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Essay / The Life and Work of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Table of ContentsBibliography“Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus” “Glimpses of Genius” “Mozart and the Penguin Series” Music has always been one of the greatest contributors to our artistic world since the beginning of time. Every year there is always new music released for the world to hear and for critics to share their opinions on it. However, in today's society, music is no longer the same as it was in the 19th century. Many talented musicians who graciously blessed this earth with their music are no longer with us. The bright side is that their music will live on through us and for many generations to come. In almost any music class taught, you tend to learn about every great musician who ever lived. One of the greatest of all time is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essayWolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born on January 27, 1756, in Salzburg, Austria. His interest in music began at a very young age. In fact, his father Leopold Mozart was also a musician who played a major role in Wolfgang's musical education. However, his mother Anna Maria Mozart was more of the caring type and always supported her son's musical career. Of his six siblings, "only an older sister named Nannerl, who was also a musician, survived childhood" (Potter). Losing five children was hard enough for her parents, but they didn't let their struggles stop them from caring for their other two children. Music was something that brought joy to their family despite all the tragedies they faced. When Mozart was only five years old, “he wrote his first complete compositions, which would be two short keyboard works” (Potter). Being so young but so talented was very rare at that time. In fact, the young Mozart was considered a unique genius very early on. His young mind was far more advanced than most of his peers when it came to music. “By the age of six, Mozart had become an accomplished performer on the keyboard, violin and organ” (“Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus”). Over the years, Mozart's musical talents only grew stronger. He only focused on music and nothing else. When Mozart was only fourteen years old, he was asked to write "a serious opera, Mitridate, re di Ponto (Mitridates, roi du Pont, 1770)" ("Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus"). Amazingly, he was able to produce this entire opera himself. This was his first major achievement which quickly established his incredible reputation throughout this period. By the time Mozart reaches adulthood, he leads a normal, typical life of which he quickly tires. In order to bring a little entertainment to his life, he decides to change direction and take a trip to Paris where he is accompanied by his mother. Unfortunately, he didn't know that his trip to Paris would radically change his life. By 1777, near the end of his journey, his mother had died, "leaving him alone on the return journey to Salzburg" (Walton). Although his barrier of tragedies did not end in Paris, he soon experienced new heartaches upon his return home. As Mozart took a quick detour to Munich, “the aforementioned love of his life abandoned him” (Walton). Mozart didn't let this heartbreak stop him from finding love. He soon married a woman named Constanze Weber, who also happened to be the sister of the woman who had abandoned him in Munich. Together, they lived happy and healthy lives despite the tragic losses they faced. “The young couplehad six children, two of whom survived childhood” (Potter). Unfortunately, they experienced the same thing as his parents when they lost their children at a young age. At the age of thirty-five, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died on December 5, 1791. The cause of his death was due to rheumatic fever. Another cause of his death was due to doctors continuing to draw blood from him, which eventually led to blood poisoning. Mozart lived a very short life, but he was still able to do the things he loved despite the many tragedies he faced. Classical music would not have been as popular in the Western Hemisphere without the creativity of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. His area of expertise was strictly classical music, as he had a lot of experience learning it as a child. Having his father as a musical guide throughout his adolescence really helped make him a universal artist. During his adolescence his work had become very mature in sonatas, symphonies, operas and even piano concerts. “All evidence that he was beyond the stage of prodigy and entering the realm of true genius” (Potter). Even as a young teenager, Mozart took great pride in his work. He was nothing like other teenagers of his generation because all he was interested in was music. Mozart did not let any of the childish tendencies of his peers get in the way of his determination to succeed. Of all the symphonies Mozart produced as an adult, “Jupiter” happens to be one of the most famous. This particular symphony is highly regarded as one of the "most professional and amateur orchestras" (Potter). Jupiter is one of Mozart's longest and most passionate symphonies he ever composed. As Mozart conducted this symphony, he was able to keep his audience in suspense. This piece of music contains a lot of humor and high energy levels. In my opinion, I believe it was one of his most famous symphonies because he was able to offer his audience something more than just music. Although there are several different fragments of humor throughout this piece of music, Mozart managed to change the entertainment game by making his audience laugh. Remarkably, he was able to surpass himself in composing this entire symphony. This led him to break the ladder of classical music at that time. Another unique work composed by Mozart was an Italian opera entitled “Idomeneo, ré dí Creta (Idomeneo, King of Crete), commissioned and composed in 1781” (“Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus”). The success of this opera truly made enormous progress in Mozart's career. He managed to tell a story throughout this piece of music. It was mainly about the life of a king after the Trojan War. Many of Mozart's peers truly appreciated the opportunity to attend this opera. In fact, because it was such a success, “the Archbishop of Salzburg invited Mozart to his palace in Vienna” (“Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus”). I can only imagine how Mozart felt when his former boss invited him to his palace. In fact, it's quite funny how his old boss he worked for is now giving Mozart the attention he deserved a long time ago. Although Mozart faced a lot of discouragement, he never let it hinder his love for composing music. His work reveals a “distinctive style” as well as a “completely mature understanding of musical media” (“Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus”). Mozart's creativity was extremely rare but it was also extraordinary beyond the level of a normal classical composer. One of his rare talents was to be ablethink about “a complete work before devoting it to an article” (“Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus”). This is a great example of his unique qualities that made him such a great musician. Most of his music is a combination of Italian and German sounds. The reason is that the Italian sound is more of a “clear and graceful melody”, while the German sound is more “formal, contrapuntal and ingenious” (“Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus”). Throughout Mozart's short career, he managed to produce more than 600 works of classical music. Whether it was a piano concert, a symphony or an opera, Mozart was able to create different pieces of music that always left his audience wanting to know more. This proves that even when Mozart was just a young boy, “he possessed a thorough mastery of the technical resources of musical composition as well as an original imagination” (“Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus”). The love of music was literally in his blood. Quite simply because he comes from a musical background that began with his father. While researching Mozart, I learned that he “is among the great geniuses of Western civilization” (“Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus”). Much of his material is still used today in classrooms focused strictly on music or art in general. It even appears in most of the music textbooks used during these private lessons. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was truly a truly talented artist who devoted much of his time and energy to classical music. I decided to write about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart because he intrigued me the most. When I was in middle school, I remember hearing about Mozart in my music class. Hearing a piece of his music was like falling in love at first sight. Just reading about his life and everything he went through was very fascinating. Mainly because I was able to relate to some of the things he went through as a child and even as an adult. Mozart is one of the greatest musicians to ever set foot on this earth. I really admire his work ethic as well as his creativity when it comes to music. He is an example of a true genius capable of sharing his work with the whole world. If I could go back in time, I would love to be able to attend one of his operas. I believe we are extremely fortunate to have the opportunity to continue to hear his music even in today's society. As you can see, I sincerely hope that the name Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart continues to live on in all aspects of music. This will allow other generations to discover some of his works. Bibliography “Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus” WorldBook, Inc., Chicago. Funk & Wagnalls New WorldEncyclopedia. 2018, 1p. Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia. Potter, Rollins R. National Forum “Mozart and the Penguin Series,” Winter 2000, Vol. 80, number 1. P7. MasterFILE Complete.Walton, Chris. “Glimpses of Genius.” The Musical Times, vol. 149, no. 1902, January 2008, p. 116.MasterFILE Complete, doi:10.2307/25434529. “Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus” Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a famous Austrian composer born and raised in Salzburg, Austria. His talented expertise was mainly in the classical music section. Mozart decided at a very young age to follow in his father's footsteps. During his teenage years, he was a very talented musician with unique and very rare skills. Throughout his adult life, he traveled throughout Europe to broaden his horizons. Although he died very young, Mozart's creativity made him one of the greatest. “Glimpses of Genius” A combination of different items that have been made into one truly captured giant piece..