Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) was an Austrian composer during the Classical Period. Christened Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus, Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria, on January 27, 1756. Mozart was educated at home by his father, Leopold Mozart, a well-known violinist.

Mozart had harpsichord lessons at three, composed at four, and by the time he was seven played the harpsichord, organ, and the violin. He wrote two sets of sonatas for the harpsichord and the violin, which were published in France when he was seven. Mozart also composed two symphonies in England when he was eight, an opera buffa at eleven, la finta semplice for Joseph II of Austria, and opera seria at fourteen, Mitridate, re di Ponto. During Mozart's short life he wrote more than forty symphonies, twenty-two operas, twenty-three string quartets, twenty-five concertos for the piano and orchestra, and thirty-five sonatas for violin and piano. There are over six hundred and twenty-six known works.

There are many stories concerning Mozart's life, but one of the most remarkable concerns a visit made to the Sistine Chapel, during which he heard a performance of Miserere by Gregorio Allegri. The fourteen-year-old Mozart first heard the piece during the Wednesday service. Later that day, he wrote it down entirely from memory, and returned to the Chapel that that week to make minor corrections. This was the first time that a manuscript of the work had been made public, and the Pope summoned Mozart to Rome and lifted the ban on the works's transcription. .

Mozart worked extremely hard on honing his craft. He spent hours in practice at the keyboard, and studying and copying out the music of others. He wrote in a letter to his father, "People make a great mistake who think that my art has come easily to me. Nobody has devoted so much time and thought to compositions as I. There is not a famous master whose music I have not studied over and over."

Mozart's style typified the Classical era of music, although he increasingly incorporated contrapuntal arrangements into his work as he got older. He worked mainly in forms that had previously been invented, but virtually invented the piano concerto. In addition to being a great composer, he was also a well known virtuoso on the piano (his favorite instrument).

Mozart married Constanze Weber in 1782 against the wishes of his father; she remained his wife and muse until his premature death nine years later.

Mozart died in Vienna on December 5, 1791, at the age of 35.

A movie loosely based on his life is Amadeus.

Of his many works, he wrote masterful masses for soloists, choir, and orchestra, over 40 symphonies, 17 piano sonatas, 27 piano concertos, and numerous examples of chamber music, including string quartets, piano quartets, piano trios, a piano quintet (with winds, not strings), and some of the most popular operas in history, including "The Magic Flute," "Don Giovanni," among many others.