Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was probably the greatest genius in Western He was born in Salzberg, Austria on January 27, 1756. The son ofLeopold Mozart and his wife Anna Maria Pertl. Leopold was a successful composerand violinist and assistant concertmaster at the Salzberg court.At the age of three, Wolfgang showed signs of remarkable musical talent. Helearned to play the harpischord, a keyboard instrument related to the piano, at the ageof four. Wolfgang began composing minuets at the age of five. When he was only sixyears old, he and his older sister, Anna Maria, embarked on a series of concert tours toEuropes courts and major cities. They played for the Austrian Empress Maria Theresaat her court in Vienna in 1762. Both children played the keyboard, but Wolfgangbecame a violin virtuoso as well.Before he was fourteen, Mozart had composed many works called sonatas forthe harpischord, piano, or the violin as well as orchestral and other works. His fatherrecognized Wolfgangs amazing talent and devoted a lot of his time to his sonsgeneral and musical education. Wolfgang never attended school, his father took him toconcert tours through much of Europe. Wolfgang composed, gave publicperformances, met many musicians and played the organ in many churches. In 1769,like his father before him, he began working for the archbishop of Salzburg, who alsoruled the province. The Mozarts often quarreled with the archbishop, partly becauseWolfgang was often absent from Salzburg. The archbishop dismissed young Mozart in1781. Mozart was actually glad to leave Salzburg, a small town, and seek his fortunein Vienna , one of the music capitals in Europe. By this time people tool less notice ofhim because he was no longer a child prodigy. However, he was a brilliant performerand active as an orchestrator.Much to his fathers dismay, Mozart married Constanze Weber from Germanyin 1782. He did not have a regular job in Vienna and tried to earn a living by sellinghis ...
