Born: Jan 27, 1756; Austria
Died: Dec 5, 1791; Austria
Period: Classical
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was not only one of the greatest composers of the Classical period, but one of the greatest of all time. Surprisingly, he is not identified with radical formal or harmonic innovations, or with the profound kind of symbolism heard in some of Bach's works. Mozart's best music has a natural flow and irresistible charm, and can express humor, joy or sorrow with both conviction and mastery. His operas, especially his laterRead more efforts, are brilliant examples of high art, as are many of his piano concertos and later symphonies. Even his lesser compositions and juvenile works feature much attractive and often masterful music.
Mozart was the last of seven children, of whom five did not survive early childhood. By the age of three he was playing the clavichord, and at four he began writing short compositions. Young Wolfgang gave his first public performance at the age of five at Salzburg University, and in January, 1762, he performed on harpsichord for the Elector of Bavaria. There are many astonishing accounts of the young Mozart's precocity and genius. At the age of seven, for instance, he picked up a violin at a musical gathering and sight-read the second part of a work with complete accuracy, despite his never having had a violin lesson.
In the years 1763 - 1766, Mozart, along with his father Leopold, a composer and musician, and sister Nannerl, also a musically talented child, toured London, Paris, and other parts of Europe, giving many successful concerts and performing before royalty. The Mozart family returned to Salzburg in November 1766. The following year young Wolfgang composed his first opera, Apollo et Hyacinthus. Keyboard concertos and other major works were also coming from his pen now.
In 1769, Mozart was appointed Konzertmeister at the Salzburg Court by the Archbishop. Beginning that same year, the Mozarts made three tours of Italy, where the young composer studied Italian opera and produced two successful efforts, Mitridate and Lucio Silla. In 1773, Mozart was back in Austria, where he spent most of the next few years composing. He wrote all his violin concertos between 1774 and 1777, as well as Masses, symphonies, and chamber works.
In 1780, Mozart wrote his opera Idomeneo, which became a sensation in Munich. After a conflict with the Archbishop, Mozart left his Konzertmeister post and settled in Vienna. He received a number of commissions now and took on a well-paying but unimportant Court post. In 1782 Mozart married Constanze Weber and took her to Salzburg the following year to introduce her to his family. 1782 was also the year that saw his opera Die Entführung aus dem Serail staged with great success.
In 1784, Mozart joined the Freemasons, apparently embracing the teachings of that group. He would later write music for certain Masonic lodges. In the early- and mid-1780s, Mozart composed many sonatas and quartets, and often appeared as soloist in the fifteen piano concertos he wrote during this period. Many of his commissions were for operas now, and Mozart met them with a string of masterpieces. Le nozze di Figaro came 1786, Don Giovanni in 1787, Cosě fan tutte in 1790 and Die Zauberflöte in 1791. Mozart made a number of trips in his last years, and while his health had been fragile in previous times, he displayed no serious condition or illness until he developed a fever of unknown origin near the end of 1791. Read less
Label: Warner Classics
Catalog: 65064
Release Date: 04/21/2009
Number of Discs: 8
Composer:
Johann Sebastian Bach,
Ludwig van Beethoven,
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,
Franz Schubert
Performer:
Artur Schnabel,
Karl Ulrich Schnabel,
Claude Hobday
Conductor:
Sir Adrian Boult,
Sir Malcolm Sargent
Orchestra/Ensemble:
London Symphony Orchestra,
Pro Arte String Quartet
Label: Orfeo D'or
Catalog: 773084
Release Date: 11/25/2008
Number of Discs: 4
Composer:
Anton Bruckner,
Johannes Brahms,
Theodore Berger,
Gottfried von Einem
...
Performer:
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau,
Lisa Della Casa,
Gerty Herzog,
Géza Anda
Conductor:
Herbert von Karajan
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra,
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Label: Audite
Catalog: 23407
Release Date: 07/08/2008
Number of Discs: 2
Composer:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performer:
Géza Anda
Conductor:
Joseph Keilberth
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra,
Salzburg Camerata Academica Orchestra
Label: Cbs Masterworks Portrait
Catalog: 44845
Release Date: 05/30/2008
Number of Discs: 1
Composer:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performer:
Rosina Lhévinne,
Glenn Gould
Conductor:
Jean Paul Morel,
Walter Susskind
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Juilliard Orchestra,
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Label: Erato
Catalog: 4696869
Release Date: 05/26/2008
Number of Discs: 5
Composer:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performer:
Maria-Joao Pires
Conductor:
Theodor Guschlbauer,
Armin Jordan
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Lisbon Gulbenkian Foundation Orchestra,
Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne,
Lausanne Chamber Orchestra
...
Label: Decca
Catalog: 001079202
Release Date: 03/11/2008
Number of Discs: 5
Composer:
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky,
Edvard Grieg,
Felix Mendelssohn,
Robert Schumann
...
Performer:
Viktoria Postnikova,
Jorge Bolet,
Clifford Curzon,
Stephen Kovacevich
...
Conductor:
Gennadi Rozhdestvensky,
Riccardo Chailly,
Hans Knappertsbusch,
Sir Colin Davis
...
Label: Berlin Classics
Catalog: 1281
Release Date: 03/04/2008
Number of Discs: 2
Composer:
Robert Schumann,
Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky,
Ludwig van Beethoven,
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performer:
Peter Rösel,
Annerose Schmidt
Conductor:
Kurt Masur,
Claus Peter Flor
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra,
Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra,
Berlin Symphony Orchestra
Label: Zyx Records
Catalog: 9528670
Release Date: 02/26/2008
Number of Discs: 10
Composer:
Robert Schumann,
Frédéric Chopin,
Franz Liszt,
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
...
Performer:
Magda Bergreich,
Hans-Christoph Becker-Foss,
Robert Titze,
Christa Lehnert
...
Conductor:
Vladimir Petroschoff,
Robert Wagner,
Ernst Delgado,
Henry Adolf
...
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Munich Symphony Orchestra,
Nurnberger Symphoniker
Label: Decca
Catalog: 411947
Release Date: 11/21/2007
Number of Discs: 1
Composer:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performer:
Vladimir Ashkenazy
Conductor:
Vladimir Ashkenazy
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Philharmonia Orchestra
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Label: Rca Silver Seal
Catalog: 60484
Release Date: 07/02/2007
Number of Discs: 1
Composer:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performer:
Géza Anda
Conductor:
Géza Anda,
Fritz Reiner
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Vienna Symphony Orchestra,
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Label: Warner Classics
Catalog: 81793
Release Date: 04/24/2007
Number of Discs: 2
Composer:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Performer:
Christoph Eschenbach
Conductor:
Christoph Eschenbach
Orchestra/Ensemble:
London Philharmonic Orchestra
Recommendation