Opera Wave, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart ranks among the supreme figures not merely of the Classical era but across the entire span of Western music. He avoided the bold experiments in form or harmony that marked certain contemporaries, and his scores rarely incorporated the layered symbolism characteristic of Bach. Instead, his strongest works display an effortless grace and magnetic appeal, conveying wit, exuberance, or melancholy with equal assurance and technical command. The mature operas in particular exemplify elevated artistry, as do many of the piano concertos and symphonies from his final years. Even compositions of lesser stature or those written in childhood contain engaging passages of often exceptional quality.

The youngest of seven siblings, five of whom perished in infancy, Mozart was already performing on the clavichord at age three and had begun setting down brief pieces by age four. His debut public recital took place at Salzburg University when he was five, followed in January 1762 by a harpsichord appearance before the Elector of Bavaria. Numerous accounts attest to his extraordinary early abilities; at seven, for example, he joined a gathering of musicians, seized a violin, and executed the second violin part of an unfamiliar piece with flawless precision despite having received no prior instruction on the instrument.

Between 1763 and 1766 Mozart traveled through London, Paris, and additional European centers in the company of his father Leopold, himself a composer and performer, and his gifted sister Nannerl. The family presented numerous acclaimed concerts, including appearances before crowned heads, before returning to Salzburg in November 1766. The following year the boy produced his initial opera, Apollo et Hyacinthus, along with keyboard concertos and further substantial scores.

In 1769 the Archbishop named him Konzertmeister at the Salzburg Court. That same year the Mozarts embarked on the first of three Italian journeys, during which the young composer immersed himself in Italian opera and completed two successful stage works, Mitridate and Lucio Silla. Back in Austria by 1773, he devoted the greater part of the ensuing years to composition, completing all five violin concertos between 1774 and 1777 in addition to Masses, symphonies, and chamber music.

Idomeneo, written in 1780, achieved sensational success in Munich. After clashing with the Archbishop, Mozart resigned his court post and established himself in Vienna, where he secured several commissions while holding a salaried yet undemanding court appointment. He married Constanze Weber in 1782 and escorted her to Salzburg the next year to meet his relatives; that same year also brought the triumphant premiere of his opera Die Entführung aus dem Serail.

Mozart joined the Freemasons in 1784 and subsequently supplied music for several lodges. During the early and middle years of the decade he produced numerous sonatas and quartets while frequently appearing as soloist in the fifteen piano concertos composed in this period. Operatic commissions predominated among his later assignments, resulting in a succession of masterworks: Le nozze di Figaro in 1786, Don Giovanni in 1787, Così fan tutte in 1790, and Die Zauberflöte in 1791. Although he undertook several journeys in his final years and had experienced earlier bouts of frail health, no grave illness appeared until a fever of undetermined cause developed toward the close of 1791.