Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart defined the Classical era of music with his genius compositions. He started his career as a child prodigy who dazzled European royalty. Furthermore, he composed over 600 works before his untimely death at age 35. Consequently, his life remains a mix of incredible talent and bizarre personality quirks. Explore these fascinating details about the man behind the music.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
His full name was a massive mouthful. Specifically, he was baptized as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart. Eventually, he shortened “Theophilus” to the Latin “Amadeus” because it sounded more elegant.
He wrote his first composition at age five. While other children played with toys, he wrote a Minuet and Trio in G major. Remarkably, his father Leopold wrote it down for him because Wolfgang could not yet write music clearly.
He famously proposed to Marie Antoinette. As a child touring the Austrian court, he slipped on the polished floor. When the future Queen of France helped him up, he reportedly said, “You are kind. I will marry you.”
Mozart had a bizarre sense of humor. Surprisingly, he loved scatological jokes about bodily functions. He even wrote a canon titled “Leck mich im Arsch,” which translates to a very rude command about his backside.
He held a formal funeral for his pet starling. When the bird died, Mozart wrote a poem and organized a procession for it. Amazingly, the bird could sing the theme from his Piano Concerto No. 17.
He possessed a “tape recorder” memory. At age 14, he heard Allegri’s Miserere in the Vatican, which was illegal to copy. Afterward, he went home and wrote the entire piece down perfectly from memory.
His sister Nannerl was also a musical genius. In fact, she toured with him and received top billing in their early concerts. Unfortunately, social norms forced her to stop performing when she reached a marriageable age.
He was a knight of the Golden Spur. Pope Clement XIV honored the teenager with this prestigious title. Consequently, he had the legal right to demand people call him “Chevalier de Mozart,” though he rarely used it.
The “Pauper’s Grave” story is a myth. Although movies show him being dumped into a mass pit, he actually received a standard middle-class burial. However, the city reused graves after ten years, so we lost his specific location.
He hated the sound of the trumpet. As a child, he had a phobia of the loud instrument. His father once tried to cure him by blowing one in his face, which only caused the boy to faint.
He wrote the overture to Don Giovanni the night before the premiere. Reportedly, he drank punch and joked with his wife while he wrote. Then, the copyists had to rush the sheet music to the orchestra while the ink was still wet.
Mozart was surprisingly short. Historians estimate he stood only about 5 feet 4 inches tall. Additionally, he had scars on his face from a childhood battle with smallpox.
He never finished his famous Requiem. Tragically, he died while writing the mass for the dead. His student Franz Xaver Süssmayr completed the work so Mozart’s widow could collect the payment.
He loved playing billiards. In fact, he often composed music in his head while he played against friends. When he died, he owned a luxury billiard table despite his massive financial debts.
Finally, Antonio Salieri did not kill him. Although the movie Amadeus dramatizes a murder plot, the two were actually respectful colleagues. Salieri even taught Mozart’s son Franz how to play music.
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