Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is one of the greatest ever born. Like
Shakespeare, he stands at the summit of human achievement. In every
form, from serenade to fugue, from piano concerto and symphony to the
heights of grand opera, his music amazes, enchants and invades the
memory.
Thousands of books have been written about Mozart. Few live have ever
been so well documented as his, and yet he is one of the most mysterious
figures of the world.
Mozart was born in 1756 in Salzburg, Australia.
He began playing the piano at 4, and when he was 5 years old, he already
composed serious music. His father took him on tours of Western Europe
and Italy and the boy was always a success.
Then the prodigy ripened into genius. The genius conquered Vienna and
the world. Mozart’s fame was great. He met all the famous figures of
his time, from Haydn to Goethe, from George III to the luckless Marie
Antoinette. But then he suddenly fell from favour. The Vienna
aristocracy grew tired of him. He lost pupils and contracts, had to move
from his comfortable house in the center to a modest flat in the
suburbs. The genius was forgotten.
Mozart died in 1791, when he was only 35 years old. There’s a legend
that Mozart was poisoned by his rival composer Antonio Salieri. There’s
no truth in this legend, though it inspired many great poets, writers
and composers. But it has been proved that in the last months of his
life Mozart really believed that he was pursued by a spirit, "the grey
messenger”, who appeared and ordered him to write a requiem. In a state
of depression Mozart imagined that he was to write the requiem for
himself.
Not long ago a 150-volume edition of Mozart’s works was published.
His works include 41 symphonies, nearly 30 piano concerts, 19 operas, a
vast quantity of orchestral and other instrumental music, and volumes of
church music (he wrote mostly for financial reasons). His most famous
operas are Don Giovanni, The Magic Flute and The Marriage of Figaro.
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