- Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang
Amadeus Mozart
(Salzburg 1756 - Vienna 1791)
 Wolfgang
Amadeus Mozart was born on January 27, 1756 in Salzburg, Austria.
His father, Leopold, a violinist and composer, saw to his musical
education.
At
a very early age the little boy showed extraordinary dispositions
for composition and music in general. At the age of six he was
a virtuoso on the pianoforte and the violin. He
had a surprising ability to improvise, to read music and to
memorise musical scores. In 1762 his father decided to make
the child prodigy known to the world and took him on tour to
the courts of Europe, where he was triumphantly received. His
first sonatas for harpsichord and violin, a symphony (1764)
and a first opera (1768) date from this period (Mozart was only
seven years old!).
Upon
his return to Salzburg, Mozart succeeded in making a place for
himself. His unstable financial situation, however, prompted
him to go on tour in the courts of Germany and in Paris. His
efforts to find a position in a European court met with one
deception after the other. Finally, in 1779, he returned to
Salzburg, where his musical career was to reach its peak. Mozart
composed unrelentingly: masses, sonatas, concertos, symphonies,...
He invented a style of his own and set out to exploit new musical
tools.
In
1782 Mozart married Constance Weber. The young couple’s life
was invested with poverty and illness. Mozart began composing
his great operas in 1786. "The Magic Flute" (1791), of freemasonic
inspiration, was his last. The same year Mozart worked on a
requiem mass that a stranger had ordered. He left the piece,
which was sombre, deep and grandiose all at once, unfinished;
it was to be completed by his pupil, Franz Xavier Süssmayer.
For many people, the "Requiem" is one of the most beautiful
pieces ever written in the history of music.
His
premature death and relative failure in his career did not keep
Mozart from becoming one the most famous musicians in the world.
The quantitative (over 600 works!) and qualitative significance
of his music shows an immense power of imagination from his
earliest years. He approached all genres with talent. Mozart
composed with amazing facility and very often without even correcting
his scores, as though inspired by the Hand of God...
Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791), Violin Concerto
No.3 in G major, Allegro, violin: Zino Francescatti,
Columbia Symphony Orchestra conducted by Bruno Walter, © 1992
Sony Classical GmbH
Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791), Violin Concerto
No.5 in A major, Allegro aperto, violin: Zino
Francescatti, Zürich Chamber Orchestra conducted by Edmond
de Stoutz, © 1992 Sony Classical GmbH
Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791), Sinfonia Concertante,
K.364, Allegro maestoso, violin: Igor Oistrakh, viola: David
Oistrakh, Berliner Philharmoniker conducted by David Oistrakh,
© EMI Records Ltd., 1992
His
five superb violin concertos appeared in barely over a year.
In 1777 he composed a last violin concerto, in D
major (KV 271a). All of his concertos are well known and extremely
beautiful; his concertos in G major (KV 216) and A
major (KV 219) especially are favourites of virtuosos today.
|
