Mozart: Legend of an Extraordinary Musician

Mozart is one of the world’s most influential composers and authors of classical music, and his fame is not different from Beethoven, Bach, Haydn and many others. He was born in 1756 in Salzburg, Austria and died in 1791.

His name is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and he was one of the most influential figures in classical European music throughout the ages. He is considered a wonder of his time. He led an orchestra when he was seven. He launched into the world of fame like an arrow but suddenly extinguished like a shooting star. He composed 626 musical works and died at the age of 35.

Mozart’s biography is a tragedy in the truest sense of the word. The man lived a turbulent life and depended on his talent that dazzled his contemporaries to make a living after his father, a music teacher, was able to make a miracle out of him until he led an orchestra when he was seven years old. His death is a mystery that is still controversial among historians and scholars until this moment.

Early Life

Mozart was born to a father from a family with a good position in society working in architecture. His father, Leopold Mozart, was a commissioner in the orchestra’s administration with the archbishop in the city of Salzburg. The father is considered a secondary music composer in the history of music.

His father had an educational book on the violin instrument, and he could make his son the musical miracle of his time when he led the orchestra at seven. Since then, he began to play in Munich, the emperor’s palace in Vienna, and the nobility’s homes. His mother, Anna Maria, is from an average family.

Interest in Music

At the age of four, Mozart’s father gave him music lessons. Thus, he could train his son to play short pieces in a few minutes. Wolfgang could play with great precision and creativity with rhythm. At the age of five, he began composing pieces of music and played them to his father, who wrote them down on paper.

The Mozart family participated in his musical tours to play in European cities, such as Paris, Brussels, Munich, Augsburg and many others. He also played music in public places and churches to increase his fame and gain global admiration and appreciation from people and musical composers such as Johann Bach. Later he began composing his first symphonies, as well. He wrote a music book in German, hoping to get the opportunity to participate in the Italian opera theatre, but he failed in that.

Journey of Success

Mozart was distinguished by his ability to master the playing of musical compositions. His father supported him in all his steps, which is shown by providing notes and encouraging him. Mozart mastered Italian operatic composition, a prerequisite for obtaining a global title in design to begin his concerts in all Italian cities. Not only did Mozart play, but he underwent musical tests at the Philarmonic Academy and passed it.

Little Wolfgang participated in a musical tour that roamed Europe with his family for a few years, and everyone considered him a little genius. This journey began with a musical show in Munich in 1762, then in Prague and Vienna, accompanied by his father and sister, who had musical talent.

It is also remarkable that the talented boy met during this trip many famous musicians, but the most influential of them was Johann Sebastian Bach, whom little Mozart met in London in 1765 during this long trip, and Bach praised him with great praise.

Challenges

Mozart worked as a composer and pianist and held several concerts each season. He used to play selected improvisational pieces of music, and he formed a distinguished relationship with the audience, who attended large numbers of concerts to enjoy his playing.

When the famous musician Joseph Haydn heard him, he said to his father: “I swear to God that this little son of yours is the most outstanding musician I have ever seen in my life, but, sir, he is a miracle of miracles!”.

In their book Mozart’s Life, British researchers Simon Keefe and Jonathan Cross said that the young musician astonished everyone with his ability to focus, memory, and incomparable musical talents. He was still a young child, was one of the most influential musicians of his time, and the most talented and unique.

His father took him to Vienna, to the imperial court, and when he played the piano in front of Joseph II, Emperor of Austria, his court went crazy. They did not believe that this little boy could play with such unprecedented skill, as he was the most skilled pianist of his age and could memorise any piece of music once he heard it.

The following day, the princes and princesses and noblemen and noblewomen had no business to do but to talk of that evening of music and of that genius child who sat on a high stool so that he could reach the keys of the piano and play wonderful impromptu melodies that came out of his fingers. Small, with a delicate, childish feel.

Mozart was naturally gifted, but he needed to improve at speaking and behaving in high circles, which caused him many problems that angered senior politicians. So, the young man went to Augsburg and then to Mannheim, where he found a group of musicians who became his friends. Still, he failed to find a job worthy of him, and then he composed operas for one of the small theatres in the city, and he got paid a small percentage of the box office profits.

His Marriage

In 1782, Mozart married a girl named Constance Weber, despite his father’s opposition to this marriage, as the girl belonged to a lower social class than him, according to the era’s standards. She was an orphan, and her mother worked as a servant in one of the palaces of the nobles. Still, he insisted on marrying her after a short love story, and his father or relatives did not attend the wedding. Still, the Mozart family boycotted him for long years because of this unequal marriage.

After his marriage, and because of his financial needs, Mozart returned to the imperial court. In 1782 the emperor asked him to compose his own lyrical opera for him, so he composed an opera entitled A Kidnapping Incident in the Sultan’s Brigades, which won the admiration of many court men who began to forgive him. His small mistakes in recognition of his outstanding talent.

His Peak

Mozart showed extraordinary ingenuity in almost all types of musical composition, writing 22 operas, the most famous of which are: The Magic Flute and The Marriage of Figaro, as well as Jupiter, Symphony 41, Don Giovanni and pieces of music in record time. Despite his young age, many of his works were characterised by strength, novelty and originality.

He excelled in almost all types of musical composition, and many of the 22 operas he composed received great acceptance after his death. It continues to find favour with audiences in most parts of the world.

He also wrote more than 40 symphonies, many of which are performed to this day, and some were initially considered preludes to operas and lasted only a few minutes. The last and most famous symphonies are long complete compositions for orchestra performance, one of which takes 20-30 minutes. Most of these symphonies consist of four parts.

Many of Mozart’s works are playful and powerful. Despite the hardships he faced and the disappointment he experienced. He was known for his cuteness and was inclined to joke and play with words.

On May 1787, his father died, and he got deeply grieved because he was attached to him to the extreme and was his teacher and first teacher, especially since he died without blessing his marriage, which produced two children. Father hate.

His Illness

Mozart suffered from incurable tuberculosis during the last years of his life. He lost the emperor’s sympathy because of several slanders about him for being favoured in the court. Mozart was constantly in debt to others’ money and was pursued by his creditors. Although he worked hard and earned money, he spent more than he earned, which made him live in a permanent financial crisis.

His famous works of Wolfgang Mozart

Mozart’s works have been admired and admired to this day, as he is considered the founder of the classical school of music, and among his most famous works:

1. Symphony of Jupiter: Symphony 41, or as it is called the Symphony of Jupiter, is his last work, which he finished composing in 1788. This symphony is the longest of all his works, reflecting the cheerful spirit and high energy that characterised Mozart.
2. Linz Symphony: Mozart composed this symphony in only four days during his return to Salzburg in 1783. This piece reflects his ingenuity and distinction and is considered one of his best works. The symphony includes four movements: a slow introduction and a quick conclusion.
3. Clarinet Concerto: Mozart finished this piece in 1791, two months before his death. He composed it for the clarinettist Anton Stadler, the most famous in Vienna. This work is considered the first concerto composed by a great musician like Mozart.

His Death

Wolfgang Mozart died on 5 December 1791, at a young age, after long suffering from one of the types of fever, which hypotheses indicate rheumatic fever. The burial ceremony took place on a cold morning, and a few mourners, not exceeding five people, attended it at the entrance to the cemetery.

After they gave the deceased a farewell greeting, then the body was taken to its final resting place, accompanied by a small group of people who were dressed in black mourning clothes, and these were the ones who remained with the body to the end.

A number of his contemporaries later mentioned that Mozart’s sore throat was so severe that he could not move his head even in bed, but he never lost consciousness, and he never lost his clear mind.

The movie Amadeus, which was shown in 1984 and won 8 Oscars, showed that Antonio Salieri, the imperial court musician who harboured envy for Mozart behind his death, did so by assigning him to compose a funeral melody and then set an impossible date for him to complete it. The result was that the unhappy Mozart, who was constantly in debt, collapsed under the weight of great stress and pressure.

The prevailing theory is that Mozart had severe and chronic kidney disease. However, in 2010 a new explanation emerged for Mozart’s illness in his late days, based on a study conducted by a research team at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands. In Vienna, where the great musician lived in 1791, which led to the death of many. According to the city’s official records, the symptoms of this disease are identical to the signs that Mozart suffered before his death, so this is likely the disease he defeated in the end.

According to his contemporaries, Mozart suffered from inflammation and fever followed by severe swelling in the throat area, convulsions and a rash. All these symptoms apply to pharyngitis, which can eventually lead to severe inflammation of the kidneys and then death.

His Legacy

Mozart was distinguished by a flow of inspiration from a young age, as he started playing at four, so his father taught him the clavier when he noticed his interest in musical instruments. At seven, he went on his first concert tour with his family in Europe and led the first orchestra. Mozart composed his first opera at thirteen, raising many questions about how a young child could compose an entire opera independently.

“I cannot write poetry; I am not a poet, and I cannot divide my phrases as dividing light and shadow; I am not a painter, nor can I even give an impression of my thoughts and feelings by gestures and representations; I’m not a dancer, but I can dance with the notes… I am a musician. I hope you will live until there is nothing more to say about music.” With these phrases, Mozart drew his personality, stressing that music is the expressive language through which he can express himself and the feelings, emotions, and premonitions he experiences.

Honouring Motzart

In many ways, Mozart has been honoured in modern times, such as the Vienna Municipality set up the Mozart Museum in the residential building that contains his apartment. The museum includes exhibits from his holdings and provides detailed explanations of many facts about the history of the house and the Mozart family.

The Vienna municipality also erected a monument to Mozart, where he is believed to be buried. Amadeus Film: The film was produced in 1984 and dealt with the life story of Mozart. The film won several prestigious awards, as it was nominated for 53 awards, winning 40. The film also won 8 Oscars, including the Oscar for Best Picture. Centuries after his death, Mozart’s music and pictures decorate the streets of Salzburg.

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