Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

“Wolfgang’s compositions, in the first 3 months after his 5th birthday.” – Leopold Mozart’s hands must have trembled a little when he wrote this note under his son’s first two pieces in early 1761, as he would have finally realised that this child possessed an unmatched talent. His father handled this talent with care, nurturing and cultivating it, while also ensuring that others would become aware of it. Before Mozart even reached the age of six, his family took their first trip to the nearby court of the Elector in Munich to present little Wolfgang and his sister, four years his senior, to court society – with resounding success. From then on, the Mozarts would travel extensively. All over Europe, the child prodigy caused astonishment and delight, playing before the highest monarchs of his time.

As Mozart grew older, the wunderkind transformed into a serious composer who made a name for himself on his wide-ranging travels, for example when after attending a service, he wrote down from memory the famous Miserere by the Renaissance composer Gregorio Allegri, which was only sung in the Sistine Chapel in Rome and was not allowed to be distributed. But despite all his efforts and great successes, the big break did not come. His hopes of a prestigious position at a large and famous court in Italy, Munich, or Vienna were dashed, and so the young Mozart had to content himself with serving at the court of the Prince-Archbishop in Salzburg, which did not satisfy his ambition at all.

His artistic breakthrough came with the commission to compose the opera Idomeneo for the 1781 carnival season in Munich. Although Mozart had already composed important works such as the violin concertos and the so-called Jenamy Piano Concerto K. 271, it was not until Idomeneo that he truly found his own voice. With this success behind him – which was, however, only musical and not financial – Mozart ventured in the summer of 1781 to take the decisive step towards artistic independence, which his father viewed with suspicion. He moved to Vienna, where he had to establish himself in a new form of existence in city life that had not existed before: that of an independent musician, not tied to a court or other patron.

In 1782, Mozart received a commission from Emperor Joseph II for the Singspiel Die Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio), which was enthusiastically received in Vienna and quickly brought to other stages, becoming the greatest stage success of Mozart’s life. The years 1784 to 1787 can be summarised as a period of great, unchallenged successes, culminating in the triumphant premiere of Don Giovanni on 29 October 1787 in Prague.

This was followed by a difficult phase in Mozart’s life. Lucrative concerts and commissions failed to materialise, causing financial worries for Mozart, who was never particularly good at managing his money anyway. In order to cover his expenses, he had to borrow money from his friends. It seems, however, Mozart was able to overcome these difficulties – at least that in his last year of life he did not ask his acquaintances for money to any significant extent. With Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute), which premiered on 30 September 1791, Mozart achieved another resounding success, to his great satisfaction. The opera was performed frequently in Vienna and quickly spread throughout the German-speaking world and Europe. In late November 1791, Mozart was suddenly struck by an illness, to which he succumbed on 5 December. He was unable to witness the success of Die Zauberflöte beyond Vienna.