| Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | |
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Real Name |
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart |
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Born |
January 27, 1756 |
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Died |
December 5, 1791 |
Origin[]
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition resulted in more than 800 works representing virtually every Western classical genre of his time. Many of these compositions are acknowledged as pinnacles of the symphonic, concertante, chamber, operatic, and choral repertoire. Mozart is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers in the history of Western music, with his music admired for its "melodic beauty, its formal elegance and its richness of harmony and texture".
Born in Salzburg, Mozart showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood. At age five he was already competent on keyboard and violin, he had begun to compose, and he performed before European royalty. His father took him on a grand tour of Europe and then three trips to Italy. At 17, he was a musician at the Salzburg court but grew restless and traveled in search of a better position. Mozart's search for employment led to positions in Paris, Mannheim, Munich, and again in Salzburg, during which he wrote his five violin concertos, Sinfonia Concertante, and Concerto for Flute and Harp, as well as sacred pieces and masses, the motet Exsultate Jubilate, and the opera Idomeneo, among other works.
While visiting Vienna in 1781, Mozart was dismissed from his Salzburg position. He stayed in Vienna, where he achieved fame but little financial security. During Mozart’s early years in Vienna, he produced several notable works, such as the opera Die Entführung aus dem Serail, the Great Mass in C Minor, the "Haydn" Quartets and a number of symphonies. Throughout his Vienna years, Mozart composed over a dozen piano concertos, many considered some of his greatest achievements. In the final years of his life, Mozart wrote many of his best-known works, including his last three symphonies, culminating in the Jupiter Symphony, the serenade Eine kleine Nachtmusik, his Clarinet Concerto, the four operas Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, Così fan tutte and The Magic Flute and his Requiem. The Requiem was largely unfinished at the time of his death at age 35, the circumstances of which are uncertain and much mythologized.
Public Domain Works[]
All works made by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart published before January 1, 1929 are in the public domain in the US.
Some notable works are listed below:
Public Domain Music Composed by Mozart[]
List of compositions by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart can be found here.
- Jupiter Symphony
- Eine kleine Nachtmusik
Public Domain Theatrical Works by Mozart[]
List of operas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart can be found here.
- Die Entführung aus dem Serail
- the Great Mass in C Minor
- the "Haydn" Quartets
- Le nozze di Figaro
- Don Giovanni
- Così fan tutte and The Magic Flute
- Mozart's Requiem
Public Domain Appearances[]
All published appearances of Mozart before January 1, 1929 are public domain.
Some notable appearances are listed below:
Public Domain Literary Appearances[]
- Mozart's Journey to Prague (1856)
- Der Steppenwolf - German Version (1927)
Public Domain Theatrical Appearances[]
- Mozart and Salieri - Play (1830)
- Mozart and Salieri - Opera (1898)
- Mozart - comédie musicale (1925)
Public Domain Comic Appearances[]
- Forbidden Worlds #59: Bob Franklin was a musical child prodigy who toured the country. He also shared the same birthday as Mozart, January 27th. Because of this Bob was constantly compared with the famous composer. Then Bob discovered when he was 12 years old that not only did he and Mozart share the same date of birth but also had identical handwriting. Bob came to believe he and Mozart were one and the same and also that he would die at the age of 35 on December 5th just like Mozart. When December 5th arrived, his wife, Alice, speaks with doctors and they come up with a plan. She fakes a brain stroke which distracts her husband long enough for the day to pass without him noticing. The doctors and his wife revealed their ruse and with his destiny averted, Bob and Alice live the rest of their lives happily but both avoid Mozart going forward.
- Out of the Shadows #6: Summary of Mozart's being commissioned by a mystery man to compose his famous "Requiem" and dying in the process.
- Treasure Chest of Fun and Fact v14 #10, 13-14, 16:
- In issue v14 #10, Burt takes the boys camping and while building a fire tells them about the first operas, written in Florence, Italy around 1600. Monteverdi brought melody to the opera stage in 1607. In the 18th century, Christophe Gluck led a movement against the Neopolitan type of operas. Gluck's first operas were based on Greek myths. In Austria in the 18th century, Mozart began to write opera. His music helped carry the mood of the opera and described what was happening on stage.
- Issue v14 #13 featured the story of Bach, the most powerful influence in the music of the western world. He was born in Eisenach, Germany in 1685. Bach lived to see his music become considered old-fashioned. Even his sons scorned his work. After his death, his music became even more unpopular and his son Philipp Emanuel's work was considered more exciting. Today, the music of Bach's sons is considered old-fashioned and Bach's is considered among the greatest in the world. In the 1780s, some of Bach's work fell into the hands of Mozart, who loved it.
- Issue v14 #14 featured the story of Joseph Haydn. He showed musical talent at a very early age. He became known as the "Father of the Symphony." At the age of 50, he befriended a penniless composer named Mozart. In 1790, he went to Vienna to see Beethoven, a student who he had met on his way to England. They disagreed in their approach to music and were two different types of musical geniuses who didn't get along. He died in 1809.
- In issue v14 #16, Mozart started writing little pieces of music when he was only five years old. Some were too complicated to be played. When he was a young boy, he wrote an oratorio in less than a week as a test for the Archbishop of Salzburg. The score for The Miserere had been kept a Vatican secret, until he was able to write down the entire score from memory, when he was 13, after hearing it only once. Though much of his later life was spent in poverty, his music was seldom sad or depressing.
Notes[]
- The death of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1791 at the age of 35 was followed by rumors that he and Salieri had been bitter rivals, and that Salieri had poisoned the younger composer; however, this has been proven untrue because the symptoms displayed by Mozart's illness did not indicate poisoning and it is likely that they were, at least, mutually respectful peers. Despite denying the allegation, Salieri was greatly affected by the accusations and widespread public belief that he had contributed to Mozart's death, which contributed to his nervous breakdowns in later life.