(*This biography of Mozart is brief and concise - please consult the Links page to visit others sites if you are searching for more extensive biographical information. *)

• On 27 January 1756, a boy was born in the town of Salzburg, Austria. This child was not just a prodigy, he became one of the greatest musical geniuses of all times. His name? Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, son of the author and violinist Leopold Mozart. Actually, he was christened Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart. His father, Leopold Mozart, was employed at the court of the Archbishop of Salzburg and led the court orchestra there. His father was a known author, because he wrote a book on violin techniques (the book is called Violinschule). He was also a composer and violinist. Wolfgang's mother, Anna-Maria Pertl, had seven children. Of the seven children, only Wolfgang and his older sister, Nannerl, survived infancy.

• Mozart never had an ordinary childhood. He didn't attend school as most of us would today, but instead, his father taught them at home (some children might consider him lucky!). Wolfgang is said to have been very good at mathematics and he could also speak seven different languages! By the tender age of 6 he could perform well on the keyboard, violin and organ. It was remarkable the way he could sight-read and improvise.

• Leopold was determined to work hard to develop his son's talents and to show them to the world. His tours through Europe started when Mozart was very young and he performed in front of kings and emperors. His sister often accompanied him, as she was a talented musician and played the keyboard well. Mozart himself was always a brilliant violinist and keyboard player. His father once remarked, "You have no idea how well you play the violin. You could be the greatest violinist in Europe."

• It was in 1762 that Wolfgang began his first of many successful tours. The Mozarts stayed longest in London; they remained there for 15 months during 1764 and 1765. In 1764 Mozart wrote his first symphony at the age of 8. Prior to this he had also composed several minuets, which can still be heard today. More compositions followed: in 1768 he wrote his first opera, La Finta Semplice. While on tour, Mozart wrote some sonatas for violin and harpsichord, among other pieces. It was in 1769, when he was 13, that young Mozart was appointed Konzertmeister to the Archbishop of Salzburg. He also composed his first Singspiel, Bastien und Bastienne, in the same year. At 14 years, he was commissioned to write his first serious opera. This was the opera Mithridates, King of Pontus, composed in 1770. In that year he also wrote out the entire score (on only one hearing, may I add) of the papal choir's version of Gregorio Allegri's Miserere! Finally, they returned to Salzburg in 1771.

• Hieronymus von Colloredo, the successor to the Archbishop of Salzburg, did not care much about music. Unfortunately, he also did not take kindly to the Mozarts, as had the previous Archbishop, Sigismund Von Schrattenbach. The result of this is that Mozart's appointment earned him very little financial security. In 1777 Mozart obtained a leave of absence for a concert tour. He left with his mother for Munich. Sadly, his mother died in Paris on 3 July 1778 and Wolfgang still had not acquired sufficient work. Still, he continued to write great works. After the tour to Paris he was given a post as organist and wrote wonderful church music, including the famous "Coronation Mass".

• Mozart's opera Idomeneo, King of Crete, which was commissioned and composed in January 1781, was a great success. This opera was performed in Munich. Although not there, the Archbishop asked him to come to his palace in Vienna, but again he was treated uncaringly (he was exploited in the hands of the court) and Mozart was forced to leave. Imagine, after a disagreement between them he was thrown out the door and given a kick! In June 1781 Mozart demanded his release from the Archbishop's Court.

• Wolfgang married Constanze Weber in 1782. She was the younger sister of the soprano, Aloysia Weber, with whom Mozart first fell in love. He met her during a trip to Mannheim in search of a job worthy of his talents. Aloysia seemed uninterested in Mozart. Later he fell in love with, and married, Constanze. His father disapproved of the marriage, but, nevertheless, Mozart proceeded. Their marriage is said to have been warm and affectionate. He and Constanze had six children, but only two, Franz and Karl, survived childhood. Mozart assured his father in 1782 that he would be able to support a wife and family in Vienna, which he called "Clavierland." To achieve this, he would write music for the public: operas, symphonies, and concertos. He often featured as pianist himself.

• In 1785 he dedicated six string quartets to his friend and mentor, Joseph Haydn. Mozart first met Haydn while in Vienna in September 1768. Haydn was much older than Mozart was - in fact, 24 years his senior. By then, Haydn was probably twice as well known. Haydn lived much longer than Mozart did and he had more financial success. The last ten years of Mozart's life were difficult ones. From 1787 until the production of Così fan tutte in 1790, Mozart received no commissions for operas. In spite of Mozart's efforts to secure a steady source of income, he could manage only an appointment as a minor court composer to Emperor Joseph II. This meant that he was sometimes called upon to write dances for official balls and state banquets. Mozart said once that he was paid "too much for what I do, too little for what I could do." Soon after The Marriage of Figaro, his fame began to wane. The Viennese couldn't understand the depth and emotion in his work. It often occurred that, when Mozart wrote a piece, it was too difficult for the orchestra to play in the limited rehearsing time they had.

• Only after his death did people really start to realize what a genius he was. His enormous output delivered over 600 works. His Requiem (K.626) is the final work and shows his ability to write quickly, but yet with effectiveness, skill and emotion. In the summer of 1788 Wolfgang wrote 3 symphonies in only 6-7 weeks! That's really fast! These were the last 3: symphony nos. 39, 40 and 41 ("Jupiter"). Many of his symphonies became lost, so the last number, 41, can be misleading. If you count all the unnumbered, lost and discarded works, they add up to 76. These were composed between 1764 and 1788. Most scholars and musicians consider his last 6 to be his best.

• Mozart's operas are seen as some of his greatest achievements because he had great insight into human nature. Some of these are The Abduction from the Seraglio, Cosi Fan Tutte, The Marriage of Figaro (this opera was almost scrapped because it was based on a play which was banned in Austria), Don Giovanni and of course, the singspiel, The Magic Flute, his last opera. The composer died on the 5th of December 1791 in Vienna. The cause of his death is unclear. Some say he died of typhoid fever, some say chronic kidney failure, while others think he had certain heart problems. Anyway, we don't know for sure, except that it is most unlikely that Antonio Salieri poisoned him as portrayed in the film Amadeus. On the night he died many people collected in the Rauhensteingasse, beneath the windows of the Mozarts' apartment to sing Mozart's music in his honour. Mozart's grave was unmarked. Due to the Josephine reforms, elaborate funerals had been banned. Baron von Swieten (a fellow freemason) paid for a modest funeral to aid Constanze. No one went to the cemetery because that was not the custom, but a great many people came to St. Stephan's cathedral for Mozart's final ceremony.

Bibliography: Microsoft Encarta Ó 1996, "The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Classical Music" by Robert Ainsley