Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was an Austrian composer of the Classical period, one of the most influential composers in the history of Western music. He composed more than six hundred works, including symphonies, concertos, operas, and chamber music.

Life

Mozart was born in Salzburg in 1756 and showed prodigious musical talent from an early age. His father Leopold, himself a composer, took him and his sister on tours of Europe, where they performed before the courts and the aristocracy.

He worked as a court musician in Salzburg and later settled in Vienna, where he composed many of his greatest works. He died in 1791 at the age of thirty-five, and his burial in a common grave became a subject of legend.

Works

Mozart composed in every major genre of his time. His operas include The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, and The Magic Flute, which are among the most admired in the repertoire.

His instrumental music includes forty-one symphonies, twenty-seven piano concertos, and a large body of chamber music, including the string quartets dedicated to Haydn. His works are celebrated for their melody, their clarity, and their emotional range.

Style

Mozart's music combines the elegance of the Classical style with a depth of expression and a dramatic power that were unequalled in his time. His mastery of form, of harmony, and of orchestration is evident in every genre.

His music is characterised by its balance, its transparency, and its inventiveness. The slow movements and the operatic finales are particularly admired for their emotional depth.

Legacy

Mozart's influence on music is immense. His works are central to the concert repertoire and are studied by musicians and composers throughout the world.

His life and his music have been the subject of many studies and of popular works. He remains one of the most beloved composers in history.

The Child Prodigy

Mozart's talent was evident from an early age. He began composing at the age of five, and his father took him and his sister on tours of Europe, where they performed before the courts and the aristocracy.

The tours exposed him to the music of the time and to the great centres of European culture. They also made him a celebrity and provided the material for the legend of the child prodigy.

The experience shaped his development as a composer and gave him a cosmopolitan outlook that is evident in his music.

The Operas

Mozart's operas are among the greatest in the repertoire. The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, and The Magic Flute are celebrated for their music, their drama, and their characterisation.

He worked with the librettist Lorenzo da Ponte on Figaro and Don Giovanni, and the collaboration produced works that combine comedy and tragedy in a way that was new in the history of opera.

The operas influenced the development of the form and remain central to the repertoire of opera houses throughout the world.

The Instrumental Music

Mozart's instrumental music includes forty-one symphonies, twenty-seven piano concertos, and a large body of chamber music. The concertos are particularly admired for their dialogue between the soloist and the orchestra.

His music is characterised by its melody, its clarity, and its emotional range. The late symphonies, including the Jupiter, and the string quintets are among his greatest works.

The Requiem

The Requiem, commissioned in the last year of his life, was left incomplete at his death and was completed by his pupil Sussmayr. The circumstances of the commission, and the legend that Mozart believed he was writing the requiem for his own death, have fascinated later generations.

The work is one of the most famous choral works in the repertoire, and it is a fitting conclusion to his life.

Summary

Mozart was one of the greatest composers in the history of Western music. His operas, his concertos, and his symphonies are central to the repertoire, and his music combines elegance with depth of expression.

The Viennese Career

Mozart settled in Vienna in 1781, and he worked as a freelance composer and performer. He composed operas, concertos, symphonies, and chamber works, and he gave subscription concerts.

His association with the librettist Lorenzo da Ponte produced three of the greatest operas, The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Così fan tutte. They are admired for their dramatic insight and for their musical characterisation.

He married Constanze Weber in 1782, and the couple had six children, of whom two survived. The family lived modestly, and money was often short despite his success.

The Major Works

Mozart wrote in every genre of his time. His symphonies include the three final works of 1788, and his concertos for piano and for violin are central to the repertoire.

His operas The Magic Flute and The Marriage of Figaro remain among the most performed works in the opera house. They combine comedy and seriousness in a way that was new.

His chamber music, including the string quartets dedicated to Haydn, shows his mastery of counterpoint and of form. He also composed a large body of church music, including the unfinished Requiem.

Illness and Death

Mozart's health declined in his last years, and he died in December 1791 at the age of thirty-five. The cause of his death is uncertain, and the circumstances have given rise to many legends.

He was buried in a common grave, as was the custom, and the exact location is unknown. The unfinished Requiem was completed by his pupil Süssmayr.

The story of his death and of his burial has contributed to the romantic image of the neglected genius. His music, however, has remained central to the concert repertoire and to the study of the classical style.

See also

• Joseph Haydn
• Ludwig van Beethoven
• Classical period