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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

by Junyi from San Diego

Mozart once said: "I pay no attention whatever to anybody's praise or blame. I

simply follow my own feelings."
 Young Mozart playing harpsichord (http://www.last.fm/music/Wolfgang+Amadeus+Mozart/+images/28460839)
Young Mozart playing harpsichord (http://www.last.fm/music/Wolfgang+Amadeus+Mozart/+images/28460839)

Mozart once said: “I pay no attention whatever to anybody's praise or blame. I

simply follow my own feelings. " (Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus) Mozart’s philosophy

of being true to one’s feelings would be the sole purpose of his compositions: to

express his feelings through music. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

learned to compose at the age of five and was able to repeat a whole song after

hearing it just once. He was a famed and gifted child prodigy who toured Europe

entertaining royalty while accompanied by his father and sister. While touring

Europe, Mozart was exposed to a great variety of musical styles and tastes across

the continent. His music was appreciated by all and he was praised as being

talented and ambitious. However, slowly this started to change as young Mozart grew up. His music was

eventually scorned as “difficult” and “too

complicated”. Yet, he continued to compose, influencing other composers and helping develop music to become more expressive of human

emotions. Mozart wrote some of his best pieces during this period time of his life. Despite this, Mozart

had financial woes due to the fact that he could not keep a respectable royal position as court musician. Delusional during his last living year

, Mozart died as a poor man in debts, buried in an unmarked pauper’s grave. Though Mozart’s works were not fully appreciated during his lifetime,

they are highly appreciated even to these days, inspired many people including those who became well-known composers. Most importantly, his

impact and contribution to music were well recognized by many owning to his developing the way of conveying feelings through music and changed

the way composers are writing. Mozart was one of the greatest and most influential composers that ever lived.



Anderson, Rick. "Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart." Notes 63.4
(2007): 925. Gale Student Resources In Context. Web. 12 Jan.
2011.
John Irving, "Sonata Classical" in The New Grove Dictionary
of Music and Musicians. Eds. S. Sadie and J. Tyrrell,.
(London: Macmillan, 2001).

"Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus (1756-1791)." Encyclopedia of
World Biography. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Gale Student Resources
In Context. Web. 12 Jan. 2011.

Teachout, Terry. "The major minor Mozart." Commentary 121.1
(2006): 64+. Gale Student Resources In Context. Web. 12 Jan.
2011.
"The Rise of Classicism and Romanticism." Arts and
Humanities Through the Eras. Ed. Edward I. Bleiberg, et al.
Vol. 5: The Age of the Baroque and Enlightenment 1600-1800.
Detroit: Gale, 2005. 258-266. Gale Student Resources In
Context. Web. 12 Jan. 2011.

"Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart." DISCovering Biography. Detroit:
Gale, 2003. Gale Student Resources In Context. Web. 12 Jan. 2011.

Young Mozart on Europe tour with father and siste (http://www.hoasm.org/XIIC/MozartL.html)
Young Mozart on Europe tour with father and siste (http://www.hoasm.org/XIIC/MozartL.html)



Mozart helped push forward and develop music, creating everlasting ideas and forms that would still

be used in the present. Music is developed, changed, and shaped over time by great musicians.

Just as technology is advanced day by day with new discoveries as scientists test theories and

hypothesis; the development of music is advanced by composers sculpting a way to make better

structured and passionate songs that express human feelings. One of these composers was

Mozart, who admired Franz Joseph Hayden’s new idea of a Sonata Allegro form. Hayden had the

interesting idea of a three part structure for Sonatas which appealed to Mozart. By advancing from

Hayden’s works“… Mozart applied the large-scale ideas [Sonata Allegro Form] of Haydn to opera, and to the piano concerto. Mozart's fluidity …

gave his work a surface polish which was remarked upon even by his professional rivals. Some examples include the Prague Symphony, Piano

Concerto No.24 in C-, K.491, Così fan tutte, K.588 (opera buffa), and

the famous opera, the Magic Flute”. (The Rise of Classicism and Romanticism)After listening to Hayden’s ideas, Mozart strived to improve them by

applying the idea of the Sonata Allegro Form to a broader range

of music other than Hayden’s original intention of only Sonatas. The result was some of his best operas ever produced and concertos which are

recognized by classical music lovers globally till today. Mozart’s ability to take musical theories of others, add a unique twist and turn them to his

own advantage, is a talent that is not possessed by many and envied by all. In fact, Mozart improved, changed and added his own ideas not only to

musical theories, but also to music itself. Improvisation, a technique where a player is allowed to modify music by adding extra notes in a specific

fashion, and create certain sections of the music, became a part of the unique style of the Classical period. This idea of improvisation was formally

introduced and popularized by Mozart: “Mozart's own ability to improvise was famous, and he often played from very sketchy piano parts.

Furthermore, there are several very "bare" parts in Mozart’s concerto scores that have led some to deduce that the performer is meant to improvise

embellishments at these points, the most notorious being towards the end of the F sharp minor second movement of No. 23 in A major (KV. 488)”.

(Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) Mozart had ideas different from most composers, and the very thought of suggesting to modify music was a taboo

subject to others. However, he decided that since music was expression of mind and soul, it can be modified in a very specific way to suit individual

emotions of the player. Mozart’s fantastic musical abilities and his eagerness generated ideas changed the course of Classical music history and

theory. Using his boldness and

brilliant ideas, he was one of the pioneers in the frontier of music of his time, forcing it to advance forward.

 (http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi588.htm)
(http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi588.htm)



Mozart was a great musician with the ability to inspire and influence others to become famous

composers we acknowledge today. He inspired many people he met, becoming a direct

influence upon them and affected many people’s lives and music. One of these people was no

other than the famous “Ludwig van Beethoven, Mozart's junior by fifteen years, was deeply

influenced by his work, with which he was acquainted as a teenager. He is thought to have

performed Mozart's operas while playing in the court orchestra at Bonn, and he traveled to

Vienna in 1787 hoping to study with the older composer. Some of Beethoven's works have

direct models in comparable works by Mozart, and he wrote cadenzas (WoO 58) to Mozart's D

minor piano concerto K. 466.” (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart) Mozart’s fame and talent were all

part of his inspirational legend. His pieces were each works of art to be admired, due to the

great effort and skill put into creating them. Because of this, Mozart naturally became the

inspiration that Beethoven looked up to, and Beethoven worked hard modeling compositions

after Mozart’s, hoping to achieve the same effect. Mozart even impacts others who had never

been in contact with him personally through his musical influence. One of these people

touched by Mozart’s music was a famous Italian opera writer and composer, Gioacchino Rossini. Rossini admired Mozart deeply. Inspired by

Mozart, Rossini wrote over 40 operas in

his lifetime, to the point that it made Beethoven jealous. “As a student, Rossini was extremely interested in the works of Mozart. In later years he

would refer to Mozart as ‘the admiration of my youth, the desperation of my mature years, the consolation of my old age.’” (Sonata Classical)

Rossini was influenced by Mozart’s operas, so influenced that he became a successful opera writer and composer

because he wanted to pursue the same glory Mozart achieved in his childhood. Rossini, like Beethoven, tried to create compositions equal to those

of Mozart’s, and in the process, became famous and successful. Mozart’s legacy is great. Although passed away, he still inspired and will

continue to inspire many new musicians though the power of his immortal songs and ensures that music will never die.

Mozart (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1581726/New-Wolfgang-Amadeus-Mozart-portrait-found.html)
Mozart (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1581726/New-Wolfgang-Amadeus-Mozart-portrait-found.html)

Having contributed much to the musical society in his lifetime, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is an

inspirational composer and hero. Having improved upon music as a way of expressing emotions

and changed the structure of how musicians compose music, Mozart simply did not stop there.

He created over 600 compositions in his short lifetime and also inspires new musicians with his

pieces. Mozart was a truly exceptional composer, the ability to express the genuine human

emotions through the medium of music. His music is pure and true,

Accurately expressing the joy, sorrow, and other aspects of being human. He was

a pioneer in

music, daring to explore and create. And most importantly, he was strong and followed his own

emotions. “Mozart is the greatest composer of all. Beethoven created his music, but the music

of Mozart is of such purity

and beauty that one feels he merely found it — that it has always existed as part of the inner

beauty of the universe waiting to be revealed.” - Albert Einstein (The major minor Mozart)

Page created on 1/21/2011 4:28:06 PM

Last edited 1/21/2011 4:28:06 PM

The beliefs, viewpoints and opinions expressed in this hero submission on the website are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs, viewpoints and opinions of The MY HERO Project and its staff.

Related Links

Mozart Sheet music - includes Mozart's compostions available in downloadable PDF from
The Mozart project - embraces the life and times of Mozart with biography and compostions
The Mozart Society of America - 's stated object is "the advancement of research about the life, works, historical context, and reception of Wolfgang Amadé Mozart, as well as the dissemination of information about study and performance of related music."
The Mostly Mozart Festival - is an annual fesitval held in the summer celebrating the works of Mozart
Mozart's fanpage - for people who appreciate the talents and works of Mozart