Mozart, an Austrian composer is considered one of the greatest and most creative musical geniuses of all time.  Mozart was a young and exciting musician who saw the world like no other.
    On January 27, 1756 in Salzburg, Austria, Mozart was born. He was the son of composer, musical author, and violinist, Liopold Mozart. His real name was Johann Chrysostom Wolfgang Theophilus. His last name in Latin is Amadeus. He used Wolfgang and Amadeus in his signature so he became known by these two names.
    At age four, Mozart began studying keyboard. His father, his only teacher, also taught him mathematics, Latin and German. He was composing music at 5 and quickly mastered the violin. Mozart was six when his father took him to Vienna where he played for the Austrian emperor and was introduced to the public as a child prodigy.
    When Mozart was 8, his father took him to Paris where four violin sonatas were published. The child prodigy played the harpsichord and also performed as a violinist and an organist.  He visited London and played for King George III. While in London, he met Johann Christian Bach, who had a great influence on Mozart's first symphonies.
    In the year of 1767 while in Vienna, Mozart wrote an opera buffa. La finita semplice was a comedy opera written for the emperor. When he returned to Salzburg in 1768, he became honorary concertmaster for the Arch Bishop. While in Paris in 1778 he composed a set of variations for piano. By the time he was 25, he had visited most of the great European cities.
    In 1782, Mozart married Constanze Weber, the cousin of the composer Carl Maria von Weber. Though they were very poor, these years spent with Constanze were important. It was during this time that he composed three of his greatest operas, Don Giovanni, The Marriage of Figaro, and The Magic Flute. In 1785, after becoming friends with Franz Joseph Haydn, Mozart composed 6 string quartets and dedicated them to him.  Unlike any other composer in music history, Mozart wrote in every medium of musical composition of his day and excelled in every one.
    During Mozart's last years, he was plagued with financial and health problems. His final work, The Requiem, was not completed when he died. He died in Vienna on December 5, 1791, and was buried in an unmarked paupers grave.  In spite of his hardships and disappointments, much of Mozart's music is cheerful and vigorous. Mozart left behind more than 600 works.
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