WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
(Salzburg, 1756 - Vienna, 1791)

Austrian composer. Mozart lived and died in an epoch in which composers wrote music for specific occasions, and he would have been astonished by the devotion that vast numbers of today's musicians and music-lovers feel for his music. Born in Salzburg, he evidenced prodigious musical talent at an early age. His father, Leopold, a well-known violinist, gave Wolfgang and his older sister a thorough musical training and took them on tours to the courts of Europe. Leopold hoped that his son would eventually become the Archbishop of Salzburg's chief musician, but at the age of 25 Wolfgang, who detested the provincialism of both the prelate and Salzburg itself, established himself in Vienna as a free-lance musician. He had already written hundreds of compositions, including several masterpieces, but during the following decade he produced some of the most brilliant, psychologically acute and profound pieces of music ever created: the operas Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), Don Giovanni, Così fan tutte, and Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute), as well as extraordinary instrumental works - symphonies, piano concertos (most of them to display his exceptional keyboard virtuosity), quartets and quintets (he was also an accomplished violinist), and much else besides. In Vienna he married Constanze Weber, the younger sister of a singer with whom he had also been in love; the couple had six children. Mozart took ill in the autumn of 1791. His death on 5 December, at the age of 35, has been called the greatest tragedy in the history of music.

Harvey Sachs

Biographical notes (c) 1996, reprinted by permission of Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Hamburg

A very small selection of major works:

Orchestral: 41 Symphonies (the best known being the Paris, the Haffner, the Linz, the Prague, No. 40 and the Jupiter), Divertimenti, Dances, Serenades (among which Eine kleine Nachtmusik, the Haffner, the Posthorn, the Serenata notturna), the Sinfonia concertante in E flat, 2 Flute Concertos, Concerto for Flute and Harp, Clarinet Concerto, Oboe Concerto, Bassoon Concerto, 4 Horn Concertos, 27 Piano Concertos (among which the Jeunehomme, No. 21 Elvira Madigan, the Coronation), Concerto for 2 Pianos and Orchestra, Concerto for 3 Pianos and Orchestra, 5 Violin Concertos.

Chamber: Serenades (the best known being the Gran partita), Divertimenti, Duos, Clarinet Quintet, Piano Quintet, 6 String Quintets, 4 Flute Quartets, Oboe Quartet, 2 Piano Quartets, 23 String Quartets, 6 Piano Trios, 36 Sonatas for Piano and Violin,

Instrumental solo: 18 Piano Sonatas, Duport Variations, Variations on Ah vous dirai-je, Maman.

Vocal: Concert Arias, Exsultate jubilate, Lieder

Choral: Ave verum corpus, 18 Masses (among which the Coronation, the Great Mass, the Spatzenmesse, the Waisenhausmesse), Requiem.

Stage music (operas): Bastien und Bastienne, La clemenza di Tito, Così fan tutte, Don Giovanni, Die Entführung aus dem Serail, Idomeneo, Mitridate, Le nozze di Figaro, Die Zauberflöte.