Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg to a musical family. From an early age, Mozart demonstrated all the signs of a prodigious musical talent. By the age of five, he could read and write music and would entertain guests by playing the piano. By the age of six, he was writing full compositions. Mozart was generally considered to be a great musical genius but he was proficient in studying other composers such as Haydn and Bach.
However, despite Mozart's relative fame at the time, he struggled with his finances and moved between periods of poverty and wealth. This difficulty was further greatened by the fact that Austria was involved in a war and the need for musicians lessened. In 1782, he married against the wishes of his family and would have six children, but only two survived.
Perhaps one of Mozart's funniest accomplishments was that he single-handedly copied a "forbidden piece of music" called the Miserere mei, Deus. The song was only allowed to be publicly performed two days a year. Mozart went to the Holy Wednesday performance, went home and copied it and later in the week went to the Good Friday performance to improve upon it.
Fun Facts:
- Mozart once hung out with a young Marie Antoinette. They were both six-years-old at the time and it is believed that Antoinette helped Mozart get up after having fallen on the floor.
- Mozart wrote his first opera at eleven-years-old.
- Mozart did not attend his father's funeral, instead, he attended the funeral for his pet bird.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart:
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