History of Mozart: Today’s his Birthday

HISTORY OF MOZART

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born on January 27, 1756, but he was baptized under the name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart.

What’s In A Name

As an adult, he referred to himself as “Wolfgang Amadè Mozart,” signing his marriage certificate that way. His baptismal name was Latinized, as was common in those days, and he was christened on the feast day of St. John Chrysostom. Theophilus was the middle name of his godfather, Johannes Pergmayr.

The names Amadeus and Theophilus are equivalent; Amadeus is from the Latin “amare + Deus,” while Theophilus is “Theo + philos” from the Greek, meaning “lover of God” or “beloved by God.” In German, it would be Gottlieb. His father once wrote a letter calling his newborn son “Wolfgang Gottlieb.”

Tom Hulce as Mozart in “Amadeus”

But his middle name was entered into the records of the Vienna Magistrate when he died: “Wolfgang Amadeus.”

This has become the nickname modern fans use for the musician, and it is also the title of an eponymous film about his life.

Mozart in Salzburg

Salzburg, Austria, is famous as the filming location for The Sound of Music, and there are tours throughout the city. But it was also renowned as the birthplace of Mozart.

He was born in a flat on the third floor above what is now a shop at Getreidegasse 9.

“Mozart’s Geburtshaus,” Mozart’s birth house

My father had been in Salzburg in October 1945 at the end of World War II, and as I walked down that street exactly 50 years later, I wondered whether he had been there as well. A walk up to his flat, now a museum, brought me to the fortepiano his father had taught him to play.

In the museum, you can also see his childhood violin, harpsichord, and the clavichord upon which he composed The Magic Flute. And when you descend to the shop at street level, you can purchase Mozart Austrian chocolates.

Mozart chocolates

Mozart’s father, Leopold, was initially from Augsburg, Germany, and, if not a famous composer, was an experienced music teacher who gained acclaim for his book on violin instruction. He had been a violinist in the court of Count Leopold Anton von Firmian, the Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg. He went on to become the Kapellmeister, or “chapel choirmaster.” Johannes Sebastian Bach‘s father had also been Kapellmeister in Eisenach, Germany, half a century earlier.

Mozart’s Early Life

By the age of four or five, while watching his older sister learn music from their father, Mozart composed small pieces of music that his father wrote down. He soon progressed beyond what his father had taught him and took up the violin on his own initiative.

His father took him and his sister on tours of Europe, where they performed as child prodigies. When he was six, he performed at the court of Prince-elector Maximilian III of Bavaria at the capital in Munich and at the Imperial courts in Vienna and Prague.

He went on a more extended tour to Mannheim, Paris, London, The Hague, and Zurich. When he was eight, he met Johann Christian Bach in London, the youngest son of Johannes Sebastian Bach, who had a significant influence on him. Later that year, Mozart wrote his first symphony.

Mozart, A Prodigy

When I worked at Sun Microsystems, on the company’s 10th birthday in the early ’90s, it created a poster that humbly compared itself to the 10-year-old prodigy Mozart.

“Only one other 10-year-old ever performed so well on a keyboard.”

Mozart at Court

By seventeen, Mozart was hired by Prince-Archbishop Hieronymus Colloredo as a court musician in Salzburg. He expanded his interest by working with symphonies, violin and piano concertos, sonatas, string quartets, masses, serenades, and even opera.

Mozart in Paris

Resigning his position in Salzburg at twenty-one in 1777, he ventured to Augsburg, Mannheim, Munich, and Paris. At twenty-two, after a year in Paris and an unsuccessful love affair, he traveled to Mannheim and Munich in search of employment outside Salzburg. But he returned to become court organist and concertmaster in Salzburg in 1779.

All Roads Lead to Vienna

In March of 1778, he was summoned to Vienna at the request of his employer, Archbishop Colloredo, who was attending the coronation of Emperor Joseph II to the throne of Austria. Mozart leveraged this trip to meet the Emperor, who was impressed enough with the young man to offer him part-time commissions. He subsequently left the Archbishop’s employ on poor terms and took up freelance work as a performer and composer in Vienna.

Mozart Memorial in the statue-filled Burggarten, Vienna. Author’s photo

While in Vienna, he succeeded as a performer and composer of opera. There, he would marry Constance Weber and have six children. Influenced by Baroque masters Johannes Sebastian Bach and George Frederic Handel, he composed in the same style. He also became friends with Joseph Haydn and would play with him in a string quartet. Mozart dedicated six quartets to Haydn, who wrote to Mozart’s father:

“I tell you before God, and as an honest man, your son is the greatest composer known to me by person and repute, he has taste and what is more the greatest skill in composition.”

As Mozart’s concerts became popular and delighted audiences, he and his wife adopted a more extravagant lifestyle. He could send his son to boarding school, hire servants, and buy a rich fortepiano. He wrote fewer operas and turned to solo piano solos and concerto writing. He gained success with The Marriage of Figaro in both Vienna and Prague. In Prague, he premiered and conducted the opera Don Giovanni at the Estates Theatre in 1787.

Mozart in Prague

Mozart became a “rock star” in Prague. The National Theatres featured his performances and operas, and the Bohemian (Czech) inhabitants were especially appreciative. It was said that Mozart started his operas and symphonies quite loudly, as theatres were places to socialize with friends and conduct business during that time. His boisterous openings would capture attention.

Prague Estates Theatre

Mozart’s Later Years in Vienna

In 1787, Mozart obtained official patronage under Emperor Joseph II as his “chamber composer.” Though it was only part-time, it was steady employment. During that year, Ludwig van Beethoven visited Vienna, hoping to study with Mozart, but there is no documentation to suggest they ever met.

Times grew harder in 1786 with the Austro-Turkish War, which limited public concerts and aristocratic support for music. Mozart fell into debt, and his output decreased; he began touring again throughout Germany.

In 1791, he had a spurt of great productivity, composing The Magic Flute, The Clarinet Concerto K. 622, Ave verum corpus K. 628, and the unfinished Requiem K. 626. But later that year in Prague, he fell ill for the premiere of the opera La clemenza di Tito. Afterward, he became confined to bed in Vienna and died on December 5, 1791, at 35.

Mozart’s Funeral

Many accounts of Mozart’s funeral have been fictionalized or misunderstood. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians describes his funeral in this way:

“Mozart was buried in a common grave, in accordance with contemporary Viennese custom, at the St. Marx Cemetery outside the city [of Vienna] on 7 December.”

This has led some to believe it was a “pauper’s grave” or an unmarked one. Instead, the term common grave is in contrast to that of an aristocrat’s grave. Common graves could be interred in 10 years to make room for another burial, unlike an aristocrat’s, which was permanent. Mozart’s grave would have been marked with no more than a simple wooden marker, if that.

His resting place at St. Marx Cemetery is now a city park, with a memorial stone set in 1895.

St. Marx Cemetery, Vienna. A modern marker for Mozart’s likely resting place

While the Viennese response to his funeral may have been modest, with few mourners and no special music performance, the Praguers granted him greater honor. The grief exhibited for Mozart in Prague after his death far exceeded that witnessed in any other European city. Within 9 days of Mozart’s death, thousands of mourners gathered in Prague to pay their respects. Over a hundred musicians performed a lavish Requiem mass and accepted no pay for their work.

Why Was Mozart So Popular in Prague?

Children’s musical education in Prague was unlike that in any other city, even in larger European cities, primarily because of the importance placed on church music. Italians may have been as talented, but Praguers were better trained in music notation and various technical aspects of making music. They better appreciated Mozart’s style, while others found it too complicated and extravagant. As Emperor Joseph II is reported to have said of Mozart’s playing of The Abduction from the Seraglio:

“Too many notes.”

Prague’s Bohemian wind instrument players were famed across the continent for their skills; Mozart had an unusual ability to compose for wind instruments, drawing on his extraordinary imagination. Prague set about providing for Mozart’s widow, Constance, and orphaned children. In Prague, she organized concerts in memory of her husband, which proved lucrative for her family.

It was rumored that Mozart once said:

“My Praguers understand me.”

Amadeus

“Amadeus” movie poster

The Academy Award-winning film Amadeus, though set in Vienna, was filmed in and around Prague for several reasons, not the least of which was that the director, Milos Forman, was a native of Prague. (I went by his house.) An orphan at a young age – his father died in Buchenwald, and his mother died in Auschwitz – Forman studied screenwriting at the renowned Prague Film Academy.

All other locations were found locally, besides four sets built for the film. Under Communist rule in 1983, there were very few TV antennas, plastic, or asphalt in Prague during the filming.

Indeed, the performance of Don Giovanni in the movie was filmed on the same stage where the opera first appeared.

I’ve been to a theatre performance in Prague, and it is absolutely stunning; every seat afforded an excellent view of the stage. Below is a photo of the National Theatre, built a century and a half after the Estates Theatre.

Prague National Theatre. Author’s photo

Bill Petro, your friendly neighborhood historian
billpetro.com