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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria on Jan. 27, 1756. He was the son of Leopold Mozart and his wife, Anna Maria Part. Mozart was known as one of the greatest genius in music history. Mozart? s dad was a well known composer and violinist. He was also an assistant concertmaster at the Salzburg court.
The archbishop of the court, Sigismund von Schrattenbach, encouraged Leopold and his children to be involved in music. Wolfgang began composing minuets at the age of 5 and symphonies at 9. When he was 6, he and his older sister, Maria Anna, went on a series of concert tours to Europe's courts and major cities. Both children played the keyboard, but Wolfgang became a violin virtuoso as well. In 1762 the Mozart children played at court in Vienna for the Empress Maria Theresa and her husband, Emperor Francis I. Maria Theresa and Francis I enjoyed their music.
Later the Mozart children showed their talents to audiences in Germany, Paris, at court in Versailles, and in London. While in London Wolfgang wrote his first symphonies and met Johann Christian Bach, whose musical influence on Wolfgang was very obvious. While in Paris, Mozart published his first works, four sonatas for clavier with accompanying violin. In 1768 he composed his first opera, La Find Semplice, and it was first presented a year later at Salzburg. In 1769 - 70, Leopold and Wolfgang undertook a tour through Italy.
This first Italian trip was a new opera, Mitridate, re di Post, composed for Milan. In two further Italian trips he wrote two more operas for Milan, Ascanio in Alba and Lucio Silla. In 1772, Archbishop Von Schrattenbach died, and Hieronymus Von Colloredo took his place. Von Colloredo was sympathetic to the Mozart's in the beginning, but soon got sick and tired of Wolfgang's absences and stubborn ways. In 1772, von Colloredo decided to keep Wolfgang as concertmaster at a token salary. While a concertmaster, Mozart composed a large number of sacred and secular works.
Mozart obtained permission to undertake another journey in 1777 in hopes of securing a better job outside of Salzburg. With his mother he traveled to France, where he composed the Paris Symphony in 1778. He could not find a permanent position in paris. His mother died while they were in Paris. When he returned to Salzburg he was given the position of court organist and he made a series of church works, including the famous Coronation Mass. He was paid to compose a new opera for Munich; it was called Idomeneo, which proved that he was a great master of opera seria.
Mozart was required by von Colloredo to go back to Vienna in 1781. He was dismissed after a series of arguments. Mozart's career in Vienna began quickly, and he was soon commissioned to write The Abduction from the Seraglio. His concerts were a great success, and the emperor, Joseph II, encouraged him, later hiring him as court composer.
In 1782 the popular Mozart married Constant Weber from Germany, even though hid father was against it. The married couple visited Salzburg in 1783. In Salzburg, the Kyrie and Gloria of Mozart's Mass in C Minor, were performed. Mozart had began these pieces in Vienna. Mozart's most well known work is The Marriage of Figaro, composed for the Vienna Opera. The great piano concertos and the string quartets dedicated to his best friend Josef Haydn, were also composed during this period.
Mozart's fame began to decline after Figaro. The nobility and court grew increasingly nervous about his new ideas shown in Figaro. His greatest success after Figaro was Don Giovanni, composed for Prague, where Mozart's art was especially appreciated. This was followed in 1790 by Cosi Fan Tutte, and in 1791 by The Magic Flute, produced by a suburban theater in Vienna. During this period of financial strain, Mozart composed his last three symphonies (E flat, G minor, and the Jupiter in C) in less than 7 weeks In 1791, Mozart was hired to write a requiem. He was sick at the time and imagined that the work was for himself.
His death, on Dec. 5, 1791, which started false rumors of poisoning, is thought to have resulted from kidney failure. After a cheap funeral at Saint Stephens Cathedral, he was buried in an unmarked grave at the cemetery of Saint Marx, a Viennese suburb. Much has been made of this, but at that time such burial was legally required for all Viennese except those of noble or aristocratic birth. Mozart did well in every form in which he composed. Some of Mozart? s competition had a hard time understanding the emotional content of his music.
With Josef Haydn, Mozart perfected the forms of symphony, opera, string quartet, and concerto that signified the classical period in music. Mozart? s music is still listened to by many music lovers. : 1996 Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia, Copyright 1996 Grolier Interactive, Inc. Microsoft Encarta 98 Encyclopedia, Copyright 1993 - 1997 Microsoft Corporation. Enjoyment of Music, Eighth Edition, Shorter Version, Written by Joseph Machlis and Kristi Forney.
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