The young Wolfgang was very talented and received his early musical
training from his father, the composer, Leopold Mozart.
When he was only six, his father took him with his older sister
Nannerl on the first of a long series of concert tours to all the royal
courts of Europe. They
delighted the nobility of Europe with incredible performances on the
harpsichord.
He
was eventually awarded a position as court and cathedral organist in the
household of the Archbishop of Salzburg. Early in 1781 he had a
commissioned opera, Idomeneo, staged in Munich for the Elector
of Bavaria. Its success pulled him to Vienna where, for a while, he found
moderate favor with the nobility. His success with German and then Italian
opera and a number of subscription concerts was followed by financial
difficulties.
He
spent the last ten years of his life in precarious independence in Vienna,
worsened by his marriage to the frivolous singer Costanze Weber. Living
on the edge of poverty did not affect his music, but it physically
destroyed him. He became
seriously ill and died a pauper. He was buried in an unmarked grave in Vienna.
Many believe he was the greatest musician of all time.
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