In the first post we learned about what was happening in the world when Mozart was alive and about his early years.
Mozart spent most of 1770-1773 in
Italy. People liked him very much there, and several of his operas were
produced in Milan. The pope even awarded him the Order of the Golden
Spur! Between 1773 and 1781, Mozart spent most of his time in
Salzburg. He was frustrated because he did not have many opportunities
and because no one appreciated him, but he kept writing music. It was
around this time that he became friends with Haydn.
The Middle Years
Now Mozart was
21, and he wanted to travel alone. But his father who always went with him, insisted that Mozart's mother go with him because he wasn't able to leave his work. Mozart and
his mother left Salzburg in 1777, heading for Paris. They stopped in
Mannheim, Germany, where Mozart met Christian Cannabich, a famous
orchestra conductor at the time. Also in Mannheim, Mozart met and fell
in love with Aloysia Weber. He wanted to stay in Mannheim with Aloysia,
but Mozart's father urged him to go on to Paris, so Mozart and his
mother left Mannheim. I'm sure Mozart was glad afterwards that he got
to spend that time traveling with his mother, because she died in Paris
in July 1778. Mozart soon returned to Salzburg, stopping in Munich on
the way to visit the Webers (they had moved to Munich). He discovered
that Aloysia was no longer interested in him. Mozart came back to
Salzburg, very depressed over his mother's death, his disappointment in
love, and his unfulfilled musical goals, but that however did not keep him
from writing more music.
The Later Years
The prince-archbishop of Vienna summoned
Mozart, so he moved to Vienna and lived with the Webers who also lived
in Vienna at the time. Soon, he fell in love with Aloysia's sister,
Constanze, whom he married in 1782. In the next nine years, some
terrible things happened to Mozart: serious money troubles, the death of
four of his children, the death of his father in 1787, and his wife's
ill health. Out of all of this tragedy he wrote some of his best music.
One
of the greatest influences in Mozart's life at this time was his
friendship with Haydn. He and Haydn respected each other, and they
studied together, which was a help to both of them.
Another great
influence was Mozart's discovery of the music of Johann Sebastian Bach,
which helped him in his increasing use of counterpoint (counterpoint is
combining different melodies in a piece of music).
Mozart continued
to travel around. He traveled to Linz, Prague, Leipzig, Dresden, Berlin,
and, in 1790, he went to Frankfurt to perform at the coronation of
Emperor Leopold II. (In order to go to Frankfurt, Mozart had to pawn
some of his possessions.)
In the autumn of 1791, Mozart became sicker, more depressed, and thought about death often. But he kept on writing. He was trying to finish the Requiem and he thought it would be for himself. Mozart never finished the Requiem. He died on December 5, 1791, at age 35, and he was buried in a pauper's grave.
The Works
Mozart wrote hundreds of compositions in his 35 years. He, along with
Haydn, transformed the light rococo style of music into the grand
classical style of symphony, opera, and concerto. In some of his music,
there is a foreshadowing of Romantic music, which came several years
later.
I suppose one of the things we can learn from Mozart's life is
that even if hard things are going on in your life, keep loving,
playing, and composing music. You will play even better if you put those
emotions into your music.
Also, if the girl you love isn't interested in you any more, take courage. You just might get to marry her sister.~
Guest writer: Rachel Holbrook
Thanks so much Mr. Buni! I really did enjoy writing this!
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