Classical Era: Important Composers, Theorists, and Performers: Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791, Austrian)
Mozart came from a very musical family. His father, Leopold, was a well-respected composer, so he took it upon himself to teach Wolfgang piano, violin, and music theory at a very young age. He wrote his first piano concerto at age 4 and was writing symphonies and operas by the time he turned 11. In addition to his compositional skills, Mozart was considered a musical prodigy performing concerts at the piano all across Europe.
For 12 years Mozart worked for the Archbishop of Salzburg and then moved on to Vienna where he befriended and studied with Haydn. Composition was easy for Mozart, musical ideas were in his head fully formed, and it was just a matter of writing them down. He could write a minuet and trio in a matter of minutes.
Listen to the example below:
Mozart composed over 600 works including:
- 21 stage and opera works
- 15 Masses
- 50+ symphonies
- 25 piano concertos
- 12 violin concertos
- 27 concert arias
- 17 piano sonatas
- 26 string quartets
- Many other pieces
Mozart’s style was unique for his time. His music, like his contemporaries, was not understood to the level we understand it today.
