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76-432: According to the liner notes of their 1986 debut album, What if Mozart wrote " Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas ", the quartet was formed specifically for that album in response to RCA 's desire to record string quartet arrangements of mostly-secular Christmas music in a classical (Mozart) style. That album went on to sell close to a million copies and together with their following albums and CDs have made HSQ one of

152-483: A billiard table for about 300. The Mozarts sent their son Karl Thomas to an expensive boarding school and kept servants. During this period Mozart saved little of his income. On 14 December 1784, Mozart became a Freemason , admitted to the lodge Zur Wohltätigkeit ("Beneficence"). Freemasonry played an essential role in the remainder of Mozart's life: he attended meetings, a number of his friends were Masons, and on various occasions, he composed Masonic music, e.g.

228-472: A breakthrough work. Despite these artistic successes, Mozart grew increasingly discontented with Salzburg and redoubled his efforts to find a position elsewhere. One reason was his low salary, 150 florins a year; Mozart longed to compose operas, and Salzburg provided only rare occasions for these. The situation worsened in 1775 when the court theatre was closed, especially since the other theatre in Salzburg

304-400: A delighted audience, which was given the opportunity of witnessing the transformation and perfection of a major musical genre". With substantial returns from his concerts and elsewhere, Mozart and his wife adopted a more luxurious lifestyle. They moved to an expensive apartment, with a yearly rent of 460 florins. Mozart bought a fine fortepiano from Anton Walter for about 900 florins, and

380-466: A few minor operas. 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 last three— K. 216 , K. 218 , K. 219 —are now staples of the repertoire. In 1776, he turned his efforts to piano concertos , culminating in the E ♭ concerto K. 271 of early 1777, considered by critics to be

456-589: A gamut from A to A". As summarized below, the symphony garnered approbation from critics, theorists, composers, and biographers and came to be viewed as a canonized masterwork known for its fugue and its overall structure that exuded clarity. The first known recording of the Jupiter Symphony is from around the beginning of World War I , issued by the Victor Talking Machine Company in its black label series, making it one of

532-439: A grand finale. Around the same time as he composed the three symphonies, Mozart was writing his piano trios in E major (K. 542) and C major (K. 548), his piano sonata No. 16 in C (K. 545)—the so-called Sonata facile , and a violin sonatina ( K. 547 ). It is not known of a certainty whether Symphony No. 41 was ever performed in the composer's lifetime. According to Otto Erich Deutsch , Mozart

608-596: A kick in the arse", administered by the archbishop's steward, Count Arco. Mozart decided to settle in Vienna as a freelance performer and composer. The quarrel with Colloredo was more difficult for Mozart because his father sided against him. Hoping fervently that he would obediently follow Colloredo back to Salzburg, Mozart's father exchanged intense letters with his son, urging him to be reconciled with their employer. Mozart passionately defended his intention to pursue an independent career in Vienna. The debate ended when Mozart

684-429: A parlor game). Mozart also faced a very difficult task getting permission for the marriage from his father, Leopold . The marriage took place in an atmosphere of crisis. Daniel Heartz suggests that eventually Constanze moved in with Mozart, which would have placed her in disgrace by the mores of the time. Mozart wrote to Leopold on 31 July 1782, "All the good and well-intentioned advice you have sent fails to address

760-570: A performer and a rapidly maturing composer. Wolfgang met Josef Mysliveček and Giovanni Battista Martini in Bologna and was accepted as a member of the famous Accademia Filarmonica . There exists a myth, according to which, while in Rome, he heard Gregorio Allegri 's Miserere twice in performance in the Sistine Chapel . Allegedly, he subsequently wrote it out from memory, thus producing

836-463: A restatement of the end of the insertion aria then leading to C major for the true recapitulation. With the exception of the usual key transpositions and some expansion of the minor key sections, the recapitulation proceeds in a regular fashion. The second movement, also in sonata form , is a sarabande of the French type in F major (the subdominant key of C major) similar to those found in

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912-591: A soloist, presenting three or four new piano concertos in each season. Since space in the theatres was scarce, he booked unconventional venues: a large room in the Trattnerhof apartment building, and the ballroom of the Mehlgrube restaurant. The concerts were very popular, and his concertos premiered there are still firm fixtures in the repertoire. Solomon writes that during this period, Mozart created "a harmonious connection between an eager composer-performer and

988-511: A source of anxiety in 1790, finally began to improve. Although the evidence is inconclusive, it appears that wealthy patrons in Hungary and Amsterdam pledged annuities to Mozart in return for the occasional composition. He is thought to have benefited from the sale of dance music written in his role as Imperial chamber composer. Mozart no longer borrowed large sums from Puchberg and began to pay off his debts. He experienced great satisfaction in

1064-532: A steady post under aristocratic patronage. Emperor Joseph II appointed him as his "chamber composer", a post that had fallen vacant the previous month on the death of Gluck . It was a part-time appointment, paying just 800 florins per year, and required Mozart only to compose dances for the annual balls in the Redoutensaal (see Mozart and dance ). This modest income became important to Mozart when hard times arrived. Court records show that Joseph aimed to keep

1140-442: A suburb, as he wrote in his letter to Michael von Puchberg , Mozart had not reduced his expenses but merely increased the housing space at his disposal. Mozart began to borrow money, most often from his friend and fellow mason Puchberg; "a pitiful sequence of letters pleading for loans" survives. Maynard Solomon and others have suggested that Mozart was suffering from depression, and it seems his musical output slowed. Major works of

1216-529: A time of high productivity—and by some accounts, one of personal recovery. 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,

1292-482: A very successful singer, but she was no longer interested in him. 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; and

1368-410: A violin textbook, Versuch einer gründlichen Violinschule , which achieved success. When Nannerl was seven, she began keyboard lessons with her father, while her three-year-old brother looked on. Years later, after her brother's death, she reminisced: He often spent much time at the clavier , picking out thirds, which he was ever striking, and his pleasure showed that it sounded good.   ... In

1444-494: A whole, he wrote that "It is the greatest orchestral work of the world which preceded the French Revolution ". The four-note theme is a common plainchant motif which can be traced back at least as far as Thomas Aquinas 's " Pange lingua gloriosi corporis mysterium " from the 13th century. It was very popular with Mozart. It makes a brief appearance as early as his Symphony No. 1 in 1764. Later, he used it in

1520-484: Is heard twice and then followed by an extended series of fanfares . What follows is a transitional passage where the two contrasting motifs are expanded and developed. From there, the second theme group begins with a lyrical section in G major which ends suspended on a seventh chord and is followed by a stormy section in C minor . Following a full stop, the expositional coda begins which quotes Mozart's insertion aria "Un bacio di mano", K. 541 and then ends

1596-448: Is only a ruse of Madame Weber to get her daughter back. If not, I know no better remedy than to marry Constanze tomorrow morning or if possible today." The couple were finally married on 4   August 1782 in St. Stephen's Cathedral , the day before his father's consenting letter arrived in the mail. In the marriage contract, Constanze "assigns to her bridegroom five hundred gulden which ...

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1672-576: Is regarded by many critics as among the greatest symphonies in classical music. The work is nicknamed the Jupiter Symphony , probably coined by the impresario Johann Peter Salomon . The autograph manuscript of the symphony is preserved in the Berlin State Library . The symphony is scored for flute , 2 oboes , 2 bassoons , 2 horns in C and F, 2 trumpets in C, timpani in C and G, and strings. Symphony No. 41

1748-440: Is some scholarly debate about whether Mozart was four or five years old when he created his first musical compositions, though there is little doubt that Mozart composed his first three pieces of music within a few weeks of each other: K. 1a, 1b, and 1c. In his early years, Wolfgang's father was his only teacher. Along with music, he taught his children languages and academic subjects. Biographer Solomon notes that, while Leopold

1824-445: Is the five-voice fugato (representing the five major themes) at the end of the fourth movement. But there are fugal sections throughout the movement either by developing one specific theme or by combining two or more themes together, as seen in the interplay between the woodwinds. The main theme consists of four notes: Four additional themes are heard in the symphony's finale (which is in sonata form) and all five motifs are combined in

1900-469: Is the last of a set of three that Mozart composed in rapid succession during the summer of 1788. No. 39 was completed on 26 June and No. 40 on 25 July. Nikolaus Harnoncourt argues that Mozart composed the three symphonies as a unified work, pointing, among other things, to the fact that the Symphony No. 41, as the final work, has no introduction (unlike No. 39) but has

1976-602: The Concerto for Flute and Harp in C major, K. 299/297c. In January 1781, Mozart's opera Idomeneo premiered with "considerable success" in Munich. The following March, Mozart was summoned to Vienna, where his employer, Archbishop Colloredo, was attending the celebrations for the accession of Joseph II to the Austrian throne. For Colloredo, this was simply a matter of wanting his musical servant to be at hand (Mozart indeed

2052-711: The Credo of an early Missa Brevis in F major , the first movement of his Symphony No. 33 and trio of the minuet of this symphony. It also appears in the first movement of the violin sonata K481 as the basis for the development section . Scholars are certain Mozart studied Michael Haydn 's Symphony No. 28 in C major , which also has a fugato in its finale and whose coda he very closely paraphrases for his own coda. Charles Sherman speculates that Mozart also studied Michael Haydn's Symphony No. 23 in D major because he "often requested his father Leopold to send him

2128-556: The Hanover Square Rooms on "Friday next, May 9" to include "Grand Sinfonie (Jupiter), Mozart". The Morning Post of Tuesday, June 3, 1817, carries an advertisement for printed music that includes: "The celebrated movement from Mozart's sympathy [sic], called 'Jupiter', arranged as a Duet, by J. Wilkins, 4s. [4 shillings]". In a phrase ascribed to musicologist Elaine Sisman in her book Mozart: The 'Jupiter' Symphony , most responses ranged "from admiring to adulatory,

2204-503: The Maurerische Trauermusik . Despite the great success of Die Entführung aus dem Serail , Mozart did little operatic writing for the next four years, producing only two unfinished works and the one-act Der Schauspieldirektor . He focused instead on his career as a piano soloist and writer of concertos. Around the end of 1785, Mozart moved away from keyboard writing and began his famous operatic collaboration with

2280-610: The famous orchestra in Mannheim, the best in Europe at the time. He also fell in love with Aloysia Weber , one of four daughters of a musical family. 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. One of his letters from Paris hints at a possible post as an organist at Versailles , but Mozart was not interested in such an appointment. He fell into debt and took to pawning valuables. The nadir of

2356-794: The librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte . The year 1786 saw the successful premiere of Le nozze di Figaro in Vienna. 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. The two are among Mozart's most famous works and are mainstays of operatic repertoire today, though at their premieres their musical complexity caused difficulty both for listeners and for performers. These developments were not witnessed by Mozart's father, who had died on 28 May 1787. In December 1787, Mozart finally obtained

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2432-463: The "first unauthorized copy of this closely guarded property of the Vatican ". However, both origin and plausibility of this account are disputed. In Milan, Mozart wrote the opera Mitridate, re di Ponto (1770), which was performed with success. This led to further opera commissions . He returned with his father twice to Milan (August–December 1771; October 1772 – March 1773) for

2508-789: The Devil " as its title track, which subsequently was part of the debut album on the label of the cellist's music publishing company, Mona Lisa Sound . Since then, the quartet has released three additional albums through Mona Lisa Sound, HSQ Rides Again (2004), HSQ Does Christmas (Again) (2004) and Take No Prisoners (2005). Their most recent releases include an all-Beatles CD, The Off-White Album , as well as All Zeppelin . As of 2018, their current roster consisted of Regis Iandiorio, first violin, Abe Appleman, second violin, Richard Maximoff, viola and John Reed, cello, all of whom except Appleman are original members. Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791)

2584-606: The Emperor, who eventually was to support his career substantially with commissions and a part-time position. In the same letter to his father just quoted, Mozart outlined his plans to participate as a soloist in the concerts of the Tonkünstler-Societät , a prominent benefit concert series; this plan as well came to pass after the local nobility prevailed on Colloredo to drop his opposition. Colloredo's wish to prevent Mozart from performing outside his establishment

2660-471: The Holy Roman Empire, was a minor composer and an experienced teacher. In 1743, he was appointed as the fourth violinist in the musical establishment of Count Leopold Anton von Firmian , the ruling Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg . Four years later, he married Anna Maria in Salzburg. Leopold became the orchestra's deputy Kapellmeister in 1763. During the year of his son's birth, Leopold published

2736-744: The Weber family, who had moved to Vienna from Mannheim. The family's father, Fridolin, had died, and the Webers were now taking in lodgers to make ends meet. 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 broke up in April 1782, over an episode involving jealousy (Constanze had permitted another young man to measure her calves in

2812-425: The case of a man who has already gone so far with a maiden. Further postponement is out of the question." Heartz relates, "Constanze's sister Sophie had tearfully declared that her mother would send the police after Constanze if she did not return home [presumably from Mozart's apartment]." On 4 August, Mozart wrote to Baroness von Waldstätten, asking: "Can the police here enter anyone's house in this way? Perhaps it

2888-610: The circumstances of which are uncertain and much mythologised. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born on 27 January 1756 to Leopold Mozart and Anna Maria , née Pertl, at Getreidegasse 9 in Salzburg. Salzburg was the capital of the Archbishopric of Salzburg , an ecclesiastic principality in the Holy Roman Empire (today in Austria ). He was the youngest of seven children, five of whom died in infancy. His elder sister

2964-450: The composition and premieres of Ascanio in Alba (1771) and Lucio Silla (1772). Leopold hoped these visits would result in a professional appointment for his son, and indeed ruling Archduke Ferdinand contemplated hiring Mozart, but owing to his mother Empress Maria Theresa 's reluctance to employ "useless people", the matter was dropped and Leopold's hopes were never realized. Toward

3040-518: The court of Prince-elector Maximilian III of Bavaria in Munich, and at the Imperial Courts in Vienna and Prague. A long concert tour followed, spanning three and a half years, taking the family to the courts of Munich, Mannheim , Paris, London, Dover, The Hague, Amsterdam, Utrecht, Mechelen and again to Paris, and back home via Zürich , Donaueschingen , and Munich. During this trip, Wolfgang met many musicians and acquainted himself with

3116-443: The end of the journey, Mozart wrote the solo motet Exsultate, jubilate , K. 165. 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 . The composer had many friends and admirers in Salzburg and had the opportunity to work in many genres, including symphonies, sonatas, string quartets, masses , serenades, and

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3192-416: 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. No reliable records survive to indicate whether the two composers ever met. Toward the end of the decade, Mozart's circumstances worsened. Around 1786, he ceased to appear frequently in public concerts, and his income shrank. This

3268-433: The exposition on a series of fanfares. The development begins with a modulation from G major to E ♭ major where the insertion-aria theme is then repeated and extensively developed. A false recapitulation then occurs where the movement's opening theme returns but softly and in F major . The first theme group's final flourishes then are extensively developed against a chromatically falling bass followed by

3344-408: The final years of his life, Mozart wrote many of his best-known works, including his last three symphonies, culminating in the Jupiter Symphony , the serenade Eine kleine Nachtmusik , his Clarinet Concerto , the four operas Le nozze di Figaro , Don Giovanni , Così fan tutte and Die Zauberflöte and his Requiem . The Requiem was largely unfinished at the time of his death at age 35,

3420-503: The finest keyboard player in Vienna". 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 work was soon being performed "throughout German-speaking Europe", and thoroughly established Mozart's reputation as a composer. Near the height of his quarrels with Colloredo, Mozart moved in with

3496-488: The first symphonies to be recorded using the acoustic recording technology. The record labels list the Victor Concert Orchestra as the performers; they omit the conductor, who according to company ledgers was Walter B. Rogers . The music was heavily abridged and issued on two records: 10-inch 17707 and 12-inch 35430. Victor published two widely separated takes of each of the first two movements under

3572-492: The fourth year of his age his father, for a game as it were, began to teach him a few minuets and pieces at the clavier.   ... He could play it faultlessly and with the greatest delicacy, and keeping exactly in time.   ... At the age of five, he was already composing little pieces, which he played to his father who wrote them down. These early pieces, K. 1–5, were recorded in the Nannerl Notenbuch . There

3648-402: The fugal coda. In an article about the Jupiter Symphony, Sir George Grove wrote that "it is for the finale that Mozart has reserved all the resources of his science, and all the power, which no one seems to have possessed to the same degree with himself, of concealing that science, and making it the vehicle for music as pleasing as it is learned. Nowhere has he achieved more". Of the piece as

3724-496: The history of Western music, with his music admired for its "melodic beauty, its formal elegance and its richness of harmony and texture". Born in Salzburg , Mozart showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood. At age five, he was already competent on keyboard and violin, had begun to compose, and performed before European royalty. His father took him on a grand tour of Europe and then three trips to Italy . At 17, he

3800-622: The influence of Gottfried van Swieten , who owned many manuscripts of the Baroque masters. 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. His father and sister were cordially polite to Constanze, but

3876-424: The keyboard suites of J.S. Bach . This is the only symphonic slow movement of Mozart's to bear the indication cantabile. The opening melody, played by muted violins, is never allowed to conclude without interruption. After a development section, the recapitulation begins in the subdominant key of B ♭ major , though a secondary development section disrupts the recapitulation with rhythmic figures before

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3952-540: The largest selling string quartets in history. Their debut album was followed in 1988 by What if Mozart Wrote " Roll Over Beethoven " and What if Mozart Wrote " Born to Be Wild " in 1989 and then What if Mozart Wrote " I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus ". Following the What if Mozart... series, little was heard from the quartet until 1993, when they released an album featuring the Rolling Stones' " Sympathy for

4028-487: The last movement appears prominently (bars 68–71), but on the seventh degree of the scale rather than the first, and in a minor key rather than a major, giving it a very different character. The movement was later arranged and covered by Mike Batt as The Wombles ; it was released as a single in October 1974 and spent nine weeks in the UK singles chart, peaking at number 16. Finally, a distinctive characteristic of this symphony

4104-501: The latest fugue that Haydn had written". The Michael Haydn No. 39 , written only a few weeks before Mozart's, also has a fugato in the finale, the theme of which begins with two whole notes. Sherman has pointed out other similarities between the two almost perfectly contemporaneous works. The four-note motif is also the main theme of the contrapuntal finale of Michael's elder brother Joseph's Symphony No. 13 in D major (1764) . According to Franz Mozart , Wolfgang's younger son,

4180-409: The latter has promised to augment with one thousand gulden", with the total "to pass to the survivor". Further, all joint acquisitions during the marriage were to remain the common property of both. The couple had six children, of whom only two survived infancy: In 1782 and 1783, Mozart became intimately acquainted with the work of Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel as a result of

4256-440: The period 1782 to 1785, and are judged to be a response to Haydn's Opus 33 set from 1781. Haydn wrote, "posterity will not see such a talent again in 100 years" and 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

4332-437: The period include the last three symphonies (Nos.  39 , 40 , and 41 , all from 1788), and the last of the three Da Ponte operas, Così fan tutte , premiered in 1790. Around this time, Mozart made some long journeys hoping to improve his fortunes, visiting Leipzig, Dresden, and Berlin in the spring of 1789, and Frankfurt , Mannheim, and other German cities in 1790. Mozart's last year was, until his final illness struck,

4408-505: The public success of some of his works, notably The Magic Flute (which was performed several times in the short period between its premiere and Mozart's death) and the Little Masonic Cantata K. 623, premiered on 17 November 1791. Symphony No. 41 (Mozart) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart completed his Symphony No. 41 in C major , K. 551, on 10 August 1788. The longest and last symphony that he composed, it

4484-412: The return to F. The third movement, a menuetto marked " allegretto " is similar to a Ländler , a popular Austrian folk dance form. Midway through the movement, there is a chromatic progression in which sparse imitative textures are presented by the woodwinds (bars 43–51) before the full orchestra returns. In the trio section of the movement, the four-note figure that will form the main theme of

4560-497: The support of the local nobility, Mozart was offered a post as court organist and concertmaster. The annual salary was 450 florins, but he was reluctant to accept. By that time, relations between Grimm and Mozart had cooled, and Mozart moved out. After leaving Paris in September 1778 for Strasbourg, he lingered in Mannheim and Munich, still hoping to obtain an appointment outside Salzburg. In Munich, he again encountered Aloysia, now

4636-468: The symphony was given the name Jupiter by Johann Peter Salomon , who had settled in London in around 1781. The name has also been attributed to Johann Baptist Cramer , an English music publisher. Reportedly, from the first chords , Mozart's Symphony No. 41 reminded Cramer of Jupiter and his thunderbolts. The Times of Thursday, May 8, 1817, carries an advertisement for a concert to be given in

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4712-485: The traditional symphonic form of the Classical era: The symphony typically has a duration of about 33 minutes. The sonata form first movement's main theme begins with contrasting motifs : a threefold tutti outburst on the fundamental tone (respectively, by an ascending motion leading in a triplet from the dominant tone underneath to the fundamental one), followed by a more lyrical response. This exchange

4788-404: The visit occurred when Mozart's mother was taken ill and died on 3   July 1778. There had been delays in calling a doctor—probably, according to Halliwell, because of a lack of funds. Mozart stayed with Melchior Grimm at Marquise d'Épinay 's residence, 5 rue de la Chaussée-d'Antin . While Mozart was in Paris, his father was pursuing opportunities of employment for him in Salzburg. With

4864-557: The visit prompted the composition of one of Mozart's great liturgical pieces, the Mass in C minor . 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. When Haydn visited Vienna, they sometimes played together in an impromptu string quartet . Mozart's six quartets dedicated to Haydn (K. 387, K. 421, K. 428, K. 458, K. 464, and K. 465) date from

4940-874: The works of other composers. A particularly significant influence was Johann Christian Bach , whom he visited in London in 1764 and 1765. When he was eight years old, Mozart wrote his first symphony , most of which was probably transcribed by his father. The family trips were often challenging, and travel conditions were primitive. 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. This tour lasted from December 1769 to March 1771. As with earlier journeys, Leopold wanted to display his son's abilities as

5016-474: Was Maria Anna Mozart , nicknamed "Nannerl". Mozart was baptised the day after his birth, at St. Rupert's Cathedral in Salzburg. The baptismal record gives his name in Latinized form, as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart . He generally called himself "Wolfgang Amadè Mozart" as an adult, but his name had many variants. Leopold Mozart, a native of Augsburg , then an Imperial Free City in

5092-504: Was a devoted teacher to his children, there is evidence that Mozart was keen to progress beyond what he was taught. His first ink-spattered composition and his precocious efforts with the violin were of his initiative and came as a surprise to Leopold, who eventually gave up composing when his son's musical talents became evident. While Wolfgang was young, his family made several European journeys in which he and Nannerl performed as child prodigies . These began with an exhibition in 1762 at

5168-528: Was a difficult time for musicians in Vienna because of the Austro-Turkish War : both the general level of prosperity and the ability of the aristocracy to support music had declined. In 1788, Mozart saw a 66% decline in his income compared to his best years in 1781. By mid-1788, Mozart and his family had moved from central Vienna to the suburb of Alsergrund . Although it has been suggested that Mozart aimed to reduce his rental expenses by moving to

5244-531: Was a musician at the Salzburg court but grew restless and travelled in search of a better position. Mozart's search for employment led to positions in Paris , Mannheim , Munich , and again in Salzburg, during which he wrote his five violin concertos, Sinfonia Concertante , and Concerto for Flute and Harp , as well as sacred pieces and masses , the motet   Exsultate Jubilate , and the opera Idomeneo , among other works. While visiting Vienna in 1781, Mozart

5320-422: Was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period . Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition resulted in more than 800 works representing virtually every Western classical genre of his time. Many of these compositions are acknowledged as pinnacles of the symphonic , concertante , chamber , operatic, and choral repertoire. Mozart is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers in

5396-434: Was dismissed by the archbishop, freeing himself both of his employer and of his father's demands to return. Solomon characterizes Mozart's resignation as a "revolutionary step" that significantly altered the course of his life. Mozart's new career in Vienna began well. 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

5472-515: Was dismissed from his Salzburg position. He stayed in Vienna, where he achieved fame but little financial security. During Mozart’s early years in Vienna, he produced several notable works, such as the opera Die Entführung aus dem Serail , the Great Mass in C Minor , the "Haydn" Quartets and a number of symphonies . Throughout his Vienna years, Mozart composed over a dozen piano concertos , many considered some of his greatest achievements. In

5548-477: Was in other cases carried through, raising the composer's anger; one example was a chance to perform before the Emperor at Countess Thun 's for a fee equal to half of his yearly Salzburg salary. The quarrel with the archbishop came to a head in May: Mozart attempted to resign and was refused. The following month, permission was granted, but in a grossly insulting way: the composer was dismissed literally "with

5624-720: Was preparing to hold a series of "Concerts in the Casino" around this time in a new casino in the Spiegelgasse owned by Philipp Otto. Mozart even sent a pair of tickets for this series to his friend Michael Puchberg . Historians have not determined whether the concert series was held or was cancelled for lack of interest. However, the new symphony in C was performed at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig in 1789—at least according to its concert program. The four movements are arranged in

5700-627: 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 6   December 1774 to March 1775. Neither visit was successful, though the Munich journey resulted in a popular success with the premiere of Mozart's opera La finta giardiniera . 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

5776-524: Was required to dine in Colloredo's establishment with the valets and cooks). He planned a bigger career as he continued in the archbishop's service; for example, he wrote to his father: My main goal right now is to meet the emperor in some agreeable fashion, I am absolutely determined he should get to know me . I would be so happy if I could whip through my opera for him and then play a fugue or two, for that's what he likes. Mozart did indeed soon meet

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