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.