Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 1756-1791 German musician

Mozart was one of the most remarkably precocious musicians of all times. He started picking out tunes on the piano at the age of three, and started composing at six. From the time Mozart was six, his father, Leopold, had Wolfgang and his sister Nannerl, who was also a musical prodigy, steadily on tour. They were exhibited to the courts of Europe, to musical academies, and to the public in Germany, Italy, France, and England. Wolfgang not only displayed his ability to perform music but also carried out musical tricks his father had devised for him such as playing with the keyboard covered with a cloth. playing while held upside down, harmonizing melodies at first hearing, and so on. Mozart spent 14 of his 36 years on the road.

It is said that because of Mozart's unusual childhood dominated by his father, he never learned to handle practical matters, such as managing his money, his pleasures, or his tongue. Thus, even though he was the most accomplished composer in Europe, he had difficulty finding and holding positions that paid well. His best job, as Chamber Composer to Emperor Joseph II paid only about $2000 a year in current dollars. When Mozart died, he received the cheapest available burial in an unmarked common grave.

Composers who had an important influence on Mozart were C. P. E. Bach and J. C. Bach (J. S. Bach's sons), Handel and Haydn. Mozart studied Haydn's string quartets and used them as a model for his own quartets which he dedicated to Haydn. When Haydn heard these quartets in Mozart's home, he said to Mozart's father, "...Your son is the greatest composer known to me, either in person or by name."

Mozart excelled at a wide variety of musical forms including operas, symphonies, concertos, and chamber works. His best known works include the operas The Marriage of Figaro, The Magic Flute, and Don Giovanni, his late symphonies especially numbers 38 through 41, and his charming chamber work, Eine Kleine Nachtmusic.