaide,
K. 344 (1779)
Idomeneo,
K. 366 (1780)
L'oca
del Cairo,
K. 422
Lo sposo
deluso, K.
430
Der
Schauspieldirektor,
K. 486
Le nozze di
Figaro,
K. 492 (1786)
Don Giovanni,
K. 527 (1787)
Die Zauberflöte,
K. 620 (1791),
(influenced by
Freemasonry)
La
clemenza di Tito,
K. 621 (1791)
