Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

1. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

2. Mozart vs. Justin Bieber • You might say Mozart was a Justin Bieber in his day.

3. Mozart vs. Justin Bieber Mozart 600 works Bieber 31+ songs= Let’s learn more about Mozart

4. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born on 27 January 1756. During Mozart's youth, his family made several European journeys in which he and Nannerl, his older sister, performed as child prodigies.

5. Mozart’s Father Leopold • The biggest influence on Mozart’s life and development was most definitely his father Leopold. • He believed that his son was a divine miracle, and that his duty was to foster this God-given genius. It is a question whether or not Mozart’s talent would have reached such success without his father there to teach him and act almost as a personal agent

6. Mozart’s Wife and Children • Mozart married Constanze Weber on 4 August 1782. • The couple was married in St. Stephen's Cathedral the day before his father's consent arrived in the mail. • The couple had six children, of which only two survived infancy.

7. Financial Hardship/Social Hierarchy • Despite the fact that the late eighteenth century produced many of the greatest figures of classical music, the status of musicians was relatively humble. At the time of Mozart’s birth, the Baroque order was still in place in many parts of Europe, and the position of the artist was fixed on the lower rungs of the social hierarchy. Musicians

8. Mozart’s Success! • Mozart wrote over 600 works during his life, including 41 symphonies, EineKleineNachtmusik, and 27 piano concertos. Three of his most famous operas include The Marriage of Figaro, The Magic Flute and Don Giovanni. He is also famous for his Requiem mass. Three of his works I will explain more are: The Marriage of Figaro, EineKleineNachtmusik, and Symphony #40 in G Minor.

9. The Marriage of Figaro • The Marriage of Figaro is an opera buffa, meaning a comic opera. • About a year after the song’s premiere, Mozart was summoned to Prague to witness the success of Figaro. Mozart described, to his friend in a letter, their first evening there. “At six o’clock I drove with Count Canal to the…ball, where the cream of the beauties of Prague is wont to gather…I looked on…with the greatest pleasure while all these people flew about in sheer delight to the music of my ‘Figaro’. For here they talk about nothing but ‘Figaro.’ Nothing is played, sung or whistled but ‘Figaro’. No opera is drawing like ‘Figaro’. Nothing, nothing but ‘Figaro’. Certainly a great honour for me!”

10. EineKleineNachtmusik • EinekleineNachtmusik was described by Steptoe as Mozart’s “musical joke.” It is a very popular song, easily recognized by people today. • It was completed in Vienna on 10 August 1787. It is not known why it was composed.

11. Symphony #40 in G Minor • Symphony #40 in G Minor was written in a time when he was struggling financially, his daughter had just died and the governmental situation was a little shaky. Despite all of this came a great symphony from the beloved composer. • Symphony #40 in G Minor was one of the last three symphonies Mozart wrote. Mozart never wrote or composed for fun, it was always for a certain performance. • There is no completely solid documentary evidence that the premiere of the 40th Symphony took place in Mozart's lifetime which has caused some to wonder why it was written.

12. Despite trial • His emotional and domestic life was far from tranquil. When he was married he lived in cramped apartments with small children, experienced periods of intense conflict with his father, times of serious illness for himself and his wife, and suffered the death of four children, and times of acute financial difficulty. Yet transcending all this was an extraordinary drive and energy to write music.

13. Controversial Death • Mozart died just before 1:00 a.m. on Monday 5 December, aged thirty-five. His death was said at the time to be due to inflammatory rheumatic fever, but later medical experts have suggested he suffered from kidney failure that may have arisen from one of his many earlier illnesses. Certainly there is no credible evidence for the fantastic theories concerning poisoning or overdose of mercury treatment. His death was tragedy in being so unexpected.

14. Why we love Mozart: • Even though illness cut him off at an age at which many composers have scarcely begun to write mature masterpieces, let alone enough to justify a place in the ranks of the greatest musicians the world has known, Mozart was truly incredible. He was more than incredible! He revolutionized music. Music is forever indebted to Mozart, the “the greatest child star that ever lived.”