In 1743, he was appointed as fourth violinist in the musical establishment of Count Leopold Anton von Firmian, the ruling Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Born in Salzburg, in the Holy Roman Empire, Mozart showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood.
Ludwig van Beethoven composed his early works in the shadow of Mozart, and Joseph Haydn wrote: "posterity will not see such a talent again in 100 years". ==Life and career== ===Early life=== ====Family and childhood==== Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born on 27 January 1756 to Leopold Mozart (1719–1787) and Anna Maria, née Pertl (1720–1778), at Getreidegasse 9 in Salzburg.
These began with an exhibition in 1762 at the court of Prince-elector Maximilian III of Bavaria in Munich, and at the Imperial Courts in Vienna and Prague.
Leopold became the orchestra's deputy Kapellmeister in 1763.
A particularly significant influence was Johann Christian Bach, whom he visited in London in 1764 and 1765.
They had to wait for invitations and reimbursement from the nobility, and they endured long, near-fatal illnesses far from home: first Leopold (London, summer 1764), then both children (The Hague, autumn 1765).
A particularly significant influence was Johann Christian Bach, whom he visited in London in 1764 and 1765.
They had to wait for invitations and reimbursement from the nobility, and they endured long, near-fatal illnesses far from home: first Leopold (London, summer 1764), then both children (The Hague, autumn 1765).
The family again went to Vienna in late 1767 and remained there until December 1768. After one year in Salzburg, Leopold and Wolfgang set off for Italy, leaving Anna Maria and Nannerl at home.
The family again went to Vienna in late 1767 and remained there until December 1768. After one year in Salzburg, Leopold and Wolfgang set off for Italy, leaving Anna Maria and Nannerl at home.
This tour lasted from December 1769 to March 1771.
This tour lasted from December 1769 to March 1771.
He returned with his father twice to Milan (August–December 1771; October 1772March 1773) for the composition and premieres of Ascanio in Alba (1771) and Lucio Silla (1772).
He returned with his father twice to Milan (August–December 1771; October 1772March 1773) for the composition and premieres of Ascanio in Alba (1771) and Lucio Silla (1772).
He returned with his father twice to Milan (August–December 1771; October 1772March 1773) for the composition and premieres of Ascanio in Alba (1771) and Lucio Silla (1772).
Toward the end of the journey, Mozart wrote the solo motet Exsultate, jubilate, K. 165. ===1773–77: Employment at the Salzburg court=== After finally returning with his father from Italy on 13 March 1773, Mozart was employed as a court musician by the ruler of Salzburg, Prince-Archbishop Hieronymus Colloredo.
Mozart and his father visited Vienna from 14 July to 26 September 1773, and Munich from 6December 1774 to March 1775.
Mozart and his father visited Vienna from 14 July to 26 September 1773, and Munich from 6December 1774 to March 1775.
Between April and December 1775, Mozart developed an enthusiasm for violin concertos, producing a series of five (the only ones he ever wrote), which steadily increased in their musical sophistication.
The situation worsened in 1775 when the court theatre was closed, especially since the other theatre in Salzburg was primarily reserved for visiting troupes. Two long expeditions in search of work interrupted this long Salzburg stay.
Mozart and his father visited Vienna from 14 July to 26 September 1773, and Munich from 6December 1774 to March 1775.
In 1776, he turned his efforts to piano concertos, culminating in the E concerto K. 271 of early 1777, considered by critics to be a breakthrough work. Despite these artistic successes, Mozart grew increasingly discontented with Salzburg and redoubled his efforts to find a position elsewhere.
In 1776, he turned his efforts to piano concertos, culminating in the E concerto K. 271 of early 1777, considered by critics to be a breakthrough work. Despite these artistic successes, Mozart grew increasingly discontented with Salzburg and redoubled his efforts to find a position elsewhere.
Neither visit was successful, though the Munich journey resulted in a popular success with the premiere of Mozart's opera La finta giardiniera. ===1777–78: Journey to Paris=== In August 1777, Mozart resigned his position at Salzburg and on 23 September ventured out once more in search of employment, with visits to Augsburg, Mannheim, Paris, and Munich. Mozart became acquainted with members of the famous orchestra in Mannheim, the best in Europe at the time.
There were prospects of employment in Mannheim, but they came to nothing, and Mozart left for Paris on 14 March 1778 to continue his search.
The nadir of the visit occurred when Mozart's mother was taken ill and died on 3July 1778.
After leaving Paris in September 1778 for Strasbourg, he lingered in Mannheim and Munich, still hoping to obtain an appointment outside Salzburg.
Mozart finally returned to Salzburg on 15 January 1779 and took up his new appointment, but his discontent with Salzburg remained undiminished. Among the better-known works which Mozart wrote on the Paris journey are the A minor piano sonata, K. 310/300d, the "Paris" Symphony (No. 31), which were performed in Paris on 12 and 18 June 1778.
Mozart finally returned to Salzburg on 15 January 1779 and took up his new appointment, but his discontent with Salzburg remained undiminished. Among the better-known works which Mozart wrote on the Paris journey are the A minor piano sonata, K. 310/300d, the "Paris" Symphony (No. 31), which were performed in Paris on 12 and 18 June 1778.
At 17, Mozart was engaged as a musician at the Salzburg court but grew restless and travelled in search of a better position. While visiting Vienna in 1781, he was dismissed from his Salzburg position.
299/297c. ===Vienna=== ====1781: Departure==== In January 1781, Mozart's opera Idomeneo premiered with "considerable success" in Munich.
He often performed as a pianist, notably in a competition before the Emperor with Muzio Clementi on 24 December 1781, and he soon "had established himself as the finest keyboard player in Vienna".
Mozart's six quartets dedicated to Haydn (K. 387, K. 421, K. 428, K. 458, K. 464, and K. 465) date from the period 1782 to 1785, and are judged to be a response to Haydn's Opus 33 set from 1781.
He also prospered as a composer, and in 1782 completed the opera Die Entführung aus dem Serail ("The Abduction from the Seraglio"), which premiered on 16 July 1782 and achieved considerable success.
The family's father, Fridolin, had died, and the Webers were now taking in lodgers to make ends meet. ====Marriage and children==== After failing to win the hand of Aloysia Weber, who was now married to the actor and artist Joseph Lange, Mozart's interest shifted to the third daughter of the family, Constanze. The courtship did not go entirely smoothly; surviving correspondence indicates that Mozart and Constanze briefly separated in April 1782.
The couple were finally married on 4August 1782 in St.
Mozart's six quartets dedicated to Haydn (K. 387, K. 421, K. 428, K. 458, K. 464, and K. 465) date from the period 1782 to 1785, and are judged to be a response to Haydn's Opus 33 set from 1781.
Haydn in 1785 told Mozart's father: "I tell you before God, and as an honest man, your son is the greatest composer known to me by person and repute, he has taste and what is more the greatest skill in composition." From 1782 to 1785 Mozart mounted concerts with himself as a soloist, presenting three or four new piano concertos in each season.
Mozart's study of these scores inspired compositions in Baroque style and later influenced his musical language, for example in fugal passages in Die Zauberflöte ("The Magic Flute") and the finale of Symphony No. 41. In 1783, Mozart and his wife visited his family in Salzburg.
Though not completed, it was premiered in Salzburg, with Constanze singing a solo part. Mozart met Joseph Haydn in Vienna around 1784, and the two composers became friends.
During this period Mozart saved little of his income. On 14 December 1784, Mozart became a Freemason, admitted to the lodge Zur Wohltätigkeit ("Beneficence").
Mozart's six quartets dedicated to Haydn (K. 387, K. 421, K. 428, K. 458, K. 464, and K. 465) date from the period 1782 to 1785, and are judged to be a response to Haydn's Opus 33 set from 1781.
Haydn in 1785 told Mozart's father: "I tell you before God, and as an honest man, your son is the greatest composer known to me by person and repute, he has taste and what is more the greatest skill in composition." From 1782 to 1785 Mozart mounted concerts with himself as a soloist, presenting three or four new piano concertos in each season.
Around the end of 1785, Mozart moved away from keyboard writing and began his famous operatic collaboration with the librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte.
Around 1786 he had ceased to appear frequently in public concerts, and his income shrank.
Its reception in Prague later in the year was even warmer, and this led to a second collaboration with Da Ponte: the opera Don Giovanni, which premiered in October 1787 to acclaim in Prague, but less success in Vienna during 1788.
These developments were not witnessed by Mozart's father, who had died on 28 May 1787. In December 1787, Mozart finally obtained a steady post under aristocratic patronage.
Court records show that Joseph aimed to keep the esteemed composer from leaving Vienna in pursuit of better prospects. In 1787, the young Ludwig van Beethoven spent several weeks in Vienna, hoping to study with Mozart.
Its reception in Prague later in the year was even warmer, and this led to a second collaboration with Da Ponte: the opera Don Giovanni, which premiered in October 1787 to acclaim in Prague, but less success in Vienna during 1788.
He composed a great deal, including some of his most admired works: the opera The Magic Flute; the final piano concerto (K. 595 in B); the Clarinet Concerto K. 622; the last in his series of string quintets (K. 614 in E); the motet Ave verum corpus K. 618; and the unfinished Requiem K. 626. Mozart's financial situation, a source of anxiety in 1790, finally began to improve.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Born in Salzburg, in the Holy Roman Empire, Mozart showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood.
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