Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was an extremely prolific composer. His music continues to enchant audiences today.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Biography

Baby Mozart was born in Salzburg, now part of Austria, on Jan. 27, 1756. At the time, Salzburg was part of the Holy Roman Empire. Mozart started to learn how to play keyboards at the age of 3 when his father started giving Mozart's older sister, Maria Ana, or Nannerl, lessons. By the time Mozart was 5, he was composing.

Mozart started touring in 1763 with Nannerl. They performed for Louis XV in France and King George III in England. Typically speaking, the child prodigies would perform for the most important local nobility. Later performances would cover the lesser nobles or the children would perform publicly. While Nannerl and Mozart's mother started staying home in 1771, Mozart and his father, Leopold, continued to travel. This continued until 1773.

In 1772, while Mozart was still touring, the Archbishop of Salzburg hired Mozart to be the concertmaster. However, Mozart wanted to compose more operas and to make more money. In 1777, Mozart left the court and, with his mother, Ana Marie, went to Munich and Mannheim to look for work.
 
Later, Mozart and his mother traveled to Paris to try to get an appropriate post. Unfortunately, Mozart was unable to find the type of work that he wanted. In 1779, the Archbishop of Salzburg took Mozart back into court as the court organist. This lasted for two years.

Mozart moved to Vienna in 1781 and married Constanze Weber in 1782. He worked as a teacher and performed both publicly and privately. In 1787, the Imperial and Royal Chamber took Mozart as its composer.

During the last years of Mozart's life, he made enough money so that his family was secure. However, he did not manage his money well and had to borrow money when his accounts ran low. Mozart died in Vienna on Dec. 5, 1791, most likely from rheumatic fever.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Operas

Mozart composed 22 operas. Mozart operas include:
  • "Apollo et Hyacinthus" (1767): Mozart was 11 years old when he composed this opera. Many consider "Apollo et Hyacinthus" to be Mozart's first true opera.

  • "Le Nozze di Figaro, ossia la Folle Giornata," also known as "The Marriage of Figaro" (1786): "The Marriage of Figaro" is one of Mozart's most beloved operas today.

  • "The Magic Flute" (1791): "The Magic Flute" was performed 100 times between its premier on Sept. 30, 1791, and November 1792.

Mozart Music: Symphonies

The first Mozart symphony was Symphony #1 in E-flat major, k. 16, written when Mozart was 8 years old. Before Mozart died, he composed more than 50 symphonies. Other symphonies include:
  • Symphony No. 25 in G minor, k. 183
  • Symphony No. 29 in A major, k. 201
  • Symphony No. 38 in D major, k. 504
  • Symphony No. 41 in C major, k. 551.

Mozart Piano Concertos

The first Mozart piano concerto, Concerto in F for Piano, No. 1, was written when Mozart was 11 years old. Other piano concertos include:
  • Piano Concerto No. 21 in C, k.467
  • Piano Concerto No. 23 in A, k. 488
  • Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor, k. 491.

Mozart Requiem

The Requiem in D Minor was probably commissioned by Count Franz Walsegg-Stuppach in 1791 in honor of his wife, Anna, who had died at the young age of 20.
 
Unfortunately, Mozart was gravely ill and was only able to complete part of the work before his death. Mozart's wife turned first to one of Mozart's pupils, Joseph Eybler, to complete the project. Eybler worked on the Requiem for a short period of time. Franz Xaver Sussmayr, another Mozart pupil, ultimately completed the project.

The Mozart Effect

A test at the University of California, Irvine, conducted in 1993 showed that college students' spatial-temporal intelligence improved for several minutes after listening to a Mozart sonata for 10 minutes. However, the study did not indicate that listening to Mozart music increased overall intelligence.

Can Mozart sonatas affect a baby's intelligence? No studies have been conducted that test whether using Mozart sonatas, Mozart music or any other type of music can increase babies' intelligence.

Resources

Amazon.com (n.d.). Mozart: The Great Piano Concertos, Vol. 1. Retrieved January 14, 2008, from the Amazon.com Web site: http://www.amazon.com/Mozart-Great-Piano-Concertos-Vol/dp/B000004194.

Boerner, Steve (1998). Biography 1761-1765. Retrieved January 14, 2008, from The Mozart Project Web site: http://www.mozartproject.org/biography/bi_61_65.htm.

Caltech. (n.d.) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Retrieved January 14, 2008, from the Caltech Web site: http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~tan/Mozartreq/mozartpage.html.

Emusic (n.d.) Mozart : 15 Famous Symphonies. Retrieved January 14, 2008, from the Emusic.com Web site: http://www.emusic.com/album/Capella-Istropolitana-MOZART-15-Famous-Symphonies-MP3-Download/10873106.html.

Jones, Martin (2003). The Mozart Effect. Retrieved January 14, 2008, from the Indiana University Web site: http://www.indiana.edu/~intell/mozarteffect2.shtml.

Parkeh, Nilesh (2005). Biography of Mozart. Retrieved January 14, 2008, from the Buzzle.com Web site: http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/1-29-2005-64987.asp.