Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: A genius with a quirky flair
Mozart grew up with music, rose to unimagined heights with it and died young. He was musically ahead of his time and uncompromisingly followed his own path.
Genius. Child prodigy. Pop star of his time. No superlative seems too big to describe Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Even as a three-year-old, he took his sister's violin away because he wanted to play it himself. His father encouraged him to the best of his ability, planning a normal career, but the lively boy developed a mind of his own. He wanted to get out of the stuffy provinces and into the world. What was his great achievement?
Der künstlerische Übermensch, als der er lange dargestellt wurde, hieß eigentlich Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart. Aus Theophilus wurde zunächst Gottlieb. Erst ab 1770 nannte er sich Amadé – weil das besser klang. Der Mann wurde nicht einmal 36 Jahre alt und schuf in den 30 Jahren, in denen er komponierte, eine fast unüberschaubare Zahl von Werken. Er war auch verheiratet mit Constanze Weber, die sechs Kinder von ihm bekam. Davon erreichten zwei Söhne das Erwachsenenalter.
Not a particularly beautiful person from Salzburg
Large nose, pockmarks. About 1.50 meters tall. Mozart, who always left the house in a wig, as was proper, with brown, medium-length hair underneath, was not particularly attractive. But he was humorous, engaging, had wit and esprit. The aura of a superstar. And he knew how to party. "His life sometimes reminds me of Michael Jackson," says Elisabeth Albrecht, Head of Music Education at Haus der Musik. There are parallels. Both were quirky, eccentric and extroverted. They didn't have a childhood. And neither of them knew how to handle money."
Born on January 27, 1756 in Salzburg, Mozart's life consisted of music, music and more music from the very first moment. The child has talent, and how. He composed his first piece at the age of five. His father Leopold Mozart, himself a composer, teaches his son and sister Nannerl, who is just as talented but receives less encouragement. Mozart becomes a European attraction. Together with his sister, he performs in all the famous cities - in front of bishops and rulers, even the Pope. People are amazed by the little virtuoso. His piano playing is breathtaking. At the age of 17, he went to Italy, where he further developed his skills and immersed himself in composing operas and other forms of music. A job as concertmaster and composer for Salzburg's Archbishop Colloredo soon became too boring for him - he wanted to do something new, to develop himself. To compose without barriers.
Innovative uncompromisingness
"With his high artistic standards, Mozart was not the type for a normal job, which was what artists needed at the time in order to be financially secure," explains Albrecht. "He was incredibly innovative and went about his work with absolute uncompromisingness." Like the other great composers of the Viennese classical period, he always had to come to terms with the wishes of his paying clients. A daily field of tension. However, he managed to make ends meet as a freelance artist.
After moving to Vienna in 1781, he began a productive phase in which he composed numerous masterpieces, including operas such as "The Marriage of Figaro" and "Don Giovanni", symphonic works, chamber music and piano concertos. He usually already had the melodies in his head and only had to notate his creations; there were virtually no corrections in his scores.
A masterpiece - the Magic Flute
The way the performers in his operas interact with each other, the character direction, is legendary. And he knew like no other how to compose his pieces specifically for the voices that were to be heard in them. Probably Mozart's most famous opera is "The Magic Flute". A vocal spectacle.
Sarastro reaches the deepest limits of a bass voice. The Queen of the Night warbles the high F. Mozart fused the genres of his time, interspersing hits and songs. On top of this, he introduced a thematic level that picked up on the liberal tendencies of the time with allusions to the Freemasons. For example, Tamino finds three temples in Sarastro's realm with "wisdom", "reason" and "nature" written on the gates - important pillars of the Freemasons. Mozart himself was a member of a Masonic lodge, through which he also received commissions.
Preference for strong language
The genius, who was afraid of trumpets as a child, had no particular fondness for wind instruments. When he did compose something for these instruments, it was usually occasional or commissioned pieces. Mozart's oboe concerto and his flute concertos are among his most popular works.
Mozart was a fun-loving person who could also be frustrated. Sometimes completely over-excited, then depressed again. He was also known for his penchant for strong language, which was relatively normal at the time. There is even a crude rhyme in a short choral piece. The canon Bona nox! ends with the wish: "Good night, good night, shit in bed that cracks - good night, sleep soundly and stretch your ass to your mouth."
Death before his global success
In the 35 years of his life, Mozart undertook 17 journeys: In total, he traveled for more than 10 years, i.e. a third of his life. His father Leopold planned and organized all his trips. He always had a travel piano with him.
In the last years before his death, Mozart turned increasingly to church music. The Requiem in D minor(KV 626) from 1791 is his last composition. He died while working on it on December 5, 1791 in Vienna. He was no longer aware that his "Magic Flute", which had premiered in September, had become a worldwide success. After his farewell in St. Stephen's Cathedral, he was buried in an unmarked, common grave in St. Marx Cemetery - in accordance with the reforms of the time.
Mozart revolutionized classical music with his extraordinary ability to fuse melody, harmony and structure in his works. He is still admired today for his virtuosity and creativity. His life was not as easy and full of harmony as his music.
