Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

By: Samuel Yu

CHILDHOOD

! Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born on January 27th 1756 in Salzburg, Austria. He was the youngest child in his family. His parents were delighted that he survived, because 5 of his six older brothers died.

! When he was young, he was very interested in the harpsichord lessons that his dad (Leopold Mozart) gave to his sister (Maria Anna or otherwise called Nanneral) When he tried to press the keys on the harpsichord, he surprised his dad. He knew which notes sounded right and what he could play any tunes by only listening to it once and he was only five when he started composing pieces! He learned both the harpsichord and the violin. Eventually, lots of people heard about him, so his father started to show him off, in fact, he played for the empress of Vienna when he was only six!

This is a picture of him playing for the empress with his father and his sister

European tour! In 1672, Leopold Mozart took him on tour to show off their talents. He also realized that he could make money off them and become famous. They gave some concerts when word came around and lots of people heard about them. In 1763 he started his european tour. He visited a lot of places, but at that time traveling was really slow and lots of dangers could happen, in November 1765, he suffered from typhoid and was really close to dying.

This is a picture of Mozart when he was young

! As he grew up, he started to gain independence from his father. In 1772 he got a job for the archbishop of Salzburg. The archbishop gave him a junior post as a musician, but he wasnʼt happy with it and his dad thought he deserved a better post as well. When he asked for a better post the archbishop said that he needed to be more experienced to get a better post.

Finding a Job

! He moved to Vienna to find a better job. He was unsuccessful, but he kept trying, during that time, his letters with his dad became less friendly, his father wanted him to come back to Salzburg. He eventually stayed in Vienna and decided to only compose pieces part time and earn enough money to make a living without getting a job.

Here is a picture of one of his letters to his father

The Final Years! Mozart didnʼt have enough money to stay in their old apartment, so they moved to a less expensive apartment, but Mozart still couldnʼt handle his money, and he had to work really hard to pay the rent he owed. He had very little sleep and his health began to suffer and in 1791 he became seriously ill, but he kept working on his bed. 15 days later, he died and was buried in the cemetery of St.Marx, but hardly anyone came to see his burial. He never got to finish the Requiem Mass, the piece he was working in his bed.

This is a picture of his burial

Achievements

! These are some of Mozart's achievements:• In his very short life, he composed: 16 operas, 41 symphonies, 27 piano pieces, 5 violin concertos, 25 string quartets, 19 masses and many more works of music that were popular in his time. Totally, he did around 600 music pieces.

• He is considered to be that greatest musical genius. • He learned 15 languages when he was on tour.• Beethoven admired him • Started composing when only five.

This is a portrait of mozart

What Instruments did he Play?

One of the instruments Mozart played was the harpsichord Another instrument he played was

the violin

The last instrument he played was the piano it is similar to the harpsichord

Timeline for Mozart

Sources

1. Mozart Tonight by: Julie Downing2. Mozart: the boy that changed the world with his music by:

Marcus Weeks3. “Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus.” Britannica Student Encyclopedia

Encyclopedia Britannica Online School edition4. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Mostly Mozart! Brainpop.com