Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Born - January 27, 1756 in Salzburg, Austria Died - December 5, 1791 at the age of 35

Birthplace - Salzburg, Austria

Mozart was one of seven children however, only one other sibling survived, his older sister, Maryanne

Both were showing great musical talents at an early age and, with guidance and instruction from their father, Leopold, performed regularly in front of royalty.

Another important force in Mozart’s life was his mother Anna Maria. History suggest an alert, intelligent woman, earthy, and sensible, but profoundly torn by the power struggle between her husband and her son.

Family portrait

Mozart was known as a child prodigy A prodigy is a person with exceptional talents far beyond what is normal for someone of that age. Note: He learned to speak 15 different languages throughout his lifetime

At three years old he began playing the piano. At age five he wrote his first piece of music. By age six he had taught himself how to play the violin without ever having received a lesson..

By age eight, he wrote his first symphony. And by age twelve he wrote his first opera. In his lifetime, he wrote 626 pieces of music.

He was able to write this incredible amount of music because he was born with 2 special gifts. Perfect Pitch & Photographic Memory

Perfect Pitch The ability to name the letter of a pitch simply by hearing it, or the ability to produce any pitch referred to by name.

Photographic Memory The ability to recall images, sounds, or objects in memory with great accuracy and in seemingly unlimited volume.

As Wolfgang was growing up, his father took him and his sister Maryanne on tours of Europe. Eventually, they went to Italy, the center of musical activity in the 1700’s

As Mozart reached his 20’s, he grew apart from his father. At the age of 26, he married Constanze Weber. They had 6 children, but only two sons survived past childhood.

Wolfgang’s music showed an amazing amount of sophistication. Many of his works show no corrections of any kind. About His Music

By the time Mozart was in his 30’s, he worked all the time. As much as 15 hours a day writing music. Eventually, his hands became so deformed from writing that he couldn’t even cut his own food The final years

In the summer of 1791, a man came to Mozart and asked him to write a Requiem. This is a funeral Mass. He would not identify himself and Mozart became scared of him. He thought it was his Father coming back from the dead

He accepted the work and an advanced fee. As he worked on it, he began to feel that he was writing the Requiem for himself. He told his wife, “I am afraid to finish it. I feel as though if I finish it, I will die”

Sadly, his premonition came true and he died before he was able to finish it.

The Requiem was later finished by Franz Xaver Süssmayr..

In 1985, the movie “Amadeus” named the unidentified man requesting the Requiem as Italian composer Antonio Salieri. History says that the person was Count Franz von Walsegg, who planned to claim he wrote it himself.

What was the cause of his death? On November 20, 1791, Mozart unexpectedly took ill - developing a high fever, headache, sweats, and severe swelling and pain in his hands and legs. Mozart’s Death

By the 14th day of his illness, the swelling had spread to his entire body. With the swelling came nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and a persistent rash. Mozart’s Death

Symphony Number 40 Mozart wrote this symphony on the 25th of July Symphony number 40 and 25 are the only two minor key symphonies that Mozart wrote.

There are four movements of symphony nu. 40 beginning with I. Molto Alegro.

II. Anadante

III. Menuetto

IV. Alegro Assai

Symphony, no. 40 in G minor, mvt 1 0:00 Exposition: Presentation of theme 1: an agitated theme in G minor. 0:29 Exposition (cont.): A transition to theme 2, known as the bridge 0:44 Exposition (cont.): Presentation of the second theme, much more plaintive and in E-flat Major. 1:08 Exposition (cont.): A closing theme. 1:44 A repeat of the entire exposition Development: Themes and fragments of themes are presented in a variety of key areas; the pace becomes more urgent until the … 4:33 Recapitulation: A second and sneaky entrance of theme 1. 5:00 Recapitulation (cont.): The bridge theme is expanded and developed and treated in an exciting fugal manner. 5:36 Recapitulation (cont.): The return of theme 2, however now it is in a minor key, this is developed somewhat and leads into the closing theme and… 6:33 Recapitulation (cont.): Coda, closing gestures. Symphony, no. 40 in G minor, mvt 2 0:00 Introduction of a lovely melody filled with repeating notes in the strings. 1:37 (cont.): A varied presentation of the repeated note melody, overlayed with hesitant, descending scalar motives. 2:54 Repeat of the introduction 5:47 A contrasting section that seems to dwell on the descending figure, now modified to cover a larger range. This sounds developmental in some way. 6:56 Return to the A melody but a little different 9:36 The whole movement repeats itself

On December 5, just fifteen days after the onset of the illness, the great musician suffered a convulsion, lapsed into a coma and died. Mozart's death is believed to have been caused by rheumatic fever and kidney failure. Mozart’s Death

An American researcher found evidence that trichinosis -- an illness he would have contracted from eating undercooked pork--was the most likely cause of Mozart's demise. Mozart’s Death

“There are no remains of Mozart, so no theory can be fully proved or disproved...but this explanation would answer all the issues brought forth by the features of his death as they have been described,” Mozart’s Death

Mozart died on December 5, 1791 at the age of 35. Because Mozart died with very little money, he was given a commoners (or paupers) funeral. It was years later that his grave was marked with a tombstone.