Another Year of the Greats: 10 of Mozart's Compositions in Honor of his 263rd Birthday

Hello everyone! Several years ago, on this very day, I began posting my composer birthday series. Last year, this series kind of died down, but I have decided to revive it this year. The first birthday of this year is Wolfgang Amadè Mozart who was born today (January 27th) 263 years ago. In this post, I will be discussing the some of the key points in Mozart's life and I will be listing 10 compositions by him which you might enjoy listening to. By the way, the other day I accidentally posted this when I meant to schedule it. Also, the post I made around 7:30 was being buggy so I am redoing it in this post. Luckily, I managed to copy it and then delete it before anyone upvoted. Without further adue, let's get into the life and work of Wolfgang Amadè Mozart!

The Life of Wolfgang Amadè Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born on January 27th, 1756 in a little town in Austria called Salzburg. At an early age, Mozart began to display an interest in music. When Mozart was 3, his father, Leopold Mozart (who was a minor composer and experienced teacher himself), began teaching Mozart's sister, Nannerl, keyboard. Mozart observed these lessons, and began to express an interest and began to express an interest. After Mozart's death, Nannerl recounted:

He often spent much time at the clavier, picking out thirds, which he was ever striking, and his pleasure showed that it sounded good.... In the fourth year of his age his father, for a game as it were, began to teach him a few minuets and pieces at the clavier.... He could play it faultlessly and with the greatest delicacy, and keeping exactly in time.... At the age of five, he was already composing little pieces, which he played to his father who wrote them down.

Those pieces were actually recorded in the Nannerl Notenbuch, a book in which Leopold wrote little pieces to help teach Nannerl how to play. Leopold also recorded some of Mozart's earliest compositions in this book. The five year old boy would play the pieces whilst his father wrote them down. Here are the pieces from that book [by a five (and in the later ones six) year old Mozart]:

The Journey of a Lifetime

In 1762, when he was six, Mozart and his family began a concert tour around Europe to demonstrate the two children's skills as child prodigies. This tour would last until 1773 and was quite crucial in Mozart's development as a musician and composer because it exposed him to the work of other composers and allowed him to meet the great musicians of the time. I thought this story from one of his later trips was funny:

In Rome, he heard Gregorio Allegri's Miserere twice in performance, in the Sistine Chapel, and wrote it out from memory, thus producing the first unauthorized copy of this closely guarded property of the Vatican.

As @remlaps said when I told him about this, "Mozart was the world's first hacker."

Return to Salzburg

Anyway, when Mozart returned to Salzburg, he was given the job of court musician by Prince-Archbishop Hieronymus Colloredo. The young composer wrote quite freely (in terms of genre) during this period due to the supporters he had obtained in Salzburg. However, he longed to write opera, and Salzburg provided little opportunity for this. On top of this, he wished to have a higher salary for his work. He took two failed trips in search of higher paying work.

Paris

Mozart took a trip to Paris (among other places) between 1777 and 1778. During this journey, he failed to find work, fell in love with one Aloysia Weber (who would later become a successful singer and reject him), fell into debt, and lost his mother to a fatal illness (half because he didn't call a doctor because he had fallen into debt). Whilst Mozart sought work in Paris, his father looked for suitable jobs in Salzburg. He found a post as court organist and concertmaster which was offered to Mozart. This job paid a higher salary, but Mozart was still reluctant about taking it due to his yearning to write opera. However, after his trip to Paris failed, he decided to take the job.

Vienna

In 1781, prince Colleredo was invited to the accession of emperror Joseph II. Mozart, was also invited. Mozart wrote to his father of his ambitions to meet emperor Joseph II:

My main goal right now is to meet the emperor in some agreeable fashion, I am absolutely determined he should get to know me. I would be so happy if I could whip through my opera for him and then play a fugue or two, for that's what he likes.

Mozart was later given a part time job by the emperor as well as many commissions.

Mozart experienced success early on in Vienna by establishing himself as the finest keyboard player in the city (through a keyboard battle with Muzio Clementi in front of the emperor as well as frequent performances). He then established himself as a notable composer through the opera Die Entführung aus dem Serail ( which means "The Abduction from the Seraglio"). This opera was performed throughout German speaking Europe, establishing Mozart a reputation.

Marriage

In Vienna, Mozart moved back in with the Webers (whose father had passed away). Mozart fell in love with the youngest Weber daughter Constanze and soon married her in 1782.

Bach, Handel, and Haydn

Between 1782 and 1783, through his relations to Gottfried van Swieten, Mozart became exposed to manuscripts of the works of J.S. Bach as well as Handel. This exposure influenced much of Mozart's later music and can be seen to have an effect on his style almost immediately.

In 1784, Mozart met Joseph Haydn in Vienna. The two became friends and would play impromptu string quartets together when Haydn was in Vienna. Haydn made an interesting comment to Mozart's father in 1785:

I tell you before God, and as an honest man, your son is the greatest composer known to me by person and repute, he has taste and what is more the greatest skill in composition.

Return to Opera

During this period, Mozart had written very little Opera. Instead, he wrote concertos and focused on maintaining his reputation as a pianist When 1786 rolled around, he began to compose opera again, releasing the Marriage of Figaro which experienced success. In 1787, he released Don Giovanni which was successful in some regards, but was not so successful in Vienna.

In 1787, after the death of Gluck, Joseph II gave Mozart a part time job as chamber composer. This position helped Mozart during times of hardship. Joseph II mainly gave it to keep Mozart in Vienna.

1788-1790

Mozart experienced hardship during these times. He performed less frequently (partially because of the Austro-Turkish War which left the aristocracy less willing to pay for music). Mozart fell into debt yet again and often took loans from his friend Michael Puchberg. He and his family moved out of the central city to the suburbs. During this period, his work began to slow. The most notable works from this period are his last three symphonies. During this period, he attempted to better his income by making long journeys to areas in Europe.

Death

Mozart spent his last year, 1791, working as much as he could. During this year, he composed some of his most notable works including his last opera "the Magic Flute" and the unfinished Requiem in d minor. Mozart became ill in September, but continued to work (conducting the premiere of the Magic Flute himself). On November 20th, his illness progressed and he became bed ridden. During this time, Mozart continued to occupy himself mentally with the requiem whilst being physically nursed by his wife, sister, and family doctor. On December 5th, 1791, Mozart succumbed to severe miliary fever and passed away. He was buried in a common grave at the St. Marx Cemetery on December 7th.

10 Compositions

Here are 10 compositions by Wolfgang Amadè Mozart:

10. Piano Concerto no. 20 in d minor, k. 466

This work is truly haunting. Within it, you can hear the flowery elements of earlier Mozart as well as the later darker chromatic and contrapuntal Mozart all at work within this concerto. This music holds power like that which very few composers can achieve in their music, and, at the same time, holds a certain delicacy which very few composers are capable of achieving. The contrast is extraordinary and completely summarizes the compositional (as well as performance) brilliance that was within Mozart. Here is his 20th Piano concerto in d minor performed by the Orchestra di Padova e del Veneto with soloist Martha Argerich:

9. Piano Sonata in a minor

According to the BBC Documentary I watched recently, Mozart wrote this after his mother's death. They made the point that this marks a turning point in Mozart's music, and I can certainly see that as being true. This piece certainly does sound a little bit darker and a little bit more boundary pushing than some of his earlier music. One thing I love about Mozart is how no matter when the piece was written or how innovative it was for the time, it is signature for his style. You can't imagine it any other way than the way in which it already exists. That is what makes Mozart Mozart. Any way, here is Danial Barenboim's performance of Mozart's Piano Sonata in a minor:

8. Symphony no. 40 in g minor

This symphony is one of my favorites. You can hear the passion and emotion building throughout the music. It's funny, but I often find classical period music to be just as emotional and passionate as romantic period music. I know that there are a lot more innovations that define romantic music than just emotional, but don't mistake it, it is quite evident in classical period music too. I have always thought that this symphony is a perfect prelude to the (crowning) Jupiter (which is quite famous for its innovative features). You can actually hear a lot of the contrupuntal ideas which Mozart uses in the Jupiter symphony begin to surface in this piece (not as obviously as in the Jupiter symphony, but they are beginning to form). Anyway, here is Camerata Academica des Mozarteums Salzburg's performance of Mozart's Great g minor Symphony:

7. Flute Concerto no. 1 in G Major

In my first list for Mozart's birthday, I included the second flute concerto. This time, I've decided to include the first (to avoid repetition). All of the comments I have to make are quite similar. For instance, in this concerto (As well as the second) you can hear the youthful joy that is so common in early Mozart quite present. Listening to this concerto (As well as his other earlier works) brings a sense of excitement to me and reminds me of the potential which we all start out with. Anyway, here is Mozart's Flute Concerto in G Major performed by the English Chamber Orchestra with soloist Samuel Coles:

6. Fantasia in d minor

This piece sounds at some points like the Beethoven Moonlight Sonata, and I am fairly certain that at some point I read that Beethoven drew from passages of this when working on the sonata, but I cannot find any sources to support that, so I will just say the two bear resemblance of each other at times. However, this piece stands out to me and really demonstrates Mozart's skills as an improviser (though it wasn't improvised, it shows that Mozart does not need a set structure to flourish, he simply needs a pen and an idea). Anyway, here is Mozart's Fantasia in d minor performed by Cyprien Katsaris:

5. Der Vogelfänger (The Bird Catcher Song)

I first heard this aria when watching this video though I did not realize it at the time. It was not until I watched the first act of The Magic Flute I realized that it was a Mozart theme they were improvising on. This aria seems to be almost a throw back to early period Mozart, light, cheery, and melodic. This creates quite the contrast when presented with arias such as the Queen of the Night Aria, and really demonstrates Mozart's fluidity when it came to style. Here is Anton Scharinger's performance of Der Vogelfänger:

4. Overture to Don Giovanni

This opera is also quite innovative. Though it is in Italian which was much more customary than German (which the Magic Flute was in), it deals with much more gravely significant moral ideas in its story and is also quite innovative from a musical standpoint as well. In specifically the commendatore scene, I notice instances of chromaticism as well as odd leaps (such as tritones and diminished sevenths). Either way, this overture is kind of a hint to the material in the opera that is coming. As a result, I've decided to include it. Here is someone's (can't figure out exactly who) performance of the Overture to Don Giovanni:

3. Violin Sonata in B-flat Major

Next, I've decided to include a selection from Mozart's chamber works (which are quite good). this is his Violin sonata in B-flat major. I have page turned for my piano teacher, Marcantonio Barone, when he accompanied a violinist named Barbara Govatos on this piece. It truly is an extraordinary work, and, as he pointed out, this sounds very much like Beethoven's violin sonatas. This work is a masterpiece (as are many works by Mozart). Here is Henryk Szeryng (violin) and Ingrid Haebler (piano)'s performance of Mozart's Violin Sonata in B-flat Major:

2. String Quartet in d minor

I decided to rep the chamber works a little bit more and include one of his more famous string quartets. I find it interesting how so much of his music is in the key of d minor. I wonder why that is. Either way, this piece also sounds like it is at a middle point in Mozart's output. It does not sound completely like later Mozart and it still sounds kind of like earlier Mozart. I think I might have once seen this piece performed by the Lenape chamber ensemble when page turning for my piano teacher. Anyway, here is Mozart's string quartet in d minor:

1. Requiem in d minor

Whenever I think of Mozart, I think of this. It is a crowning masterpiece. Every time I listen to it or look at the score, I find something new which I enjoy and hadn't seen before. I hope to finish off my analyses of this come February, so keep your eyes out for that. I tried to include pieces on this list which I did not include in the last list, but there will never be a list of Mozart pieces which I do that does not have this work on it (though I only listen up to Lacrimosa because that is where he stopped writing). This work is incredible beyond description and still haunts me to this day. When I listen to it, or analyze it (keep your eyes out on Wednesday for my next analysis), I get quite emotional because I feel as if Mozart, despite dying tragically several hundred years ago, is still delivering us a powerful message beyond the grave through this work. This feeling always fills me as I look upon this work. Here is a performance of the Mozart Requiem (still can't clearly decipher whose performance it is):

Sources

Information
Wikipedia (Mozart)
Wikipedia (Nannerl Notenbuch)

Photos

Wikipedia (Mozart)

2019 Another Year of the Greats Birthdays (thus far)

• Wolfgang Amadè Mozart - January 27th
• Mozart Playlist

The next edition will be for Franz Schubert's 222nd birthday on January 31st!

Conclusion

Thanks for reading this! Mozart was quite influential in the history of Western Music. As a result of this, we should always remember to celebrate his life and his work. Please remember that feedback is always appreciated! See you later!

(Note) In order to encourage meaningful feedback on the platform, I will check comment trails of users who leave superficial comments (ie "Awesome post," or "Upvoted.") and will mute any users who exhibit a pattern of leaving 'spammy' comments.