Interesting Facts About Mozart

Compiled and researched by Bernardt James, 6 March 2018

Wolfgang Mozart was baptized Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart.

Mozart was a tenor and he was also left handed.

By the age of 3, Mozart had learned to play a clavier. It was an old-fashioned stringed instrument with a keyboard. By the age of 5, he was playing the harpsichord and violin professionally. He was playing for royalty when he was just 6 years old. Mozart was a child prodigy and musical genius.

Mozart’s nickname was “Wolfie”

Gustav Mahler’s(Composer) (1860–1911) last word before he died was “Mozart”.

The term “Mozart’s ear” describes a defect of the ear. Researchers believe that Mozart and his son, Franz, had a congenital ear defect.

Mozart could listen to music just once and then write it down from memory without any errors.

Mozart wrote half the number of total symphonies he would create between the ages of 8 and 19

Mozart wrote his very first symphony when he was only 8 years old.

Mozart travelled extensively. He spent 14 years away from home travelling.

Mozart composed his last symphony (no. 41) in 1788 the “Jupiter” symphony.

Mozart was the first person to compose piano concertos as we know them today. Piano concertos are like lively conversations alternating between the piano and orchestra. Like a comment followed by a response.
Mozart composed more than 600 works.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791) died in his 36th year, at the peak of his musical career—without any money.

No one knows where Mozart’s body is. He was buried according to the custom of the time in a simple grave. He had no grave ceremony or even a tombstone.

When Mozart passed away, his wife Constanze was so upset that she crawled into bed with her dead husband so she could catch his illness and also die.

Wolfgang Mozart’s second name, Theophilus, means “loved by God” in Greek. He preferred to use the Latin translation, “Amadeus.”

Mozart’s sister Maria Anna (1751–1829) was a very talented pianist, but after she reached marriageable age, she was not allowed to perform.

While Mozart was working for Emperor Joseph the 2nd in 1787, a then young Ludwig van Beethoven spent several weeks in Vienna, hoping to study under Mozart. No one is sure if they ever met…

Mozart had several pets, including a horse, a starling, a canary, and a dog.

Mozart fell very ill while in Prague for the premier of his opera La clemenza di Tito (September 6, 1791). He died in his home on December 5, 1791. Even while ill, he was busy with the task of finishing his Requiem.

In 1801, gravedigger Joseph Rothmayer allegedly dug up Mozart’s skull from a cemetery in Vienna. However, even after research, it remains uncertain whether the skull is, in fact, Mozart’s. It is locked away at the Mozarteum Foundation in Salzburg, Austria.

Mozart was born a Catholic and remained a member his entire life. Some of his greatest works are religious.

Mozart’s wife destroyed most of his sketches and drafts after his death.

Thank you for reading :)

Links
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfgang_Amadeus_Mozart

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