W.A.Mozart "Beyond Human"

Mozart’s Life

“Mozart is the greatest composer of all. Beethoven “created” his music, but the music of Mozart is of such purity and beauty that one feels he merely ‘found’ it- that has always existed as part of the inner beauty of the universe waiting to be revealed”

These words were composed by, an amateur musician as well as a seer physicist, Albert Einstein. Einstein was not alone in this accusation many others of the time and still today will regard Mozart as a “musical genius.”

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born on January 27, 1756 in the Austrian city of Salzburg. His Father, Leopold Mozart, was a well esteemed professional violinist and composer. Mozart’s older sister Maria Anna was nicknamed “Nannerl” played exceptionally well on the keyboard. With all this talent amongst him it was inevitable that there be a great interest in music at an early age. By the age of four Mozart performed short solo pieces on the piano. At the age of five or six he had begun to compose his own music. During this time his father, Leopold, guided Mozart’s musical growth during his influential years, and continued this throughout the young composer’s adolescence. Also he began to make use of his child’s talent by putting him in concerts as child prodigy.

From 1762 to 1766 Leopold traveled with his family across central and Western Europe. Making stops at prestigious cultural centers to exhibit his son’s extraordinary talents. Mozart played the piano, harpsichord and organ, captivating all who heard him. He contributed to this captivation by playing his own compositions and by using his own flare and technique at the keyboard. Usually, there would be a prearranged musical theme with which he would create variations or some other composition upon it. At other times he would be given a set of verses, and would instantly form a song or an aria with it.

Wolfgang’s tour as a child genius took him to England and the Netherlands and gave him an inside view of the royal courts in Europe. His father cherished each of these performances; with each of them they brought valuable gifts. But by the end of 1766 Mozart’s father brought his family back to Salzburg where they settled to a more standard way of life and habitual musical routine. Mozart’s time was divided for the next eight years between Vienna and Italy. With these escapades he not only impressed musical ideas on others but gained knowledge as well. His father’s employment with the court orchestra gave Mozart early insight into the realm of orchestra music. He composed some well accomplished symphonies and concertos in his adolescent years.

When, Mozart was twenty he was considered to be one of the most skillful composers of his time. He not only wrote symphonies and concertos he also composed piano pieces, serenades, arias, operas and smaller versions of musical theater, and church music. By this time he understood that it was time for to go out into the world not as a “Wunderkind”, but as a very suitable adult musician seeking out employment. In 1777-1778, He went out with the company of his mother, but this trip proved to be a musical and personal disaster. In the German cities that once opened doors to the child prodigy they were now closed in his face. With this rejection he composed less, and also his first adult love, Aloysia Weber rejected, and to add to these numerous heart aches his mother took ill and consequently died.

So Mozart all broken and tattered with grief humbled himself and returned back to Salzburg in January of 1779 to be reinstated as the court organist and composer. The two years Mozart was in his hometown, he felt under-appreciated and the environment around him irritated him. Working with his current employer Salzburg’s Prince Archbishop, Heronymus Colloredo, many felt including Mozart himself felt as if the Archbishop held the best musicians at the lowest regard.  Poorly paid and he didn’t allow Mozart to put on a concert which in consequence of this Mozart resigned again and moved on to Vienna.

Now in Vienna Mozart appeared in many concerts, began teaching others, and also started to write operas and made propositions to have them commissioned. In the midst of his new beginning he found a new love which was the sister of the lady he was rejected by a while ago. So in August of 1782 Constanze Weber and Wolfgang A. Mozart were married, even though his father did not approve of her. The couple had six children of which only two survived through infancy Karl Thomas Mozart and Franz Xavier Wolfgang Mozart. Even through this segment of Mozart’s life it seemed to be the most promising time of his life. He had began to create a reputation in the Austrian capital as both a pianist and composer and becoming a beneficial composer to the imperial Austrian courts.

The years 1784-1786, Mozart’s career was at its peak all of his concerts were a tremendous success both monetarily and critically. Then as we all know all good things come to an end. His setbacks began to happen when his opera “The Marriage of Figaro,” wasn’t received well at its premiere in May of 1786. Historians’ seeking more reasons as why Mozart began to lose support and the information gathered was that the war put a financial burden on Austria which caused them to lose passion for music that they once had. Others speculate that Mozart’s personality alienated him from the audience.

Over the next four years there was a slow decline in Mozart’s career. His wife Constanze began to have medical issues which became a financial burden, being that they had to travel and pay for her treatment in the town of Baden.

Sadly on November 20, 1791 he had become ill and was ordered to remain in bed. And on December 5, 1791 Mozart died at thirty-five. The cause of his death is still being debated today.

                       

                               Mozart’s Symphonies

                     Mozart and Symphonies, the Final Trilogy.

               
                 Mozart’s Appearance; Musical Style

                                  Mozart’s Legacy

During Mozart’s time he was a major influence on other musicians. He was influenced by his peer Haydn and in turn he was to in the same regard.

 Also, Beethoven many of his youthful works by Mozart, his symphonic pieces were based n the foundation laid by Mozart and Haydn. Tchaikovsky named Mozart the “Christ of Music. Mozart today is still acknowledged as one of the greatest composers of his time. His main goal was not novelty but that of perfection. He used the language, Beethoven would use to question or to be a revolutionary composer, to fill the familiar compositional forms (sonata, rondo, aria, etc.), creating music of unsurpassed strength and beauty.

Don Giovanni

Lorenzo Da Ponte, a librettist and poet wrote the lyrics for this opera date is unknown. Mozart finished the score on October 28 the same year Da Ponte was summoned to Vienna to work on another opera.  But the opera was performed on October 29 under its full title “Il Dissoluto punito ossia il Don Giovanni Drammo giocoso in due atti.” It was greatly received by the audience; it was said by those who were in it that “the opera is extremely difficult to perform.”

                        Discussion Of Don Giovanni