Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
(1756 - 1791)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart has frequently been described as one of the most perfectly equipped musicians who ever lived. As a child, his ear was so accurate and his musical memory so strong that he was said to detect a difference of an eighth of a tone and recall it next day. When he was twelve, Mozart visited the Sistine Chapel in Rome with his father, Leopold Mozart, and was able to immediately transcribe Allegri’s Miserere after hearing it just once. At the age of fourteen, Mozart was knighted by the Pope, an honour which he used only briefly at the insistence of his father.

Leopold Mozart was a wise parent and an intelligent teacher, giving his son the firm foundation of sound musical and general instruction which his talents richly deserved. Wolfgang wrote his first musical pieces at the age of five and began touring the great courts of Europe a year later with his gifted elder sister. Wolfgang performed on both the harpsichord and violin in the homes of noblemen and princes.

After this golden childhood, Mozart then experienced a time of great vexation and sorrow when he settled down as a member of the Archbishop of Salzburg’s household. Having been used to the company of monarchs, Mozart now dined at the servants table and was expected to shine in private concerts for his patron. Ultimately, “this vile wretch” was discharged by the Archbishop and removed from his room by the Court Marshal.

Moving to Vienna, Mozart enjoyed the support of the Emperor and many members of the nobility. In a five year span in his early thirties, he composed Figaro (1787), Don Giovanni (1788) and The Magic Flute (1791), as well as his three greatest symphonies (the ones in E flat, G minor and C).

Mozart wrote nearly fifty symphonies, almost twenty operas and operettas, over twenty piano concertos, twenty seven string quartets, about forty violin sonatas as well as a considerable amount of other music in his brief career.

Amongst a number of ball games, Mozart had a great liking for billiards and bowls. There are a number of recorded instances when he stopped playing in the middle of a game and made the briefest notes of an idea in a notebook which he kept close at hand. He particularly enjoyed playing billiards alone. With the various themes which were always running through his head, Mozart would incessantly tap his fob, a table, a chair-back or whatever came to hand while he played at the billiard table.

The musical relationship between Mozart and Haydn is probably unique in the history of music. As Mozart’s music was founded on the work of Haydn, Haydn had based his art on the music of Emanuel Bach. With the emergence and triumphs of Mozart, Haydn learnt in turn from his own “pupil” and creatively surged ahead once more.

His parents were noted for their independent thought and sturdy character. Rossini’s father was a town trumpeter and also inspector of slaughter houses, until he was removed from these posts and jailed for welcoming the arrival of Napoleon’s troops in northern Italy. After this upheaval, Rossini and his mother moved to Bologna, where she began to earn a living as a leading lady in comic opera to support the two of them.

At an early age, in addition to frequently singing in public, the young Rossini had mastered the violin and harpsichord. In 1804, he composed a set of six string sonatas, which are notable for their artless melody and infectious accompaniments. Subsequently, he entered the Liceo Comunale of Bologna in 1807 as a student of the cello and counterpoint. With Mozart’s music a major passion, his fellow students nicknamed him ‘The Little German’.

After completing his studies, Rossini quickly established a name for himself as an opera composer. Two qualities in his music were hugely appreciated by the audiences at performances of his operas, his sense of melody and also his sense of humour.

By the time he had reached his early twenties, Rossini was Director of the renowned San Carlo Theatre at Naples. The immortal The Barber of Saville was first staged in 1816, but was hissed at it’s first performance.

In 1829, after producing a total of thirty five operas in nineteen years, he wrote William Tell. Thereafter, Rossini never penned another opera

During a visit to Spain in 1831, Rossini was persuaded to compose the Stabat Mater for the private chapel of Don Manuel Fernandez Varela, who was the powerful prelate of Madrid. A severe attack of lumbago caused Rossini to complete only half the work, with the remainder of the Stabat Mater being finished by a friend, Giovanni Tadolini. The first performance was given on Good Friday 1833.

After the death of Varela in 1837 and a dispute over the matter of copyright, Rossini had finally completed Stabat Mater by 1842. The successful premiere was given on 7th January 1842 at Paris, followed by the Italian premiere conducted by his friend Donizetti some two months later.

Rossini continued to write many varied works after his ‘retirement’ from the world opera in 1829. Peches de ma Vieillesse (Sins of My Old Age) and Petite Messe solennelle are probably the most notable compositions from this period.