Major Composers Since Mozart's Time example essay topic

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Introduction: This paper discusses Mozart's life, his compositions and his importance to the world and the world of music. It explains how Mozart's music is still some of the most popular classical music played today and his life is still studied because his music is so well known and liked. An Austrian composer and performer who showed astonishing precocity as a child and was an adult virtuoso, musical genius Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born to Leopold Mozart and Anna Maria Perl in Salzburg, Austria on January 27, 1756. Leopold Mozart was a successful composer and violinist and served as assistant concertmaster at the Salzburg court. Mozart and his older sister Maria Anna 'Nannerl' were the couple's only surviving children and their musical education began at a very young age.

The archbishop of the Salzburg court, Sigismund von Schrattenbach was very supportive of the Mozart children's remarkable activities. By the time Mozart was five years old, he began composing minuets. The next year, he and his sister were taken to Munich and Vienna to play a series of concert tours. Both children played the harpsichord, but Mozart had also mastered the violin. In 1763, when Mozart was seven years old, his father took leave of his position at the Salzburg court to take the family on an extended concert tour of western Europe. Mozart and his sister performed in the major musical centers, including Stuttgart, Mannheim, Mainz, Frankfurt, Brussels, Paris, London, and Amsterdam.

They did not return to Salzburg until 1766. During this time, Mozart continued to compose, completing his first symphony at age nine and publishing his first sonatas the same year. Leopold soon realized that he could make a substantial income by showcasing his son as a Wunderkind in the courts of Europe. Maria Anna was a talented pianist, and Mozart wrote a number of piano pieces, in particular duets and pieces for two pianos, to play with her.

On one occasion when Mozart became ill, Leopold expressed more concern over the loss of income than over Mozart himself. The cold weather and constant travel may have contributed to his later illness. After spending less than a year in Salzburg, the family again departed for Vienna, where Mozart completed his first opera La fin ta in 1768. Much to Leopold's frustration, the opera was not performed until the following year in Salzburg. Shortly thereafter, Mozart was appointed honorary Konzertmeister at the Salzburg court. In 1769, father and son traveled to Italy and toured for more than a year in Rome, Milan, Florence, Naples, and Bologna.

While in Italy, Mozart completed another opera, Mithridate, re di Pon to, received a papal audience, passed admission tests to the Accademia Filar monica, and performed many concerts. Mozart then returned to Salzburg, but traveled to Italy for two shorter journeys in October 1771 and October 1772 through March 1773. During this time he completed two more operas, Asca nio in Alba (1771) and Lucio Silla (1772), eight symphonies, four divertimentos, and several other works. Archbishop von Schrattenbach, who was a great supporter of Mozart, died in 1771 and was succeeded by Hieronymus von Colloredo. Although Archbishop Colloredo was a less generous employer, Mozart continued in his Salzburg post and worked diligently from 1775 to 1777.

However, in an effort to secure a better position, Mozart obtained leave from Salzburg, and set out with his mother in 1777. They traveled through Munich, Augsburg, and Mannheim, but Mozart was not offered a post. The next year they continued on to Paris, where Mozart composed the Paris Symphony. In Paris, Mozart's mother fell ill and soon after the symphony's premiere, she died. Several months later, Mozart returned to Salzburg and was given the post of court organist as well as Konzertmeister.

He produced numerous works during this period, including the famous Coronation Mass. In 1780, he was commissioned to compose an Italian opera for Munich. Idomeneo, re di Cret a was completed the next year and was very successful. Soon after, Mozart was summoned to Vienna by Archbishop Colloredo, but unhappy with his treatment there, Mozart requested a discharge.

Mozart remained in Vienna and in 1782, against his father's wishes, he married Constanze Weber. They had six children of which two survived. That same year, he completed the opera Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serai l, which was an immediate success. From 1782 until 1787, when Mozart was appointed Emperor Joseph II's chamber composer, Mozart was very productive. His works from this period include The Marriage of Figaro (1786), Don Giovanni (1787), and numerous piano concertos. Unfortunately, Mozart's income did not keep up with his success.

He and his wife lived extravagantly and were continually in debt. In 1787, Mozart was appointed to the post of Kammercmusicus, although the salary did little to lessen the couple's financial hardships. The post required Mozart to compose dance music for court balls. In addition, he completed several symphonies and another opera, among other works. In 1791, Mozart was commissioned to compose a score to Schikaneder's The Magic Flute.

He also began working on a commissioned requiem. The Magic Flute was performed in September with due success. In November, Mozart fell ill, and on December 5, 1791, he died. His death was thought to be a result of 'rheumatic inflammatory fever' or kidney failure.

It was rumored Mozart was poisoned by a fellow composer named Salieri, but no evidence was ever produced to prove it. Mozart was buried in an unmarked grave, as was customary for those of his social standing, in Vienna. Although he was no longer as fashionable in Vienna as he had once been, he continued to receive substantial commissions from more distant parts of Europe, Prague in particular. Many of his begging letters survive, but they are evidence not of poverty but of his ability to always spend more than he earned. He was buried in a mass grave, not due to his family's inability to pay for a proper burial, but under orders of the Emperor to combat an outbreak of the bubonic plague. He was trained by his father, Leopold Mozart.

Mozart's career began when with his sister, Maria Anna; he was taken on a number of tours, visiting Vienna, the Rhineland, Holland, Paris, London, And Italy. Mozart not only gave public recitals, but had already begun to compose. In 1772 he was appointed master of the archbishop of Salzburg's court band. He found the post uncongenial, since he was treated as a servant, and in 1781, he was suddenly dismissed. From then on he lived mostly in Vienna and married Constanze Weber in 1782. He supported himself as a pianist, composer, and teacher, but his lack of business acumen often resulted in financial difficulties.

His Requiem, unfinished at his death, was completed by a pupil. Mozart had been in failing health, and died impoverished. His works were cataloged chronologically by the musicologist Ludwig von Koch el in 1862. As an adult, Mozart became a Freemason and worked fervently and successfully to convert his father before his death, in 1787. His late opera The Magic Flute includes Masonic themes and meanings.

He was in the same masonic lodge as Joseph Haydn. Mozart spent his final years in Vienna, where one of the apartments he lived in is still to be visited at Domgasse 5 behind St. Stephen's Cathedral. In this house Mozart composed Le nozzle di Figaro in 1786. Mozart lived just a little over half of Beethoven's life span, yet was amazingly prolific musically from early childhood until his death in 1791. Mozart had a difficult life. Often he received no payment for his work, and what sums he did receive were consumed by an extravagant lifestyle.

Gradually, his health declined, until he finally died of what is presumed to have been mercury poisoning while being treated for syphilis. There is an alternate theory that he died from trichinosis brought on by a meal of poorly cooked pork. Mozart did not complete his last work, a requiem. From an early age he composed prolifically, the total being some 835 works, including 27 piano concertos, 23 string quartets, 35 violin sonatas, and more than 50 symphonies. Major composers since Mozart's time have worshipped or been in awe of Mozart. Beethoven told his pupil Ries that he (Beethoven) would never be able to think of a melody as great as that of the first movement of Mozart's 24th piano concerto, and did Mozart homage by writing variations on his themes (such as the two sets of Variations for Cello and Piano on themes from Mozart's Magic Flute) and cadenzas to several of the piano concert i, most notably the Concerto No. 20 (K. 466).

(After their only meeting, Mozart noted that Beethoven would 'give the world something to talk about. ' ) Tchaikovsky wrote his Mozart iana in praise of him; and Mahler died with 'Mozart' the last word on his lips. The music critic James Sve jda, when filling out a job application that asked for his religion, entered 'Mozart'. Summary: His Christian name was Johannes Chrysostom us Wolfgang us Theophilus Mozart. His progress as a composer was amazing; by the age of 13 he had written concertos, sonatas, symphonies, a German operetta, Bastien und Bastien ne, and an Italian opera buff a, La fin ta.