Born in Salzburg, in the Holy Roman Empire on 27 January 1956, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was destined to be a musical great.
There was no doubt that Mozart was a child prodigy. His early talent for music was remarkable with him picking out chords on the harpsichord at age 3, playing short pieces at age 4 and composing at age 5. He had a precise memory of pitch and started scribbling a concerto at the age of 5! It was also around this time of 1761 (when he was 5) that Mozart first performed publicly. He continued travelling and performing throughout his adolescence, constantly travelling throughout Europe until he eventually left Salzburg.
By 1782, Mozart had settled in Vienna where he proceeded to produce a number of operas and other compositions. It was also during this time that he fell in love and married Constanze Weber. He stayed in Vienna for a number of years.
In 1787, Beethoven arrived in Vienna to study with Mozart.
While his popularity took a dip from 1788-1789, he found renewed success with “The Magic Flute” in 1791. Unfortunately, not long after the composition and success of “The Magic Flute”, Mozart passed away on 5 December 1791 (still in his thirties). The cause of his death was recorded as fever.
Despite this, Mozart still remains as, arguably, the most gifted musician in the history of classical music.
He worked diligently to become a great composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, organist and violinist. His music embraced opera, symphony, concerto, chamber, choral, instrumental and vocal music - all making up an incredible list of timeless masterpieces.
Some of his greatest pieces were his Serenade No. 13 (Eine Kleine Nachtmusik), Requiem and The Magic Flute. Needless to say, a genius from birth, Mozart’s compositions reached the hundreds and till this day still heavily impact the musical field.
In fact, Haydn, his elder colleague, wrote that “posterity will not see such a talent again in 100 years.”
Resources:
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