The Life of Mozart
Uploaded by smartchic123 on Feb 05, 2004
The Life of Mozart
In his time, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart influenced classical music greatly, astounding many with his remarkable genius. This musical giant composed over 600 sonatas, concertos, sonatinas, minuets, librettos, serenades, oratorios, cantatas, operas and symphonies, and is one of the most remembered and revered musicians of his time. Mozart’s life was one filled with talent, music and suffering.
The young maestro displayed a great musical ability at an early age. Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophillus Amadeus Mozart was born on January 27th, 1756 in Salzburg, Austria. When he was five, Mozart created his first piece, called Andante in C. His father, a moderately successful vicekapellmeister saw how talented his extraordinary son was and proceeded to display him to all of Europe. Mozart went on tour to Paris and London, visiting many courts along the way. All who listened to little Wolfgang’s music were amazed at his remarkable skills. Among those he performed for were the Austrian Empress Maria Theresa, the Bavarian elector, and the French and English royal families. Mozart demonstrated musical genius as a child.
Throughout his life, Mozart composed many musical pieces that were praised and a few that were criticized. In 1780, he went to Munich to compose a serious opera. The work, Idomeneo was a tremendous success, partially because Mozart depicted such strong emotions unsurpassed elsewhere in his previous compositions. He created expressive and vividly profound orchestral music to compliment the opera. However, not all of Mozart’s music was well received. In 1782, the opera Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail, a German Singspiel, went far beyond the usual expectations of tradition, with long, elaborately written songs. Emperor Joseph II criticized the work by saying,“Too many notes, my dear Mozart.” Mozart created many wonderful works during his life.
Although he had great musical ability, Mozart’s lack of a normal childhood caused him much suffering. During his youth, Mozart was constantly in the news and was extravagantly acclaimed by all. He was well aware of his precious talent and developed an arrogant and overly confident demeanor. This attitude often got Mozart fired from jobs that he felt was beneath his capabilities. He had little discipline and maturity outside the subject of music. Mozart frequently went through periods of financial difficulty. Though he made good money according to musician’s standards, he foolishly spent more than was coming in, often forcing the proud man to borrow money. It was Mozart’s lack of...