An account of the life and works of W.A. Mozart

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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Born 27 January 1756, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era; the prominence he gained through his more than 600 compositions has endured, and indeed grown over the many years since his death in December 1791. Within a vast array of works lie some of the most widely acknowledged symphonies, masses, operas, sonatas, string quartets and concertos of all time. Most of which are regarded as the very pinnacles of musical excellence. Indeed Mozart excelled in every form in which he composed and he is among the most enduringly popular of all classical composers. Joseph Haydn, a mentor, friend and admirer, wrote, ‘posterity will not see such talent again in 100 years.’ Even today, it is the belief of many that his musical genius remains unsurpassed and will never again be matched.

Born in Salzburg into a prominently musical family, W.A. Mozart showed indications of remarkable abilities at a very young age; he began composing minuets at the age of five and symphonies at nine. At six years old, he embarked on a series of concert tours with his sister Anna Maria to Europe's courts and major cities; he played for Louis XV at Versailles and George III in London. Both children played the keyboard, but Wolfgang became a violin virtuoso as well. And so, the majority of his childhood and adolescence was taken up with similar tours, which included performances before many more of the royal courts of Europe; firstly he toured Munich and Vienna, then he went to Paris and London for three and a half years. Following this, he went three times to Italy. The trips were often arduous, due to the primitive traveling conditions at this time and the need to wait patiently for invitations and reimbursement from the nobility. Both he and his father long endured near-fatal illnesses in the course of their travels. During these trips however, the young musical prodigy met a number of great musicians and acquainted himself with their works. A particularly notable influence at this time was Johann Christian Bach, who met Mozart in London in 1764-65. It is important to note that musical prodigies at this time were not unusual. However the test lies in weather or not these child geniuses, possessing early mechanical and aural skills, developed into artists. Most did not, but Mozart matured into one of the greatest and most influential musicians of all time.

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After spending one year at home in Salzburg, Leopold and Wolfgang left for Italy. The trip took from December 1769 to March 1771, and its purpose was, like the earlier journeys, to display the now-teenage Mozart's abilities as a performer and as a rapidly maturing composer. Mozart was accepted as a member of the famous Accademia Filarmonica in Bologna, and in Rome, he heard Georgio Allegri's Miserere once in performance in the Sistine Chapel then wrote it out in its entirety from memory; thus producing the first illegal copy of this closely-guarded property of the Vatican. He was fourteen.  In 1773, aged ...

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