Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Mozart

Austrian composer in the Classical style
1756 - 1791

Today Mozart is considered to be the greatest musical genius of all time. He was surely one of the foremost genius' in every musical form in which he composed (which was almost every form that existed during his time). His contemporaries had much difficulty with the energetic complexity, and spontaneous bursts of emotionality of his music (and in him as well). This was because Mozart's audiences were accustomed to the light, and superficial "rococo" style popular of the period. It is easy to say that Mozart was the most "prolific" musical genius that ever lived. The volume of work that he achieved during his short lifetime is awesome. In his short life, he composed over 600 works, including 21 stage and opera works, 15 Masses, over 50 symphonies, 25 piano concertos, 12 violin concertos, 27 concert arias, 17 piano sonatas, 26 string quartets...the list is endless. And what makes these numbers doubly unfathomable is the peerless craft with which each piece of music was created. Mozart was a master of counterpoint, fugue, and the other traditional compositional devices of his day; more than this, he was perhaps the greatest melody writer the world has ever known. His operas range from comic baubles to tragic masterpieces. His Requiem, composed not long before his own death, stands with Bach's St. Matthew Passion as the supreme example of vocal music. He had perhaps the most remarkable musical talent the world has ever seen. Mozart possessed an ability to write down an entire score of a work, including all of the orchestral parts, with only one listening. The extent to which this ability existed will always be debated, but the fact that he had spent every hour of his life (literally since birth) honing this skill can unquestionably be seen in his early works (klavier works at 6, symphonies at 8, operas by 12). The listener, and instrumentalist alike, may never again find the contrapuntal perfection of Mozart's compositions surpassed (or even equaled).

Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus (Amadeus) Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria in 1756. To be sure, Mozart was one of the greatest musical child prodigies who ever lived. He began composing minuets at the age of 5 and symphonies at 9. At the age of four his father took him on a series of concert tours to most of the important courts in Europe. At the age of 6 (1762) Mozart played at the royal Hapsburgh court in Vienna for the first time (the Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Emperor Francis I, received them and were deeply impressed). During a large European concert tour (1763-66) he displayed his talents to audiences in Germany, Paris, at court in Versailles, and in London (where Wolfgang wrote his first symphonies and was befriended by Johann Christian Bach, whose musical influence on Wolfgang was profound). At the age of 8 in Paris (1764), Wolfgang published his first works, 4 sonatas for clavier with accompanying violin.

At the age of 12 in 1768 he composed his first opera "La finta semplice", and it was first presented a year later at Salzburg. In 1769-70, the Mozarts undertook a tour through Italy. While in Rome Wolfgang (only 14) wrote down Allegri's "Miserere" from memory after one hearing (an almost 1 hour work). During this trip Mozart had an exclusive audience to play for the pope. This first Italian trip culminated in Wolfgang's new opera "Mitridate, re di Ponto", which was composed for a debut in Milan. In two further later trips to Italy Wolfgang wrote two more operas for Milan, "Ascanio in Alba" (1771) and the impressive "Lucio Silla" (1772).

Mozart Score In 1772 the Mozart's chief patron, Archbishop von Schrattenbach, died. Schrattenbach was succeeded by Hieronymus von Colloredo. Colloredo retained Wolfgang as concertmaster, in Salzburg, at a token salary. Colloredo, at first sympathetic to the Mozarts, later became irritated by Wolfgang's prolonged absences and stubborn ways. Mozart toiled under this arrangement, until the age of 21, composing a large number of sacred and secular works. Wishing to secure a better position outside Salzburg, he obtained permission to undertake another journey in 1777. He traveled, with his mother, through the German courts to France. Wolfgang, while at the court of Mannheim, spent some time with his older cousin Aloysia Weber and quickly fell in love with her (much to the dismay of his father). Upon his arrival in France (1778) he composed the well-known Paris Symphony, he could find no permanent position in France though. When he returned to Salzburg he was given the position of court organist (1779) and produced a splendid series of church works, including the famous "Coronation" Mass. Two years later, at the age of 25, he received a commission to compose a new opera "Idomeneo" for Munich in the style of "opera seria". Opera seria, today known as "comic opera", derived it's plots from whatever was in theatrical fashion: love stories, escape dramas, satire, farce, etc...

By 1781 the Archbishop Colloredo had been assigned to Vienna. In that year he summoned Mozart to Vienna, where they engaged in a series of violent arguments. Finally Mozart was dismissed from the archbishop's service (in truth the 25 year old Mozart had spent over 5 years begging for this). At this time most of the great piano concertos and string quartets that were dedicated to his "dear friend" Haydn were composed. Mozart's career in Vienna began promisingly, and he was soon commissioned to write "The Abduction from the Seraglio"(1782) for the Court Opera. After a series of successful concerts his works were then in constant demand by amateur and publisher. Later that year Mozart married Constanze, the younger sister of his beloved cousin Aloysia Weber (already married by that time). During the next year (1783) the young pair visited Salzburg, where the Kyrie and Gloria of Mozart's great Mass in C minor, destined to remain unfinished, were performed.

The greatest success that Mozart knew in his lifetime came with his opera "The Marriage of Figaro" (1786), composed for the Vienna Opera. At the time of Figaro's debut, the original play by Beaumarchais was still banned in Austria (and just about every where else in Europe). This fact made many feel that Mozart was too revolutionary for the stoic atmosphere of imperial Hapsburgian Austria. His musical styling was also very complex, and not easily understood by much of the nobility that patronized him. Because of these factors Mozart fame began to wane and he began to sink into debt. During this period Mozart was assisted by a brother Freemason, Michael Puchberg (Mozart had joined the Masons in 1784 and remained an ardent member until his death). The ultimate paradox of "enlightened despotism" then occurred when Wolfgang's emperor, Joseph II, gave him the post (at a token salary) of court composer.

Mozart's greatest operatic success after Figaro was achieved at the age of 31 with "Don Giovanni" (1787). The work was composed for the Bohemian capitol of Prague, where Mozart's art was especially appreciated. In the summer of 1788, despite his financial strain, Mozart completed his last 3 symphonies (E flat, G minor, and the Jupiter in C) in just 7 weeks. During this time Mozart composed a series of string quintets, including in particular the two in C and in G minor. This was followed in 1790 by "Cosi fan tutte", the third and final libretto provided by the Italian poet Lorenzo Da Ponte. In 1791 Mozart wrote "Die Zauberflotte", which was produced by an "opera seria" theater in suburban Vienna (thus rendering the opinion that Mozart had "digressed" to a lower form of art).

In 1791 Mozart was commissioned to write a requiem. He was at the time quite ill (he had never known very good health) and imagined that the work was for himself, which proved to be prophetic. His death (12-5-1791) which gave rise to false rumors of poisoning, is thought to have resulted from kidney failure (rumored to have been a complication of syphilis). After a cheap funeral at Saint Stephen's Cathedral, he was buried in an unmarked pauper's grave at the cemetery of Saint Marx, a Vienese suburb.

Mozart, along with Franz Joseph Haydn, defined the "classical" forms of symphony, opera, string quartet, and concerto. Until the late 19th century the styles of musical influence that a young musician was exposed to were confined to those of their own geographical region. Mozart however, due to the extensive travel that he had done as a boy, was exposed to a cosmopolitan range of musical influences that has never been achieved, before or since. In all of his works the German mastery of intricate counterpoint and complex harmony were combined with the flowing lyric melody of the Italians. Today many consider his operas to be dramatically frivolous, but to the expert listener their musical integrity defines the standard by which all opera is judged.

The influence that Mozart had upon the musicians of the "romantic" era is immeasurable. The period between the mid 1600's through the late 1800's saw Vienna as the musical center of the world. Vienna of the late 1700's supported a conglomeration of "great" musicians that, because of Mozart and Haydn, were given the root of the socio-political foundation of the "romantic" era. When the 21 year old Beethoven arrived upon the musical scene of 1791 Vienna, Mozart said "he will give the world something to listen to".

In recent years, Mozart's fame has reached new heights on the popularity of the film Amadeus. Music scholars love to poke holes in what is admittedly a fantastical portrait of Mozart's life, and ensuing arguments over his relationship with his musical "rival" Salieri, his method of composing, and the events surrounding his death have created more public misunderstandings about this divine figure than ever existed before. What the recent Mozart vogue has created for the good, however, is increased awareness of his music, which must be counted among the absolute wonders of the world.

Some of Mozart's most famous work:
Background music: Second movement from Piano Sonata in B flat, k. 570
Back to Classical Music
Portions of the text copyright © Groliers

1