Biography

The Beginning
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Pilgrimage To Fame
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.
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.
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.
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."
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."
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Admirers
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.
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.
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.
The Adversity
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 ?"
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.
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.
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.
A PhaseOf Dissappointments
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.
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.
The New Dawn
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.
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.
True Love
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."
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.
Mozart's Figaro
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!"
Note Of Sadness
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.
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.
Requiem For Death
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."
The Last Farewell
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.
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.
Musical Career – Musical Compositions and Concert Tours
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.