Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart(1756 - 1791 ) was what some scholars[1]have predict “ the filet of the Classical epoch … easily the most impressive composer of his time . ” In fact , it could be argued that Mozart was not only the most impressive composer of his sentence , but also thegreatestcomposer who ever lived . At least that ’s what I once overheard at a public presentation of his most successful opera , The matrimony of Figaro , in the man ’s room during intermission as I wash my hand .
Man in snazzy bowtie at urinal on the left hand : I ’m telling you , it ’s just like Haydn said ; Mozart is thegreatestcomposer who ever lived .
Bespectacled fellow at urinal to his right : Come on . What about Beethoven ? What about Brahms ? What of Bach ?
Snazzy bow-tie : Elevator medicine compared to Mozart .
Bespectacled : I solicit to differ .
Snazzy bow tie : Oh please . Who was the most prolific composer ? Mozart . Who was the most scotch ? Mozart . Who was the most precocious , and indubitably[2]the most inspired?[3 ]
The argument carry on , but Bespectacled flushed his urinal at that moment so it was unmanageable to make out the rest . do it to say , while many of Snazzy Bowtie ’s declaration could be debated , the bit about Mozart being the most fertile composer , is , indeed , exact . In his super unretentive lifetime , Mozart wrote closely to 630 pieces . That ’s over 15 compositions a year if one starts consider from his 2d trimester in the womb . And while you might mean it dizzy to start counting when the new Mozart ’s umbilical cord was n’t even severed yet , it seems Snazzy Bowtie was also correct in stating that Mozart was the most precocious of composer . In fact , he wrote his first piece of music ( “ Andante in C for Keyboard ” ) while still a mere toddler ! Can you imagine ? What ’s more , can you imagine lifespan in the Mozart household during these former , formative class ?
Mozart ’s Mom : Wolfgang ! Did you pooh - pooh in your diaper ?
Mozart : What ? Ma , entrust me alone . Ca n’t you see I ’m writing my first symphony ?
Mozart ’s Mom : Symphony schmphony . Get over here and get me smell out your nappy !
In all actuality , Mozart was probably potty trained by the fourth dimension he wrote the “ Andante in C for Keyboard , ” but not by more than a few years . He was onlyfiveyears old when he scrabble his first notes , sevenwhen he published his official Opus[4]1 , and — get this — a mereEIGHTyears old when he wrote his first complete symphonic music ! ( Symphony in E matted ) At an geezerhood when most of us were busy making the difficult switch from handwriting to cursive , drill our new , curly alphabet over and over in large - seamed notebooks , Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was develop expositional themes , experimenting with counterpoint[5 ] , explore sonata and rondeau forms , watch how to arrange for the entire orchestra — allwhile brave out his parents affectionate nickname : Wolfgangerl .
During these early years , the immature Mozart , er , Wolfgangerl , toured Europe with his father , Leopold , and older sister , Nannerl ( rhymes with Wolfgangerl ) . From Salzburg to Munich , from Paris to London , Leopold introduced the small fry prodigy — thewunderkind[6]—to any nobility who had 100 ducat to spare .
In Versailles , where the Traveling Mozarts were guests of Louis XV , Wolfgangerl wrote two cembalo sonatas and dedicate them to the King ’s girl , Louise - Marie - Thérèse de Bourbon ( not to be bedevil with Louise - Marie - Thérèse d’Orléans [ 1812 - 1850 ] , or Louise - Marie - Thérèse d’Artois [ 1819 - 1864 ] , or Louise - Weezy - Jefferson de Manhattan [ 1975 - 1985 ] ) .
But these early tours through the court of Europe were n’t easy . As always , there was a price to give for former puerility renown and stardom[7 ] . In Wolfgangerl ’s case , it was illness . From 1756 - 1760 , he stand through serious bouts of rheumatoid arthritis , tonsillitis , life-threatening congestions , typhoid pyrexia and something call rheumy noduled blast link up with tuberculosis , which was consider to be scarlet febricity , but in all actuality was probably nothing more than bad gas from the liver pâté he consume in abundance while a node at Buckingham Palace .
If it was n’t the vernal Mozart who was tired of , it was either his father or his sister . Leopold ’s diary and accounts of life on the route for the Traveling Mozarts during these year are fill with lengthy descriptions of any one of the three of them trade off symptoms of everything from the common common cold to severe angina pectoris . Of the four weeks Wolfgangerl battled typhoid fever , his father wrote , “ [ The male child is ] not only utterly unrecognizable , but has nothing leave but his tender skin and his small bones … You would like to know what was awry with him ? God make out ! I am old-hat of name illness to you . “[8]Then add , “ I only wish somebody would hurry up and invent Penicillin already ! ”
[ 1 ]
And by “ some scholars , ” I of course have in mind me
[ 2]Highfalutin Christian Bible for “ unquestionably . ”
[ 3]Highfalutin = pretentious : a Word of God not used in Clarence Day to sidereal day conversation , a word in need of a footer , etc .
[ 4]See a future mail service for more on what the heck an “ Opus ” is and why he became such a legendary comic strip hero .
[ 5]See a next position for more on counterpoint – it ’s really not as barbellate as it sound . Honestly .
[ 6]Literally : “ A child with so much gift , he ’s destined to suffer the rest of his aliveness . ”
[ 7]Setting the phase for VH-1’sBehind the MusicandE ! True Hollywood Storyfor years to come .
[ 8]Source : The Letters of Mozart and his Family , W.W. Norton & Co. , 1985
