In this article we will tell you some interesting facts from the life of Mozart. This composer has become a true legend. He was born in 1756, January 27, in the city of Salzburg. For a short life, this composer was able to write many concerts, operas, symphonies, sonatas (more than 600 different works in total). Mozart’s work is truly multifaceted and voluminous. In each of the musical directions in which he worked, he managed to achieve unprecedented success. Contemporaries of the composer said that he masterfully owned several instruments, and also had an incredible memory and perfect hearing. However, this does not end with interesting facts from the life of Mozart. We have selected, in our opinion, the most curious of them, and invite you to get acquainted with some details of the biography of this genius.
Mozart's musical talent
The whole family of the great composer was musically gifted. For example, his father, Leopold, played the organ and violin, and also served as a composer at the court of the Archbishop of Salzburg, and led the church choir. He also wrote a book on playing the violin, which at that time was considered one of the best teaching aids on this instrument.
This man instilled a love of music and his children: his son, who started playing the harpsichord from the age of three, and later mastered the organ and violin, and his daughter, who also played the harpsichord as well as the piano.
Of the seven children, only two survived in the Mozart family: Wolfgang and his older sister.
Young genius
A family friend, Schachtner Johann Andreas, Salzburg court trumpeter, told the following story, which must certainly be included in our story on the topic “Interesting facts from Mozart’s life”. Once Leopold Mozart, together with Shachtner, came to his home and saw how young Wolfgang (who was only 4 years old) wrote something on musical paper. The son dipped in ink not only a pen, but also his fingers. Mozart Jr. told the adults that he was writing a concert. Father took the blotched leaf and cried - everything was so harmonious in the composition.
Mozart and Bach
When the boy was about 8 years old, his talent was praised by Johann Christian Bach, who was the son of the famous Johann Sebastian Bach. They played together several times in public: Bach planted the little genius on his knees and played sonatas on the harpsichord with him. Bach played a few bars, Mozart played a few bars. It seemed that there was one musician behind the instrument - this duet sounded so harmoniously. Artists also played four hands and talked a lot about music.
Performance during the post
As a child, Wolfgang often traveled to other countries. These trips were arranged by the boy’s father, so that his son would give concerts to the public, listen to famous musicians and learn something new. In Holland, one of the countries where they visited, music was strictly forbidden during fasting. However, Mozart made an exception. The clergy in his talent saw God's gift.
Opera for the Emperor
Joseph II, the Roman emperor, ordered Mozart opera when the boy was only 12 years old. It was called "Imaginary simpleton" and was intended for the Italian troupe. The young composer composed the work in just a few weeks. The singers, however, did not like it, so the opera primrose never took place.
Composer and Masons
Interesting facts from the life of Mozart are associated not only with his musical career. This man, for example, became a freemason and even brought his father to the box. The composer composed music for a number of Masonic rituals, even in the famous opera called The Magic Flute, the theme of this movement sounds.
Mozart and Salieri
Once the hero of our story decided to play a trick on Salieri. He told his friend that he had created such a thing for a clavier that no one in the world is capable of performing except Mozart himself. Salieri, having looked at the notes, exclaimed that the young musician would also not be able to do this, since with both hands he would have to perform the most difficult passages, and besides, on opposite ends of the keyboard. At the same time, you need to take a few more notes in the middle. Even if you play with your foot, you still won’t be able to execute the written, as the tempo of the work is too fast. Very pleased, Mozart laughed. He sat down at the clavier and performed this work exactly as was indicated in the notes. And the complex notes were taken by the nose!
Constance, Mozart's wife
Earning decent royalties with his work, however, Mozart, whose biography is sometimes contradictory, was often forced to borrow money from his friends. So, for example, having received a thousand guilders (a fabulous sum at that time) for speaking at one of the concerts, he sat without money in two weeks. A friend of Mozart, whom the composer tried to borrow from, noticed with surprise that the musical genius has neither a stable, nor a castle, nor a bunch of children, nor an expensive lover. "Why do you need money?" - he asked. Mozart replied that he did have Constance, his wife. "She is my herd of thoroughbred horses, my castle, my bunch of children, my lover," said the composer.
Difficult concert
Mozart, whose biography, like all geeks, from childhood was marked by facts testifying to the unique talent, wrote his first concert at the age of four. It was a piece for clavier. It was so complex that among European virtuosos it was unlikely that anyone could ever perform it. When the father took the boy’s still unfinished record, explaining that such, in his opinion, a difficult concert could not be played, Mozart replied that all this was nonsense. After all, even a child can do it. He, for example.
Mozart plays with a cat
The whole childhood of this young genius was a series of musical studies and performances. In various parts of Europe at numerous concerts, the child prodigy entertained the public from high society: he played the clavier with his eyes closed. At the same time, the father covered the child’s face with a scarf. They also closed the keyboard, but the young genius still coped with the game. Mozart’s work was admirable for everyone. On the stage at one of the concerts of this composer came a cat. Then Mozart stopped playing and rushed to her at all costs. Forgetting the listeners, he began to amuse himself with this animal. To the cry of his father, the young genius replied that the harpsichord is still not going anywhere, and the cat will now leave.
The story of Marie Antoinette
After little Mozart (the composer we are talking about) performed in the imperial palace, Marie Antoinette, the young duchess, decided to show him her luxurious home. The boy fell in one of the halls, slipping on the floor. Then the duchess helped Mozart to rise. He noticed that the Duchess was kind to him. “Perhaps I will marry you,” the musician said. The girl told her mother about it. The empress with a smile asked the little "groom" why he said so. Mozart replied: "Out of gratitude."
Mozart's meeting with Goethe
Once, seven-year-old Mozart gave concerts in Frankfurt. After the performance, a 14-year-old boy approached him. He praised his game, saying that he would never learn such mastery, since it is very difficult. Young Wolfgang was surprised and asked him if he tried to write notes. The interlocutor replied that no, since only verses came to his mind. Then Mozart retorted: "It is probably very difficult to write poetry?" The boy replied that, on the contrary, it was very easy. Goethe turned out to be Mozart's interlocutor.
The cause of death of the composer
Still causing controversy and questions of the cause of death of this greatest composer. The medical report stated that Wolfgang died of rheumatic fever, which may have been complicated by acute renal or heart failure. However, some art historians believe that he was poisoned by Antonio Salieri, his rival. But there is really little reason to believe that there was enmity between the two people. In 1997, despite this, 200 years after the death of Wolfgang, the trial of Salieri was held in Milan. Researchers of the work of these two musicians, as well as doctors, were heard by a judge who later ruled that Salieri was not guilty of the death of the famous composer.
How was Mozart buried?
The composer, despite all his merits and greatest talent, was buried as a poor man. Mozart's remains were placed in a common grave along with several other coffins. The exact burial site is still unknown. Tombstones and slabs were placed at the cemetery walls at that time, and not on the grave. On the day of the funeral, none of his loved ones reached the composer's cemetery. Could not say goodbye to her husband and the sick widow of Mozart. Only up to the city gates did the guests lead such a great composer as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Interesting facts from the life of this person do not end there. There are quite a few of them. Some of them took place in reality, while others are semi-legendary in nature. Interesting about Mozart is curious not only to professional musicians and fans of his work. Geniuses always cause increased interest. Mozart's life was short-lived. He was born in 1756, and died in 1791, that is, at the age of 35. But during this time, the genius managed to create many immortal works, much survived by their author, who is Mozart. Piano, violin, clarinet, flute - for all these instruments, the composer has created many works that are performed and enthusiastically accepted by the public to this day.