Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
1756-1791

The grand genius of them all, Mozart's works are the most well-known and he has became a common household name. He loved to write operas, but he made a tremendous amount of music for violin, orchestra, voice, and chamber groups. He himself was also a very talented musician, excelling in playing the piano, violin, and an active conductor. His father, Leopold Mozart, was a great composer himself, and pushed Wolfgang and his sister, Maria Anna, musically forward. (Because women did not have as much of an opportunity in music, Maria Anna was a talented singer, but a minor figure in the Mozart family.) Wolfgang composed his first piece, a clavier concerto, when he was only four years old.

Leopold, discovering young Mozart's amazing talent, took Wolfgang and Maria Anna to the city of Munich, where they performed for famous noblemen. There, Maria Anna sang like a sweet bird, but it was minute to Wolfgang's piano and violin playing that captured the audience. They were so amazed and delighted that none of them wanted the five-year-old to stop playing. Appropriately, the grand audience called young Mozart a "wonderchild."

Once the news of the ageless prodigy spread, royalty in many cities in Europe invited Mozart to play for them. Perhaps the most memorable would be his performance in Austria for a treat to Empress Maria Theresa. There, the little boy accidentally tripped and fell after the show, when the Little Princess, Maria Antoinette, rushed over to help him. Struck by her gratitude, Wolfgang asked her to marry him, causing the crowd to burst into laughter. (The two were not even seven at that point.) Mozart had no idea that she was to be the future queen of France. Although her answer is unknown, it showed that Mozart's character was childish from the instant he was born.

Wolfgang went on to be very successful in is compositions. At seven, he was completing four sonatas, shocking many people to find that a seven-year-old wrote the beautiful music that filled their ears. Because of his early success, he traveled often with his family to perform on tour all over Europe. However, young Mozart often became very ill while on tour, as it is believed that he had a serious kidney disease. As soon as Mozart felt better, he was back on his feet, performing in the afternoon and early evening for the major cities in Europe. During the morning hours and late nights, he was composing new music, sometimes working without sleep. He had a great desire in music that he was so overwhelmed to write it down. It was as if his mind was filled with infinite amounts of symphonies, sonatas, serenades, concertos, and every other possible music forum that all he could do was write it down for all to enjoy, (including himself). By the time he was twenty-one, he had completed almost three hundred works.

Because of his hundreds of pieces, Mozart earned a great deal of money. However, his childish characteristic still inhabited him, as he spent all he earned very quickly as well. Often, Mozart was in great debt, so he would teach, give concerts, and furiously compose one piece of music after another. One day, the great Joseph Haydn, considered to be the best composer at that time, visited Wolfgang. While observing Mozart's teaching, he told Wolfgang's father, "Your is the greatest composer I know." From then on, although Haydn was twenty-four years older than Wolfgang, they became very close friends.

By twenty-nine, Mozart had completed several operas, including the amazing "The Marriage of Figaro." And for the monumental city of Prauge, Mozart wrote the brilliant Prague Symphony and the evil, mysterious "Don Giovanni" opera.

His life was that of great uniqueness, but the way he used his life was that of ill judgement. He spent his money awfully quickly, at times close to facing bankruptcy. Mozart's kidney disease became very critical, as he became very ill. In July 1791, a stranger dressed in black, not showing any part of the skin, commanded Wolfgang to compose a requiem, or a funeral mass. Mozart, fasting as he composed, like he always did, made his health even worse. Day after day, his stomach pains increased, almost shrinking him to a little mush. At often times, Mozart was afraid that the stranger was the devil's advocate, and Wolfgang was writing the requiem for his own death. Even in his deathbed, he was still singing to his pupils, for them to write down the funeral mass. And there in his deathbed, he turned to Constanze, his wife, uttered a weak tone of "goodbye", then turned to the wall, only to depart this world. Requiem unfinished, for his pupil to complete, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died at thirty-five.

His works are those which can only be described by listening to them, since they are in such a unique, yet childish class, it is very impossible to explain in words. Our words are so limited in how to describe Mozart's works, that his music lies far, far beyond those limits.

© 1999 H.Tsai

Some Famous Works:
Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, Mvt. 1
From opera Don Giovanni:
Deh Vieni alla Finestra
La Ci Darem la Mano
Violin Concerto No.3:
First Movement
Second Movement
Third Movement

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