Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Music, Facts and Amazing Things
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, austrian composer who was born in the city of Salzburg on January 27, 1756 and died in Vienna on December 6, 1791. He began studying music at the age of 3 and at the age of 5 he began to compose his first musical pieces studying the harpsichord with his father Leopold. What’s the first thing you think of when you hear “Mozart”?
When he was just seven years old, Mozart learned to play the violin. He traveled to perform his musical performances in Munich, Vienna, Paris and London where he met Johann Christian Bach who exerted some influence on his early works. Mozart also traveled and performed as a piano prodigy in many other cities.
Composer and great piano virtuoso Mozart is certainly one of the three greatest composers in history and one of my favorites. He is considered one of humanity’s greatest geniuses.
Most of his compositions convey a feeling of great peace and joy and continue to enchant us to this day. Mozart died prematurely of typhoid fever at the age of 35.
Mozart’s most famous operas:
In all, Mozart composed 23 operas, a musical genre with which he began to venture into his teens, here, as in all his musical work, it is possible to perceive his incredible musical evolution, full of inspiration and genius.
- Idomeneo, re di Crete
- Die Entführung aus dem Serail (1782; The Abduction of the Seraglio)
- Le Nozze di Figaro (1786; The Marriage of Figaro)
- Don Giovanni (1787: Il dissoluto punito, ossia Il Don Giovanni)
- Così fan tutte (1790; So they all do)
- Die Zauberflöte (1791; The Magic Flute)
Mozart’s main symphonies:
Mozart also created 41 symphonies, among which we can find works from various periods in the life of the great Austrian composer, some of which have become very famous classical works.
- Symphony No. 36 (Linz), in C major, K. 425 (1783)
- Symphony No. 38 (Prague), in D major, K. 504 (1786)
- Symphony No. 39 in B-flat major, K. 543 (1788)
- Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550 (1788)
- Symphony No. 41 (Jupiter), in C major, K. 551 (1788)
All Mozart Piano Concertos and Orchestra:
I now believe that his most appreciated musical genre is his famous concertos for piano and orchestra. These ingenious works by Mozart are among the favorite songs of the public and of practically all great concert pianists, piano students or simply those listeners who appreciate the best of classical music.
- Piano Concerto No. 1 in F major, K. 37 (1767)
- Piano Concerto No. 2 in B♭ major, K. 39 (1767)
- Piano Concerto No. 3 in D major, K. 40 (1767)
- Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, K. 41 (1767)
- Piano Concerto No. 5 in D major, K. 175 (1773)
- Piano Concerto No. 6 in B♭ major, K. 238 (1776)
- Piano Concerto No. 7 in F major for Three Pianos, “Lodron”, K. 242 (1776)
- Piano Concerto No. 8 in C major, “Lützow”, K. 246 (1776)
- Piano Concerto No. 9 in E♭ major, “Jenamy”, K. 271 (1777)
- Piano Concerto No. 10 in E♭ major for Two Pianos, K. 365/316a (1779)
- Piano Concerto No. 11 in F major, K. 413/387a (1782-83)
- Piano Concerto No. 12 in A major, K. 414/385p (1782)
- Piano Concerto No. 13 in C major, K. 415/387b (1782-83)
- Piano Concerto No. 14 in E♭ major, K. 449 (1784)
- Piano Concerto No. 15 in B♭ major, K. 450 (1784)
- Piano Concerto No. 16 in D major, K. 451 (1784)
- Piano Concerto No. 17 in G major, K. 453 (1784)
- Piano Concerto No. 18 in B♭ major, K. 456 (1784)
- Piano Concerto No. 19 in F major, K. 459 (1784)
- Piano Concerto No. 20 in D minor, K. 466 (1785)
- Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, K. 467 (1785)
- Piano Concerto No. 22 in E♭ major, K. 482 (1785)
- Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major, K. 488 (1786)
- Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor, K. 491 (1786)
- Piano Concerto No. 25 in C major, K. 503 (1786)
- Piano Concerto No. 26 in D major, “Coronation”, K. 537 (1788)
- Piano Concerto No. 27 in B♭ major, K. 595 (1791)
Sacred Music by Mozart:
He was also a great composer of religious sacred music or liturgical music, he created harmonies full of serenity and a high expression of faith and love for God.
- Coronation Mass, in C major, K. 317 (1779)
- Solemn Mass in C Minor, K. 427
- Requiem, K. 626 (1791)
- Ave Verum Corpus (K. 618)
Mozart’s most famous songs
We are now going to mention those works that we all make up, compositions by Mozart that have become very popular over time. I’m referring to Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, K. 525, one of the happiest songs ever composed for the classical repertoire and one of the violinists’ favorites, because the violin here is the great soloist.
I must also mention the adagio of the concerto in A major for clarinet and orchestra, K. 622, which has a very beautiful and well-known melody. I believe that all clarinetists should imagine themselves playing this beautiful work by Mozart.
Now surely all opera singers already want to interpret an aria from the famous opera The Magic Flute, one of the most famous of all time.
Mozart’s piano repertoire is immense. Mozart composed a total of 18 piano sonatas, all of them very beautiful. The most famous Mozart’s solo piano piece is the Sonata in A Major, K331. Here is the surprising last movement known as the alla turca, a joyful and contagious song that survives time.
Mozart also composed many other works full of genius, beauty and inspiration. Songs that convey a deep state of well-being for the body and soul.
Other important works by Mozart:
- Sonata for violin and piano in A major, K. 526
- Trio for Clarinet, Piano and Viola in E flat major, K. 498
- Quintet for Piano and Wind Instruments in E flat major, K 452
- Quartet for Piano and Strings in G Minor, K. 478
- String Quintets in G Minor, K. 516
- String Quintet No. 6 in E-flat major, K. 614
- Quintet for Clarinet and Strings in A Major, K. 581
- String Quartet No. 14, K. 387
Interesting facts about Mozart:
- His full name was Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart.
- The birthplace of Mozart is located at 9 Getreidegasse in the city of Salzburg
- Mozart began writing his first symphony in the year 1764, when he was eight years old.
- Ludwig van Beethoven, 14 years his junior, was greatly influenced by Mozart’s work
- Mozart’s best-known disciple was Johann Nepomuk Hummel.
Mozart quotes
“Music is not in the notes, but in the silence between them.”
“When I’m… completely myself, completely alone… or at night when I can’t sleep, that’s when my ideas flow best and most abundantly. Where and how these ideas come I do not know and cannot force them.”
“Speaking well and eloquently is a great art, but equally great is knowing when to stop.”
Now, for you to have a little more experience with Mozart’s music, listen to this playlist with some of his greatest hits.
What makes Mozart an absolutely unique genius is the constant and indissoluble union of the beauty of form and the truth of expression. By truth he is human, by beauty he is divine. – Charles Gounod
What is your favorite Mozart song?
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