Meet Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

More than a composer, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a miracle who composed astonishing works in just about all genres . . . symphonies, concertos, oratorios, keyboard works, chamber music, as well as enduring masterpieces for the opera stage. All this he did in a short life that lasted only from 1756 until 1971. Let’s meet Mozart and hear what he has to say about being more than a composer, but a phenomenon.

Ladies and gentlemen,

I am Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and I am pleased, through Classical Archives, to share a little of my life with you.

I was born in Salzburg in 1756. From the time I was a child, music was not merely something I studied — it was the very air I breathed. My father, Leopold, was my first teacher, and as a boy I traveled with him across Europe. My sister Nannerl and I performed before emperors, kings, and queens. Those journeys opened my ears to the world: the elegance of the French court, the grace of Italian opera, the intricate counterpoint of Germany. I listened, absorbed, and soon was composing music of my own.

By the time I was a young man, I had written symphonies, concertos, and chamber works, yet I longed most to test my voice in opera. Idomeneo in Munich was my first great triumph, and when I made Vienna my home, I felt I had at last found a stage worthy of my ambitions. There I created The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, and later The Magic Flute. In those works, I sought to capture life itself: the laughter of servants, the passions of lovers, the grandeur and weakness of rulers, the mystery of the human soul.

My life was not always easy. I was no stranger to financial hardship; the rewards of music did not always cover the cost of living. Yet I was never discouraged for long, for I felt compelled to write. Ideas would seize me — symphonies, concertos, sonatas — and until they were set on paper, I could not rest.

I was fortunate, too, in love. My Constanze, my wife, was my partner in joy and in struggle. She endured the long hours, the disappointments, and the endless composing, and she gave me both a family and a home. My friends and fellow musicians, through music-making late into the night, were another source of strength and inspiration.

And then, too soon, came illness. In 1791, as I was completing my Requiem, my body failed me. I was only 35 years old. I knew I was slipping away, yet even as I lay in bed I thought of music. I dictated the Requiem to my student Süssmayr, bar by bar, until I could dictate no more. I left this world with that work unfinished — but perhaps that is fitting, for life itself is always unfinished.

Through my music, I hope you may always find joy, solace, and the spirit of freedom — for as long as it is heard, I remain with you.

A Selection of Works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Available for Listening on Classical Archives

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A Selection of Works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Available for Listening on Classical Archives

Major Symphonies

Selected Piano Concertos

Other Concertos

Selected Piano Sonatas

Selected Chamber Works

Operas

Oratorios

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