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The Twilight Of His Career Essay

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In the twilight of his career, Mozart was approached by a stranger with the means to commission him for the composition of a Requiem, one of the important pieces of a Catholic Mass. Despite his current work and declining health, he accepted and began to compose the work until his untimely death on December 5th, 1791. Despite his efforts, he was unable to complete his work and it eventually was finished by a recommended composer. While many would say that like the piece of work, this solely represents the end of Mozart’s life and career. Rather, it should be said that this piece is not an end, but a beginning that shows the transition of Western music and culture into an era of Romanticism.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria on Jan. 27th, 1756 to Leopold and Ann Maria Mozart. As a young child he was considered a prodigy and was able to learn how to play the piano by age 3 due to observing his father. By age 6, Mozart was traveling across central Europe performing for the nobility of Austria, Germany and Hungary. (15-16) During this period of travel, Mozart played for a variety of wealthy and noble people, including the princes and dukes of Germany, Austria and France while developing his musical prowess and even completed his first symphony by age 8. During a trip to England, Mozart met with developed composer Johannes Christian Bach, son of Johannes Sebastian Bach, which to some accounts would later influences the stylings of Mozart’s concertos
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