Mozart's birthplace. Interesting facts from the life of Mozart. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: biography. Return to Vienna

Born on January 27, 1756 in Salzburg (Austria) and at baptism received the names Johann Chrysostom Wolfgang Theophilus. Mother - Maria Anna, née Pertl; father – Leopold Mozart (1719–1787), composer and theorist, from 1743 – violinist in the court orchestra of the Archbishop of Salzburg.

Of the seven Mozart children, two survived: Wolfgang and his older sister Maria Anna. Both brother and sister had brilliant musical abilities: Leopold began giving his daughter harpsichord lessons when she was eight years old, and composed by her father in 1759 for Nannerl Music book with light plays later came in handy when teaching little Wolfgang. At the age of three, Mozart was picking up thirds and sixths on the harpsichord, and at the age of five he began composing simple minuets.

In January 1762, Leopold took his miracle children to Munich, where they played in the presence of the Bavarian Elector, and in September to Linz and Passau, from there along the Danube to Vienna, where they were received at court (in the Schönbrunn Palace) and twice awarded reception with Empress Maria Theresa. This trip marked the beginning of a series of concert trips that continued for ten years.

From Vienna, Leopold and his children moved along the Danube to Pressburg (now Bratislava, Slovakia), where they stayed from December 11 to 24, and then returned to Vienna on Christmas Eve. In June 1763, Leopold, Nannerl and Wolfgang began the longest of their concert trips: they returned home to Salzburg only towards the end of November 1766. Leopold kept a travel diary: Munich, Ludwigsburg, Augsburg and Schwetzingen (the summer residence of the Elector of the Palatinate). On August 18, Wolfgang gave a concert in Frankfurt: by this time he had mastered the violin and played it fluently, although not with such phenomenal brilliance as on keyboard instruments; in Frankfurt he performed his violin concerto (14-year-old Goethe was among those present in the hall). Brussels and Paris followed, where the family spent the entire winter of 1763/1764.

The Mozarts were received at the court of Louis XV during the Christmas holidays at Versailles and enjoyed great attention in aristocratic circles throughout the winter. At the same time, Wolfgang's works were published for the first time in Paris - four violin sonatas.

In April 1764 the family went to London and lived there for more than a year. A few days after their arrival, the Mozarts were solemnly received by King George III. As in Paris, children gave public concerts during which Wolfgang demonstrated his amazing abilities. Composer Johann Christian Bach, a favorite of London society, immediately appreciated the child’s enormous talent. Often, having put Wolfgang on his knees, he would perform sonatas with him on the harpsichord: they would play in turns, each playing a few bars, and they would do it with such precision that it seemed as if one musician was playing.

In London, Mozart composed his first symphonies. They followed the examples of the gallant, lively and energetic music of Johann Christian, who became the boy's teacher, and demonstrated an innate sense of form and instrumental color.

In July 1765 the family left London and headed to Holland; In September, in The Hague, Wolfgang and Nannerl suffered severe pneumonia, from which the boy recovered only by February.

They then continued their tour: from Belgium to Paris, then to Lyon, Geneva, Bern, Zurich, Donaueschingen, Augsburg and finally to Munich, where the Elector again listened to the play of the miracle child and was amazed at the successes he had made. As soon as they returned to Salzburg (November 30, 1766), Leopold began making plans for his next trip. It began in September 1767. The whole family arrived in Vienna, where at that time a smallpox epidemic was raging. The disease overtook both children in Olmutz (now Olomouc, Czech Republic), where they had to stay until December. In January 1768 they reached Vienna and were again received at court; Wolfgang wrote his first opera at this time - Imaginary simpleton (La finta semplice), however, its production did not take place due to the intrigues of some Viennese musicians. At the same time, his first large mass for choir and orchestra appeared, which was performed at the opening of the church at the orphanage in front of a large and friendly audience. A trumpet concerto was written by order, but unfortunately has not survived. On the way home to Salzburg, Wolfgang performed his new symphony (K. 45a) at the Benedictine monastery in Lambach.

(A note regarding the numbering of Mozart's works: In 1862, Ludwig von Köchel published a catalog of Mozart's works in chronological order. From this time on, the titles of the composer's works usually include the Köchel number - just as the works of other authors usually contain the opus designation. For example, the full title of Piano Concerto No. 20 would be: Concerto No. 20 in D minor for piano and orchestra (K. 466). Köchel's index was revised six times. In 1964, the Breitkopf and Hertel publishing house (Wiesbaden, Germany) published a deeply revised and expanded Köchel index. It includes many works for which Mozart's authorship has been proven and which were not mentioned in earlier editions. The dates of the essays have also been clarified in accordance with scientific research data. In the 1964 edition, changes were also made to the chronology, and therefore new numbers appeared in the catalogue, but Mozart’s works continue to exist under the old numbers of the Köchel catalogue.)

The goal of the next trip Leopold planned was Italy - the country of opera and, of course, the country of music in general. After 11 months of study and preparation for the trip, spent in Salzburg, Leopold and Wolfgang began the first of three journeys through the Alps. They were absent for more than a year (from December 1769 to March 1771). The first Italian journey turned into a chain of continuous triumphs - for the pope and the duke, for the king (Ferdinand IV of Naples) and for the cardinal and, most importantly, for the musicians. Mozart met with N. Piccini and G. B. Sammartini in Milan, with the heads of the Neapolitan opera school N. Iommelli, G. F. di Maio and G. Paisiello in Naples. In Milan, Wolfgang received a commission for a new opera seria to be presented during the carnival. In Rome he heard the famous Miserere G. Allegri, which he later wrote down from memory. Pope Clement XIV received Mozart on July 8, 1770 and awarded him the Order of the Golden Spur.

While studying counterpoint in Bologna with the famous teacher Padre Martini, Mozart began work on a new opera Mithridates, King of Pontus (Mitridate, re di Ponto). At Martini's insistence, he underwent an examination at the famous Bologna Philharmonic Academy and was accepted as a member of the academy. The opera was successfully performed at Christmas in Milan.

Wolfgang spent the spring and early summer of 1771 in Salzburg, but in August father and son went to Milan to prepare the premiere of a new opera Ascanius in Alba (Ascanio in Alba), which was successfully held on October 17. Leopold hoped to persuade Archduke Ferdinand, for whose wedding a celebration was organized in Milan, to take Wolfgang into his service; but by a strange coincidence, Empress Maria Theresa sent a letter from Vienna, in which she stated in strong terms her dissatisfaction with the Mozarts (in particular, she called them a “useless family”). Leopold and Wolfgang were forced to return to Salzburg, unable to find a suitable duty station for Wolfgang in Italy.

On the very day of their return, December 16, 1771, Prince-Archbishop Sigismund, who was kind to the Mozarts, died. His successor was Count Hieronymus Colloredo, and for his inauguration celebrations in April 1772, Mozart composed a “dramatic serenade” Scipio's Dream (Il sogno di Scipione). Colloredo accepted the young composer into the service with an annual salary of 150 guilders and gave permission to travel to Milan (Mozart undertook to write a new opera for this city); however, the new archbishop, unlike his predecessor, did not tolerate the Mozarts' long absences and was not inclined to admire their art.

The third Italian voyage lasted from October 1772 to March 1773. Mozart's new opera, Lucius Sulla (Lucio Silla), was performed the day after Christmas 1772, and the composer received no further opera orders. Leopold tried in vain to secure the patronage of the Grand Duke of Florence, Leopold. Having made several more attempts to settle his son in Italy, Leopold realized his defeat, and the Mozarts left this country so as not to return there again.

For the third time, Leopold and Wolfgang tried to settle in the Austrian capital; they remained in Vienna from mid-July to the end of September 1773. Wolfgang had the opportunity to become acquainted with the new symphonic works of the Viennese school, especially the dramatic symphonies in minor keys by J. Vanhal and J. Haydn; the fruits of this acquaintance are evident in his symphony in G minor (K. 183).

Forced to remain in Salzburg, Mozart devoted himself entirely to composition: at this time symphonies, divertimentos, works of church genres, as well as the first string quartet appeared - this music soon secured the author’s reputation as one of the most talented composers in Austria. Symphonies created at the end of 1773 - beginning of 1774 (for example, K. 183, 200, 201) are distinguished by high dramatic integrity.

A short break from the Salzburg provincialism he hated was given to Mozart by an order from Munich for a new opera for the carnival of 1775: premiere Imaginary gardener (La finta giardiniera) was successfully held in January. But the musician almost never left Salzburg. A happy family life to some extent compensated for the boredom of everyday life in Salzburg, but Wolfgang, who compared his current situation with the lively atmosphere of foreign capitals, gradually lost patience.

In the summer of 1777, Mozart was dismissed from the archbishop's service and decided to seek his fortune abroad. In September, Wolfgang and his mother traveled through Germany to Paris. In Munich, the Elector refused his services; On the way, they stopped in Mannheim, where Mozart was friendly received by local orchestra players and singers. Although he did not receive a place at the court of Karl Theodor, he stayed in Mannheim: the reason was his love for the singer Aloysia Weber. In addition, Mozart hoped to make a concert tour with Aloysia, who had a magnificent coloratura soprano; he even went with her secretly to the court of the Princess of Nassau-Weilburg (in January 1778). Leopold initially believed that Wolfgang would go to Paris with a company of Mannheim musicians, sending his mother back to Salzburg, but having heard that Wolfgang was madly in love, he strictly ordered him to immediately go to Paris with his mother.

His stay in Paris, which lasted from March to September 1778, turned out to be extremely unsuccessful: Wolfgang’s mother died on July 3, and Parisian court circles lost interest in the young composer. Although Mozart successfully performed two new symphonies in Paris and Christian Bach came to Paris, Leopold ordered his son to return to Salzburg. Wolfgang delayed his return as long as he could and especially lingered in Mannheim. Here he realized that Aloysia was completely indifferent to him. It was a terrible blow, and only his father’s terrible threats and pleas forced him to leave Germany.

Mozart's new symphonies (for example, G major, K. 318; B-flat major, K. 319; C major, K. 334) and instrumental serenades (for example, D major, K. 320) are marked by crystal clarity of form and orchestration, richness and the subtlety of emotional nuances and that special warmth that placed Mozart above all Austrian composers, with the exception of J. Haydn.

In January 1779, Mozart again took up the duties of organist at the archbishop's court with an annual salary of 500 guilders. The church music that he was obliged to compose for Sunday services was much higher in depth and variety than what he had previously written in this genre. Especially stand out Coronation Mass And Missa solemnis C major (K. 337). But Mozart continued to hate Salzburg and the archbishop, and therefore happily accepted the offer to write an opera for Munich. Idomeneo, King of Crete (Idomeneo, re di Creta) was installed at the court of Elector Karl Theodor (his winter residence was in Munich) in January 1781. Idomeneo was an excellent result of the experience acquired by the composer in the previous period, mainly in Paris and Mannheim. The choral writing is especially original and dramatically expressive.

At that time, the Archbishop of Salzburg was in Vienna and ordered Mozart to immediately go to the capital. Here the personal conflict between Mozart and Colloredo gradually assumed alarming proportions, and after Wolfgang's resounding public success in a concert given for the benefit of the widows and orphans of Viennese musicians on April 3, 1781, his days in the service of the archbishop were numbered. In May he submitted his resignation, and on June 8 he was kicked out.

Against his father's will, Mozart married Constanze Weber, the sister of his first lover, and the bride's mother managed to get very favorable terms of the marriage contract from Wolfgang (to the anger and despair of Leopold, who bombarded his son with letters, begging him to change his mind). Wolfgang and Constanze were married in Vienna's Cathedral of St. Stephen on August 4, 1782. And although Constanza was as helpless in financial matters as her husband, their marriage apparently turned out to be a happy one.

Mozart's opera in July 1782 Abduction from the Seraglio (Die Entführung aus dem Serail) was staged at the Vienna Burgtheater; it was a significant success, and Mozart became the idol of Vienna, not only in court and aristocratic circles, but also among concert-goers from the third estate. Within a few years, Mozart reached the heights of fame; life in Vienna encouraged him to engage in a variety of activities, composing and performing. He was in great demand, tickets for his concerts (the so-called academy), distributed by subscription, were completely sold out. For this occasion, Mozart composed a series of brilliant piano concertos. In 1784, Mozart gave 22 concerts over six weeks.

In the summer of 1783, Wolfgang and his bride paid a visit to Leopold and Nannerl in Salzburg. On this occasion, Mozart wrote his last and best Mass in C minor (K. 427), which has not reached us in full (if the composer completed the work at all). The Mass was performed on October 26 in Salzburg's Peterskirche, with Constanze singing one of the soprano solo parts. (Constanza was apparently a good professional singer, although her voice was in many ways inferior to that of her sister Aloysia.) Returning to Vienna in October, the couple stopped in Linz, where she appeared Linzskaya symphony(K. 425). In February of the following year, Leopold paid a visit to his son and daughter-in-law in their large Viennese apartment near the cathedral (this beautiful house remains to this day), and although Leopold could not get rid of his dislike for Constance, he recognized that his son's work as a composer and the performer are going very successfully.

The beginning of many years of sincere friendship between Mozart and J. Haydn dates back to this time. At a quartet evening with Mozart in the presence of Leopold, Haydn, turning to his father, said: “Your son is the greatest composer of all whom I know personally or have heard of.” Haydn and Mozart were significant influences on each other; as for Mozart, the first fruits of such influence are evident in the cycle of six quartets that Mozart dedicated to a friend in a famous letter in September 1785.

In 1784, Mozart became a Freemason, which left a deep imprint on his life philosophy; Masonic ideas can be traced in a number of Mozart's later works, especially in Magic flute. In those years, many well-known scientists, poets, writers, and musicians in Vienna were members of Masonic lodges (Haydn was among them), and Freemasonry was also cultivated in court circles.

As a result of various opera and theater intrigues, L. da Ponte, the court librettist, heir to the famous Metastasio, decided to work with Mozart as opposed to the clique of the court composer A. Salieri and da Ponte’s rival, the librettist Abbot Casti. Mozart and Da Ponte began with Beaumarchais's anti-aristocratic play Marriage of Figaro, and by that time the ban on the German translation of the play had not yet been lifted. With the help of various tricks, they managed to obtain the necessary permission from the censor, and on May 1, 1786 The Marriage of Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro) was first shown at the Burgtheater. Although this Mozart opera was later a huge success, when first staged it was soon supplanted by a new opera by V. Martin y Soler (1754–1806) Rare item (Una cosa rara). Meanwhile in Prague The Marriage of Figaro gained exceptional popularity (melodies from the opera were heard in the streets, and arias from it were danced to in ballrooms and coffee houses). Mozart was invited to conduct several performances. In January 1787, he and Constanza spent about a month in Prague, and this was the happiest time in the life of the great composer. The director of the Bondini opera troupe ordered him a new opera. It can be assumed that Mozart himself chose the plot - the ancient legend of Don Giovanni; the libretto was to be prepared by none other than Da Ponte. Opera Don Giovanni was first shown in Prague on October 29, 1787.

In May 1787, the composer's father died. This year generally became a milestone in Mozart’s life, as regards its external course and the composer’s state of mind. His thoughts were increasingly colored by deep pessimism; The sparkle of success and joy of youth are forever a thing of the past. The peak of the composer’s path was triumph Don Juan in Prague. After returning to Vienna at the end of 1787, Mozart began to be haunted by failures, and at the end of his life - by poverty. Staging Don Juan in Vienna in May 1788 ended in failure; At the reception after the performance, the opera was defended by Haydn alone. Mozart received the position of court composer and conductor of Emperor Joseph II, but with a relatively small salary for this position (800 guilders per year). The Emperor understood little of the music of either Haydn or Mozart; about Mozart’s works, he said that they were “not to the taste of the Viennese.” Mozart had to borrow money from Michael Puchberg, his fellow Mason.

In view of the hopelessness of the situation in Vienna (documents confirming how quickly the frivolous Viennese forgot their former idol make a strong impression), Mozart decided to undertake a concert trip to Berlin (April - June 1789), where he hoped to find a place for himself at the court of the Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm II . The result was only new debts, and even an order for six string quartets for His Majesty, who was a decent amateur cellist, and six keyboard sonatas for Princess Wilhelmina.

In 1799, the health of Constance, then Wolfgang himself, began to deteriorate, and the family’s financial situation became simply threatening. In February 1790, Joseph II died, and Mozart was not sure that he could maintain his post as court composer under the new emperor. The coronation celebrations of Emperor Leopold took place in Frankfurt in the fall of 1790, and Mozart went there at his own expense, hoping to attract public attention. This performance (the “Coronation” keyboard concerto, K. 537 was performed) took place on October 15, but did not bring any money. Returning to Vienna, Mozart met with Haydn; London impresario Zalomon came to invite Haydn to London, and Mozart received a similar invitation to the English capital for the next winter season. He wept bitterly as he saw off Haydn and Zalomon. “We will never see each other again,” he repeated. The previous winter he invited him to opera rehearsals That's what everyone does (Così fan tutte) just two friends - Haydn and Puchberg.

In 1791, E. Schikaneder, a writer, actor and impresario, a longtime acquaintance of Mozart, ordered him a new opera in German for his Freihaustheater in the Vienna suburb of Wieden (the current theater an der Wien), and in the spring Mozart began working on Magic Flute (Die Zauberflöte). At the same time, he received an order from Prague for the coronation opera - Mercy of Titus (La clemenza di Tito), for which Mozart's student F.K. Süssmayer helped write some spoken recitatives (secco). Together with his student and Constance, Mozart went to Prague in August to prepare the performance, which took place without much success on September 6 (the opera later enjoyed enormous popularity). Mozart then quickly left for Vienna to complete The magic flute. The opera was performed on September 30, and at the same time he completed his last instrumental work - a concerto for clarinet and orchestra in A major (K. 622).

Mozart was already ill when, under mysterious circumstances, a stranger came to him and ordered a requiem. This was the manager of Count Walsegg-Stuppach. The count commissioned a composition in memory of his deceased wife, intending to perform it under his own name. Mozart, confident that he was composing a requiem for himself, feverishly worked on the score until his strength left him. On November 15, 1791 he graduated Little Masonic cantata. Constance was being treated in Baden at that time and hastily returned home when she realized how serious her husband’s illness was. On November 20, Mozart fell ill and a few days later felt so weak that he took communion. On the night of December 4–5, he fell into a delirious state and, in a semi-conscious state, imagined himself playing the timpani in the Dies irae from his own unfinished requiem. It was almost one in the morning when he turned to the wall and stopped breathing. Constanza, broken by grief and without any means, had to agree to the cheapest funeral service in the chapel of the Cathedral of St. Stefan. She was too weak to accompany her husband's body on the long journey to the cemetery of St. Mark, where he was buried without any witnesses except the gravediggers, in a pauper's grave, the location of which was soon hopelessly forgotten. Süssmayer completed the requiem and orchestrated large unfinished text fragments left by the author.

If during Mozart's life his creative power was realized only by a relatively small number of listeners, then already in the first decade after the death of the composer, recognition of his genius spread throughout Europe. This was facilitated by the success that it had among a wide audience magical flute. The German publisher André acquired the rights to most of Mozart's unpublished works, including his remarkable piano concertos and all of his later symphonies (none of which were published during the composer's lifetime).

Mozart's personality.

250 years after Mozart's birth, it is difficult to form a clear picture of his personality (though not as difficult as in the case of J. S. Bach, about whom we know even less). Apparently, Mozart’s nature paradoxically combined the most opposite qualities: generosity and a penchant for caustic sarcasm, childishness and worldly sophistication, gaiety and a penchant for deep melancholy - even pathological, wit (he mercilessly imitated those around him), high morality (although he did not favored the church too much), rationalism, realistic outlook on life. Without a trace of pride, he spoke enthusiastically about those whom he admired, for example, about Haydn, but he was merciless towards those whom he considered amateurs. His father once wrote to him: “You are full of extremes, you do not know the golden mean,” adding that Wolfgang is either too patient, too lazy, too lenient, or - at times - too obstinate and restless, too rushing the course of events instead of providing they should take their own course. And after centuries, his personality seems to us as mobile and elusive, like mercury.

Mozart's family.

Mozart and Constanze had six children, of whom two survived: Karl Thomas (1784–1858) and Franz Xaver Wolfgang (1791–1844). Both studied music, Haydn sent the elder to study at the Milan Conservatory with the famous theorist B. Asioli; however, Karl Thomas was still not a born musician and eventually became an official. The youngest son had musical abilities (Haydn even introduced him to the public at a charity concert held in Vienna in favor of Constanta), and he created a number of quite professional instrumental works.

MUSIC OF MOZART

It is impossible to find another composer who mastered the most diverse genres and forms with such brilliance as Mozart: this applies to the symphony and concerto, divertimento and quartet, opera and mass, sonata and trio. Even Beethoven cannot compare with Mozart in the exceptional brilliance of operatic images (as regards Fidelio, then this is rather a monumental exception in Beethoven’s work). Mozart was not an innovator like Haydn, but he made bold breakthroughs in the field of updating the harmonic language (for example, the famous Little gig G major, K. 574 for piano – a very representative example, reminiscent of modern 12-tone technique). Mozart's orchestral writing is not as strikingly new as Haydn's, but the impeccability and perfection of Mozart's orchestra is a constant subject of admiration for both musicians and laymen who, in the words of the composer himself, “enjoy without knowing what it is.” Mozart's style was formed on Salzburg soil (where there was a strong influence of Michael Haydn, Joseph's brother), and the impressions from his many travels in childhood had a deep and lasting influence on him. The most significant of these impressions is associated with Johann Christian Bach (the ninth, youngest son of Johann Sebastian). Mozart became acquainted with the art of the “English Bach” in London, and the strength and grace of his scores left an unforgettable mark on the mind of young Wolfgang. Later, Italy played a big role (where Mozart visited three times): there he absorbed the basics of drama and the musical language of the operatic genre. And then Mozart became a close friend and admirer of J. Haydn and was captivated by Haydn’s deeply meaningful interpretation of the sonata form. But in general, during the Viennese period, Mozart created his own, extremely original style. And only in the 20th century. the amazing emotional richness of Mozart's art and its internal tragedy, closely adjacent to the external serenity and sunshine of the major fragments of his music, were fully realized. In the old days, only Bach and Beethoven were considered as the main pillars of Western European music, but today many musicians and music lovers believe that this art found its most perfect expression in the works of Mozart.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, full name Johann Chrysostom Wolfgang Theophilus Mozart was born on January 27, 1756 in Salzburg, died on December 5, 1791 in Vienna. Austrian composer, bandmaster, virtuoso violinist, harpsichordist, organist. According to contemporaries, he had a phenomenal ear for music, memory and the ability to improvise. Mozart is widely recognized as one of the greatest composers: his uniqueness lies in the fact that he worked in all musical forms of his time and achieved the greatest success in all of them. Along with Haydn and Beethoven, he belongs to the most significant representatives of the Vienna Classical School.
Mozart was born on January 27, 1756 in Salzburg, which was then the capital of the Archbishopric of Salzburg, now this city is located in Austria.
Mozart's musical abilities manifested themselves at a very early age, when he was about three years old. Wolfgang's father taught him the basics of playing the harpsichord, violin and organ.
In 1762, Mozart's father and his son and daughter Anna, also a remarkable harpsichordist, took an artistic trip to Munich, Paris, London and Vienna, and then to many other cities in Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. In the same year, young Mozart wrote his first composition.
In 1763, Mozart's first sonatas for harpsichord and violin were published in Paris. From 1766 to 1769, living in Salzburg and Vienna, Mozart studied the works of Handel, Stradella, Carissimi, Durante and other great masters.
Mozart spent 1770-1774 in Italy. In 1770, in Bologna, he met the composer Joseph Mysliveček, who was extremely popular in Italy at that time; the influence of “The Divine Bohemian” turned out to be so great that subsequently, due to the similarity of style, some of his works were attributed to Mozart, including the oratorio “Abraham and Isaac”

In 1775-1780, despite worries about financial security, a fruitless trip to Munich, Mannheim and Paris, and the loss of his mother, Mozart wrote, among other things, 6 keyboard sonatas, a concerto for flute and harp, and the great symphony No. 31 in D major, called Paris, several spiritual choirs, 12 ballet numbers.
In 1779, Mozart received a position as court organist in Salzburg (collaborating with Michael Haydn). On January 26, 1781, the opera “Idomeneo” was staged in Munich with great success, marking a certain turn in Mozart’s work.
In 1781, Mozart finally settled in Vienna. In 1783, Mozart married Constance Weber, sister of Aloysia Weber, with whom he had been in love while in Mannheim. In the very first years, Mozart gained wide fame in Vienna; His “academies,” as public author’s concerts were called in Vienna, were popular, in which the works of one composer, often by himself, were performed. However, Mozart’s opera in subsequent years in Vienna did not go well. The operas "L'oca del Cairo" (1783) and "Lo sposo deluso" (1784) remained unfinished. Finally, in 1786, the opera “The Marriage of Figaro” was written and staged, the libretto of which was Lorenzo da Ponte. It had a good reception in Vienna, but after several performances it was withdrawn and was not staged until 1789, when the production was resumed by Antonio Salieri, who considered “The Marriage of Figaro” to be Mozart’s best opera.
In 1787, a new opera, created in collaboration with Da Ponte, was released - “Don Giovanni”.
At the end of 1787, after the death of Christoph Willibald Gluck, Mozart received the position of “imperial and royal chamber musician” with a salary of 800 florins, but his duties were mainly limited to composing dances for masquerades, opera - comic, on a plot from social life - was commissioned from Mozart only once, and it was “Cosi fan tutte” (1790).
In May 1791, Mozart was assigned an unpaid position as assistant conductor of St. Stephen's Cathedral; this position gave him the right to become conductor after the death of the seriously ill Leopold Hofmann; Hofmann, however, outlived Mozart.
Mozart died on December 5, 1791. The cause of Mozart's death is still a matter of debate. Most researchers believe that Mozart actually died, as stated in the medical report, from rheumatic fever, possibly complicated by acute heart or kidney failure. The famous legend about the poisoning of Mozart by the composer Salieri is still supported by several musicologists, but there is no convincing evidence for this version. In May 1997, a court sitting in the Milan Palace of Justice, having considered the case of Antonio Salieri on charges of murdering Mozart, acquitted him.

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Everything seems to be fine

She's not short

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg on January 27, 1756. His father was the composer and violinist Leopold Mozart, who worked in the court chapel of Count Sigismund von Strattenbach (Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg). The mother of the famous musician was Anna Maria Mozart (nee Pertl), who came from the family of a commissioner-trustee of an almshouse in the small commune of St. Gilgen.

A total of seven children were born into the Mozart family, but most of them, unfortunately, died at a young age. The first child of Leopold and Anna, who managed to survive, was the elder sister of the future musician, Maria Anna (from childhood, her family and friends called the girl Nannerl). About four years later, Wolfgang was born. The birth was extremely difficult, and doctors for a long time feared that it would be fatal for the boy’s mother. But after some time, Anna began to recover.

Family of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Both Mozart children demonstrated a love of music and excellent ability for it from an early age. When Nannerl's father began teaching her to play the harpsichord, her little brother was only about three years old. However, the sounds heard during lessons excited the little boy so much that from then on he often approached the instrument, pressed the keys and selected pleasant-sounding harmonies. Moreover, he could even play fragments of musical works that he had heard before.

Therefore, already at the age of four, Wolfgang began to receive his own harpsichord lessons from his father. However, the child soon became bored with learning minuets and pieces written by other composers, and at the age of five, young Mozart added to this type of activity the composing of his own short plays. And at the age of six, Wolfgang mastered the violin, and practically without outside help.

Nannerl and Wolfgang never went to school: Leopold gave them an excellent education at home. At the same time, young Mozart always immersed himself in the study of any subject with great zeal. For example, if we were talking about mathematics, then after several diligent studies of the boy, literally every surface in the room: from the walls and floor to the floors and chairs - was quickly covered with chalk inscriptions with numbers, problems and equations.

Euro-trip

Already at the age of six, the “miracle child” played so well that he could give concerts. Nannerl’s voice was a wonderful addition to his inspired performance: the girl sang simply beautifully. Leopold Mozart was so impressed by the musical abilities of his children that he decided to go on long tours with them to various European cities and countries. He hoped that this journey would bring them great success and considerable profit.

The family visited Munich, Brussels, Cologne, Mannheim, Paris, London, The Hague, and several cities in Switzerland. The trip dragged on for many months, and after a short return to Salzburg - for years. During this time, Wolfgang and Nunnel gave concerts to stunned audiences, and also attended opera houses and performances of famous musicians with their parents.

In 1764, the first four sonatas of young Wolfgang, intended for violin and clavier, were published in Paris. In London, the boy was lucky to study for some time with Johann Christian Bach (the youngest son of Johann Sebastian Bach), who immediately noted the child’s genius and, being a virtuoso musician, gave Wolfgang many useful lessons.

Over the years of wandering, the “miracle children,” who already naturally had far from the best health, became quite tired. Their parents were also tired: for example, during the Mozart family’s stay in London, Leopold became seriously ill. Therefore, in 1766, the child prodigies returned to their hometown with their parents.

Creative development

At the age of fourteen, Wolfgang Mozart, through the efforts of his father, went to Italy, which was amazed by the talent of the young virtuoso. Arriving in Bologna, he successfully took part in the unique musical competitions of the Philharmonic Academy along with musicians, many of whom were old enough to be his fathers.

The skill of the young genius so impressed the Academy of Boden that he was elected academician, although this honorary status was usually awarded only to the most successful composers, who were at least 20 years old.

After returning to Salzburg, the composer plunged headlong into composing diverse sonatas, operas, quartets, and symphonies. The older he got, the more daring and original his works were, they became less and less like the creations of the musicians whom Wolfgang admired as a child. In 1772, fate brought Mozart together with Joseph Haydn, who became his main teacher and closest friend.

Wolfgang soon received a job at the archbishop's court, just like his father. He received a large number of orders, but after the death of the old bishop and the arrival of a new one, the situation at court became much less pleasant. A breath of fresh air for the young composer was a trip to Paris and major German cities in 1777, which Leopold Mozart begged from the archbishop for his gifted son.

At that time, the family faced quite severe financial difficulties, and therefore only the mother was able to go with Wolfgang. The grown-up composer again gave concerts, but his bold compositions were not similar to the classical music of those times, and the grown-up boy no longer aroused delight by his mere appearance. Therefore, this time the audience received the musician with much less cordiality. And in Paris, Mozart’s mother died, exhausted from a long and unsuccessful trip. The composer returned to Salzburg.

Career blossoming

Despite his money problems, Wolfgang Mozart had long been dissatisfied with the way the archbishop treated him. Without doubting his musical genius, the composer was indignant at the fact that his employer regarded him as a servant. Therefore, in 1781, he, disregarding all the laws of decency and the persuasion of his relatives, decided to leave the service of the archbishop and move to Vienna.

There the composer met Baron Gottfried van Steven, who at that time was the patron of musicians and had a large collection of works by Handel and Bach. On his advice, Mozart tried to create music in the Baroque style in order to enrich his creativity. At the same time, Mozart tried to get a position as a music teacher for Princess Elisabeth of Württemberg, but the emperor preferred the singing teacher Antonio Salieri to him.

The peak of Wolfgang Mozart's creative career occurred in the 1780s. It was then that she wrote her most famous operas: “The Marriage of Figaro”, “The Magic Flute”, “Don Giovanni”. At the same time, the popular “Little Night Serenade” was written in four parts. At that time, the composer's music was in great demand, and he received the largest fees in his life for his work.

Unfortunately, the period of unprecedented creative growth and recognition for Mozart did not last too long. In 1787, his beloved father died, and soon his wife Constance Weber fell ill with a leg ulcer, and a lot of money was needed for the treatment of her wife.

The situation was worsened by the death of Emperor Joseph II, after which Emperor Leopold II ascended the throne. He, unlike his brother, was not a fan of music, so composers of that time did not have to count on the favor of the new monarch.

Personal life

Mozart's only wife was Constance Weber, whom he met in Vienna (at first, after moving to the city, Wolfgang rented housing from the Weber family).

Leopold Mozart was against his son’s marriage to a girl, as he saw in this the desire of her family to find a “profitable match” for Constance. However, the wedding took place in 1782.

The composer's wife was pregnant six times, but few of the couple's children survived infancy: only Karl Thomas and Franz Xaver Wolfgang survived.

Death

In 1790, when Constance again went for treatment, and Wolfgang Mozart's financial condition became even more unbearable, the composer decided to give several concerts in Frankfurt. The famous musician, whose portrait at that time became the personification of progressive and immensely beautiful music, was greeted with a bang, but the proceeds from the concerts turned out to be too small and did not live up to Wolfgang’s hopes.

In 1791, the composer experienced an unprecedented creative upsurge. At this time, “Symphony 40” came out from his pen, and shortly before his death, the unfinished “Requiem”.

That same year, Mozart became very ill: he was tormented by weakness, the composer’s legs and arms became swollen, and soon he began to suffer from sudden bouts of vomiting. Wolfgang's death occurred on December 5, 1791, its official cause being rheumatic inflammatory fever.

However, to this day, some believe that the cause of Mozart’s death was poisoning by the then famous composer Antonio Salieri, who, alas, was not at all as brilliant as Wolfgang. Part of the popularity of this version is dictated by the corresponding “little tragedy” written by. However, no confirmation of this version has been found to date.

• The composer's real name is Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus (Gottlieb) Mozart, but he himself always demanded to be called Wolfgang.

• During the big tour of the young Mozarts across Europe, the family ended up in Holland. At that time there was a fast in the country, and music was prohibited. An exception was made only for Wolfgang, considering his talent to be a gift from God.
• Mozart was buried in a common grave, where there were several other coffins: the financial situation of the family at that time was so difficult. Therefore, the exact burial place of the great composer is still unknown.

Portrait of 1819
Barbara Craft

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart born January 27, 1756. The city of Salzburg is considered the birthplace of Amadeus Mozart, and the entire Mozart family belonged to the family of musicians. Full name: Johann Chrysostom Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
In the life of Amadeus, the talent for creativity as a musician was discovered at a very early age. Mozart's own father tried to teach him to play various musical instruments, including the organ.
In 1762, all members of Amadeus Mozart's family migrate to Munich. There, while in Vienna, large-scale concerts of the Mozart family, namely Mozart’s sister Anna Maria, are played. After a series of concerts, the family travels further, visiting cities where Mozart's musical works impress listeners with their unsurpassed mastery.
The Paris publication is considered the debut edition of Wolfgang Mozart's works.
In the subsequent period of his life, namely 70-74, Mozart lived, created and worked in Italy on a permanent basis. It was this country that became fateful for Mozart - there he staged his symphonies for the very first time, which enjoyed stunning success among high-profile audiences.
It is worth noting that already at the age of 17, the musician’s varied repertoire contained at least 40 large-scale works.
In the period 75-80. 18th century, Amadeus’s diligent and continuous creative activity replenishes the volumes of his works with additional variations of famous compositions. After Mozart took up the position of court organist, which happened in 79, Mozart's works, especially operas, as well as symphonies, began to incorporate increasingly new and professional techniques.
Amadeus Mozart's creative activity was significantly influenced by his personal life, namely, the fact that Constance Weber became his wife. The romantic relationships of those times were reflected in the opera "The Abduction from the Seraglio".
Some works of the great composer remained unfinished. This is only due to the difficult financial situation of the family, due to which Mozart was forced to devote all his free time to small part-time jobs in order to somehow survive.
The following years of Mozart's creative activity amaze with their fruitfulness in tandem with skill. The works of Amadeus Wolfgang Mozart are staged in big cities, his concerts simply do not stop.
In 89, Amadeus Wolfgang Mozart received a very interesting offer - to become the head of the Berlin Court Chapel. But, for unknown reasons, Mozart does not accept this offer, thereby further aggravating his financial situation, driving himself not only into poverty, but also into need.
However, having a strong and strong-willed character, Amadeus Mozart does not give up and continues to create, not without success. Operas of that time were given to Mozart without much difficulty and quite quickly, but despite this they were of high quality, professional and expressive.
Unfortunately, from the end of October 1791, the great creator of music Amadeus Mozart became very sick, and as a consequence, he stopped getting out of bed altogether. A month later, on December 5, 1791, the great musician died of fever. He was buried in Vienna, in the St. Mark's cemetery.

Lev Gunin

THE LIFE OF MOZART AND ITS SECRETS

PART ONE

(CONTINUATION)

BIOGRAPHY

Birth: January 27, 1756. Place of birth: Salzburg (Austria). At baptism he received the names Johann Chrysostomos Wolfgang Theophilus (Gottlieb) Mozart ( Joannes Chrisostomus Wolfgang Gottlieb Mozart). Mother - Maria Anna Pertl. Father - Leopold Mozart (1719-1787), an outstanding composer, teacher and theorist. Even before Wolfgang's birth, in 1743, Leopold received a position as a violinist in the court orchestra of the Archbishop of Salzburg. Maria Anna and Leopold had seven children. Perhaps they all had pronounced musical abilities. The monstrous infant mortality rate of that time claimed five. Only two survived: Maria Anna (Nannerl) and her younger brother Wolfgang. Both are endowed with extraordinary musical talent. Like Johann Sebastian Bach with his distinguished sons, Leopold Mozart began teaching music to his son and daughter from a very early age. Like Bach, in 1759 he himself composed a notebook of harpsichord pieces with children's repertoire. Leopold's teaching talent and the brilliant abilities of his children worked wonders. Five-year-old Wolfgang is already composing simple minuets.

Leopold Mozart, Wolfgang's father, mother,
and the Mozart family (right)

However, Mozart the father was not only a strong teacher, but also an enterprising man. His son and daughter became his tools of the trade. The father decided to make a fortune from them. January, 1762. The first “run-in” of two child prodigies (miracle children): a trip to Munich, a large, brilliant cultural center, where the three of them played in the presence of the Bavarian Elector. At that time, Germany was fragmented into many small states - kingdoms or principalities - each ruled by a separate monarch. The decision to start the first foreign tour with her reflects the entrepreneurial flair of Leopold Mozart. The public in Germany was not as spoiled and capricious as the Austrian one, and did not turn away from its own German performers. In Austria, it should be noted, the Italian school dominated. Italy was for centuries part of the Austrian (Holy Roman) Empire, as were Hungary, Bohemia (Czech Republic), Slovakia, and other countries. Therefore, the passion for Italian music in no way ran counter to Austrian patriotism. Moreover, the preference for Italian masters over German ones did not reflect the suppression of German national musical art, but the desire of the nobility to distance themselves from the people, to put an impenetrable partition between themselves and the rabble playing music on the streets of Vienna. Only after Germany, having collected reviews and recommendations, Leopold Mozart and his children made a tour of his native Austria: in September 1762 he visited Linz and Passau, from where he arrived along the Danube to Vienna.

Salzburg Palace

Salzburg Church

Mozart's sister, Nannerl

A favorable reception in Germany and recommendations did their job: the Mozarts were treated kindly at court, they were admitted to the Schönbrunn Palace, and twice they were received by Empress Maria Theresa herself. They get to Pressburg (as the Austrian conquerors renamed Slovak Bratislava) again along the Danube, where they stay until Christmas, and by Christmas Eve they are back in Vienna.

In a palace

From June 1763 to November 1766, the Mozarts toured for three long years, visiting almost all of Europe: Munich, Schwetzingen (summer residence of the Elector of the Palatinate), Ludwigsburg, Augsburg, Frankfurt, Brussels, Bern, Zurich, Geneva, Lyon, Paris, London. This is not the complete itinerary of their travels. In Frankfurt, Wolfgang performed his own violin concerto, and among the audience was 14-year-old Goethe. Reception at the court of Louis XV. Performances in the luxurious Versailles during the Christmas holidays, and - after them - the tenderness and enthusiastic squeal of the French aristocracy. The works of seven-year-old Mozart (four violin sonatas) were published for the first time in Paris. Then London (April 1764): for more than a year. Just a few days since we arrived, and have already been received by King George III.

Concert

Only princes of royal blood were awarded the honor of communicating with the monarchs of the leading countries of Europe, and even then not just any princes, but those belonging (like almost all European autocrats, including Russian ones) to the Habsburg family (another element of the world order established by the Austrian imperial house). In front of a large crowd of people, the children demonstrated their phenomenal musical abilities, in much the same way as circus children walking on a tightrope. Johann Christian Bach, one of the sons of the great J. S. Bach, who lived in London, saw in Wolfgang a great genius, and not a living toy. Valued by London society no less than Handel, Johann Christian was a truly outstanding composer.

Mozart in London (he is 11 years old), portrait made by
J Vander Smissen

In his well-known work, the Soviet musicologist B. Levik describes how, having sat Wolfgang on his knees, the famous composer played with him four hands, or in turn, performing harpsichord sonatas. The child and the experienced husband grasped each other’s style so subtly that even when they played, each in turn, for 4-8 bars, it seemed that it was the same musician playing. It is no coincidence that it was in London that the young composer wrote his first symphonies. They appeared under the influence of the personality and music, and also the lessons of Johann Christian Bach.

After London, in The Hague (September 1765), Wolfgang and Nannerl barely survived, suffering from severe pneumonia. The boy began to recover only in February 1766. Despite this, the tour continues. The names of cities flashed like roadside posts. And, as if specifically according to the laws of classical drama, Munich again puts an end to it, where the Bavarian Elector again listens to the child prodigy, amazed at the successes he has made in such a short time. We didn’t stay too long in Salzburg. In September 1767, the whole family had already arrived in Vienna. The terrible smallpox epidemic that raged there managed to touch children in the Czech Republic with its bony hand, where it released them only by December. And already in January 1768, without wasting any time, they again appeared in Vienna, receiving a reception at court. It was then that the fateful intrigues of the Viennese musicians sounded like Beethoven’s leitmotif of fate, because of which the production of the first opera written by the child prodigy, " La finta semplice"("The Imaginary Simpleton"), was torn down.

Mozart in 1789. Drawing by Doris Stock

It is significant that it was during that period, at the end of the 1760s, that young Mozart outlined the main directions of his composing interests: he tried himself in the genres of opera, mass (his large mass for choir and orchestra was performed at the opening of a church), concerto (for trumpet) , symphony (K. 45a; performed in Lambach, in the Benedictine monastery), sonata, quartet. This period of Mozart’s work has already been included in the classification of Ludwig von Köchel (the letter K before the serial number of the work), who periodized and divided into opuses the entire work of the great composer; this classification, supplemented and rethought (the largest revision - 1964), has survived to this day.

The musical heart of the Austrian Empire was undoubtedly Italy: where refined taste, school, canons and exactingness surpassed everything that could then be found in Europe. It is no coincidence that Mozart the father left the tour of Italy “for an appetizer”, having previously strengthened his position in other countries. And yet he was not yet sure that he could conquer Italy; Therefore, intensive training and preparation for the trip lasted 11 (!) months (Salzburg). In total, Wolfgang moved with his father through the Alps 3 times, spending a total of more than a year in Italy (1769 - 1771). Despite all the fears and skepticism, the tour of Italy turned out to be a brilliant triumph. It was possible to conquer everyone: the highest elite circles, the supreme authorities, the aristocracy in a general sense, the general public, and even demanding musicians. The Mozarts were accepted and favored by Pope Clement XIV (on July 8, 1770, he awarded Wolfgang the Order of the Golden Spur) and Cardinal, Duke of Milan and Neapolitan Ferdinand IV of Naples, and other rulers. Local musicians gave them an equally warm welcome. In Milan N. Piccini and Giuseppe Sammartini meet with Wolfgang, in Naples the head of the local opera school N. Iomelli, composers Giuseppe Paisiello and Mayo. In Rome, Mozart listened to the famous " Miserere"Allegri, whose notes were forbidden to be copied and taken out under pain of punishment. Wolfgang, leaving the church, wrote down the entire work from memory. No one had such a phenomenal musical ("spatial"!) memory.

House in Salzburg where Mozart was born

The crowning success was orders for essays. In Milan, Mozart the son was commissioned to perform an opera seria for the carnival season. In Bologna, he studied counterpoint under the guidance of the legendary teacher, Padre Martini, and began to fulfill the order: opera "Mitridate, re di Ponto" ("Mithridates, King of Pontus"). Martini insisted that Mozart undergo the test of the famous Bologna Philharmonic Academy. After the exam, the academy accepted him as a member. At Christmas the new opera was a success in Milan. A new order followed - " Ascanio in Alba"In August 1771, father and son appeared in Milan to prepare it. The opera, which premiered on October 17, was a great success.

1770. Mozart in Verona, Italy (Salieri was born near Verona)

A bright future awaited young Mozart in Italy. This country, its mentality, its atmosphere best suited the character of Mozart's genius, his sunny cheerfulness, hedonism, open and friendly character. It comes as no surprise that his father understood this best. Leopold Mozart is trying by all means to obtain a place for his son in Italy, trying to secure him there. Before the upcoming wedding of Archduke Ferdinand - and the festivities on this occasion in Milan - Leopold persistently asks the Archduke to take Wolfgang into his service. According to existing legend, Ferdinand grants this request.

And here something completely fantastic begins; at least - inexplicable.

When it became clear that - after the royal letter - Wolfgang would not get a job, place, or livelihood, father and son reluctantly returned to Salzburg, to their sweet but disgusted cell. Another strange, macabre coincidence immediately followed, “welcoming” them to their hometown with a gloomy cannonade. On December 16, 1771, precisely on the day of their return, their ardent admirer and kind patron, Prince-Archbishop Sigismund, dies. His successor, Count Jerome Colloredo, was hardly the monster portrayed in thousands of biographical sketches. Firstly, Colloredo accepts the young composer into his service, ensuring his existence with an annual salary of 150 guilders, which is quite enough for Salzburg at that time. Secondly, he orders him a "dramatic serenade" Il sogno di Scipione"("The Dream of Scipio"), on the occasion of his inaugural celebrations (April 1772); thirdly, he gives permission for Wolfgang to travel to Milan to prepare a new opera" Lucio Silla"(from late autumn 1772 to spring 1773).

The Empress’s destructive letter to his career and the death of Archbishop Sigismund could not but cause mental trauma, and the opera was not as successful as the previous ones, not evoking the usual response from the public; however, even this cannot explain the complete absence of new orders and the strangely hostile attitude. No, this is a clear conspiracy organized against the Mozarts at a very high level. Wolfgang's father probed the situation by appealing for the patronage of the Grand Duke of Florence Leopold, a patron of the arts and guardian of art. The Duke's reaction turned out to be cool, which meant only one thing: someone was interfering with the career of the young genius in Italy. After several more attempts to gain support from higher circles, Leopold was forced to leave this country forever. B. Levik calls Mozart's third stay in Italy the last relatively bright period of his life.

In the capital of the empire, Vienna, everything that happened in Italy was repeated. The silent wariness of those in power and other influential persons, sometimes turning into open hostility, intrigue in musical circles, and harsh pressure. In Salzburg, Mozart finds himself in a situation that can, without much of a stretch, be called house arrest. Deprived of all hope, cut off from a further career, he seeks salvation and consolation in creativity, writing furiously. Quartets, symphonies (K. 183, 200, 201), sacred compositions, divertissements: genre “omnivorousness” is the earliest symptoms of graphomania. As we see, those who persecuted him are to blame for the development of this creative “illness” in Mozart. The relaxation of the Salzburg "house arrest" came in connection with the composition and production of a new Munich opera (for the carnival of 1775), " La finta giardiniera" ("The Imaginary Gardener"), one of the most important milestones in his work.

The provincial life of Salzburg and the intolerability of a dependent position overflowed Mozart's patience. He breaks with the new archbishop (the final break occurred during the Munich production of the opera Idomnea in 1781), becoming the first musician in history to reject a dependent position. He speaks of the archbishop in the harshest terms, calling the latter a scoundrel and other abusive words, which is completely unusual for that time when class barriers and social hierarchy seemed indestructible. It is noteworthy that the break with the archbishop marked the beginning of attempts to “break with Austria” in general, i.e. leave for good. This intention of fleeing abroad, into emigration, was also supported by Leopold. However, the arms of the Austrian monarchy were very long, long enough to prevent Wolfgang from gaining a foothold in any other capital. The degree of determination of the Austrian imperial dynasty to expand its “guardianship” over Mozart to foreign countries was underestimated even by such a very perspicacious and sober person as his father.

In September 1777, Wolfgang went with his mother to Paris, with the firm intention of staying there. The way there lay through the German states, where it turned out that Mozart was in disgrace, almost persona non grata. The Elector of Munich almost pointedly refused him. Along the way, mother and son stopped in Mannheim, an important opera center in Germany. And here, at the court of Karl Theodor, Mozart actually received a demonstrative refusal. Contrary to the attitude of higher circles, local instrumentalists and vocalists greeted Mozart warmly and friendly. But that was not what made him linger. He fell madly in love with the singer Aloysia Weber. Her magnificent voice (gorgeous coloratura soprano) and bright stage appearance played an important role. However, hopes for a big concert tour with her were not destined to come true. At first she sympathizes with Wolfgang, and in January 1778 the two of them go (incognito) to the court of the Princess of Nassau-Weilburg. Obviously, the cheerful nature of the young genius refuses to accept the scenario of conspiracy and accountability (in the “Mozart case”) of all these petty princes, princes and princesses to the Austrian crown. Presumably, the refusal of the Princess of Nassau-Weilburg had a sobering effect on the pragmatic Aloysia, and she lost interest in Mozart. Hoping to revive him, Wolfgang lets his mother go to Salzburg, while he stays behind. However, the father, who learned that his child had not gone to Paris accompanied by Mannheim musicians (as reported), but was wandering aimlessly around Mannheim in paroxysms of unrequited love, with all his paternal authority forced his son to immediately go to Paris with his mother.

In 1778, he was offered the position of court organist at Versailles, under the direct patronage of the sister of the Austrian Emperor Joseph, Marie Antoinette. However, in France, the British King George III, inexplicably, is gaining more and more influence, as is Empress Maria Theresa, Mozart's antagonist. The French court had just officially abandoned its support for the rebellion of the American colonies against the British king.

Mozart, while in France, mainly visits circles that supported the American Revolution. For ten days he collaborated with Johann Christian Bach, who had arrived from London, at the residence of the aristocratic de Noailles family, related to the Marquis de Lafayette, who went to America to fight against British troops. However, all these circumstances in themselves cannot explain the presence of a completely impenetrable wall in the path of professional development of such an outstanding musician as Mozart in a city like Paris.

It is interesting that Mozart has a presentiment of the future Parisian tragedy, as can be seen from his letters. The blank wall with which he was surrounded in Italy and Germany, impenetrable and merciless, was also revealed in Paris. Wherever Mozart went, they were already warned of his appearance and instructed accordingly. Immediately upon arrival, back in March 1778, it became clear that court circles were hostile. Neither the resounding success of Mozart's two new symphonies, nor the arrival of Christian Bach from London, who did everything in his power for Mozart and used all his connections, nor the participation of other famous and influential personalities reversed the enmity. And this only says one thing: the architecture of this insurmountable wall originated on the highest political Olympus. However, the stay in Paris, in addition to the “earthly”, physical persecution, was colored by a certain sinister, satanic orgy of esoteric forces that flocked here to confront the bright genius. A chain of seemingly unrelated gloomy events sets up its dark milestones. On July 3, the composer's mother dies, which coincides with the general apotheosis of the rampant dark forces. Evil, death, mystery, everything unknowable and incomprehensible hypnotize us, and, as if in a trance, Mozart is in no hurry to leave Paris, from where his father’s severe orders tear him out.

Depressed, murdered, Mozart comes to Mannheim, still hoping for the reciprocal love of Aloysia Weber, as the last joy of life. The full realization that she would never become his mistress dealt him the final cruel blow, plunging him into a state of endless depression. His father's terrible pleas, curses and even threats may have saved him from certain death, tearing him out of Mannheim and bringing him home to Salzburg. For another, such dramatic experiences would be enough to mentally de-energize and interrupt musical inspiration. However, for Mozart, creativity becomes one of the last connections with life. His talent deepens so much, developing into an unsurpassed genius, that not a single composer of his era can no longer be compared with him. Any genre that Mozart’s magic pen touches blossoms with all its colors, beginning to live a higher spiritual, esoteric life. Pushkin said wonderfully about him in his little tragedy “Mozart and Salieri”: “What depth! What courage and what harmony!” It is precisely the courage of thought that most distinguishes Mozart's writing. In comparing emotional states, psychologism, philosophy of music, and in vivid figurative means, he surpassed anyone else. Not to mention the fact that he was the greatest melodist. These years bring a number of the most profound church works, such as " Missa solemnis" in C major and "Coronation Mass" (K. 337), operas (" Idomeneo, re di Creta" ("Idomeneo, King of Crete"), and other works. In April 1781, the conflict between Mozart and Archbishop Colloredo escalated into a scandalous personal squabble, after which a resignation was submitted, and on June 8, Mozart was humiliatingly kicked out the door.

Following these turbulent events, Mozart’s marriage took place, and to none other than his sister Aloysia Weber. He marries her against the will of his father, who in dozens of angry letters begs him to break up with Constance. The wedding ceremony took place on August 4, 1782 in the Vienna Cathedral of St. Stefan. Spouses are equally disgusted with the management of financial affairs, which cannot but affect the tragic ending of life; However, in his personal life, Mozart appears to be happy with Constance, and this stimulates his creativity.

Constanze Weber, Mozart's wife

When Mozart found himself close to his pursuers, in their own home (Vienna), the rules of the game changed. Certain attitudes did not allow them to spoil things in their personal chambers, and until a certain point, if they did not leave Mozart alone, they outwardly tolerated him, without interfering (for the time being) in the course of his professional career. In addition, Maria Theresa was replaced on the throne by her son Joseph II, an extraordinary personality, and Vienna came to life, hoping for a bright future. In July 1782, a new opera in German "Die Entfhrung aus dem Serail" (“The Abduction from the Seraglio”), staged at the Burgtheater, created a sensation. Mozart becomes a people's favorite and idol. His melodies are heard everywhere: in houses, in coffee shops and on the streets. Even court aristocratic circles treat with feigned favor. Performing, teaching and composing music bring good income.

It is interesting to note that tickets for his concerts (called academies), distributed by subscription, were not only completely sold out, but were often supplemented with extra seats. In 1784, Mozart gave 22 concerts in just six months. All this can be considered in the conditions of Vienna, where there was no shortage of performances, premieres, concerts, composers and musicians, a phenomenon of a phenomenal order. The extraordinary success of his instrumental music stimulated the composition of a whole series of piano concertos. Mozart's wife, Constanza, although, apparently, was not such a magnificent singer as Aloysia, nevertheless, she could well perform on the professional stage. For example, in October 1783, she performed one of the solo parts in her husband’s best (perhaps) mass - g-moll (K. 427), written on the occasion of his visit (to Salzburg) to Father Leopold and sister Nannerl. On the way to Vienna, the couple stop in Linz, where Mozart writes the brilliant Linz Symphony (K. 425).

Unknown portrait of Mozart found in Russia

Since 1784, a sincere and close friendship began between the two greatest composers of Austria: Mozart and Joseph Haydn. Later, the young Beethoven meets with both. At the presentation of the quartets of the young genius, Haydn addressed Mozart’s father, Leopold, with these words: “Your son is the greatest composer of all whom I know personally or whom I have heard of.” Mozart dedicated a cycle of six quartets, in which the influence of Haydn is felt, to him. However, the influence was not one-sided. We need to talk about mutual influence. Haydn, in his later works, repeated the findings and writing features of his younger contemporary. Just like Christian Bach, Haydn was one of Mozart's guardian angels, a bright and kind patron. However, it was probably he who drew young Wolfgang into Freemasonry, immediately in the year of their rapprochement. Many Viennese celebrities were members of the Freemasons - poets, artists, writers, scientists, public figures, doctors, musicians. Freemasonry paved a wide path for itself in aristocratic court circles. However, for Mozart, joining the Freemasons became another fatalistic, tragic circumstance, perhaps bringing his untimely death closer.

Mozart took Masonic symbols and mottos at face value, not because he was so naive, but because, having an integral personality, wanted accept. (By that time, Freemasonry was actively being crushed by the Illuminati and the forces behind them). In the Masonic environment, they try to stop such well-wishers by any means in order to prevent the separation of the external surrounding form of existence from the secret goals and plans of the leaders. All the more dangerous for the most influential Masonic lodges is the propaganda of these external attributes (“freedom, equality, fraternity”) through outstanding works of art. Ordering a doomed man a requiem for his own death: this is very much in the style of Masonic reprisals.

Whether it’s a coincidence or not, it was after Mozart’s entry into the Freemasons that the previous persecution resumed. His brilliant opera" Le nozze di Figaro"("The Marriage of Figaro") - along with "Don Giovanni" and "The Magic Flute" - the pinnacle of his operatic creativity - despite its obvious success, was withdrawn soon after the premiere (May 1, 1786), replaced in the "Burgtheater" by a new opera by V. Martina y Solera" Una cosa rara"("A Rare Thing"). But in Prague, the success of this opera turned out to be simply stunning, which coincided with the political aspirations and forebodings of Prague residents. Seeking independence from the Austrian Empire, the Czechs felt a breath of fresh in Mozart's opera, written on the plot of the censored comedy of Beaumarchais air. It became almost a national Czech opera. People danced to its melodies in the halls and coffee houses, they sounded on the street, in the market - everywhere. In January 1787, he spent more than a month in Prague with Constance. , that, after Italy, this was the happiest time in his life. But one can easily imagine what displeasure the revival of separatist sentiments in the Czech Republic caused at the Austrian court, and what royal anger in connection with this the culprit must have incurred: Mozart’s opera. .

It was Bondini, director of the Prague theater troupe, who commissioned a new opera, Don Giovanni. There are suggestions that Mozart himself chose the plot. Under the name " Don Giovanni“she began her triumphal march through the opera houses of the world (premiere in Prague on October 29, 1787). However, no success in Prague could correct the “Viennese bummer”, the tone of which was set by the filming of “The Marriage of Figaro” and the deliberate (artificial) failure "Don Giovanni" in the same Vienna (at a reception after the performance, Haydn alone stood up to defend the opera. One after another, other works of Mozart are blocked or fail, and his most profitable students move on to other teachers (according to our data -). Barbara PLOYER, Josepha AUERNHAMMER, and others). The years 1786 and 1787 became fatal, turning points in the composer’s fate. He is completely crushed and doomed, torn apart by intrigue, persecution and simply gloomy circumstances. As in Paris, not only Mozart’s cruel enemies, insidious and ruthless, gathered to deal with him, but also “otherworldly” dark forces that flocked to the bloody feast of the execution of the bright genius, for the sake of establishing evil and injustice on earth. In May 1787, the composer's father died, after whose death depression and despondency became Mozart's constant companions. Sarcasm, irony and gloomy pessimism are established in his thoughts until the very end of his short life.

Obtaining the position of court composer and bandmaster of Emperor Joseph II no longer solved anything, especially since the size of the salary emphasized the subtle poison of humiliation (only 800 guilders annually). Driven into a corner, Mozart borrows money from Michael Puchberg, a member of the same Masonic lodge that he belongs to. Unable to return a large sum of money to Prince Likhnovsky, he faces a lawsuit, which he later loses. A trip to Berlin, in order to improve financial affairs, brought only new debts. Like other reigning persons, the Prussian king Frederick William II did not give Mozart a place at court. Since 1789, the health of Constance, and then Wolfgang himself, had deteriorated; the house and other property were mortgaged, ready to go under the hammer. A year later, after the death of Joseph II, Mozart is not even sure that the position of court composer, with its small but still constant income, will remain with him. He goes to Frankfurt - where the coronation of Emperor Leopold took place - at his own expense, hoping to be visible and not miss the moment. However, the performance of his “Coronation” keyboard concerto (K. 537) did not bring in any money even to cover the expenses of the trip. The new opera did not improve the situation either" Cosi fan tutte"("Everyone does this").

In Vienna, saying goodbye, Mozart told Haydn, who was leaving for London, and his London impresario Zalmon, that they would never see each other again. Seeing both of them off, Mozart cried like a child and kept repeating: “We won’t see each other again, no.” Before his death he had only to write his best works: "Die Zauberflöte"("The Magic Flute"), Requiem, and several symphonic scores.

The opera was commissioned from him for his Frei House Theater by his longtime friend E. Schikaneder, musician, writer, impresario and actor. (At the same time, the Prague Opera commissioned him " La clemenza di Tito" ("The Mercy of Titus"), on the creation and production of which he worked together with his wife Constance and student Franz Xaver Süßmayer; for its preparation, the three of them went to Prague. The premiere of "The Magic Flute" took place in Vienna on September 30, 1791 His last instrumental work was a concerto for clarinet and orchestra in a-moll (K. 622).

The countdown of the days of Mozart's life now began with work on the Requiem, which - as it happened - Mozart actually wrote on his death. An unknown guest, dressed all in gray, came to the sick composer and anonymously ordered the Requiem. This episode had a strong impression on the patient's imagination. Mozart was sure that he was composing the Requiem for himself. He, exhausted, worked on the score, feverishly trying to finish it with his own hands. Constance, who was being treated in Baden, hurriedly returned home as soon as she realized how seriously ill her husband was. From November 20, 1791, Mozart no longer got out of bed and wrote music while lying down. On the night of December 4–5, he became delirious; he imagined that he was playing the timpani in Dies irae his unfinished Requiem. At about five minutes past midnight, he tried to stand up, onomatopoeizing the timpani part with his lips, but fell back, head against the wall, and froze, lifeless.

Mozart was buried like a beggar of the beggars in the chapel of the Cathedral of St. Stefan. On the last journey to the cemetery of St. Mark Mozart's body went alone, and was buried without honors, without witnesses, in a common grave for the poor. Later, the very location of this grave was completely forgotten. No cross, no monument, not even a modest tombstone was ever erected. A tombstone, not material, but spiritual, was erected for his great teacher Süssmayr, who completed the Requiem, setting to music and orchestrating those by no means small fragments of the text that Mozart himself missed (some of the arrangements were performed protégé Mozart, Joseph Eybler. In the same way, other composers completed the greatest compositions of Schubert, Mussorgsky, Scriabin, and other geniuses endowed with a similar fate. None of Mozart's brilliant piano concertos, nor any of his mature symphonies, were published during his lifetime.

Monstrous injustice, persecution, intrigue and envy: the lot of the most winged, brightest people on the sinful earth, and in the fate of the great Mozart, as in a mirror, the fate of thousands and millions of other talented and pure creators of the spirit was reflected.

It seems that the legend of Mozart’s poisoning was generated among the Austrian political-aristocratic elite as a desire to divert the blame for the non-recognition and death of the great composer from being in a permanent crisis and falling under the hammer of even more reactionary forces of the political regime, shifting it onto the shoulders of a private individual (Salieri ). And the real motive behind Mozart’s death (political despotism (from ferocious censorship to the imposition of “permitted” aesthetics) is artificially replaced by settling personal scores. Even if Salieri had actually poisoned Mozart, he would have done it on the orders of Emperor Leopold or someone However, without physically killing his rival and friend, Salieri - with his bureaucracy and subtle intrigues - greatly poisoned his life. Salieri was a court toy and a tool of the court against Mozart. We will talk about the degree of his guilt before the world musical genius.

Autograph "The Marriage of Figaro"

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Lev Gunin

THE LIFE OF MOZART AND ITS SECRETS

PART ONE

(ENDING)

3. INFLUENCES

The music of Leopold Mozart, the father of the great composer, is often heard on the waves of Montreal music radio stations. It is available in libraries and music libraries. It is not difficult for the ear of an inexperienced listener to confuse it with the music of his illustrious son. A professional musician immediately understands that this is not Wolfgang Amadeus, although it is difficult to say right away what is “missing” in the music of Mozart the Father. Probably, bright melody, aspiration, brilliance and courage of thought, equal to “Mozart’s”. The works of Leopold Mozart are “too” academic and “correct,” although they also have a fresh, versatile feeling. The strong influence of Haydn is striking. One thing is clear: the mature Mozart the son is the same Leopold Mozart the father, only deepened, expanded, ennobled and purposeful.

The influence of Petzold and Telemann, Buxtehude, Schütz and Bürgmüller can be traced through strong-willed and life-affirming motives, often following the sounds of the tonic triad. Mozart's favorite variants of cadences are sometimes “supplemented” with typically Telemannian intonations.

The drama of the minor symphonies (for example, two g-minor ones) evokes the peculiarities of the symphonism of J. Vanhal. In Salzburg, Mozart was influenced by Michael Haydn, Joseph's brother, who largely shared the latter's style. However, Mozart never manifests a “usus tyrannus "("shackles of custom"; Serov's expression); he violates any canon if something gets in the way of his self-expression. As the famous Montreal musician Yuli Turovsky likes to say, geniuses do everything "wrong." Note that the pomp, triumphal intonations and heaviness of not only Handel, but also the early representative of the Vienna School - Gluck - repels Mozart. During his stay in Paris, he reports almost nothing about Gluck's operas, although the whole of Paris, and the creations of the Viennese, were buzzing about the enmity between the Piccinists and the Gluckinists. classics invariably caused a terrible stir. There is no doubt that Mozart was influenced not by the Austrian, but rather by the Italian and German school of opera, and that he was familiar with the masterpieces of Monteverdi, Bellini, Donizetti, Scarlatti, Piccini, etc. However, the main models for study and imitation were the Italian operas of Paisiello (a Neapolitan composer, among others, who met young Wolfgang during his stay in Naples (1770); later - court conductor in St. Petersburg under Catherine the Great: 1776 - 1784 ), Domenico Cimarosa (court composer in St. Petersburg - from 1787 to 1791), and Antonio Salieri (senior friend and rival, consultant and mentor of Mozart). Interestingly, Martin y Soler, a musician of Spanish origin who composed Italian operas, another dangerous rival of Mozart, was also a court composer in St. Petersburg. Giovanni Batista Casti, Salieri's main librettist and a rival of Mozart's main librettist, Da Ponte, also lived and worked for some time in Russia, in St. Petersburg. In Mannheim, Mozart was greatly impressed by J. Goldenbauer's opera "Gunther von Schwarzburg". Gluck's influence still existed, especially the latter's operatic-choral style.

The saturation of Mozart's works with German folklore was due in no small part to Emanuel Schikaneder, whom Wolfgang met in the late 1770s. "Buffoons", traveling troupes of folk theaters visited Salzburg, and one of these theaters was led by Schikaneder - impresario, actor, director, musician, writer and playwright. Schikaneder, with all the strength of his lungs, proclaimed freedom from despotism, nationality, love of national culture, free-thinking and overcoming the shackles of orthodox thinking. It was he who was Mozart's partner in creating the pinnacle of Mozart's operatic creativity: The Magic Flute. Schikaneder not only commissioned this opera, but also created a brilliant libretto, highly valued by Goethe. The aesthetics of Mozart and Schikaneder anticipated Weber and Wagner, and were the most advanced for that time. Schikaneder became another bright guardian angel of Mozart in the host of his “squires”.

The elegant, light style of Christian Bach is cited as one of his strongest influences. His “smart”, intricate music, sincerity and sincerity, Italian clarity and plasticity of not only melodies cantabile, but also harmonies, harmonious beauty and crystal purity of form: all this was continued and developed in Mozart’s compositions. Mozart began to seriously study the work of his father Johann Christian - the great J. S. Bach - relatively late (as well as Handel). The pinnacle of spiritual music by Wolfgang Amadeus, his Requiem, reflects the undoubted influence of J. S. Bach. We must not forget that Mozart had excellent teachers, the best of that era: his own father, Padre Martini, Christian Bach, Joseph Haydn, and others. It was thanks to them that Wolfgang masterfully mastered counterpoint, harmony, arrangement, and other elements of compositional technique. We'll talk about Salieri's influence in the corresponding chapter.

In chamber and symphonic music one can feel the greater influence of older Viennese composers such as Wagenseil and Monn. No less important was the influence of Italian masters - Frescobaldi, Allegri, Albioni, Bellini, A. Corelli, L. Boccherini, A. Vivaldi, G. Batista Vitali, Marcello Benedetto, Domenico and Alesandro Scarlatti, Giovani Agrell, Domenico Zipoli, Attilio Ariosti, Giuseppe Tartini, G. Pergolesi, Dominico Gabrielli, and others. Italian music, this boundless ocean of hundreds (or thousands?) of unique, often very bright talents, had an undoubted influence on Mozart. The closeness to its typical features, Italian predecessors, contemporaries and even followers (a paradox, but it is true) is especially felt in the keyboard music of the genius. Muzio Clementi, Dominico Scarlatti, Cimarosa, and other outstanding keyboard composers had much in common with Mozart's keyboard style. The penetration of Slavic-type intonations into Mozart's intonation sphere is also detected by a sensitive ear.

What Mozart has in common with Italian music is his love of life, spontaneity, sincere warmth, sparkling or very lyrical presentation of the main themes, their brightness, simplicity and vocal melodiousness, and a complex attitude to harmonies. Perhaps Mozart was also influenced by the French harpsichordists: Rameau, Lully and Couperin. The influence of the English composer Purcell is undeniable in some of the interludes. Certain passages in Mozart’s chamber works “remind” Leclerc.

Mozart is a pan-European phenomenon, living, comprehensive, immediate and endless. Therefore, any European culture can consider it its own.

(end of the first part )

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