Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Free Sheet Music, program notes, biography and recordings

In 1770, a 14-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart visited the Sistine Chapel in Rome during Holy Week. There, he heard Gregorio Allegri's Miserere, a complex, nine-part choral piece so treasured by the Vatican that its score was forbidden to be copied or circulated under penalty of excommunication. The young Mozart, possessing a memory of almost supernatural ability, returned to his lodgings and transcribed the entire piece perfectly from memory after that single hearing. He returned a second time to correct a few minor errors, creating the first-ever unauthorized copy of the sacred work. When Pope Clement XIV learned of this incredible feat, he did not excommunicate the boy genius; instead, he summoned Mozart and showered him with praise, bestowing upon him a papal knighthood. This single event perfectly encapsulates the phenomenon of Mozart: a musician whose genius operated on a level that seemed to defy all human limits.

The Child Prodigy of Europe

Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart (who preferred "Wolfgang Amadè") was born in Salzburg, Austria, on January 27, 1756. His father, Leopold Mozart, was a respected composer and violinist in the court of the Archbishop of Salzburg. Recognizing his son’s extraordinary talent at an astonishingly early age—Wolfgang was composing minuets by age five—Leopold dedicated himself to his son's education and career.

In 1762, Leopold began showcasing his two prodigious children, Wolfgang and his talented older sister Maria Anna (known as Nannerl), to the courts of Europe. For nearly a decade, the Mozart family toured major musical centers, including Munich, Vienna, Paris, London, and throughout Italy. The young Wolfgang dazzled audiences, playing the harpsichord and violin blindfolded, sight-reading perfectly, and improvising complex fantasias. More than just a performer, he was absorbing every musical style he encountered, from the Italian opera of Milan to the symphonies of Johann Christian Bach (son of J.S. Bach) in London. This intensive, continent-spanning musical education was unique and forged his cosmopolitan style.

Struggles in Salzburg and the Break for Freedom

As he entered adulthood, Mozart's life as a touring prodigy ended, and he was forced to take a position, like his father, as a court musician for the ruler of Salzburg, Prince-Archbishop Hieronymus Colloredo. The relationship was fraught with tension. Mozart, having experienced the artistic capitals of Europe, found Salzburg provincial and stifling. The Archbishop was a stern and autocratic employer who viewed Mozart not as a transcendent genius but as a servant, limiting his travel and artistic opportunities.

Mozart felt constrained and undervalued. He longed for artistic independence, a radical notion for a musician in an age still dominated by the patronage system. The conflict came to a head in 1781 during a visit to Vienna. After a heated argument, Mozart demanded to be released from the Archbishop's service. He was unceremoniously dismissed—in his own words, with "a kick in the arse" from the court steward. This humiliating expulsion was, in fact, a liberation. Mozart chose to stay in Vienna and pursue a risky career as a freelance artist.

The Vienna Years: Triumph and Tribulation

The first few years in Vienna were a triumph. Mozart was in high demand as a pianist, composer, and teacher. He quickly established his reputation with the opera The Abduction from the Seraglio, a work that delighted Viennese audiences with its "Turkish" flavor. In 1782, against his father's wishes, he married Constanze Weber.

During this period, he composed a series of masterful piano concertos, often debuting them himself at subscription concerts. He also developed a deep friendship with the elder composer Joseph Haydn, the "Father of the Symphony." The two masters of the Classical style held each other in high esteem. After hearing a set of six string quartets Mozart had dedicated to him, Haydn famously told Leopold Mozart, "Before God and as an honest man, I tell you that your son is the greatest composer known to me either in person or by name."

The Da Ponte Operas and Masterworks

The absolute peak of Mozart's career came from his collaboration with the brilliant and roguish librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte. Together, they produced three of the greatest operas ever written. The Marriage of Figaro (1786) was a masterpiece of social commentary and musical characterization, continuing the story of a character from a play that had been banned in Vienna for its revolutionary undertones. Don Giovanni (1787) blended comedy and tragedy in a dark tale about the legendary libertine Don Juan. Finally, Così fan tutte (1790) was a cynical and exquisitely beautiful comedy about love and fidelity. These works elevated opera to a new level of psychological depth and dramatic sophistication.

Final Years and the Mysterious Requiem

Despite his artistic triumphs, Mozart's financial situation became increasingly precarious in his later years. His extravagant lifestyle and a lack of steady income led him into debt. Yet, his final year, 1791, was one of incredible productivity. He composed one of his most beloved operas, the allegorical fairy-tale The Magic Flute, the beautiful Clarinet Concerto, and began work on a Requiem Mass.

The story of the Requiem is shrouded in legend. A mysterious, anonymous messenger (later revealed to be an agent for Count Franz von Walsegg, who planned to pass the work off as his own) commissioned the piece. Mozart, whose health was failing, became obsessed with the work, convinced that he was writing the soundtrack to his own death. He worked on it feverishly until he was bedridden. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died on December 5, 1791, at the age of 35. The official cause was a severe fever, though the exact illness remains a subject of debate. His Requiem was left unfinished, later completed by his student Franz Xaver Süssmayr.

Legacy: The Definition of Genius

In his short 35 years, Mozart produced over 800 works of astonishing quality and variety. His music represents the pinnacle of the Classical era, embodying ideals of elegance, clarity, and balance, while also plumbing the depths of human emotion. From the joyful effervescence of Eine kleine Nachtmusik to the profound sorrow of his Requiem, his music speaks with a directness and perfection that feels both divinely inspired and deeply human. He profoundly influenced subsequent composers, most notably Ludwig van Beethoven, and his operas have remained central to the repertoire ever since. More than any other composer, Mozart’s name has become synonymous with genius itself.

Section 4: References and Further Reading

• Solomon, Maynard. Mozart: A Life. Harper Perennial, 1996.

• Hildesheimer, Wolfgang. Mozart. Translated by Marion Faber, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1982.

• Anderson, Emily, trans. The Letters of Mozart and his Family. Palgrave Macmillan, 1985.

• Forman, Miloš, dir. Amadeus. 1984. (Note: A brilliant film, but a fictionalized dramatization rather than a historically accurate account.)