Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 – 1791)
Quick Summary
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 – 1791) was a composer and major figure in history. Born in Salzburg, Prince-Archbishopric of the Holy Roman Empire, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart left a lasting impact through Authored over 600 compositions spanning symphonies, concertos, operas, chamber, and sacred music.
Birth
January 27, 1756 Salzburg, Prince-Archbishopric of the Holy Roman Empire
Death
December 5, 1791 Vienna, Archduchy of Austria, Holy Roman Empire
Nationality
Subject of the Holy Roman Empire (Salzburg, Austrian)
Occupations
Complete Biography
Origins And Childhood
Born in Salzburg in 1756, Mozart was the youngest child of Leopold Mozart, deputy Kapellmeister to the archbishop, and Anna Maria Pertl. Surrounded by cathedral music and court ceremonies, he showed perfect pitch by age three, imitating his sister Nannerl’s lessons and composing minuets that his father carefully transcribed. Tours to Munich and Vienna in 1762–1763 presented him as a wonder child who could improvise fugues, solve counterpoint puzzles, and play blindfolded before aristocratic patrons.
Historical Context
Eighteenth-century Europe experienced Enlightenment reforms, expanding postal routes, and growing musical exchange among princely courts. Salzburg’s ecclesiastical state drew on Viennese, Bavarian, and Italian influences while the Italian opera seria dominated imperial theaters. Joseph II’s reforms, the Seven Years’ War aftermath, and shifting patronage models shaped musicians’ livelihoods. The emerging Classical style valued clarity and balanced phrases, with Haydn and Gluck as key innovators, and Mozart absorbed these currents during his travels.
Public Ministry
Mozart’s public artistic mission unfolded through extensive tours—Paris and London (1763–1766), Italy (1769–1773), Mannheim and Paris (1777–1779)—that honed his mastery of symphony, concerto, and opera. Appointed Konzertmeister in Salzburg, he supplied masses and serenades yet sought creative freedom. His break with Archbishop Colloredo in 1781 freed him to pursue a freelance career in Vienna, presenting subscription academies, composing operas for the Burgtheater, and taking commissions from imperial and private patrons.
Teachings And Message
Mozart’s works advocate balance between virtuosity, affect, and form. Operas written with Lorenzo Da Ponte and Emanuel Schikaneder dramatize Enlightenment ideals of liberty, forgiveness, and fraternity. His piano concertos stage dialogues between soloist and orchestra; the Haydn-dedicated string quartets exemplify conversational equality among instruments. Letters and cadenzas reveal pedagogical insights on phrasing, articulation, and expressive nuance, while public improvisations turned spontaneous themes into structurally coherent fantasies.
Activity In Galilee
Transposed to music history, Mozart’s “Galilean activity” parallels his Viennese decade (1781–1791). He directed performances at the Burgtheater, led subscription concerts, cultivated aristocratic salons, and participated in masonic lodges such as “Zur Wohltätigkeit.” Support from Emperor Joseph II enabled operas like The Abduction from the Seraglio and The Marriage of Figaro. Trips to Prague secured triumphs for Don Giovanni and commissions for La Clemenza di Tito during Leopold II’s coronation.
Journey To Jerusalem
The climactic conflict was his rupture with Archbishop Colloredo and the ensuing precarious freelance life. Economic downturns during the Austro-Turkish War, family illnesses, and seasonal fluctuations caused debt despite patrons like Baron van Swieten and Prince Lichnowsky. Exhausted while composing the anonymously commissioned Requiem in late 1791, Mozart succumbed to fever on 5 December and was buried in a common grave as dictated by Josephinian regulations.
Sources And Attestations
Primary sources include the Mozart family correspondence, Leopold’s travel diaries, parish registers in Salzburg and Vienna, and testimonies from contemporaries such as Michael Haydn, Johann Nepomuk Hummel, and Constanze Mozart. Early biographies by Niemetschek and Schlichtegroll drew on first-hand interviews. Nineteenth-century complete editions enabled analytical study, while modern scholarship by Maynard Solomon, Neal Zaslaw, Christoph Wolff, Cliff Eisen, and the Mozarteum Foundation cross-references manuscripts, tax files, and masonic archives.
Historical Interpretations
Romantic narratives deified Mozart as a suffering genius; recent research portrays him as a strategic professional navigating patronage networks. The dramatized rivalry with Antonio Salieri—popularized by Peter Shaffer’s Amadeus—has been tempered by evidence of collaboration. Historically informed performance movements reassess tempi, articulation, and instrumentation, highlighting the freshness of his scores and their Enlightenment ethics of balance, reason, and fraternity.
Legacy
Mozart’s influence permeated Beethoven, Schubert, and the Romantic generation, with his operas securing permanent places on European stages. The Köchel catalogue (1862 onward), Salzburg festivals, critical editions, and digital archives sustain his legacy. His oeuvre informs music theory curricula, performance practice debates, and studies of creativity, symbolizing the cosmopolitan exchange of the Enlightenment era.
Achievements and Legacy
Major Achievements
- Authored over 600 compositions spanning symphonies, concertos, operas, chamber, and sacred music
- Reinvented opera buffa with The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Così fan tutte
- Expanded the piano concerto as a dramatic dialogue between soloist and orchestra
- Advanced quartet and quintet writing through sets dedicated to Joseph Haydn
- Left the unfinished Requiem, Great Mass in C minor, and Coronation Mass as monumental sacred works
Historical Legacy
Mozart stands as an emblem of Viennese Classicism, balancing sacred and secular idioms, virtuosity and Enlightenment humanism. His influence permeates Romantic and modern repertoires, pedagogy, and scholarship, while festivals, institutions, and digital archives dedicated to him sustain a global appreciation for music as a universal language of reason and emotion.
Detailed Timeline
Major Events
Birth
Born 27 January in Salzburg
Grand European tour
Travels through Munich, Paris, London, and The Hague
Italian operas
Premiere of Mitridate, re di Ponto in Milan
Vienna settlement
Break with Archbishop Colloredo and start of freelance career
The Marriage of Figaro
Operatic triumph at the Burgtheater
Don Giovanni
Premiere in Prague with enthusiastic acclaim
Final masterpieces
Simultaneous composition of The Magic Flute, La Clemenza di Tito, and the Requiem
Geographic Timeline
Famous Quotes
"Music is the only sensual pleasure without vice."
"Neither high nor low—just the right middle that satisfies the ear."
"I pay no attention to anyone’s praise or blame; I simply follow my own feelings."
External Links
Frequently Asked Questions
When was Mozart born and when did he die?
He was born on 27 January 1756 in Salzburg and died on 5 December 1791 in Vienna at the age of thirty-five.
Why is Mozart considered a prodigy?
By five he composed minuets and toured European courts, mastering keyboard, violin, and improvisation with remarkable maturity.
Which works define his fame?
The operas The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, and The Magic Flute, the Symphony No. 40, the Jupiter Symphony, piano concertos, and the unfinished Requiem remain central to his reputation.
How did his travels shape his style?
Tours through Munich, Paris, London, The Hague, Zurich, Milan, and Naples exposed him to diverse traditions—Italian opera, French orchestration, German counterpoint—that he fused into a cosmopolitan voice.
Why did he face financial hardship in Vienna?
Freelance composers relied on fluctuating subscriptions, commissions, and teaching; wartime economies and competition limited income despite his acclaim, forcing him to seek loans from friends like Michael Puchberg.
Sources and Bibliography
Primary Sources
- Correspondance de la famille Mozart
- Franz Xaver Niemetschek — Vie de Mozart
Secondary Sources
- Maynard Solomon — Mozart: A Life ISBN: 9780060883447
- Neal Zaslaw — Mozart’s Symphonies ISBN: 9780198162865
- Christoph Wolff — Mozart at the Gateway to His Fortune ISBN: 9780393050704
- Jean et Brigitte Massin — Mozart ISBN: 9782253031133
- Cliff Eisen (dir.) — The Cambridge Mozart Encyclopedia ISBN: 9780521857088
- Mozart-Jahrbuch — Publications annuelles de la Fondation Mozarteum
External References
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