Biography Category
Name :
Johann Chrysostomus Mozart
Date :
Views :
472
Category :
Birth Date :
27/01/1756
Birth Place :
Salzburg, Austria.
Death Date :
December 5, 1791
"People living in societies undergoing the fundamental transition from closed, customary and religious patterns of organization to more open, individualistic, relativistic and secular systems experience with special intensity humankind’s otherwise universal (since all human beings must abandon infancy) sense of a lost past in which order, wholeness and certainty prevailed. It is in these periods that the characteristic modern experiences of deracination, alienation and doubt arise and in which people seek the new certainties of truth, virtue and beauty. No artist has been more acutely aware of the deeply unsettling nature of that transition than Mozart; (…). And no out has met modern humanity’s longing for wholesomeness and reconciliation as has Mozart’s music."[br /]
[br /]
Mozart was considered to be one of the greatest composers of all time, by nearly all musicians. He was christened Johann Chyrsostomus Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The Latin Amadeus means "beloved of God". This has been rendered as Amadeo (Italian), Amade’ (French, his preferred usage) and Gottlieb (German) all of which translate to the same. Mozart used Amadeus jokingly in letters to friends. Nearly all official documents requiring his signature was signed ‘Amade’.[br /]
[br /]
As a child, Mozart had a phenomenal precocity. At three, he would sit in front of the harpsichord attempting to find harmonic successions of thirds; and whenever he succeeded, his shrill voice would express his joy. When Mozart was four, his father started teaching him the elements of harpsichord playfully explaining the rules of composition. Mozart was adept in picking up and honing his musical skills. He learnt music effortlessly. He began producing minuets, sonatas and other small pieces on harpsichord, and violin. He composed music with such ease that by his sixth year he had produced an imposing quantity of minuets, sonatas and even a concerto. His sensitive ear could recognize the violin of his father’s friend that was tuned at eighth-a note. It was one note lower than the note at which he had tuned his instrument. Mozart had such a sensitive ear that at the blast of the trumpet he would swoon with pain. To Mozart, music came as naturally as breathing.[br /]
[br /]
Mozart was short and slim, and though his head was a little too large for the body, its well-proportioned features gave him an attractive appearance. His face had a softness that was almost effeminate; his cheeks were always sickly pallid. His eyes, piercing in their intensity, and eloquently expressive. His hair, of which he was considerably proud, was a rich crop.[br /]
[br /]
Well poised, meticulously dressed (he frequently sported laces and jewelry) and charming manners, he made a deep impression on those in contact. Though moody by temperament and introspective, he was considerably fond of and loved the society of pleasant people.[br /]
[br /]
He adored dancing and it was with great difficulty that his wife Constanze, could keep him away from frequenting places of questionable reputation. His recreation consisted of bowling and playing billiards, Constanze Mozart has described him – "He was generally cheerful and in good humor, rarely melancholy though sometimes pensive. His speaking voice was gentle, except while directing music when he became loud and energetic – would even stamp with his feet, and might be heard at a considerable distance."[br /]
[br /]
Commenting on Mozart’s method of composition, Robert Pitrou wrote : "With him, both stages – the birth of ideas and their elaboration – were probably unconscious. His mind was constantly creating without ever a break. When he came to the third stage – to committing on paper – he used to give his ideas of one stroke the very form he was aiming at… When at his desk, he always seems…. to have been copying music already fully written down in his mind. We know, from his letters, that his mind could turn to other music the while sending a prelude and fugue to his sister, he wrote : ‘Forgive the untidy arrangement. I had composed the fugue first, and while writing it out, I was thinking out the prelude."[br /]
[br /]
Mozart himself has written : "When I am in the right mood, ideas seem to team with me. Those I like I retain. Then there are scraps, which might go to the making of many a good dish. When I start composing I draw upon the accumulation in my brain."[br /]
[br /]
"What Mozart wanted was not declamation but spontaneous emotional expression, not grandly ordered drama but the variety of life… That is why he was not in the least disturbed by the hair-raising inconsistencies, the pantomime absurdities of The Magic Flute (Die Zauberflote)… Here was a great deal of nonsense, but it was a good theatre, it was alive, and there was a multiformity of setting, of situation, of character such as he had never before had occasion to handle…. The variety of The Magic flute score ought to be bewildering; somehow it is only astonishing in a favorable sense…. The music itself is much more diversified that that of any opera of Mozart’s… the flashy Italian aria of the Queen of the Night (Konigin der Nacht) next to Sarstro’s solemn utterances in Mozart’s ‘masonic’ manner, the popular ditties of Popageno side by side with the profound humanity of Pamina’s tear-compelling G-minor lament and the wonderful dramatic truth of her brief mad scene …. All this and more is by some marvel of genius fashioned into a single gem of many facts and of inestimable value."[br /]
[br /]
In 1791, Mozart composed a piano concerto to (K 595), which would be performed in March. He also wrote two new string quintets. In April, Mozart was appointed as an unpaid assistant to Leopold Heffman who was the Kapellmeister of St. Stephen’s Cathedral.[br /]
[br /]
Emanuel Schikanedar who was an old friend of Mozart had set up a company to perform Singspiels in 1789. In 1791, Mozart received a commission from him to compose music for his Die Zauberflote (The Magic Flute). Thereafter Mozart received another commission for composing a requiem. It was an anonymously delivered and it was to be composed under conditions of secrecy. Mozart was also commissioned to write an opera, which would be performed during Leopold II s coronation in September.[br /]
[br /]
On 29th September, Mozart finished composing his clarinet concerto and on the 30th Die Zauberflote was premiered. Very soon this opera became the most loved of all of Mozart’s compositions for the stage. Musically it was distinguished from contemporary Singspiel’s not merely by the quality of its music. It was also remarkable for the serious ideas that underlie, what on the surface seemed to be childish pantomime or comedy of a substandard quality.[br /]
[br /]
While he was at Prague, Mozart fell ill. But from his letters to Constanze it seemed as if he was quite well and more optimistic about the future. He composed a Masonic cantata for his lodge, which was premiered on November 18. During this period, Mozart steadily worked on the requiem for which he was commissioned by the anonymous stranger. In November, he was bed ridden due to his illness. On 5th December the illness finally took its toll – the great composer drifted in a deep sleep, never to wake up again.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Mozart was considered to be one of the greatest composers of all time, by nearly all musicians. He was christened Johann Chyrsostomus Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The Latin Amadeus means "beloved of God". This has been rendered as Amadeo (Italian), Amade’ (French, his preferred usage) and Gottlieb (German) all of which translate to the same. Mozart used Amadeus jokingly in letters to friends. Nearly all official documents requiring his signature was signed ‘Amade’.[br /]
[br /]
As a child, Mozart had a phenomenal precocity. At three, he would sit in front of the harpsichord attempting to find harmonic successions of thirds; and whenever he succeeded, his shrill voice would express his joy. When Mozart was four, his father started teaching him the elements of harpsichord playfully explaining the rules of composition. Mozart was adept in picking up and honing his musical skills. He learnt music effortlessly. He began producing minuets, sonatas and other small pieces on harpsichord, and violin. He composed music with such ease that by his sixth year he had produced an imposing quantity of minuets, sonatas and even a concerto. His sensitive ear could recognize the violin of his father’s friend that was tuned at eighth-a note. It was one note lower than the note at which he had tuned his instrument. Mozart had such a sensitive ear that at the blast of the trumpet he would swoon with pain. To Mozart, music came as naturally as breathing.[br /]
[br /]
Mozart was short and slim, and though his head was a little too large for the body, its well-proportioned features gave him an attractive appearance. His face had a softness that was almost effeminate; his cheeks were always sickly pallid. His eyes, piercing in their intensity, and eloquently expressive. His hair, of which he was considerably proud, was a rich crop.[br /]
[br /]
Well poised, meticulously dressed (he frequently sported laces and jewelry) and charming manners, he made a deep impression on those in contact. Though moody by temperament and introspective, he was considerably fond of and loved the society of pleasant people.[br /]
[br /]
He adored dancing and it was with great difficulty that his wife Constanze, could keep him away from frequenting places of questionable reputation. His recreation consisted of bowling and playing billiards, Constanze Mozart has described him – "He was generally cheerful and in good humor, rarely melancholy though sometimes pensive. His speaking voice was gentle, except while directing music when he became loud and energetic – would even stamp with his feet, and might be heard at a considerable distance."[br /]
[br /]
Commenting on Mozart’s method of composition, Robert Pitrou wrote : "With him, both stages – the birth of ideas and their elaboration – were probably unconscious. His mind was constantly creating without ever a break. When he came to the third stage – to committing on paper – he used to give his ideas of one stroke the very form he was aiming at… When at his desk, he always seems…. to have been copying music already fully written down in his mind. We know, from his letters, that his mind could turn to other music the while sending a prelude and fugue to his sister, he wrote : ‘Forgive the untidy arrangement. I had composed the fugue first, and while writing it out, I was thinking out the prelude."[br /]
[br /]
Mozart himself has written : "When I am in the right mood, ideas seem to team with me. Those I like I retain. Then there are scraps, which might go to the making of many a good dish. When I start composing I draw upon the accumulation in my brain."[br /]
[br /]
"What Mozart wanted was not declamation but spontaneous emotional expression, not grandly ordered drama but the variety of life… That is why he was not in the least disturbed by the hair-raising inconsistencies, the pantomime absurdities of The Magic Flute (Die Zauberflote)… Here was a great deal of nonsense, but it was a good theatre, it was alive, and there was a multiformity of setting, of situation, of character such as he had never before had occasion to handle…. The variety of The Magic flute score ought to be bewildering; somehow it is only astonishing in a favorable sense…. The music itself is much more diversified that that of any opera of Mozart’s… the flashy Italian aria of the Queen of the Night (Konigin der Nacht) next to Sarstro’s solemn utterances in Mozart’s ‘masonic’ manner, the popular ditties of Popageno side by side with the profound humanity of Pamina’s tear-compelling G-minor lament and the wonderful dramatic truth of her brief mad scene …. All this and more is by some marvel of genius fashioned into a single gem of many facts and of inestimable value."[br /]
[br /]
In 1791, Mozart composed a piano concerto to (K 595), which would be performed in March. He also wrote two new string quintets. In April, Mozart was appointed as an unpaid assistant to Leopold Heffman who was the Kapellmeister of St. Stephen’s Cathedral.[br /]
[br /]
Emanuel Schikanedar who was an old friend of Mozart had set up a company to perform Singspiels in 1789. In 1791, Mozart received a commission from him to compose music for his Die Zauberflote (The Magic Flute). Thereafter Mozart received another commission for composing a requiem. It was an anonymously delivered and it was to be composed under conditions of secrecy. Mozart was also commissioned to write an opera, which would be performed during Leopold II s coronation in September.[br /]
[br /]
On 29th September, Mozart finished composing his clarinet concerto and on the 30th Die Zauberflote was premiered. Very soon this opera became the most loved of all of Mozart’s compositions for the stage. Musically it was distinguished from contemporary Singspiel’s not merely by the quality of its music. It was also remarkable for the serious ideas that underlie, what on the surface seemed to be childish pantomime or comedy of a substandard quality.[br /]
[br /]
While he was at Prague, Mozart fell ill. But from his letters to Constanze it seemed as if he was quite well and more optimistic about the future. He composed a Masonic cantata for his lodge, which was premiered on November 18. During this period, Mozart steadily worked on the requiem for which he was commissioned by the anonymous stranger. In November, he was bed ridden due to his illness. On 5th December the illness finally took its toll – the great composer drifted in a deep sleep, never to wake up again.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[b]The Beginning[/b][br /]
[br /]
Baptized as Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfangus Theophilus Mozart, Mozart commonly called himself Wolfgang Amade or Wolfgang Gottliet. He was born in Salzburg, Austria on January 27, 1756. His father Leopold Mozart came from a family of good standing, which included architects and bookbinders. Leopold was the author of a famous violin-playing manual. Mozart's mother Anna Maria Pertl, was born in a middle-class family active in local administration. Mozart and his sister Maria Anna (Nannerl) were the only two of their seven children to survive. Nannerl was also a talented girl. She had astonishing musical facility, and when he was three years old, Wolfgang began to take an interest in his sister's music lessons. He began his long-lasting love affair with music at that age, and from then on he could not be stopped.[br /]
[br /]
His sister Nannerl was learning the clavier, and Wolfgang used to perch himself at her side and try to participate in the lesson. At age three, he was plucking chords on the harpsichord. He would remember the prominent passages in the pieces that he heard, and at age four, he could perform little pieces with perfect correctness and in exact time. At age five, he had already started composing music.[br /]
[br /]
His father had begun teaching him music in fun, but later when he realized the immense talent that his son displayed, he started to become serious about it. Wolfgang thought of nothing else and was only happy at the clavier. The only other thing he liked was mathematics, a science that is closely akin - though how different ! - to music. This, also would absorb him, for we read that when he was learning arithmetic, tables, stools, walls, and even the floor were chalked over with figures.[br /]
[br /]
He had a perfect memory of pitch and was so sensitive to sound that he could not tolerate the sound produced by playing the trumpet. Leopold Mozart himself recognized, his greatest work was not his own music, but his son, Wolfgang's.[br /]
[br /]
Leopold described his son as – "The miracle, which God let be born in Salzburg." He was keenly conscious of his duty to God – as he perceived it, to draw the miracle to the notice of the world. Leopold Mozart, recognizing the extraordinary talents of his two children, decided to exhibit his children’s talents in Europe.[br /]
[br /]
[b]Pilgrimage To Fame[/b][br /]
[br /]
In the summer of 1762, they went out to Munich, and later on in the same year to Vienna. Their travels had begun, and this was the beginning of Wolfgang Amade's fame.[br /]
[br /]
On their way to Vienna, at the monastery of Ips, while their travelling companions, two Minorite friars and a Benedectine, were saying mass, Wolfgang stole up to the organ loft and played so admirably that the Franciscan friars of the monastery and some guests they were entertaining in the refectory rose from table and ran in, open-mouthed, to listen to him. Outside Vienna there was some trouble with the douane, but Wolfgang played them a minuet on his little violin, showed them his harpischord, and got the family through Customs without more ado.[br /]
[br /]
When Wolfgang Mozart turned six, an extensive concert tour saw him display his talent at ‘the galleries’, in the foremost concert halls and royal courts of Europe. Whenever and wherever he performed, the sweet charm of his personality and incredible genius conquered the hearts of music lovers.[br /]
[br /]
He was also taken to the Court of the Hapsburgs. The Hapsburgs had a traditional and inherited love of music to which the Empress Maria Theresa, the last of her line, was no exception. When they were received, Nannerl wore a white silk Court-dress and Wolfgang a violet-coloured suit trimmed with broad gold braid. After he had played, he would spring on the Empress's lap, throw his arms round her neck and kiss her, and play with the little Archduchesses on a footing of perfect equality. He especially liked Marie Antoinette. She picked him up once, when he tumbled on the polished floor, and he called out to her, "You are good. I will marry you." He was asked "Why?" by the Empress, and he replied, "She was kind to me. Her sister stood by and did nothing."[br /]
[br /]
In France, Wolfgang became the darling of Versailles. On New Year's Eve, they were received at Versailles during the Royal Banquet. They, alone, had the way cleared before them, and they marched through the crowd, behind the Swiss Guard, to the side of Louis XV and his Queen. But little Wolfgang did not take to the pompadour. He was standing on a table and the Queen turned her head away, and refused to kiss him. "Who is this who won't kiss me?" he cried. "My Empress kissed me."[br /]
[br /]
Grimm, a famous critic described him as "so extraordinary a phenomenon that one finds it difficult to believe it unless one has seen him with one’s own eyes and heard him with one’s own ears." Also the Paris visit was remarkable because Mozart’s first published work, which consisted of four sonatas for the harpsichord, was premiered.[br /]
[br /]
After the concert tour in Paris, the Mozarts arrived at London, where Wolfgang won the heart of the kappelmeister, Johann Sebastian Bach. A fortnight after they had arrived in London, they were playing before the King and Queen and were rewarded with a present of twenty-four guineas. The next week, Their Majesties bowed to them in St. James Park from the carriage. The Mozart family were on foot, but King George threw down the window, put out his head, and greeted them, laughingly, with head and hands. The Mozart family stayed, altogether, over a year in England. They appeared on numerous occasions at Vauxhall and Ranelagh, at public concerts, and at parties in private houses. His several sensational performances at the Vauxhall Gardens won repeated applause from the audience.[br /]
[br /]
After touring for four consecutive years, the Mozarts returned to Salzburg in 1766. The tour had been a great success artistically than materially. Royalties presented Mozart with many gifts wherever he performed, but Leopold's ambition remained unachieved. He wanted Wolfgang to acquire a permanent lucrative patronage at one of the principal European courts.[br /]
[br /]
The passage of another year, saw the Mozart’s touring again. First, they proceeded to Vienna where Wolfgang Mozart was commissioned to compose his first opera. Envious composers who realized their inferiority created intrigues, thus preventing the performance of his first opera. However in Vienna, another theatrical work of Mozart, Bastien and Bastienne, an opera-buffet, was performed at the residence of Dr. Messner who was a friend of the Mozarts.[br /]
[br /]
[b]The Admirers[/b][br /]
[br /]
In 1769, the Mozart’s made their first journey to Italy. In Mantua, they attended a concert of the Philharmonic Orchestra, which performed a few of Mozart’s compositions in his honor. In Milan, Wolfgang received a commission to compose an opera for the following year. While at Bologna, Mozart came into contact with Martini a local socialite with reputation, who welcomed the young genius with open arms of admiration and respect.[br /]
[br /]
In Rome, an event took place, which recorded the phenomenal proof of Mozart’s genius. Mozart attended a performance of ‘Miserare of Allegri’. It was performed only in Rome by the Papal choir during the Holy Week. By the Papal decree it was forbidden to sing the work anywhere else and its only existing copy was guarded slavishly by the Papal choir. Any attempt to copy the song or reproduce it was punishable. Mozart had heard the song only once and while returning home he reproduced it on paper. This incomparable, mind-boggling task soon became the subject for rumors in Rome. Very soon, the Pope himself heard of this amazing achievement. He summoned Mozart to the Vatican and instead of punishing him; he praised him and showered on him handsome gifts. A few months later, the Pope bestowed upon Mozart the Cross of The Order of the Golden Spur.[br /]
[br /]
The Mozarts returned to Italy for Wolfgang Mozart to fulfil his commitment for Milan and to complete his opera seria, Mitridate, re di Ponte. Leopold Mozart wrote to his wife, "Before the first rehearsal, there was no lack of people to run down the music and pronounce it before hand in satirical language to be something poor and childish, alleging that so young a boy and German in the bargain, could not possibly write an Italian opera and that, although they acknowledged him to be a great executant, he could not understand or feel the chiaroscuro required in the theater. All these people have been reduced to silence since the evening of the first rehearsal with small orchestra and say not a word." At the performance of Mitridate on Christmas day of 1770, Mozart’s performance was a phenomenal success. The little composer was greeted with cheers when he reached on stage.[br /]
[br /]
[b]The Adversity[/b][br /]
[br /]
The next few years of Mozart’s life were drab and uneventful. Except for two short intervals, Mozart mostly lived in Salzburg. The limited intellectual environment of Salzburg repelled him considerably. Moreover, he had to face endless humiliation at the court of the Archbishop. Mozart was the chief composer and virtuoso at the court, but his salary was so meager and his work remained largely unappreciated. His fellow musicians at the court were immoral men of vulgar musical tastes, who indulged in gambling and drinking. At that time Wolfgang wrote, "Tell me, how could a decent fellow possibly live in such company ?"[br /]
[br /]
Living amidst ‘such company’, Mozart yearned to escape from Salzburg. A musical tour was planned for him in 1777. The Archbishop did not grant Herr Leopold Mozart leave yet Mozart left for Munich with his mother with an aspiration to conquer the music world anew.[br /]
[br /]
The journey in the music world this time was not an easy one for Mozart. He was a man 21 years old and no longer a child prodigy. As a child Mozart was lavished with adoration, but on entering the adult phase of life he had lost much of his great appeal. In Munich and Mannheim, his pleas for a permanent post at the court fell on deaf ears of the people there.[br /]
[br /]
These failures however, did not deter Mozart’s high spirits. He found consolation from his disappointments in the frequent love affairs that he was involved in. In Augsburg, Mozart came across his cousin Basle, his first genuine love. He wrote to his father, "Basle seems to have been made for me and I for her for both of us have that little bit of badness in us." In Mannheim, he was a guest at the house of a composer, Connabich. There he courted his wife Rosa Connabich and afterwards, Aloysia Weber who was a singer and daughter of a copyist. He was serious of marrying Aloysia but his father advised him to delay marriage till he made mark as a musician. Mozart accompanied by his mother went to Paris. Misfortune struck him in the form of his mother’s death, in the summer of 1778.[br /]
[br /]
[b]A PhaseOf Dissappointments[/b][br /]
[br /]
Mozart met with disappointment in Paris as well. Some musicians were acutely jealous of his phenomenal genius and the others thought of him as a one-time prodigy who had outgrown his talent. Owing to these factors it was impossible for him to receive the appreciation he deserved. He managed to get small commissions but they were so meagre that he could not support himself adequately on those. Even Grimm, the famous critic and connoisseur who had idolized Mozart, was not interested in him.[br /]
[br /]
Mozart then concluded and resigned to the fact that nothing concrete was on offer for him in terms of employment and hence decided to return to Salzburg and marry Aloysia Weber. By this time, Aloysia established herself as a singer while Mozart was bewildered, and humiliated, when he learned on his arrival that Aloysia had forgotten him completely during his absence. She went on to the extent that she even failed to recognize him as he entered the house. These factors further led to Mozart’s being completely disappointed and disillusioned. His stay at Salzburg was brief and a sad period.[br /]
[br /]
[b]The New Dawn[/b][br /]
[br /]
Finally, in 1780 at Munich, Mozart received a commission for an opera. This was to be the first of Mozart’s great operas, Idomeneo. When Idomeneo was premiered on January 29, 1781, it was a great success. The audience responded with a lot of enthusiasm and cheer.[br /]
[br /]
Inspired by this success, Mozart decided to severe all his relations with Salzburg and his employer the Archbishop. After an interlude, he settled permanently in Vienna where he was commissioned by Joseph II to compose a Singspiel. Mozart composed Die Entfuhrung which turned out be a great success. Joseph II honored Mozart with awards and recognition.[br /]
[br /]
[b]True Love[/b][br /]
[br /]
Mozart married his ‘true love’ Constanz Weber, on August 4, 1782. The wedding ceremony was a simple one and the only guests present were the bride’s mother and youngest sister, two witnesses and a family friend. Mozart wrote to his father, "The moment we were made one, my wife and I began to weep, which touched everyone, even the priest… We are married now; we are man and wife ! And we love each other enormously. We feel that we are made for one another."[br /]
[br /]
Shortly after his marriage Mozart met Franz Josef Haydn, who was a true mentor and with whom he struck a close friendship. Haydn recognized Mozart’s genius, and till the end of his life, put in every effort to bring Mozart fame and recognition. He sincerely felt that Mozart was unparalleled in his musical talents.[br /]
[br /]
[b]Mozart's Figaro[/b][br /]
[br /]
Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro premiered on May 1, 1786, in Vienna. Michael Kelly in his book ‘Reminiscences’ has written about Mozart "dressed in his red fur hat trimmed with gold, standing on the stage and the orchestra were electrified. Intoxicated with pleasure, they cried again and again, and each time louder than the preceding one : 'Bravo, maestro ! Long live the great Mozart'. It seemed as if the storm of applause would never cease … Had Mozart written nothing but this piece of music it alone would, in my humble opinion, have stamped him as the greatest composer of all time. Never before was there a greater triumph than Mozart and his Figaro!"[br /]
[br /]
[b]A Note Of Sadness[/b][br /]
[br /]
Despite the emphatic success of Figaro, Mozart had to face a period of great trial and depression. The death of his three month-old child, Raiminend instilled in him a melancholy, which did not dissipate easily. Above all, Mozart also faced appalling poverty. He wrote several letters to publishers, friends, and distant acquaintances for small loans to relieve him off his trying circumstances. Even his wife Constanze fell ill due to undernourishment and his poor state.[br /]
[br /]
In spite of such tough and trying times, Mozart penned down masterpieces. In 1787, he produced Dan Giovanni for Prague. Many critics have deemed it as the greatest opera of all time. Dan Giovanni was greeted with thunderous applause but for Mozart, it meant only 100 florins. In 1790, Mozart composed Cosi fan tutte, followed closely by Die Zauberflöte. Between the composition of these works, Mozart composed a prolific series of concerti for solo instruments and his masterpieces for string quartet, along with other musical works.[br /]
[br /]
[b]Requiem For Death[/b][br /]
[br /]
Mozart’s last work was composed under mysterious circumstances. In 1791, a masked stranger in grey colored attire commissioned Mozart to compose a requiem. The stranger was representing a wealthy nobleman who frequently asked great composers to produce works for him which he later presented under his own name. Mozart, who was ill and morbid at that time felt that the stranger was a messenger from the other world and was sent to warn him that the time to compose his own requiem had arrived. The messenger haunted Mozart’s thoughts through his sleepless and delirious nights. He neglected food and rest as well. We wanted to finish the requiem before it was too late. Mozart, in a letter to a friend who tried to persuade him to take a holiday wrote, "Willingly would I follow your advice, but how can I do it? … I know by my feelings that my hour has come. It is striking even now ! I am in the region of death."[br /]
[br /]
[b]The Last Farewell[/b][br /]
[br /]
Mozart was found unconscious at his desk. He knew that he was dying. He explained precisely to his pupil Sübmayer, as to ‘how the requiem was to be brought to its completion.’ His health conditions aggravated to such an extent that it cost him his life. At about 1: 00 a.m. on December 5, 1791, Mozart bade farewell to his family and his life as well. To this date the cause of his illness that resulted in his death remains a mystery unsolved.[br /]
[br /]
Mozart was buried without any formal ceremonies in a grave at the churchyard of St. Mark. One week later, when Constaze went to the cemetery with flowers, she could not find Mozart’s grave. Mozart had died a pauper, so his grave was left unmarked. Today, a monument in his honor is located at an approximate site in St. Mark graveyard where perhaps, rests the greatest composer the world has ever seen.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Baptized as Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfangus Theophilus Mozart, Mozart commonly called himself Wolfgang Amade or Wolfgang Gottliet. He was born in Salzburg, Austria on January 27, 1756. His father Leopold Mozart came from a family of good standing, which included architects and bookbinders. Leopold was the author of a famous violin-playing manual. Mozart's mother Anna Maria Pertl, was born in a middle-class family active in local administration. Mozart and his sister Maria Anna (Nannerl) were the only two of their seven children to survive. Nannerl was also a talented girl. She had astonishing musical facility, and when he was three years old, Wolfgang began to take an interest in his sister's music lessons. He began his long-lasting love affair with music at that age, and from then on he could not be stopped.[br /]
[br /]
His sister Nannerl was learning the clavier, and Wolfgang used to perch himself at her side and try to participate in the lesson. At age three, he was plucking chords on the harpsichord. He would remember the prominent passages in the pieces that he heard, and at age four, he could perform little pieces with perfect correctness and in exact time. At age five, he had already started composing music.[br /]
[br /]
His father had begun teaching him music in fun, but later when he realized the immense talent that his son displayed, he started to become serious about it. Wolfgang thought of nothing else and was only happy at the clavier. The only other thing he liked was mathematics, a science that is closely akin - though how different ! - to music. This, also would absorb him, for we read that when he was learning arithmetic, tables, stools, walls, and even the floor were chalked over with figures.[br /]
[br /]
He had a perfect memory of pitch and was so sensitive to sound that he could not tolerate the sound produced by playing the trumpet. Leopold Mozart himself recognized, his greatest work was not his own music, but his son, Wolfgang's.[br /]
[br /]
Leopold described his son as – "The miracle, which God let be born in Salzburg." He was keenly conscious of his duty to God – as he perceived it, to draw the miracle to the notice of the world. Leopold Mozart, recognizing the extraordinary talents of his two children, decided to exhibit his children’s talents in Europe.[br /]
[br /]
[b]Pilgrimage To Fame[/b][br /]
[br /]
In the summer of 1762, they went out to Munich, and later on in the same year to Vienna. Their travels had begun, and this was the beginning of Wolfgang Amade's fame.[br /]
[br /]
On their way to Vienna, at the monastery of Ips, while their travelling companions, two Minorite friars and a Benedectine, were saying mass, Wolfgang stole up to the organ loft and played so admirably that the Franciscan friars of the monastery and some guests they were entertaining in the refectory rose from table and ran in, open-mouthed, to listen to him. Outside Vienna there was some trouble with the douane, but Wolfgang played them a minuet on his little violin, showed them his harpischord, and got the family through Customs without more ado.[br /]
[br /]
When Wolfgang Mozart turned six, an extensive concert tour saw him display his talent at ‘the galleries’, in the foremost concert halls and royal courts of Europe. Whenever and wherever he performed, the sweet charm of his personality and incredible genius conquered the hearts of music lovers.[br /]
[br /]
He was also taken to the Court of the Hapsburgs. The Hapsburgs had a traditional and inherited love of music to which the Empress Maria Theresa, the last of her line, was no exception. When they were received, Nannerl wore a white silk Court-dress and Wolfgang a violet-coloured suit trimmed with broad gold braid. After he had played, he would spring on the Empress's lap, throw his arms round her neck and kiss her, and play with the little Archduchesses on a footing of perfect equality. He especially liked Marie Antoinette. She picked him up once, when he tumbled on the polished floor, and he called out to her, "You are good. I will marry you." He was asked "Why?" by the Empress, and he replied, "She was kind to me. Her sister stood by and did nothing."[br /]
[br /]
In France, Wolfgang became the darling of Versailles. On New Year's Eve, they were received at Versailles during the Royal Banquet. They, alone, had the way cleared before them, and they marched through the crowd, behind the Swiss Guard, to the side of Louis XV and his Queen. But little Wolfgang did not take to the pompadour. He was standing on a table and the Queen turned her head away, and refused to kiss him. "Who is this who won't kiss me?" he cried. "My Empress kissed me."[br /]
[br /]
Grimm, a famous critic described him as "so extraordinary a phenomenon that one finds it difficult to believe it unless one has seen him with one’s own eyes and heard him with one’s own ears." Also the Paris visit was remarkable because Mozart’s first published work, which consisted of four sonatas for the harpsichord, was premiered.[br /]
[br /]
After the concert tour in Paris, the Mozarts arrived at London, where Wolfgang won the heart of the kappelmeister, Johann Sebastian Bach. A fortnight after they had arrived in London, they were playing before the King and Queen and were rewarded with a present of twenty-four guineas. The next week, Their Majesties bowed to them in St. James Park from the carriage. The Mozart family were on foot, but King George threw down the window, put out his head, and greeted them, laughingly, with head and hands. The Mozart family stayed, altogether, over a year in England. They appeared on numerous occasions at Vauxhall and Ranelagh, at public concerts, and at parties in private houses. His several sensational performances at the Vauxhall Gardens won repeated applause from the audience.[br /]
[br /]
After touring for four consecutive years, the Mozarts returned to Salzburg in 1766. The tour had been a great success artistically than materially. Royalties presented Mozart with many gifts wherever he performed, but Leopold's ambition remained unachieved. He wanted Wolfgang to acquire a permanent lucrative patronage at one of the principal European courts.[br /]
[br /]
The passage of another year, saw the Mozart’s touring again. First, they proceeded to Vienna where Wolfgang Mozart was commissioned to compose his first opera. Envious composers who realized their inferiority created intrigues, thus preventing the performance of his first opera. However in Vienna, another theatrical work of Mozart, Bastien and Bastienne, an opera-buffet, was performed at the residence of Dr. Messner who was a friend of the Mozarts.[br /]
[br /]
[b]The Admirers[/b][br /]
[br /]
In 1769, the Mozart’s made their first journey to Italy. In Mantua, they attended a concert of the Philharmonic Orchestra, which performed a few of Mozart’s compositions in his honor. In Milan, Wolfgang received a commission to compose an opera for the following year. While at Bologna, Mozart came into contact with Martini a local socialite with reputation, who welcomed the young genius with open arms of admiration and respect.[br /]
[br /]
In Rome, an event took place, which recorded the phenomenal proof of Mozart’s genius. Mozart attended a performance of ‘Miserare of Allegri’. It was performed only in Rome by the Papal choir during the Holy Week. By the Papal decree it was forbidden to sing the work anywhere else and its only existing copy was guarded slavishly by the Papal choir. Any attempt to copy the song or reproduce it was punishable. Mozart had heard the song only once and while returning home he reproduced it on paper. This incomparable, mind-boggling task soon became the subject for rumors in Rome. Very soon, the Pope himself heard of this amazing achievement. He summoned Mozart to the Vatican and instead of punishing him; he praised him and showered on him handsome gifts. A few months later, the Pope bestowed upon Mozart the Cross of The Order of the Golden Spur.[br /]
[br /]
The Mozarts returned to Italy for Wolfgang Mozart to fulfil his commitment for Milan and to complete his opera seria, Mitridate, re di Ponte. Leopold Mozart wrote to his wife, "Before the first rehearsal, there was no lack of people to run down the music and pronounce it before hand in satirical language to be something poor and childish, alleging that so young a boy and German in the bargain, could not possibly write an Italian opera and that, although they acknowledged him to be a great executant, he could not understand or feel the chiaroscuro required in the theater. All these people have been reduced to silence since the evening of the first rehearsal with small orchestra and say not a word." At the performance of Mitridate on Christmas day of 1770, Mozart’s performance was a phenomenal success. The little composer was greeted with cheers when he reached on stage.[br /]
[br /]
[b]The Adversity[/b][br /]
[br /]
The next few years of Mozart’s life were drab and uneventful. Except for two short intervals, Mozart mostly lived in Salzburg. The limited intellectual environment of Salzburg repelled him considerably. Moreover, he had to face endless humiliation at the court of the Archbishop. Mozart was the chief composer and virtuoso at the court, but his salary was so meager and his work remained largely unappreciated. His fellow musicians at the court were immoral men of vulgar musical tastes, who indulged in gambling and drinking. At that time Wolfgang wrote, "Tell me, how could a decent fellow possibly live in such company ?"[br /]
[br /]
Living amidst ‘such company’, Mozart yearned to escape from Salzburg. A musical tour was planned for him in 1777. The Archbishop did not grant Herr Leopold Mozart leave yet Mozart left for Munich with his mother with an aspiration to conquer the music world anew.[br /]
[br /]
The journey in the music world this time was not an easy one for Mozart. He was a man 21 years old and no longer a child prodigy. As a child Mozart was lavished with adoration, but on entering the adult phase of life he had lost much of his great appeal. In Munich and Mannheim, his pleas for a permanent post at the court fell on deaf ears of the people there.[br /]
[br /]
These failures however, did not deter Mozart’s high spirits. He found consolation from his disappointments in the frequent love affairs that he was involved in. In Augsburg, Mozart came across his cousin Basle, his first genuine love. He wrote to his father, "Basle seems to have been made for me and I for her for both of us have that little bit of badness in us." In Mannheim, he was a guest at the house of a composer, Connabich. There he courted his wife Rosa Connabich and afterwards, Aloysia Weber who was a singer and daughter of a copyist. He was serious of marrying Aloysia but his father advised him to delay marriage till he made mark as a musician. Mozart accompanied by his mother went to Paris. Misfortune struck him in the form of his mother’s death, in the summer of 1778.[br /]
[br /]
[b]A PhaseOf Dissappointments[/b][br /]
[br /]
Mozart met with disappointment in Paris as well. Some musicians were acutely jealous of his phenomenal genius and the others thought of him as a one-time prodigy who had outgrown his talent. Owing to these factors it was impossible for him to receive the appreciation he deserved. He managed to get small commissions but they were so meagre that he could not support himself adequately on those. Even Grimm, the famous critic and connoisseur who had idolized Mozart, was not interested in him.[br /]
[br /]
Mozart then concluded and resigned to the fact that nothing concrete was on offer for him in terms of employment and hence decided to return to Salzburg and marry Aloysia Weber. By this time, Aloysia established herself as a singer while Mozart was bewildered, and humiliated, when he learned on his arrival that Aloysia had forgotten him completely during his absence. She went on to the extent that she even failed to recognize him as he entered the house. These factors further led to Mozart’s being completely disappointed and disillusioned. His stay at Salzburg was brief and a sad period.[br /]
[br /]
[b]The New Dawn[/b][br /]
[br /]
Finally, in 1780 at Munich, Mozart received a commission for an opera. This was to be the first of Mozart’s great operas, Idomeneo. When Idomeneo was premiered on January 29, 1781, it was a great success. The audience responded with a lot of enthusiasm and cheer.[br /]
[br /]
Inspired by this success, Mozart decided to severe all his relations with Salzburg and his employer the Archbishop. After an interlude, he settled permanently in Vienna where he was commissioned by Joseph II to compose a Singspiel. Mozart composed Die Entfuhrung which turned out be a great success. Joseph II honored Mozart with awards and recognition.[br /]
[br /]
[b]True Love[/b][br /]
[br /]
Mozart married his ‘true love’ Constanz Weber, on August 4, 1782. The wedding ceremony was a simple one and the only guests present were the bride’s mother and youngest sister, two witnesses and a family friend. Mozart wrote to his father, "The moment we were made one, my wife and I began to weep, which touched everyone, even the priest… We are married now; we are man and wife ! And we love each other enormously. We feel that we are made for one another."[br /]
[br /]
Shortly after his marriage Mozart met Franz Josef Haydn, who was a true mentor and with whom he struck a close friendship. Haydn recognized Mozart’s genius, and till the end of his life, put in every effort to bring Mozart fame and recognition. He sincerely felt that Mozart was unparalleled in his musical talents.[br /]
[br /]
[b]Mozart's Figaro[/b][br /]
[br /]
Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro premiered on May 1, 1786, in Vienna. Michael Kelly in his book ‘Reminiscences’ has written about Mozart "dressed in his red fur hat trimmed with gold, standing on the stage and the orchestra were electrified. Intoxicated with pleasure, they cried again and again, and each time louder than the preceding one : 'Bravo, maestro ! Long live the great Mozart'. It seemed as if the storm of applause would never cease … Had Mozart written nothing but this piece of music it alone would, in my humble opinion, have stamped him as the greatest composer of all time. Never before was there a greater triumph than Mozart and his Figaro!"[br /]
[br /]
[b]A Note Of Sadness[/b][br /]
[br /]
Despite the emphatic success of Figaro, Mozart had to face a period of great trial and depression. The death of his three month-old child, Raiminend instilled in him a melancholy, which did not dissipate easily. Above all, Mozart also faced appalling poverty. He wrote several letters to publishers, friends, and distant acquaintances for small loans to relieve him off his trying circumstances. Even his wife Constanze fell ill due to undernourishment and his poor state.[br /]
[br /]
In spite of such tough and trying times, Mozart penned down masterpieces. In 1787, he produced Dan Giovanni for Prague. Many critics have deemed it as the greatest opera of all time. Dan Giovanni was greeted with thunderous applause but for Mozart, it meant only 100 florins. In 1790, Mozart composed Cosi fan tutte, followed closely by Die Zauberflöte. Between the composition of these works, Mozart composed a prolific series of concerti for solo instruments and his masterpieces for string quartet, along with other musical works.[br /]
[br /]
[b]Requiem For Death[/b][br /]
[br /]
Mozart’s last work was composed under mysterious circumstances. In 1791, a masked stranger in grey colored attire commissioned Mozart to compose a requiem. The stranger was representing a wealthy nobleman who frequently asked great composers to produce works for him which he later presented under his own name. Mozart, who was ill and morbid at that time felt that the stranger was a messenger from the other world and was sent to warn him that the time to compose his own requiem had arrived. The messenger haunted Mozart’s thoughts through his sleepless and delirious nights. He neglected food and rest as well. We wanted to finish the requiem before it was too late. Mozart, in a letter to a friend who tried to persuade him to take a holiday wrote, "Willingly would I follow your advice, but how can I do it? … I know by my feelings that my hour has come. It is striking even now ! I am in the region of death."[br /]
[br /]
[b]The Last Farewell[/b][br /]
[br /]
Mozart was found unconscious at his desk. He knew that he was dying. He explained precisely to his pupil Sübmayer, as to ‘how the requiem was to be brought to its completion.’ His health conditions aggravated to such an extent that it cost him his life. At about 1: 00 a.m. on December 5, 1791, Mozart bade farewell to his family and his life as well. To this date the cause of his illness that resulted in his death remains a mystery unsolved.[br /]
[br /]
Mozart was buried without any formal ceremonies in a grave at the churchyard of St. Mark. One week later, when Constaze went to the cemetery with flowers, she could not find Mozart’s grave. Mozart had died a pauper, so his grave was left unmarked. Today, a monument in his honor is located at an approximate site in St. Mark graveyard where perhaps, rests the greatest composer the world has ever seen.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[b]MOZART [1756 – 1791][/b][br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Mozart ranks as one of the great geniuses of Western civilization. In spite of his precocity, Mozart had an initially unsuccessful career and he passed away at a young age. His innumerable compositions (over 600) are witness to the fact that even as a child he possessed perfect technical prowess in musical composition. His imagination enabled him to produce musical repartees that turned out to be masterpieces.[br /]
[br /]
His music combined a penchant for Italian style of clear and graceful melody with a German taste for formal and contrapuntal ingenuity. Mozart thus, epitomizes the classical style of the 18th century, the goal of which was to be succinct, clear and well balanced while at the same time developing a plentitude of ideas to a point of satisfying himself emotionally.[br /]
[br /]
Mozart’s creative method was extraordinary and rarely observed, for his manuscripts show that although he made an occasional preliminary sketch of a difficult passage, he almost invariably thought out a complete work before committing it to paper. His operas achieved a unique blend through vocal and instrumental effect, which are marked by subtle characterization and an unusual use of classical symphonic style present in large-scale ensembles.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Mozart ranks as one of the great geniuses of Western civilization. In spite of his precocity, Mozart had an initially unsuccessful career and he passed away at a young age. His innumerable compositions (over 600) are witness to the fact that even as a child he possessed perfect technical prowess in musical composition. His imagination enabled him to produce musical repartees that turned out to be masterpieces.[br /]
[br /]
His music combined a penchant for Italian style of clear and graceful melody with a German taste for formal and contrapuntal ingenuity. Mozart thus, epitomizes the classical style of the 18th century, the goal of which was to be succinct, clear and well balanced while at the same time developing a plentitude of ideas to a point of satisfying himself emotionally.[br /]
[br /]
Mozart’s creative method was extraordinary and rarely observed, for his manuscripts show that although he made an occasional preliminary sketch of a difficult passage, he almost invariably thought out a complete work before committing it to paper. His operas achieved a unique blend through vocal and instrumental effect, which are marked by subtle characterization and an unusual use of classical symphonic style present in large-scale ensembles.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[b]January 27, 1756[/b][br /]
Johann Chrysostomus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1759[/b][br /]
At three, Mozart started to play the harpsichord.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1761 [/b][br /]
Mozart started composing minuets at the age of five.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1763-1766[/b][br /]
Mozart toured Europe with his father and sister and played for Louis XV at Versailles and George III in London.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1764[/b][br /]
Mozart wrote his first three symphonies.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1768[/b][br /]
Mozart completed his first opera, La Finta Semplice (The Simple Pretense).[br /]
[br /]
[b]1769-1773[/b][br /]
Mozart made three trips to Italy.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1770 [/b][br /]
Mozart performed his first major opera Mitridate, re di Ponte (Mithridates, King of Pontus) in Milan.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1772[/b][br /]
Mozart was appointed as concertmaster in the orchestra of Archbishop of Salzburg.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1777[/b][br /]
Mozart toured with his mother hoping to find a court position.[br /]
[br /]
[b]July 1778[/b][br /]
Mozart’s mother Anna Maria Mozart died.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1779[/b][br /]
Mozart returned back to Salzburg as he was unable to find a court position. He was appointed as a court organist to the Archbishop of Salzburg.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1781[/b][br /]
Mozart resigned as a court organist due to increasing disagreements between Mozart and the Archbishop.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1782[/b][br /]
Mozart married Constanze Weber in St. Stephen’s Cathedral at Vienna.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1786[/b][br /]
The Marriage of Figaro, the first of three operas, Mozart collaborated with librettist, Lorenza da Ponte, was premiered at the Burg Theatre.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1787[/b][br /]
Mozart was appointed as a composer of Imperial and Royal Chamber with an annual salary of 800 florins.[br /]
[br /]
[b]May 28, 1787[/b][br /]
Mozart’s father, Leopold Mozart died.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1787[/b][br /]
Mozart’s most famous opera, Don Giovanni was premiered at the National Theatre in Prague.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1790[/b][br /]
Mozart’s Cosi fan Tutte was premiered at the Burg Theatre.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1791[/b][br /]
Mozart composed dance music for the Vienna Court.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1791[/b][br /]
Mozart was appointed as an assistant to the Kapellmeister Cathedral at St. Stephens with no pay.[br /]
[br /]
[b]December 5, 1791[/b][br /]
Mozart died of rheumatic fever, a few minutes before 1 am.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Johann Chrysostomus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1759[/b][br /]
At three, Mozart started to play the harpsichord.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1761 [/b][br /]
Mozart started composing minuets at the age of five.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1763-1766[/b][br /]
Mozart toured Europe with his father and sister and played for Louis XV at Versailles and George III in London.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1764[/b][br /]
Mozart wrote his first three symphonies.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1768[/b][br /]
Mozart completed his first opera, La Finta Semplice (The Simple Pretense).[br /]
[br /]
[b]1769-1773[/b][br /]
Mozart made three trips to Italy.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1770 [/b][br /]
Mozart performed his first major opera Mitridate, re di Ponte (Mithridates, King of Pontus) in Milan.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1772[/b][br /]
Mozart was appointed as concertmaster in the orchestra of Archbishop of Salzburg.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1777[/b][br /]
Mozart toured with his mother hoping to find a court position.[br /]
[br /]
[b]July 1778[/b][br /]
Mozart’s mother Anna Maria Mozart died.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1779[/b][br /]
Mozart returned back to Salzburg as he was unable to find a court position. He was appointed as a court organist to the Archbishop of Salzburg.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1781[/b][br /]
Mozart resigned as a court organist due to increasing disagreements between Mozart and the Archbishop.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1782[/b][br /]
Mozart married Constanze Weber in St. Stephen’s Cathedral at Vienna.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1786[/b][br /]
The Marriage of Figaro, the first of three operas, Mozart collaborated with librettist, Lorenza da Ponte, was premiered at the Burg Theatre.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1787[/b][br /]
Mozart was appointed as a composer of Imperial and Royal Chamber with an annual salary of 800 florins.[br /]
[br /]
[b]May 28, 1787[/b][br /]
Mozart’s father, Leopold Mozart died.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1787[/b][br /]
Mozart’s most famous opera, Don Giovanni was premiered at the National Theatre in Prague.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1790[/b][br /]
Mozart’s Cosi fan Tutte was premiered at the Burg Theatre.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1791[/b][br /]
Mozart composed dance music for the Vienna Court.[br /]
[br /]
[b]1791[/b][br /]
Mozart was appointed as an assistant to the Kapellmeister Cathedral at St. Stephens with no pay.[br /]
[br /]
[b]December 5, 1791[/b][br /]
Mozart died of rheumatic fever, a few minutes before 1 am.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[b]Musical Career – Musical Compositions and Concert Tours[/b][br /]
[br /]
Mozart’s music career started off quite early. He began composing at the age of five and by six, his father took him to Munich to play at the Bavarian court. A few months later, they went to Vienna to play at the imperial court and at a few noble houses. In mid – 1763 the Mozart’s set out on a prolonged tour to all the main music centers in western Europe – Munich, Ausburg, Stuttgart, Mannheim, Mainz, Frankfurt, Brussels, and Paris. Then they proceeded to London and returned through The Hague, Amsterdam, Paris, Lyon and Switzerland lastly returning back to Salzburg in 1766. In Paris, they met several German composers and Mozart’s music, which was dedicated to a royal princess, was performed. Under the influence of leading composers, Mozart published his first symphonies at London.[br /]
[br /]
The Mozart’s set out for Vienna in September 1767, where they spent 15 months. There, Mozart wrote a one act German Singspiel, Bestien and Bastienne. At an important festival mass, he set a symphony (probably K 139/47a) which was performed before the court. This successful performance was dedicated to the orphanage church. La Fenta Semplice (The Feigned Simpleton) was performed in 1769 at the Archbishop’s palace in Salzburg. October of the same year saw Mozart appointed as honorary Konzertmeister at the Salzburg court.[br /]
[br /]
The first tour of Italy for 15 months began on December 13, 1769. Milan provided him an opportunity to display his talent for dramatic music, and he was commissioned to write the first opera of the carnival season. Mozart then had performed in Bologna, Florence and finally went to Rome for the Holy Week. There, he heard the Sistine Choir in the famous Misirere of Gregorio Allegri (1582-1652), which was strictly guarded by the choir and reproducing it in any form would lead to punishment. Mozart copied it from memory. The Mozart’s spent six weeks in Naples and returned via Rome. Mozart had a Papal audience and was made a Knight of the Order of the Golden Spur. Mozart was put through stringent test in Bologna, at the Accademia Filarmonica. The Mozart’s spent the summer there where he passed the admission tests. In mid-October, they went to Milan and Mozart started working or the new opera, Mitridate, re’ di Ponto (Mithridates, King of Pontus). Mozart had to rewrite several numbers to satisfy the singers, but after several rehearsals when it was premiered at the Regio Ducal Theatre on December 26, 1769, it was a success. After a brief tour to Venice they returned back to Salzburg.[br /]
[br /]
Mozart started planning for concert tours of Italy. His performances included a theatrical serenata commissioned for a royal wedding in Milan in October 1771 and for an opera at carnival time in 1772-73. Mozart was also commissioned to write a oratorio for Padua. He composed La Betulia Liberata in 1771, but there does not exist any record of that performance. During the second Italian visit between August and December 1771, Mozart’s Ascanio in Alba was premiered. But Mozart was not successful in securing a permanent position in Milan, which he desperately wanted. After returning back to Salzburg, Mozart composed eight symphonies, four divertimentos, several substantial sacred works, and an allegorical serenata, It sogno di surepione.[br /]
[br /]
The third and the last Italian journey started in 1772 and ended in March 1773. The new opera, Lucie Silla (Lucius Sulla), was premiered on December 26, 1772 and it was more successful than Mitridate with 26 performances. This was the earliest indication of the dramatic composer that Mozart was to become. After Lucio Silla, Mozart composed a solo motet for Venanzio Rauzzini who was a castrato and a composer. The solo motet titled, Exsultate jubilate (k 165) was an appealing three - movement piece culminating in a brilliant Alleluia. The instrumental music of the period encompassing the Italian journeys includes several symphonies, a few of which are done in a light Italianate style. But the other symphonies, especially the seven from 1772 are different with respect to form, orchestration and style (such as K 130, K 132 and the chamber music K 134). His symphonies also include six string quartets (K 155 – 160) and three divertimentos (K 136 – 138) which are composed in a lively extroverted style.[br /]
[br /]
During the summer of 1772, Mozart composed more symphonies and divertimentos. Leopold in anticipation of a seeking a better position for his son took him to Vienna. The aspired prospects did not materialize, however Mozart came in touch with the newest Viennese music and it seemed to have a considerable effect on him. In Vienna, Mozart composed music consisting of six string quartets. These compositions reflected his knowledge of Haydn’s recent Opus 20, which had fuller textures and had a more intellectual approach. Mozart returned back to Salzburg where he wrote a group of symphonies, including two that represented a new level of achievement. The two symphonies were ‘Little’ G Minor (K 1823) and A Major (K 201). It was at this time that Mozart gave his first true Piano concerto (in D, K 175).[br /]
[br /]
In 1774, Mozart composed more symphonies, concertos for bassoon and for two violins, serenades and several sacred works. By then, Mozart was a salaried court Konzertmeister, and the sacred music in particular was intended for local use. Archbishop Collorado, a progressive churchman, discouraged excessive music and set a strict time limit on mass settings. Mozart objected to it but was compelled to observe the church rules. At the end of the year, Mozart was commissioned to write an opera buffa, La finta gardiniera (The Feigned Gardener Girl), for the Carnival season in Munich where it was quite successful. This work of Mozart reflected on ways of using the orchestra more expressively and of giving real personality to the pasteboard figures of Italian opera buffa. From March 1775, a period of two and a half years commenced in which Mozart worked steadily in Salzburg. His work was undemanding and not at all matching up with his abilities. During this period Mozart wrote only one dramatic work which was the serenata like Il re’ Pastore, (The Shepherd King) for an archduke's visit. During this period he composed more of sacred and lighter instrumental music. The most impressive piece of music which he composed for the church was the Litanial de neverabili altaris sacramento (K 243) which encompasses a wide range of styles (fugues, choruses of considerable dramatic force, florid arias, and a planchant setting). The instrumental works composed by Mozart consisted of divertimentos, concertos and serenades. The Haffner (K 250) particularly in its use of instruments and richness of working, carried the serenade style into the symphonic without tampering with its traditional warmth and high spirits. The use of popular themes in the finales was typically south German. Mozart also wrote a concerto for three pianos and three piano concertos. The last of these concertos, K 271 brought a new level of maturity in technique and expressive range.[br /]
[br /]
Mozart and his father were quite clear by that time that a small, provincial court like the one at Salzburg was no place for a genius of Mozart’s talent. Mozart was 21 years of age and he increasingly felt the need to free himself from paternal domination while on the other hand Leopold was quite anxious about his future.[br /]
[br /]
Mozart and his mother first went to Munich, where the elector politely declined to offer Mozart a post. Their next visit was to Ausburg where they lived with their relatives. They visited Mannheim by the end of October. At Mannheim, the court of the Elector Palatine was musically oriented and one of the most famous and progressive courts in Europe. Mozart stayed there for more than four months and soon realized that Europe did not have any position to offer which could be of any use to him. While at Mannheim, he became friendly with the musicians, undertook some teaching and playing. He also accepted commission to compose flute music for a German surgeon but only partly fulfilled it. Mozart also composed several piano sonatas and some violin sonatas.[br /]
[br /]
Mozart, accompanied by his mother went to Paris in March 1778. There, Mozart was successful in getting work of choice for which he had been aspiring for a long period. His most important was the symphony (K 297) composed for the spiritual concert. It was a brilliant D Major work which was in accordance to the taste of the French public and musicians.[br /]
[br /]
When the symphony was premiered on June 18, 1778, his mother was seriously ill and died on July 3. Mozart handled the situation in a mature way. He first wrote to his father of her grave illness and then asked a friend in Salzburg to break the sad news to his father. Thereafter, Mozart went to stay with Friedrich Melchoir, Baron Van Grimm and a German friend. Grimm, who used to idolize Mozart, wrote pessimistically to Leopold regarding Mozart’s prospects in Paris. Leopold asked Mozart to return back to Salzburg to which Mozart obeyed, though quite reluctantly. He returned to Salzburg in mid January 1780.[br /]
[br /]
At Salzburg, Mozart displayed his command of the international styles. In 1779-80 he composed three symphonies, his outstanding orchestral work during this period was the sinfonia concertante for violin and viola K 364. The genre of brilliant music was popular in Mannheim as well as Paris. Though the musical pieces displayed many features of the Mannheim style in the orchestral writing, but the character of the work, its ingenious instrumental interplay, and its depth of feeling were unmistakably Mozartian. During this period, Mozart also composed the cheerful two-piano concerto and the two-piano sonata, as well as a number of sacred works, including the best known of his complete masses, the Coronation Mass.[br /]
[br /]
Above all, Mozart was attracted to musical dramas. He had composed incidental music for a play by Tobias Philip von Gebler. In 1779-80 Mozart composed Singspiel and Zaide, although he was not sure that it would be performed before an audience. Mozart received a commission to compose an Italian opera for Munich in 1780. The subject of the opera was Idomenus, King of Crete.[br /]
[br /]
In Idomeneo, re’ di Crete Mozart depicted serious, heroic emotion with a richness unparalleled. The opera was influenced by Christoph Gluck and Nicolo Picenni and others, but it was not a ‘reform opera’. It included plain and recitative singing and always had a dramatic purpose. Though the texture of music was more continuous as compared to his earlier operas, its plan was essentially traditional because it had a French source. The opera was quite successful when it was premiered on January 29,1781. In the same year on the March 12, Mozart was summoned to join the Archbishop’s retinue, where the ascension of Joseph II was being celebrated.[br /]
[br /]
Joining the Archbishop’s entourage Mozart felt insulted when he was positioned below the valets. Furthermore, the Archbishop did not permit him to perform at concerts. That included one concert which was attended by the emperor and at which Mozart could have earned half the year’s salary at an evening. The last straw was when Archbishop Colloredo used abusive language while speaking to Mozart. Mozart was resentful and requested them to discharge him. His request was finally granted after having a heated discussion with the court steward on June 9, 1781.[br /]
[br /]
After the unsavory experiences with the Archbishop, Mozart went to live with his old friends, the Webers. He wanted to earn a living in Vienna. He started writing an opera, Die Entfuhrung aus dem serial (The Abduction from the Seraglio). After various delays, the opera was premiered on stage (Burgtheater) on July 16. The opera had many more notes compared to the others in the German repertory. It is characterized with fuller textures, more elaboration and longer arias or melodies.[br /]
[br /]
Die Entfuhrung enjoyed immediate and continual success. Die Entfuhrung was instrumental in establishing Mozart’s reputation in the Germany. Later that year, Mozart also worked on a set of three piano concertos and started composing a set of six string quartets. Mozart also started composing a mass setting, in C Minor, which he had vowed to write on his marriage. However he managed to complete only the first two sections, namely Kyrie and Gloria.[br /]
[br /]
Mozart and his wife visited Salzburg in 1783. There his compositions were performed with Constanze, his wife singing one of the sole soprano parts at St. Peter’s Abbey. While returning to Vienna they halted at Linz where he hastily wrote a symphony named Linz for a concert, which he performed there.[br /]
[br /]
After returning to Vienna, Mozart entered a phase that would prove to be the most fruitful and successful period of his life. Mozart had once written to his father that Vienna was "the land of the piano". Mozart was very successful there as a pianist and a composer. Once during a period of a little more than five weeks, Mozart performed at 22 concerts at the Esterhazy and Galitzin Houses. At the concerts Mozart would generally play the piano which included the existing music pieces, the improvisations and his fantasias. Mozart also conducted performances of his symphonies. But above all his concerts mainly focussed on piano concertos.[br /]
[br /]
Mozart wrote three piano concertos (k 413-415) in 1782-83 which was published in 1785. Mozart described it as "a happy medium between what is too easy and too difficult". Mozart wrote six more compositions in 1784, three in 1785 and three in 1786 and one each in 1788 and 1791. In the compositions of 1784, Mozart established a new form of piano concerto writing. These concertos are at once symphonic, melodically rich, and aesthetically ingenious. They blend the virtuoso element effectively into the musical and formal texture of the work.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]Mozart’s other significant contributions during that period were in the fields of chamber and piano music. He wrote a quintet for the piano and wind instruments (k 452), which was composed in a style that resembled the concertos. He considered the quintet to be his finest work till then. That quintet was first played at a concert in the house of his pupil Barbara Ployer. The six string quartets, which he had started composing in 1782, were completed in 1785. It was published later that year and was dedicated to Haydn who was Mozart’s friend. Haydn said to Leopold Mozart in 1785, "Your son is the greatest composer known to me in person or by name; he has taste, and what is more the greatest knowledge of composition."[br /]
[br /]
Though Mozart was successful as a pianist and a composer, he faced serious financial problems, which aggravated when the fickle Viennese idolized other musicians. Compared to his income, his lifestyle was quite extravagant. To Mozart, success in the court opera house was of utmost importance. Since 1783, Mozart had been seeking for suitable librettos. He had become acquainted with Lorenzo da Ponte, who was an Italian abbe adventurer of Jewish descent. He was a talented poet and librettist at the court theatre. Mozart suggested him to write a libretto, he nozze di Figaro which was inspired by Beaumarchais’s revolutionary comedy, Marriage de Figaro. Lorenzo da Ponte wrote the libretto but most of the political sting was done away with. However, the music of Figaro makes the social distinctions clear. Both, Figaro and Don Giovanni treat the traditional figure of the licentious nobleman. In both the operas the comic elements are juxtaposed with the under currents of social tension. The chief achievement of Figaro lies in the close association between music and dramatic meaning.[br /]
[br /]
When Figaro was premiered on May 1, 1786 it was warmly welcomed by the audience. Figaro was performed nine times in 1786 and when it was revived in 1789-90 it was performed 26 times. The opera enjoyed outstanding popularity at Prague. At the yearend, Mozart was invited to the Bohemian capital. He went to Prague in January 1787. He composed a new symphony and accepted commission for composing an opera. He returned to Vienna in February 1787.[br /]
[br /]
Mozart’s concerts in Vienna were performed on an average scale. In April his father fell seriously ill, Mozart wrote to him a letter of consolation wherein he put forward a view of death as "the best and truest friend of mankind." Leopold died in May 1787.[br /]
[br /]
Mozart composed two string quintets K 515-516, which were supreme among his chamber works. The quintet in C Major (k 515) is the most expansive and richly developed of all his chamber music, while the G. Minor (k 516) is remarkable for its depth of feeling Mozart composed Musikalischer Spass (Musical Joke) which was a good – humored parody on bad music. His other composition was the exquisite and much loved serenade Eine Kleine Nachtmusik which was probably intended for sole strings. The last work was a fine piano and violin sonata (k 526).[br /]
[br /]
During 1787, Mozart was occupied with the composition of Don Giovanni. The audience warmly welcomed Don Giovanni when it was premiered on October 29,in Prague. Dan Giovanni was Mozart’s second opera based on a libretto by da Ponte. Da Ponte’s libretto was inspired by a libretto written by Giovanni Bertati. Da Ponte rewrote the libretto by inserting the new episodes in the one act final original.[br /]
[br /]
When Mozart returned from Prague in mid November 1787, Mozart was appointed to a court post as Kamermusicus. However, the salary of 800 guilders did little to relieve Mozart’s perennial financial problems. Mozart was depressed during the summer and he wrote of ‘black thoughts’. During that time of depression Mozart worked on a series of three symphonies in E – flat Major (k 543), G Minor (K 550) and C Major (the Jupiter s 551). which were usually numbered 39, 40 and 41 respectively. Alongwith those, Mozart also composed K 504 for Prague.[br /]
[br /]
Early in 1789, Mozart accepted an invitation to travel to Berlin with Prince Karl Lichnowsky. They halted at Prague, Dresden and Leipzig. Mozart went to the Prussian court and was probably invited to compose piano sonatas for the princess and string quartets with a prominent cello part for King Friedrich William II. He composed three quartets and one sonata (his last k 576) that could have been intended for the Prussian princess. But it was unlikely that Mozart had sent his music or was ever paid for it.[br /]
[br /]
Thereafter Mozart composed Cosi fan tutte, the third of his da Ponte operas. It was premiered on January 26, 1790 and he could perform at only 5 concerts because the theatres closed down due to the death of Joseph II. This opera was the subtlest, most consistent and most symmetrical of the three operas. The theme of the opera is female fickleness.[br /]
[br /]
For Mozart the year 1790 was difficult and unproductive. Apart from Cosi fan tutte, Mozart finished the compositions of two of the ‘Prussian’ quartets. The coming autumn posted Mozart to Frankfurt for the Imperial coronation of Leopold II. His concerts, which included two piano concertos and probably one of the new symphonies, were ill timed, poorly attended and a financial failure.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
[br /]
Mozart’s music career started off quite early. He began composing at the age of five and by six, his father took him to Munich to play at the Bavarian court. A few months later, they went to Vienna to play at the imperial court and at a few noble houses. In mid – 1763 the Mozart’s set out on a prolonged tour to all the main music centers in western Europe – Munich, Ausburg, Stuttgart, Mannheim, Mainz, Frankfurt, Brussels, and Paris. Then they proceeded to London and returned through The Hague, Amsterdam, Paris, Lyon and Switzerland lastly returning back to Salzburg in 1766. In Paris, they met several German composers and Mozart’s music, which was dedicated to a royal princess, was performed. Under the influence of leading composers, Mozart published his first symphonies at London.[br /]
[br /]
The Mozart’s set out for Vienna in September 1767, where they spent 15 months. There, Mozart wrote a one act German Singspiel, Bestien and Bastienne. At an important festival mass, he set a symphony (probably K 139/47a) which was performed before the court. This successful performance was dedicated to the orphanage church. La Fenta Semplice (The Feigned Simpleton) was performed in 1769 at the Archbishop’s palace in Salzburg. October of the same year saw Mozart appointed as honorary Konzertmeister at the Salzburg court.[br /]
[br /]
The first tour of Italy for 15 months began on December 13, 1769. Milan provided him an opportunity to display his talent for dramatic music, and he was commissioned to write the first opera of the carnival season. Mozart then had performed in Bologna, Florence and finally went to Rome for the Holy Week. There, he heard the Sistine Choir in the famous Misirere of Gregorio Allegri (1582-1652), which was strictly guarded by the choir and reproducing it in any form would lead to punishment. Mozart copied it from memory. The Mozart’s spent six weeks in Naples and returned via Rome. Mozart had a Papal audience and was made a Knight of the Order of the Golden Spur. Mozart was put through stringent test in Bologna, at the Accademia Filarmonica. The Mozart’s spent the summer there where he passed the admission tests. In mid-October, they went to Milan and Mozart started working or the new opera, Mitridate, re’ di Ponto (Mithridates, King of Pontus). Mozart had to rewrite several numbers to satisfy the singers, but after several rehearsals when it was premiered at the Regio Ducal Theatre on December 26, 1769, it was a success. After a brief tour to Venice they returned back to Salzburg.[br /]
[br /]
Mozart started planning for concert tours of Italy. His performances included a theatrical serenata commissioned for a royal wedding in Milan in October 1771 and for an opera at carnival time in 1772-73. Mozart was also commissioned to write a oratorio for Padua. He composed La Betulia Liberata in 1771, but there does not exist any record of that performance. During the second Italian visit between August and December 1771, Mozart’s Ascanio in Alba was premiered. But Mozart was not successful in securing a permanent position in Milan, which he desperately wanted. After returning back to Salzburg, Mozart composed eight symphonies, four divertimentos, several substantial sacred works, and an allegorical serenata, It sogno di surepione.[br /]
[br /]
The third and the last Italian journey started in 1772 and ended in March 1773. The new opera, Lucie Silla (Lucius Sulla), was premiered on December 26, 1772 and it was more successful than Mitridate with 26 performances. This was the earliest indication of the dramatic composer that Mozart was to become. After Lucio Silla, Mozart composed a solo motet for Venanzio Rauzzini who was a castrato and a composer. The solo motet titled, Exsultate jubilate (k 165) was an appealing three - movement piece culminating in a brilliant Alleluia. The instrumental music of the period encompassing the Italian journeys includes several symphonies, a few of which are done in a light Italianate style. But the other symphonies, especially the seven from 1772 are different with respect to form, orchestration and style (such as K 130, K 132 and the chamber music K 134). His symphonies also include six string quartets (K 155 – 160) and three divertimentos (K 136 – 138) which are composed in a lively extroverted style.[br /]
[br /]
During the summer of 1772, Mozart composed more symphonies and divertimentos. Leopold in anticipation of a seeking a better position for his son took him to Vienna. The aspired prospects did not materialize, however Mozart came in touch with the newest Viennese music and it seemed to have a considerable effect on him. In Vienna, Mozart composed music consisting of six string quartets. These compositions reflected his knowledge of Haydn’s recent Opus 20, which had fuller textures and had a more intellectual approach. Mozart returned back to Salzburg where he wrote a group of symphonies, including two that represented a new level of achievement. The two symphonies were ‘Little’ G Minor (K 1823) and A Major (K 201). It was at this time that Mozart gave his first true Piano concerto (in D, K 175).[br /]
[br /]
In 1774, Mozart composed more symphonies, concertos for bassoon and for two violins, serenades and several sacred works. By then, Mozart was a salaried court Konzertmeister, and the sacred music in particular was intended for local use. Archbishop Collorado, a progressive churchman, discouraged excessive music and set a strict time limit on mass settings. Mozart objected to it but was compelled to observe the church rules. At the end of the year, Mozart was commissioned to write an opera buffa, La finta gardiniera (The Feigned Gardener Girl), for the Carnival season in Munich where it was quite successful. This work of Mozart reflected on ways of using the orchestra more expressively and of giving real personality to the pasteboard figures of Italian opera buffa. From March 1775, a period of two and a half years commenced in which Mozart worked steadily in Salzburg. His work was undemanding and not at all matching up with his abilities. During this period Mozart wrote only one dramatic work which was the serenata like Il re’ Pastore, (The Shepherd King) for an archduke's visit. During this period he composed more of sacred and lighter instrumental music. The most impressive piece of music which he composed for the church was the Litanial de neverabili altaris sacramento (K 243) which encompasses a wide range of styles (fugues, choruses of considerable dramatic force, florid arias, and a planchant setting). The instrumental works composed by Mozart consisted of divertimentos, concertos and serenades. The Haffner (K 250) particularly in its use of instruments and richness of working, carried the serenade style into the symphonic without tampering with its traditional warmth and high spirits. The use of popular themes in the finales was typically south German. Mozart also wrote a concerto for three pianos and three piano concertos. The last of these concertos, K 271 brought a new level of maturity in technique and expressive range.[br /]
[br /]
Mozart and his father were quite clear by that time that a small, provincial court like the one at Salzburg was no place for a genius of Mozart’s talent. Mozart was 21 years of age and he increasingly felt the need to free himself from paternal domination while on the other hand Leopold was quite anxious about his future.[br /]
[br /]
Mozart and his mother first went to Munich, where the elector politely declined to offer Mozart a post. Their next visit was to Ausburg where they lived with their relatives. They visited Mannheim by the end of October. At Mannheim, the court of the Elector Palatine was musically oriented and one of the most famous and progressive courts in Europe. Mozart stayed there for more than four months and soon realized that Europe did not have any position to offer which could be of any use to him. While at Mannheim, he became friendly with the musicians, undertook some teaching and playing. He also accepted commission to compose flute music for a German surgeon but only partly fulfilled it. Mozart also composed several piano sonatas and some violin sonatas.[br /]
[br /]
Mozart, accompanied by his mother went to Paris in March 1778. There, Mozart was successful in getting work of choice for which he had been aspiring for a long period. His most important was the symphony (K 297) composed for the spiritual concert. It was a brilliant D Major work which was in accordance to the taste of the French public and musicians.[br /]
[br /]
When the symphony was premiered on June 18, 1778, his mother was seriously ill and died on July 3. Mozart handled the situation in a mature way. He first wrote to his father of her grave illness and then asked a friend in Salzburg to break the sad news to his father. Thereafter, Mozart went to stay with Friedrich Melchoir, Baron Van Grimm and a German friend. Grimm, who used to idolize Mozart, wrote pessimistically to Leopold regarding Mozart’s prospects in Paris. Leopold asked Mozart to return back to Salzburg to which Mozart obeyed, though quite reluctantly. He returned to Salzburg in mid January 1780.[br /]
[br /]
At Salzburg, Mozart displayed his command of the international styles. In 1779-80 he composed three symphonies, his outstanding orchestral work during this period was the sinfonia concertante for violin and viola K 364. The genre of brilliant music was popular in Mannheim as well as Paris. Though the musical pieces displayed many features of the Mannheim style in the orchestral writing, but the character of the work, its ingenious instrumental interplay, and its depth of feeling were unmistakably Mozartian. During this period, Mozart also composed the cheerful two-piano concerto and the two-piano sonata, as well as a number of sacred works, including the best known of his complete masses, the Coronation Mass.[br /]
[br /]
Above all, Mozart was attracted to musical dramas. He had composed incidental music for a play by Tobias Philip von Gebler. In 1779-80 Mozart composed Singspiel and Zaide, although he was not sure that it would be performed before an audience. Mozart received a commission to compose an Italian opera for Munich in 1780. The subject of the opera was Idomenus, King of Crete.[br /]
[br /]
In Idomeneo, re’ di Crete Mozart depicted serious, heroic emotion with a richness unparalleled. The opera was influenced by Christoph Gluck and Nicolo Picenni and others, but it was not a ‘reform opera’. It included plain and recitative singing and always had a dramatic purpose. Though the texture of music was more continuous as compared to his earlier operas, its plan was essentially traditional because it had a French source. The opera was quite successful when it was premiered on January 29,1781. In the same year on the March 12, Mozart was summoned to join the Archbishop’s retinue, where the ascension of Joseph II was being celebrated.[br /]
[br /]
Joining the Archbishop’s entourage Mozart felt insulted when he was positioned below the valets. Furthermore, the Archbishop did not permit him to perform at concerts. That included one concert which was attended by the emperor and at which Mozart could have earned half the year’s salary at an evening. The last straw was when Archbishop Colloredo used abusive language while speaking to Mozart. Mozart was resentful and requested them to discharge him. His request was finally granted after having a heated discussion with the court steward on June 9, 1781.[br /]
[br /]
After the unsavory experiences with the Archbishop, Mozart went to live with his old friends, the Webers. He wanted to earn a living in Vienna. He started writing an opera, Die Entfuhrung aus dem serial (The Abduction from the Seraglio). After various delays, the opera was premiered on stage (Burgtheater) on July 16. The opera had many more notes compared to the others in the German repertory. It is characterized with fuller textures, more elaboration and longer arias or melodies.[br /]
[br /]
Die Entfuhrung enjoyed immediate and continual success. Die Entfuhrung was instrumental in establishing Mozart’s reputation in the Germany. Later that year, Mozart also worked on a set of three piano concertos and started composing a set of six string quartets. Mozart also started composing a mass setting, in C Minor, which he had vowed to write on his marriage. However he managed to complete only the first two sections, namely Kyrie and Gloria.[br /]
[br /]
Mozart and his wife visited Salzburg in 1783. There his compositions were performed with Constanze, his wife singing one of the sole soprano parts at St. Peter’s Abbey. While returning to Vienna they halted at Linz where he hastily wrote a symphony named Linz for a concert, which he performed there.[br /]
[br /]
After returning to Vienna, Mozart entered a phase that would prove to be the most fruitful and successful period of his life. Mozart had once written to his father that Vienna was "the land of the piano". Mozart was very successful there as a pianist and a composer. Once during a period of a little more than five weeks, Mozart performed at 22 concerts at the Esterhazy and Galitzin Houses. At the concerts Mozart would generally play the piano which included the existing music pieces, the improvisations and his fantasias. Mozart also conducted performances of his symphonies. But above all his concerts mainly focussed on piano concertos.[br /]
[br /]
Mozart wrote three piano concertos (k 413-415) in 1782-83 which was published in 1785. Mozart described it as "a happy medium between what is too easy and too difficult". Mozart wrote six more compositions in 1784, three in 1785 and three in 1786 and one each in 1788 and 1791. In the compositions of 1784, Mozart established a new form of piano concerto writing. These concertos are at once symphonic, melodically rich, and aesthetically ingenious. They blend the virtuoso element effectively into the musical and formal texture of the work.[br /]
[br /]
[br /]Mozart’s other significant contributions during that period were in the fields of chamber and piano music. He wrote a quintet for the piano and wind instruments (k 452), which was composed in a style that resembled the concertos. He considered the quintet to be his finest work till then. That quintet was first played at a concert in the house of his pupil Barbara Ployer. The six string quartets, which he had started composing in 1782, were completed in 1785. It was published later that year and was dedicated to Haydn who was Mozart’s friend. Haydn said to Leopold Mozart in 1785, "Your son is the greatest composer known to me in person or by name; he has taste, and what is more the greatest knowledge of composition."[br /]
[br /]
Though Mozart was successful as a pianist and a composer, he faced serious financial problems, which aggravated when the fickle Viennese idolized other musicians. Compared to his income, his lifestyle was quite extravagant. To Mozart, success in the court opera house was of utmost importance. Since 1783, Mozart had been seeking for suitable librettos. He had become acquainted with Lorenzo da Ponte, who was an Italian abbe adventurer of Jewish descent. He was a talented poet and librettist at the court theatre. Mozart suggested him to write a libretto, he nozze di Figaro which was inspired by Beaumarchais’s revolutionary comedy, Marriage de Figaro. Lorenzo da Ponte wrote the libretto but most of the political sting was done away with. However, the music of Figaro makes the social distinctions clear. Both, Figaro and Don Giovanni treat the traditional figure of the licentious nobleman. In both the operas the comic elements are juxtaposed with the under currents of social tension. The chief achievement of Figaro lies in the close association between music and dramatic meaning.[br /]
[br /]
When Figaro was premiered on May 1, 1786 it was warmly welcomed by the audience. Figaro was performed nine times in 1786 and when it was revived in 1789-90 it was performed 26 times. The opera enjoyed outstanding popularity at Prague. At the yearend, Mozart was invited to the Bohemian capital. He went to Prague in January 1787. He composed a new symphony and accepted commission for composing an opera. He returned to Vienna in February 1787.[br /]
[br /]
Mozart’s concerts in Vienna were performed on an average scale. In April his father fell seriously ill, Mozart wrote to him a letter of consolation wherein he put forward a view of death as "the best and truest friend of mankind." Leopold died in May 1787.[br /]
[br /]
Mozart composed two string quintets K 515-516, which were supreme among his chamber works. The quintet in C Major (k 515) is the most expansive and richly developed of all his chamber music, while the G. Minor (k 516) is remarkable for its depth of feeling Mozart composed Musikalischer Spass (Musical Joke) which was a good – humored parody on bad music. His other composition was the exquisite and much loved serenade Eine Kleine Nachtmusik which was probably intended for sole strings. The last work was a fine piano and violin sonata (k 526).[br /]
[br /]
During 1787, Mozart was occupied with the composition of Don Giovanni. The audience warmly welcomed Don Giovanni when it was premiered on October 29,in Prague. Dan Giovanni was Mozart’s second opera based on a libretto by da Ponte. Da Ponte’s libretto was inspired by a libretto written by Giovanni Bertati. Da Ponte rewrote the libretto by inserting the new episodes in the one act final original.[br /]
[br /]
When Mozart returned from Prague in mid November 1787, Mozart was appointed to a court post as Kamermusicus. However, the salary of 800 guilders did little to relieve Mozart’s perennial financial problems. Mozart was depressed during the summer and he wrote of ‘black thoughts’. During that time of depression Mozart worked on a series of three symphonies in E – flat Major (k 543), G Minor (K 550) and C Major (the Jupiter s 551). which were usually numbered 39, 40 and 41 respectively. Alongwith those, Mozart also composed K 504 for Prague.[br /]
[br /]
Early in 1789, Mozart accepted an invitation to travel to Berlin with Prince Karl Lichnowsky. They halted at Prague, Dresden and Leipzig. Mozart went to the Prussian court and was probably invited to compose piano sonatas for the princess and string quartets with a prominent cello part for King Friedrich William II. He composed three quartets and one sonata (his last k 576) that could have been intended for the Prussian princess. But it was unlikely that Mozart had sent his music or was ever paid for it.[br /]
[br /]
Thereafter Mozart composed Cosi fan tutte, the third of his da Ponte operas. It was premiered on January 26, 1790 and he could perform at only 5 concerts because the theatres closed down due to the death of Joseph II. This opera was the subtlest, most consistent and most symmetrical of the three operas. The theme of the opera is female fickleness.[br /]
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For Mozart the year 1790 was difficult and unproductive. Apart from Cosi fan tutte, Mozart finished the compositions of two of the ‘Prussian’ quartets. The coming autumn posted Mozart to Frankfurt for the Imperial coronation of Leopold II. His concerts, which included two piano concertos and probably one of the new symphonies, were ill timed, poorly attended and a financial failure.[br /]
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