51 Facts About Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period.

Mozart is widely regarded as among the greatest composers in the history of Western music, with his music admired for its "melodic beauty, its formal elegance and its richness of harmony and texture".

Mozart's father took him on a grand tour of Europe and then three trips to Italy.

Mozart stayed in Vienna, where he achieved fame but little financial security.

Mozart's Requiem was largely unfinished by the time of his death at the age of 35, the circumstances of which are uncertain and much mythologized.

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Mozart was the youngest of seven children, five of whom died in infancy.

Mozart was baptised the day after his birth, at St Rupert's Cathedral in Salzburg.

Mozart generally called himself "Wolfgang Amade Mozart" as an adult, but his name had many variants.

Leopold Mozart, a native of Augsburg, then an Imperial Free City in the Holy Roman Empire, was a minor composer and an experienced teacher.

Mozart often spent much time at the clavier, picking out thirds, which he was ever striking, and his pleasure showed that it sounded good.

When he was eight years old, Mozart wrote his first symphony, most of which was probably transcribed by his father.

In Milan, Mozart wrote the opera Mitridate, re di Ponto, which was performed with success.

Mozart returned with his father twice to Milan for the composition and premieres of Ascanio in Alba and Lucio Silla .

Leopold hoped these visits would result in a professional appointment for his son, and indeed ruling Archduke Ferdinand contemplated hiring Mozart, but owing to his mother Empress Maria Theresa's reluctance to employ "useless people", the matter was dropped and Leopold's hopes were never realized.

One reason was his low salary, 150 florins a year; Mozart longed to compose operas, and Salzburg provided only rare occasions for these.

Mozart became acquainted with members of the famous orchestra in Mannheim, the best in Europe at the time.

Mozart fell in love with Aloysia Weber, one of four daughters of a musical family.

Mozart stayed with Melchior Grimm, who, as a personal secretary of the Duke d'Orleans, lived in his mansion.

Mozart planned a bigger career as he continued in the archbishop's service; for example, he wrote to his father:.

Mozart did indeed soon meet the Emperor, who eventually was to support his career substantially with commissions and a part-time position.

Colloredo's wish to prevent Mozart from performing outside his establishment was in other cases carried through, raising the composer's anger; one example was a chance to perform before the Emperor at Countess Thun's for a fee equal to half of his yearly Salzburg salary.

Mozart decided to settle in Vienna as a freelance performer and composer.

Mozart passionately defended his intention to pursue an independent career in Vienna.

The debate ended when Mozart was dismissed by the archbishop, freeing himself both of his employer and of his father's demands to return.

Mozart faced a challenging task in getting his father's permission for the marriage.

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In 1782 and 1783, Mozart became intimately acquainted with the work of Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel as a result of the influence of Gottfried van Swieten, who owned many manuscripts of the Baroque masters.

Mozart met Joseph Haydn in Vienna around 1784, and the two composers became friends.

From 1782 to 1785 Mozart mounted concerts with himself as a soloist, presenting three or four new piano concertos in each season.

Solomon writes that during this period, Mozart created "a harmonious connection between an eager composer-performer and a delighted audience, which was given the opportunity of witnessing the transformation and perfection of a major musical genre".

Mozart bought a fine fortepiano from Anton Walter for about 900 florins, and a billiard table for about 300.

Mozart focused instead on his career as a piano soloist and writer of concertos.

Around the end of 1785, Mozart moved away from keyboard writing and began his famous operatic collaboration with the librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte.

Mozart began to borrow money, most often from his friend and fellow mason Puchberg; "a pitiful sequence of letters pleading for loans" survives.

Around this time, Mozart made some long journeys hoping to improve his fortunes, visiting Leipzig, Dresden, and Berlin in the spring of 1789, and Frankfurt, Mannheim, and other German cities in 1790.

Mozart is thought to have benefited from the sale of dance music written in his role as Imperial chamber composer.

Mozart was nursed in his final days by his wife and her youngest sister, and was attended by the family doctor, Thomas Franz Closset.

Mozart was small and his countenance, except for his large intense eyes, gave no signs of his genius.

Mozart usually worked long and hard, finishing compositions at a tremendous pace as deadlines approached.

Mozart often made sketches and drafts; unlike Beethoven's, these are mostly not preserved, as his wife sought to destroy them after his death.

Mozart lived at the center of the Viennese musical world, and knew a significant number and variety of people: fellow musicians, theatrical performers, fellow Salzburgers, and aristocrats, including some acquaintance with Emperor Joseph II.

Leutgeb and Mozart carried on a curious kind of friendly mockery, often with Leutgeb as the butt of Mozart's practical jokes.

Mozart enjoyed billiards, dancing, and kept pets, including a canary, a starling, a dog, and a horse for recreational riding.

Mozart wrote scatological music, a series of canons that he sang with his friends.

Mozart was raised a Catholic and remained a devout member of the Church throughout his life.

Mozart was a versatile composer, and wrote in every major genre, including symphony, opera, the solo concerto, chamber music including string quartet and string quintet, and the piano sonata.

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Mozart wrote a great deal of religious music, including large-scale masses, as well as dances, divertimenti, serenades, and other forms of light entertainment.

Mozart had a gift for absorbing and adapting the valuable features of others' music.

Mozart's travels helped in the forging of a unique compositional language.

Mozart produced operas in each of the prevailing styles: opera buffa, such as The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Cosi fan tutte; opera seria, such as Idomeneo; and Singspiel, of which Die Zauberflote is the most famous example by any composer.

Later when Mozart was visiting Augsburg, he was impressed by Stein pianos and shared this in a letter to his father.

Mozart is thought to have performed Mozart's operas while playing in the court orchestra at Bonn and travelled to Vienna in 1787 hoping to study with the older composer.