Again he produced yet another masterpiece, this time with the unconventional combination of low comedy and high ideals.
Having scaled the heights of Italian opera buffa, Mozart turned again to the German Singspiel in the final year of his life. The intensity of Mozart's music in the penultimate scene of Don Giovanni, in which the title character is dragged down to hell, unrepentant, at the hands of an avenging spirit, might even be said to have helped usher in the Romantic era. Figaro was followed in 1787 by Don Giovanni (Don Juan), written for Prague, where Figaro had been an overwhelming success. He found a kindred spirit in this regard at the Viennese court in the person of Lorenzo da Ponte (1749-1783), who supplied Mozart with the librettos of his three Italian operatic masterpieces. Through his dramatic and musical genius, Mozart transformed such operatic comedies and characters into living, breathing dramas peopled with real human beings. Of Mozart's operas, Le nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro), composed for the Viennese court in 1786, is the earliest opera still found in the repertoire of virtually all of today's opera houses. 40 in G minor, Mozart infused this form with a passion and expressiveness unheard of in symphonic writing until the advent of Beethoven. In his last three symphonies, the second of which is the great Symphony no. The concertos often begin with an elaborate sonata form first movement, followed by a tender and melodious second movement, and usually conclude with a brisk, engaging rondo, as in the Piano Concerto no. Mozart's more than twenty piano concertos remain models of the classic concerto form, developed by him over time into works of symphonic breadth and scope. A sampling of Mozart's mature works comprise a virtual honor roll of musical masterpieces: the last ten string quartets, the string quintets, and the Quintet for clarinet and strings the Mass in C minor and the unfinished Requiem the Serenade for thirteen wind instruments, the Clarinet concerto, the late piano concertos, and the last six symphonies. In Vienna, Mozart became a regular at the court of Emperor Joseph II (1741-1790), where he wrote much of his greatest music. His serenades, divertimenti and dances, written on request for the entertainment and outdoor parties of the nobility, have become synonomous with the Classical "age of elegance," and are perhaps best exemplified by the well-known Serenade in G major, which the composer called Eine kleine Nachtmusik (A little night music). Mozart is probably the only composer in history to have written undisputed masterworks in virtually every musical genre of his age. Beginning in 1782 with the Singspiel Die Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio), Mozart began turning out one masterpiece after another in every form and genre. Then for a time, things began to look bright for the young composer. He eventually married Constanze Weber in August of1782, against the wishes and strict orders of his father. Mozart moved to Vienna where he lived for a time with the Webers, a family he had met in 1777. Mozart finally achieved an unceremonious dismissal from the archiepiscopal court in 1781, and thereafter became one of the first musicians in history to embark upon a free-lance career, without benefit of church, court, or a rich patron. With no prospects of a job, Mozart dejectedly returned to Salzburg in 1779 and became court organist to the Archbishop. It was in Paris that his mother died suddenly in July, 1778. During these tours, Mozart heard, absorbed, and learned various European musical idioms, eventually crystallizing his own mature style.įully expecting to find an ideal post outside his sleepy home town of Salzburg and the detested archiepiscopal court, in 1777 Wolfgang went on a tour with his mother to Munich, Mannheim, and Paris. Between the ages of seven and fifteen, the young Mozart spent half of his time on tour. The musical feats and tricks of young Wolfgang were exhibited to the courts (beginning in Munich in 1762), to musical academicians, and to the public.
He was constantly traveling all over Europe with his father, Leopold Mozart (1719-1787), a violinist, minor composer and Vice-Kapellmeister at the court of the Archbishop of Salzburg. At six he began composing, writing his first symphonies at the age of eight. At five he was playing the clavier incredibly well. At the age of four he could learn a piece of music in half an hour.
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