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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Essay

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The youngest child of Leopold Mozart and Anna Maria Pertl, Wolfgang Amadeus was born in Salzburg on January 27, 1756. Considered by many to be one of the greatest musical prodigies in history, by the age of three he was already a keyboard-player and violinist. By five he was composing symphonies. Leopold Mozart (1719-1787), his father, undertook complete responsibility for the tutoring of Wolfgang and his elder sister Maria Anna ('Nannerl'), an extremely gifted keyboard player in her own right. Mozart spent from 1774 to 1777, as Konzertmeister at the Prince-Archbishop's court in Salzburg. As he matured as artist and composer, he became anxious, wanting to be free from the Prince-Archbishop’s rules and the provincial atmosphere of …show more content…

Although he had initial success in Vienna and Prague with German and Italian opera—Die Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio)(1782) and Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro)(1786)—and a series of paid concerts, he quickly experienced severe financial difficulties. In the summer of 1782, against his father's wishes, Mozart had married Constanze Weber (1763-1842) the younger sister of Aloysia, who had rejected his love. Neither Mozart nor Constanze knew how to manage money. In late November 1791, when his financial situation seemed to be improving with the Vienna success of his opera Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute), Mozart became seriously ill. He died on December 5, just before 1 a.m. As was the custom for paupers in Vienna, he was buried in a mass grave with no mourners in attendance. Obituary notices were unanimous in praising his genius. Mozart was one of the most remarkable music geniuses the world has ever known. He wrote symphonies, concertos for a variety of instruments, a great amount and variety of chamber music, songs, works for piano solo, and operas. Among his instrumental compositions are his symphonies, for example the No. 25 in G minor, and No. 35 in D major (Haffner), 27 piano concertos that include the famous Piano Concerto. 21 in C major, and concertos for other instruments such as the violin, horn, and bassoon, including the Concerto for Flute and Harp, the Horn Concerto No. 2 in E-flat major, the famous

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