Mozart Essay, Research Paper
The Life of Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-91) is regarded as the
greatest composer who ever lived. He began writing minuets
at the age of 5,and by the time he died in 1791 at the age
of 35, he had produced 626 cataloged works. “ Mozart has
enriched the concerto form with a larger number of
masterpieces than any other composer.”1
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is said to be the greatest
genius in western music history. Wolfgang Amadeus was born
in Salzburg, Austria January 27, 1756 his parents were
Leopold Mozart and Anna Maria Pertl. Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart’s father was a successful composer, violinist, and
assistant concertmaster at the Salzburg court. The
Archbishop Sigismund von Schratten told Leopold Mozart to
encourage the kids musical abilities.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Life
By the age of four Wolfgang had great musical memory
and a great ear for music. Due to Wolfgang’s talent his
father signed him up for Harpsichord lessons. After a few
lessons Wolfgang’s talent was noticed by many. Wolfgang
also had a sister Maria Anna she was a musician and they
toured Munich and Vienna. At the time of the tour Wolfang
was only six years old, but he began composing at the age of
five. Because of this early start Wolfgang composed for the
rest of his life he never stopped performing or composing
music. While on the tour Wolfgang became a violin virtuoso.
By Wolfgang’s early teens he had mastered playing the piano,
violin, and harpsichord. Also he had composed keyboard
pieces, oratorios, symphonies, and operas. He performed his
first major opera when he was fourteen it was staged in
Milan in 1770 the style of the opera was opera seria,
Mitriade.
In 1762 he and his sister performed in the courts of
Vienna for the Emperor Francis I and the Empress Maria
Theresa. During the time of (1763-1766) the children
performed in Germany, Paris at the court of Versailles ,and
in London
Mozart’s Compositional Style
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s style unlike anyone else.
Mozart was a master of counterpoint, fugue, and the other
traditional compositional points of his day. He is also
considered the best melody writer the world has ever known.
Wolfgang perfected the grand forms of symphony, opera string
quartet, and concerto made the classical period. “Mozart’s
music is characterized by lucid ease and distinction of
style….”2 Wolfgang wrote over 600 works which consisted
of 21 stage and opera works, 15 masses, over 50 symphonies,
25 piano concertos, 12 violin concertos,27 concert arias, 17
piano sonatas, 26 string quartets, and many more. His
operas range from comic baubles to tragic pieces. In his
Requiem it illustrates the supreme vocal sounds in any of
his work.
Wolfgang’s musical influence and preparation
Wolfgang did not have much preparation because he was a
child prodigy. Wolfgang did take a few music lessons on the
Harpsichord and he thought himself how play the violin.
While in London on tour Wolfgang meet Johann Bach and it is
found evident that Bach influenced the young composer. His
father a great composer-musician also influenced his son.
Also another composer that influenced the young composer was
Josef Haydn it said that Mozart dedicated six string
quartets to Haydn.
The review of Marriage of Figaro
The Marriage of Figaro was composed for Viennese court
in 1786. The Marriage of Figaro was a very controversial
piece of music it contained revolutionary ideas that made
the Viennese court nervous. The opera is an opera buffa or
called by some as opera comedy. The opera is based upon
real human life as Jacob’s says “ It is an opera about
masters and servants and the complications in that
relationship caused by sex.”3 On the musical side of Figaro
the opera has a monophonic texture with vocal timbres
consisting of sopranos and baritones. The form of this
piece is a ternary form ABA or the De Capo style. The type
of music is a secular style.
Bibliography
1.Grabbe, Paul The Story of One Hundred Symphonic
Favorites p.129 1986.
2.Gridlestone, Cuthbert Mozart and His Piano Concertos
p.13 164.
3.Jacobs, Arthur Greatest Composers in Synopsis p.26
1966.