Mozart

Julien Rouleau “The classical period produced more instrumental than vocal music, a wealth of serious and comic operas as well as vocal religious music also appeared during this time”(Ferris, 231). One of the best composer of this time was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. In this paper I will go through his childhood, his friends and family, and of course his music. Enjoy!!! Child of the Enlightenment The world that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart entered ceremoniously in 1756 was brimming in change. Historians refer to this era as the Age of Enlightenment, one of unparalleled scientific, philosophical, and political ferment. Within Mozart’s lifetime it set in motion forces that would fundamentally alter life not only in his native, Salzburg, but also around the globe. The Enlightenment was not, to be sure, a democratic movement. In France, the absolutism of the Sun King, Louis XIV, continued under Louis XV and XVI. But in Austria, Empress Maria Theresa introduced a greater measure of tolerance and freedom among her subjects, laying a foundation for the democratic revolutions that followed. Wolfgang’s father Leopold came from a family of Augsburg bookbinders. He received a solid Jesuit education, more intellectual than evangelical after a year at the Benedictine University in nearby Salzburg; Leopold stopped attending classes to pursue a career as a musician. “Leopold figured as Mozart’s most important first model. He taught his son the clavier and composition”(Mercardo 763). Wolfgang’s mother Anna-Maria brought as much talent to her 32-year marriage as did Leopold. Though deprived of a formal education, she was highly intelligent and quick-witted— qualities that attracted the sober and reserved Leopold. Only two of their seven children survived infancy. Wolfgang’s musically talented sister Nannerl was five years older. Yet in this painting, the 12-year- old looks like a spinster of seventy—complete with budding double chin. Wolfgang, too, looks far older than his 7 years, and controls the action from his place at its center. The Child Prodigy Indeed, Mozart marks the beginning of the Western fascination with the child prodigy. Dressed in the festive outfit given Wolfgang in 1762 by the Empress Maria Theresa, this boy of not quite seven years old looks, for all the world, like a miniature adult who has simply skipped childhood. “Mozart was keenly aware of his exceptional ...

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...prodigy. The idealization of Mozart’s genius was complete by the end of the nineteenth century. Between 1762 and 1766, the Mozarts appeared at almost every major court in Europe. Wolfgang dazzled audiences with his ability to read difficult music at sight and to improvise Four of his operas—The Abduction from the Seraglio(1782), The Marriage of Figaro(1786), Don Giovanni(1787), and Così fan tutte(1790) —were premiered or performed in the prestigious Burgtheater. Then Mozart met Haydn; we do not know the occasion on which Mozart first encountered Joseph Haydn. In Haydn, he not only found a composer whose achievements were on a level with his own, but a warm and sympathetic friend in whom he could confide. In the autumn of 1791, Mozart’s health became progressively worse. He died on December 5, 1791, and was buried in a pauper’s grave. Critical thinking:  Why do you think Mozart’s instrumental music has been regarded as “absolute music”? Why do you think was Mozart is Called a child prodigy? Suggested Further Listening: Opera: -The magic Flute -The marriage of Figaro Symphony: -Jupiter symphony, K.551 Piano Music: -C Minor Sonatas K.457 -D Major Sonatas K.576