!!!Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus
b. Salzburg, Jan. 27, 1756,
d. Vienna, Dec. 5, 1791, composer, among J. Haydn and
L. van Beethoven key figure of Viennese Classicism. Received
musical and general instruction from his father Leopold Mozart from
the age of four. M. and his sister Maria Anna Mozart performed as
infant prodigies, for the first time in 1761 in Salzburg. In January
1762 went on his first musical tour to Munich, his second (Sept. to
Dec. 1762) took him to Passau, Linz and Vienna (on the occasion of
which he also performed in Pressburg (Bratislava). While in Vienna
also performed at the court of Maria Theresia, who was charmed by his
playing and wit. From June 1763 performed in Paris and London, and for
German princes. On journeys to Paris from November 1763 to April 1764
and to London in 1765 had contact with contemporary composers. In
London met J. S. Bach, whose compositions impressed him very much.
Meanwhile the first M. sonatas went into print in Paris. the immense
success of his first musical tour to Paris, however, remained
unrepeated. During his musical tours M. had begun to compose more and
now aimed to establish himself as a composer in Salzburg. composed
"Apollo und Hyacinthus" for Salzburg University and the first act of
the oratorio "Die Schuldigkeit des ersten Gebots". During his 2nd stay
in Vienna, from September 1767 to January 1769, M. presented his
Orphanage mass ("Waisenhausmesse"), which was very successful, and
staged "Bastien und Bastienne" in the home of the famous doctor
F. A. Mesmer, but failed to impress the court. Although
recommended by C. W. Gluck, the court rejected his opera buffa
"La finta semplice" for production. This was first performed in 1769
in Salzburg.
\\
After nearly one year in Salzburg, M. and his father Leopold, who had
meanwhile been appointed kapellmeister by the archbishop of Salzburg,
set out on extensive travels in Italy late in 1769. This, however, was
no longer the musical tour of a child prodigy but a conventional
concert tour of the time; M. performed in the concert halls of major
cities and in the homes of the aristocracy, always hoping to receive
commissions. met N. Piccini, G. B. Sammartini, Padre G. B.
Martini, who highly approved of his musical performance, and the
castrati C. Farinelli and G. Manzuoli. In Rome was awarded a
knightship in the Order of the Golden Spur, (Gluck and C. Ditters von
Dittersdorf also received honours, but lower than a knightship, from
the order). In October 1770 M.´s "Mitridate, Rè di Ponto"
was received with great acclaim in Milan (22 performances). In March
1771 M. returned to Salzburg with a few commissions for Padua, Venice
and Milan, only to return to Italy five months later. During his stay,
until December 1771, composed the oratorio "La betulia liberata" for
Padua and the serenata "Ascanio in Alba" for Milan. on his third trip
to Italy from October 1772 to March 1773 "Lucio Silla" was performed
in Milan.
\\
Shortly after M. returned from Italy Sigismund von Schrattenbach,
Prince archbishop of Salzburg, died. His successor, Count Hieronymus
Colloredo, became the new patron of the M. family and M. composed "Il
sogno di Scipione" for his accession ceremony. compared to his
predecessor, Hieronymus was less "baroque" in attitude and taste and a
more typical representative of the Age of Enlightenment, favouring the
reforms of the time.
\\
For the next few years M. was to stay in Salzburg, except for a few
trips to Vienna and Munich. during these years in Salzburg M.
developed his full power of orchestration and style. He was inspired
by his meeting with J. Haydn in Vienna, and the rise of Viennese
Classicism. As his position in Salzburg required, M. composed church
music, but there was a gradual shift in interest towards instrumental
music (symphonies, concertos, serenades).
\\
His last extensive concert tour to Paris from September 1777 to
January 1779 was less successful than expected and above all
overshadowed by his mother´s death on March 3, 1778. On his
return, M. who had hoped for a paid position, lost his post at
Salzburg after a quarrel with the archbishop. Even though his father
was able to arrange for him to be readmitted to court, M.´s
refusal to accept the conditions of his contract foreshadowed future
conflicts. In 1780/81 M. composed "Idomeneo", a commissioned work for
Munich. From March 1781 M. spent most of his time in Vienna, the
conflict with the archbishop finally culminating in M.´s
dismissal in June 1681.
\\
The Vienna years proved very successful for M. As he wrote to his
father, Vienna just was the place to be, and he could pick and choose
his pupils. M. composed frantically, with the effect that nearly half
of all his works were composed during his ten years in Vienna. He soon
gained a high reputation as an organizer of concerts, sometimes for
subscribers only, and also as a conductor, pianist and composer. The
success of "Die Entfuehrung aus dem Serail" in July 1782 won him a
high reputation at the Vienna imperial court. In 1782, against the
wishes of his father, M. married Konstanze Weber, the younger sister
of his first love Aloysia. The relationship between father and son had
been troubled ever since M.´s dismissal in Salzburg. Over the
next three years M. composed piano and chamber music, including the
famous six string quartets dedicated to J. Haydn, and the piano
concertos which proved especially popular in Vienna.
\\
From 1784/85 M. worked with the librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte and
dedicated most of his energies to composing operas. "Le Nozze di
Figaro", composed in 1785/86 and "Don Giovanni", composed in 1787,
were very successful in both Vienna and Prague. Around this time M.
also composed his last symphonies (among them the "Jupiter" Symphony),
numerous works for piano (mostly sonatas) and pieces of chamber music,
among them "Eine kleine Nachtmusik" and "Musikalischer Spass".
\\
In November 1787 M. was employed as "Kammercompositor" to the emperor,
which meant recognition as an artist, a high social reputation and,
finally, a regular income. The last three years of his life
(1789-1791) were artistically and financially successful. His debts
grew rapidly however, as a result of M.´s spendthrift ways and
his wife´s lack of financial sense. Her extensive trips to the
fashionable resort Baden were only one example of the generally
expensive life style that was way beyond their means. On his return
from a trip through Germany with Prince Lichnowsky, M. composed
"Così fan tutte", again with da Ponte. M. was honoured with a
commission to compose an opera for the coronation of Leopold II in
Prague. In "Titus" M. aspired to bring together the baroque tradition
of the festive opera and contemporary trends, which in the eyes of the
court turned out a failure. His opera "Zauberfloete" ("The Magic
Flute") first staged around the same time was, however, met with
acclaim.
\\
From summer 1791 M. had not been well. In December 1791 his condition
deteriorated and he died within a few days. M. could not finish the
requiem commissioned by count F. Walsegg-Stuppach, and M.´s wife
Konstanze commissioned J. L. von Eybler and F. X. Suessmayer to
finish it. Suessmayer´s version proved more successful.
\\
M. left two children, Karl (1784-1858), who made the Mozarteum
Salzburg his universal heir, and Wolfgang (1791-1844), who became a
composer, pianist and kapellmeister. M. was buried in a paupers´
grave (in accordance with the regulations of the time) in St. Marx
cemetery. Later, the exact position of his grave could not be located
exactly, so a grave stone was erected in the section of the
Zentralfriedhof among the graves of honour.
\\
From his very early childhood M.´s musical talents were
encouraged by his father, one of the best music teachers of his time.
It was particularly his travels that inspired M. and helped him
develop his full compositorial power. M. received very little
traditional musical instruction and always had certain weaknesses in
handling counter point. It was not until his time in Vienna that his
extensive studies of G. F. Handel´s oratorios and the music of
J. Haydn and G. van Swieten helped M. make up for the lack of
traditional musical instruction in his youth. As with most of his
contemporaries, the composing itself did not take much time. However,
the long-cherished belief that M. composed "in his head" and without
premeditation has been proven a myth by recent research.
\\
M.´s musical development reflects the change in musical styles
from the galant and sensitive style to the pre-classical and classical
periods on the one hand and the skilful combination of French, Italian
and local styles on the other, a development also evident in
Haydn´s work.
\\
Recent historical research into M.´s life has changed the
traditional M. image, a myth established by Konstanze and her second
husband G. Nissen, whose idealized image of M. survived well into the
20th century.
\\
M. monuments in Salzburg (1842), Vienna (1896, by V. Tilgner,
originally near the state opera, since 1955 in the Burggarten park)
and Graz (Stadtpark, 1936). M. fountain (Magic Flute Fountain, 1905)
in Vienna's fourth district.
!Works
20 dramatic works (singspiele, operas, etc.); approx. 60
symphonies; divertimenti, serenades, dances and marches for orchestra;
25 piano and 6 violin concertos, one concerto for clarinet, one for
bassoon, 4 concertos for horn; numerous sonatas for piano and violin;
chamber music for various scorings, among them 23 string quartets, 6
string quintets, piano trios, one quartet for wind instruments, one
for clarinet; divertimenti scored for chamber music; arias and lieder;
16 masses, various pieces of church music such as litanies and motets,
requiem (unfinished); 4 cantatas, 9 canons. - Editions and
documentation: L. R. v. Koechel, Chronolog.-themat.
Verzeichnis saemtl. Tonwerke
("Koechel-Verzeichnis" = KV), 1862 (reprints:
1905, 1937, 1958, 1963, 1964, 1965); Neue Gesamtausgabe ("Neue
Mozart-Ausgabe"), ed. by E. F. Schmid, 1956-1991 (includes
editions of scores, documents, letters, iconography); M.
Persoenlichkeit, Urteile der Zeitgenossen, ed. 1914; L. Schiedermeier,
Briefe W. A. M. und seiner Familie, 1914; L. Schiedermeier,
W. A. M. Handschrift ..., 1919; Konstanze M., Briefe,
Aufzeichnungen, Dokumente, 1782-1842, ed. 1922; Die Briefe
W. A. M., 2 vols. and 3 folders, 1942; M.
Briefwechsel und Aufzeichnungen, 2 vols., 1949.
!Literature
F. X. Niemetschek, Leben des k. k. Kapellmeisters W. Gottlieb M., 1798; G. N. Nissen, Biographie W. A. M., 1828; O. Jahn, W. A. M., 1856-1859, ed. by H. Abert, <SUP>6</SUP>1923/24; E. Schenk, W. A. M., 1955; O. E. Deutsch, M., Die Dokumente seines Lebens, 1961; O. Schneider and A. Algatzy (eds.), M.-Handbuch, 1962; W. Hildesheimer, M., 1977; S. Kunze, M. Opern, 1984; G. Gruber, M. und die Nachwelt, 1985; K. G. Fellerer, Die Kirchenmusik W. A. M., 1986; G. Gruber, M. verstehen, 1990; W. Gersthofer, Die fruehen Sinfonien W. A. M., 1991; G. Knepler, W. A. M., 1991; Zaubertoene, M. in Wien, exhibition catalogue (Hist. Mus.
d. Stadt Wien) 1991; R. Angermueller (ed.), In diesen heil´gen
Hallen, exhibition catalogue, Salzburg 1991; H. Zeman (ed.), Wege zu
M., W. A. M. in Wien und Prag - Die grossen Opern, 1993; G. Gruber,
W. A. M. Leben und Werk in Texten und Bildern, 1995; S. Kunze, M.
Opern, %%sup 2/%1996; H. E. Jacob and E. Distler, M., 1998.
%%language
[Back to the Austrian Version|AEIOU/Mozart,_Wolfgang_Amadeus|class='wikipage austrian']
%%
[{FreezeArticle author='AEIOU' template='Lexikon_1995_englisch'}]
[{ALLOW view All}][{ALLOW comment All}][{ALLOW edit FreezeAdmin}]