Creative biography of Mozart. Mozart's biography briefly, the most important thing. Brief biography of Mozart: a concert journey

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. 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 work out well. in the best possible way. 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. She had in Vienna good welcome, however, 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 best opera Mozart.
In 1787 it was published New Opera, created in collaboration with Da Ponte, - “Don Juan”.
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 hired as an unpaid assistant conductor. Cathedral St. Stephen's; 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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Much has been written

damn a lot... they would have written even more and there would definitely have been a short biography...

Well, a lot has been written!!!

Nevermind short biography

Mozart(Mozarl) Wolfgang Amadei (1756-1791) Austrian composer. He had a phenomenal ear for music and memory. He performed as a virtuoso harpsichordist, violinist, organist, conductor, and improvised brilliantly. He began his music studies under the guidance of his father, L. Mozart. The first compositions appeared in 1761. From the age of 5 he toured triumphantly in Germany, Austria, France, Great Britain, Switzerland, and Italy. In 1765 his 1st symphony was performed in London. In 1770, Mozart took lessons from G.B. Martini for some time and was elected a member of the Philharmonic, an academy in Bologna. In 1769-1781 (with interruptions) he was in the court service of the Archbishop in Salzburg as an accompanist, and from 1779 as an organist. In 1781 he moved to Vienna, where he created the opera The Abduction from the Seraglio. "The Marriage of Figaro"; performed in concerts (“academies”). In 1787 in Prague, Mozart completed the opera “Don Giovanni”, and at the same time received an appointment to the position of “imperial and royal chamber musician” at the court of Joseph II. In 1788 he created the 3 most famous symphonies: Es-dur, G-moll, C-dur. In 1789 and 1790 he gave concerts in Germany. In 1791, Mozart wrote the opera The Magic Flute; worked on the requiem (finished by F.K. Zyusmayr). Mozart was one of the first composers to choose the insecure life of a free artist.

Mozart, along with I. Haydn and L. Beethoven, is a representative of the Viennese classical school, one of the founders of the classical style in music, associated with the development of symphony as higher type musical thinking, a complete system of classical instrumental genres(symphony, sonata, quartet), classical norms musical language, its functional organization. In Mozart’s work, the idea of ​​dynamic harmony as a principle of seeing the world, a method of artistic transformation of reality, gained universal significance. At the same time, the development of the qualities of psychological truthfulness and naturalness that were new for that time was found in him. Reflection of the harmonic integrity of being, clarity, luminosity and beauty are combined in Mozart’s music with deep drama. The sublime and the ordinary, the tragic and the comic, the majestic and the graceful, the eternal and the transitory, the universal and the individually unique, the nationally characteristic appear in Mozart’s works in dynamic balance and unity. At the center of Mozart's artistic world is the human personality, which he reveals as a lyricist and at the same time as a playwright, striving for an artistic recreation of the objective essence of human character. Mozart's dramaturgy is based on revealing the diversity of contrasting musical images in the process of their interaction.

Mozart's music organically embodies artistic experience different eras, national schools, traditions folk art. Italian composers of the 18th century, representatives of the Mannheim school, as well as older contemporaries I. Haydn, M. Haydn, K. V. Gluck, I. K. and C. F. E. Bach had a great influence on Mozart. Mozart was guided by the system of typified musical images, genres created by the era, expressive means, subjecting them at the same time to individual selection and rethinking.

Mozart's style is distinguished by intonation expressiveness, plastic flexibility, cantilence, richness, ingenuity of melody, and the interpenetration of vocal and instrumental principles. Mozart made an enormous contribution to the development of the sonata form and the sonata-symphonic cycle. Mozart is characterized by a heightened sense of tonal-harmonic semantics, expressive possibilities harmony (use of minor, chromaticisms, interrupted revolutions, etc.). The texture of Mozart's works is distinguished by a variety of combinations of homophonic-harmonic and polyphonic composition, and the forms of their synthesis. In the field of instrumentation, the classical balance of compositions is complemented by a search for various timbre combinations and a personalized interpretation of timbres.

Mozart created St. 600 works of various genres. The most important area of ​​his creativity is Musical Theatre. Mozart's work constituted an era in the development of opera. Mozart mastered almost all contemporary opera genres. His mature operas are characterized by the organic unity of dramaturgy and musical-symphonic patterns, the individuality of dramaturgy. Taking into account Gluck's experience, Mozart created his own type of heroic drama in Idomeneo and The Marriage of Figaro. On the basis of opera buffa he came to realistic musical comedy characters. Mozart turned Singspiel into a philosophical fairy tale-parable, imbued with educational ideas("Magical flute"). The dramaturgy of the opera “Don Juan” is distinguished by its diversity of contrasts and unusual synthesis of operatic genre forms.

Leading Genres instrumental music Mozart - symphonies, chamber ensembles. concerts. Mozart's symphonies of the Dovenian period are close to everyday, entertainment music of that time. IN mature years The symphony acquires the meaning of a conceptual genre from Mozart and develops as a work with individualized dramaturgy (symphony D-dur, Es-dur, g-moll. C-dur). Mozart's symphonies - important stage in the history of world symphony. Among the chamber-instrumental ensembles, string quartets and quintets, violin and piano sonatas stand out in importance. Focusing on the achievements of I. Haydn, Mozart developed a type of chamber instrumental ensemble, distinguished by the sophistication of lyrical and philosophical emotion, a developed homophonic-polyphonic structure, and the complexity of the harmony of language.

Mozart's clavier music reflects the features of a new performing style associated with the transition from the harpsichord to the piano. Works for clavier, mainly concertos for piano and orchestra, give an idea of ​​the performing art of Mozart himself with his inherent brilliant virtuosity and at the same time spirituality, poetry, and grace.

Mozart owns a large number of works of other genres, incl. songs, arias, everyday music for orchestras and ensembles. Of the later examples, the most famous is “Little Night Serenade” (1787). Choral music Mozart includes masses, litanies, vespers, offertories, motets, cantatas. oratorios, etc.: among the outstanding works: motet “Ave verum corpus”, requiem.

On January 27, 1756, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born. He was born in the beautiful city of Salzburg. The boy developed a talent for music while still young. Then my father taught me to play the violin and organ.

By the age of seventeen, he had already traveled to quite a few European cities and had more than 17 works to his credit.

Musical creativity

From 1775 to 1780, Mozart worked fruitfully. His works are beginning to be in great demand.

After marrying Constance, he slightly changed the sound of his compositions. This is evidenced by the opera “The Abduction from the Seraglio”. She completely and completely breathes the spirit of romance.

Some of the works remained unfinished, since a difficult financial situation forced him to earn extra money rather than write works. He gave private performances in narrow aristocratic circles.

At the peak of his popularity, Mozart wrote his most famous operas.

Mozart is offered to lead the chapel in Vienna in 1789, but he refuses, which in turn exacerbates his financial disadvantage.

Last days

In November 1791, Mozart became very ill, so much so that he could not get out of bed. Died on December 5, 1791. The exact cause of death remains a mystery, even today. He was buried in Austria - the city of Vienna.

Biography by dates and Interesting Facts. The most important.

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In my deep conviction, Mozart is the highest, culminating point to which beauty has reached in the field of music.
P. Tchaikovsky

“What depth! What courage and what harmony!” This is how Pushkin brilliantly expressed the essence brilliant art Mozart. Indeed, we will probably not find such a combination of classical perfection with daring of thought, such an infinity of individual solutions based on clear and precise laws of composition in any of the creators musical art. The world of Mozart’s music appears sunnyly clear and incomprehensibly mysterious, simple and immensely complex, deeply human and universal, cosmic.

W. A. ​​Mozart was born into the family of Leopold Mozart, a violinist and composer at the court of the Archbishop of Salzburg. Ingenious talent allowed Mozart to compose music from the age of four and very quickly master the art of playing the clavier, violin, and organ. The father skillfully supervised his son's studies. In 1762-71. he undertook tours, during which many European courts became acquainted with the art of his children (Wolfgang’s eldest sister was a gifted keyboard player, he himself sang, conducted, and played the piano masterfully different instruments and improvised), arousing admiration everywhere. At the age of 14, Mozart was awarded the Papal Order of the Golden Spur and elected a member of the Philharmonic Academy in Bologna.

While traveling, Wolfgang became acquainted with music different countries, mastering the genres characteristic of the era. Thus, his acquaintance with I. C. Bach, who lived in London, brings to life the first symphonies (1764); in Vienna (1768) he receives orders for operas in the genre of Italian opera buffa (“The Feigned Simpleton”) and the German Singspiel (“ Bastien and Bastienne “; a year earlier, the school opera (Latin comedy) “Apollo and Hyacinth” was staged at the University of Salzburg. His stay in Italy was especially fruitful, where Mozart improved in counterpoint (polyphony) with G. B. Martini (Bologna), staged. in Milan the opera seria “Mithridates, King of Pontus” (1770), and in 1771 - the opera “Lucius Sulla”.

The brilliant young man was less interested in patrons than the miracle child, and L. Mozart was unable to find a place for him at any metropolitan European court. I had to return to Salzburg to perform the duties of court accompanist. Mozart's creative aspirations were now limited to orders for the composition of sacred music, as well as entertaining pieces - divertissements, cassations, serenades (i.e., suites with dance parts for various instrumental compositions, sounded not only at court evenings, but also on the streets, in Austrian houses townspeople). Mozart subsequently continued his work in this area in Vienna, where his most famous work of this kind was created - “Little Night Serenade” (1787), a kind of miniature symphony full of humor and grace. Mozart also wrote concertos for violin and orchestra, keyboard and violin sonatas, etc. One of the peaks of music of this period is Symphony in G Minor No. 25, which reflected the rebellious “Wertherian” moods characteristic of the era, close in spirit to the literary movement of Sturm and Drang. .

Languishing in provincial Salzburg, where he was held back by the despotic claims of the archbishop, Mozart made unsuccessful attempts to settle in Munich, Mannheim, and Paris. Trips to these cities (1777-79) brought, however, many emotional (first love - for the singer Aloysia Weber, the death of his mother) and artistic impressions, reflected, in particular, in the keyboard sonatas (A minor, A major with variations and Rondo alla turca), in the Symphony Concertante for violin and viola with orchestra, etc. Individual opera productions (“The Dream of Scipio” - 1772, “The Shepherd King” - 1775, both in Salzburg; “The Imaginary Gardener" - 1775, Munich) did not satisfy the aspirations Mozart to regular contact with opera house. The production of the opera seria “Idomeneo, King of Crete” (Munich, 1781) revealed the full maturity of Mozart as an artist and a person, his courage and independence in matters of life and creativity. Arriving from Munich in Vienna, where the archbishop went to the coronation celebrations, Mozart broke up with him, refusing to return to Salzburg.

Mozart's excellent Viennese debut was the Singspiel "The Abduction from the Seraglio" (1782, Burgtheater), the premiere of which was followed by his marriage to Constance Weber ( younger sister Aloysia). However (subsequently, opera orders did not arrive so often. The court poet L. Da Ponte contributed to the production on the stage of the Burgtheater of operas written on his libretto: two central works of Mozart - “The Marriage of Figaro" (1786) and "Don Giovanni" (1788), and also the buffa opera “This is what everyone does” (1790); a one-act comedy with music “The Theater Director” (1786) was also staged in Schönbrunn (the summer residence of the court).

During his first years in Vienna, Mozart often performed, creating clavier and orchestra concerts for his “academies” (concerts organized by subscription among patrons). Of exceptional importance for the composer’s work was the study of the works of J. S. Bach (as well as G. F. Handel, F. E. Bach), which directed his artistic interests into the field of polyphony, giving new depth and seriousness to his plans. This was very clearly manifested in the Fantasia and Sonata in C minor (1784-85), in six string quartets, dedicated to I. Haydn, with whom Mozart had a great human and creative friendship. The deeper Mozart's music penetrated into the secrets of human existence, the more individual the appearance of his works became, the less success they enjoyed in Vienna (the position of court chamber musician received in 1787 obliged him only to create dances for masquerades).

The composer found much more understanding in Prague, where in 1787 “The Marriage of Figaro” was staged, and soon the premiere of “Don Giovanni” written for this city took place (in 1791 Mozart staged another opera in Prague - “La Clemenza di Titus”) , which most clearly outlined the role tragic theme in the works of Mozart. The same courage and novelty marked the “Prague Symphony” in D major (1787) and the last three symphonies (No. 39 in E-flat major, No. 40 in G minor, No. 41 in C major - “Jupiter”; summer 1788), which gave an unusually bright and full picture ideas and feelings of their era and paved the way for symphonism in the 19th century. Of the three symphonies of 1788, only the G minor Symphony was performed once in Vienna. The last immortal creations of Mozart’s genius were the opera “The Magic Flute” - a hymn to light and reason (1791, Theater in the Vienna suburbs) - and the mournful, majestic Requiem, not completed by the composer.

The suddenness of the death of Mozart, whose health was probably undermined by a long overstrain of creative forces and the difficult conditions of the last years of his life, the mysterious circumstances of the order of the Requiem (as it turned out, the anonymous order belonged to a certain Count F. Walzag-Stuppach, who intended to pass it off as his composition), burial in a common grave - all this gave rise to the spread of legends about Mozart’s poisoning (see, for example, Pushkin’s tragedy “Mozart and Salieri”), which did not receive any confirmation. Mozart's work became for many subsequent generations the personification of music in general, its ability to recreate all aspects of human existence, presenting them in beautiful and perfect harmony, filled, however, with internal contrasts and contradictions. Art world Mozart's music seems to be populated by many different characters, multi-faceted human characters. It reflected one of the main features of the era, the culmination of which was the Great French Revolution of 1789 - the vital principle (images of Figaro, Don Juan, the Jupiter symphony, etc.). Statement human personality, the activity of the spirit is also associated with the revelation of the richest emotional world - the diversity of its internal shades and details makes Mozart the forerunner of romantic art.

The comprehensive nature of Mozart’s music, which covered all genres of the era (except for those already mentioned - the ballet “Trinkets” - 1778, Paris; music for theatrical productions, dances, songs, including “The Violet” at St. J.V. Goethe, masses , motets, cantatas and other choral works, chamber ensembles of various compositions, concerts for wind instruments with orchestra, Concerto for flute and harp with orchestra, etc.) and who gave them classic designs, is largely explained by the enormous role played in it by the interaction of schools, styles, eras and musical genres.

Embodying character traits Viennese classical school, Mozart summarized the experience of Italian, French, German culture, folk and professional theater, various opera genres, etc. His work reflected the socio-psychological conflicts born of the pre-revolutionary atmosphere in France (the libretto of “The Marriage of Figaro” was written according to modern play P. Beaumarchais “Crazy Day, or The Marriage of Figaro”), the rebellious and sensitive spirit of German Sturmerism (“Sturm und Drang”), complex and eternal problem contradictions between human daring and moral retribution (“Don Juan”).

The individual appearance of Mozart's work consists of many intonations and development techniques typical of that era, uniquely combined and heard by the great creator. His instrumental works were influenced by opera; features of symphonic development penetrated into opera and mass, symphony (for example, Symphony in G minor - a kind of story about life human soul) can be endowed with the detail characteristic of chamber music, a concert - by the significance of the symphony, etc. The genre canons of the Italian buffa opera in The Marriage of Figaro are flexibly subordinated to the creation of a comedy of realistic characters with a clear lyrical emphasis, behind the name “fun drama” there is a completely individual solution musical drama in Don Juan, imbued with Shakespearean contrasts of comedy and sublime-tragic.

One of the brightest examples Mozart's artistic synthesis - “The Magic Flute”. Under the cover of a fairy tale with an intricate plot (many sources were used in E. Schikaneder’s libr.) hide utopian ideas wisdom, goodness and universal justice, characteristic of the Age of Enlightenment (the influence of Freemasonry was also felt here - Mozart was a member of the “brotherhood of free masons”). The arias of Papageno's "bird man" in the spirit of folk songs alternate with strict choral tunes in the part of the wise Zorastro, the soulful lyrics of the arias of the lovers Tamino and Pamina - with the coloraturas of the Queen of the Night, almost parodying virtuoso singing in Italian opera, a combination of arias and ensembles with spoken dialogues ( in the Singspiel tradition) is replaced by end-to-end development in expanded finales. All this is also united by the “magical” sound of a Mozart orchestra (with solo flute and bells) in terms of mastery of instrumentation. The universality of Mozart's music allowed it to become the ideal of art for Pushkin and Glinka, Chopin and Tchaikovsky, Bizet and Stravinsky, Prokofiev and Shostakovich.

E. Tsareva

His first teacher and mentor was his father, Leopold Mozart, assistant bandmaster at the court of the Archbishop of Salzburg. In 1762, his father introduced Wolfgang, still quite young performer, and his sister Nannerl to the courtyards of Munich and Vienna: children play on keyboard instruments, they play the violin and sing, and Wolfgang also improvises. In 1763, they took a long tour of Southern and Eastern Germany, Belgium, Holland, Southern France, Switzerland all the way to England; They were in Paris twice. In London, he became acquainted with Abel, J. C. Bach, as well as the singers Tenducci and Manzuoli. At the age of twelve, Mozart composed the operas The Imaginary Shepherdess and Bastien and Bastienne. In Salzburg he is appointed to the position of accompanist. In 1769, 1771 and 1772 he visited Italy, where he received recognition, staged his operas and was engaged in systematic education. In 1777, in the company of his mother, he travels to Munich, Mannheim (where he falls in love with the singer Aloysia Weber) and Paris (where his mother dies). Settles in Vienna and in 1782 marries Constance Weber, Aloysia's sister. In the same year, his opera “The Abduction from the Seraglio” achieved great success. He creates works of various genres, showing amazing versatility, becomes a court composer (without specific responsibilities) and hopes, after Gluck’s death, to receive the position of second conductor of the Royal Chapel (the first was Salieri). Despite the fame, especially opera composer, Mozart's hopes did not come true, including because of gossip regarding his behavior. Leaves Requiem unfinished. Respect for aristocratic conventions and traditions, both religious and secular, was combined in Mozart with a sense of responsibility and inner dynamism that led some to regard him as a conscious precursor of Romanticism, while for others he remains the incomparable culmination of a refined and intelligent age, respectfully related to rules and canons. In any case, it was precisely from the constant collision with various musical and moral clichés of that time that this pure, most tender, imperishable beauty of Mozart’s music was born, in which in such a mysterious way there is that feverish, crafty, tremulous thing that is called “demonic”. Thanks to the harmonious use of these qualities, the Austrian master - a true miracle of music - overcame all the difficulties of composition with a knowledge of the matter that A. Einstein rightly calls “somnambulant”, creating a huge number of works that poured from his pen both under pressure from customers and and as a result of immediate internal motivations. He acted with the speed and self-control of a man of modern times, although he remained an eternal child, alien to any cultural phenomena not related to music, completely turned to the outside world and at the same time capable of amazing insights into the depths of psychology and thought.

An incomparable expert on the human soul, especially the female (who conveyed its grace and duality in equal measure), shrewdly ridiculing vices, dreaming of ideal world, easily moving from the deepest sorrow to the greatest joy, a pious singer of passions and sacraments - be these latter Catholic or Masonic - Mozart still fascinates as a person, remaining the pinnacle of music in the modern sense. As a musician, he synthesized all the achievements of the past, bringing everything to perfection music genres and surpassing almost all his predecessors in a perfect combination of Northern and Latin sentiments. In order to organize Mozart’s musical heritage, it was necessary to publish a voluminous catalog in 1862, subsequently updated and corrected, which bears the name of its compiler L. von Köchel.

Similar creative productivity- however, not so rare in European music - was not only the result of innate abilities (they say that he wrote music with the same ease and ease as letters): within the short period allotted to him by fate and marked by sometimes inexplicable qualitative in leaps and bounds, it was developed through communication with various teachers, which made it possible to overcome crisis periods in the development of mastery. Of the musicians who influenced him direct influence, one should mention (in addition to his father, Italian predecessors and contemporaries, as well as D. von Dittersdorff and I. A. Hasse) J. Schobert, C. F. Abel (in Paris and London), both sons of Bach, Philipp Emanuel and especially Johann Christian, who was an example of the combination of “gallant” and “learned” styles in large instrumental forms, as well as in arias and opera seria, K. W. Gluck - as far as the theater is concerned, despite the significant difference in creative attitudes, Michael Haydn , an excellent counterpoint player, brother of the great Joseph, who in turn showed Mozart how to achieve convincing expression, simplicity, ease and flexibility of dialogue, without abandoning the most complex techniques. Fundamental were his trips to Paris and London, to Mannheim (where he listened to the famous orchestra conducted by Stamitz, the first and most advanced ensemble in Europe). Let us also point out the environment of Baron von Swieten in Vienna, where Mozart studied and appreciated the music of Bach and Handel; finally, let us note his travels to Italy, where he met with famous singers and musicians (Sammartini, Piccini, Manfredini) and where in Bologna he took an exam in strict counterpoint from Padre Martini (to tell the truth, not very successful).

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is a prominent representative of the Vienna Classical School. He mastered various musical forms of his time, had a unique ear and rare talent as an improviser. In a word, genius. And there are usually a lot of rumors and speculations surrounding the life and death of a genius. The composer passed away at the age of thirty-five. His early death became the subject of controversy and formed the basis of stories literary works. How did Mozart die? What caused it sudden death? And where is Mozart buried?

The composer, whose biography has been of interest to researchers around the world for more than two centuries, died in 1791. Biographies outstanding people It is customary to start at birth. But Mozart's biography is so extensive that any of the periods is worthy of close attention. This article will focus, first of all, on how Mozart died. There is a lot of speculation. But according to official version the cause of death was a long illness. But before we begin to describe last days Mozart, his biography should be briefly outlined.

Childhood

Where was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart born? The city of the great musician’s childhood and youth is Salzburg. Amadeus's father was a violinist. Leopold Mozart dedicated his life to children. He did everything to ensure that his daughter and son received a decent musical education. It's musical. Both Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, whose biography is presented in our article, and his older sister Nannerl, showed unique abilities from an early age.

Leopold began teaching his daughter to play the harpsichord quite early. Wolfgang was very young at that time. But he followed his sister's lessons and repeated certain passages from musical works. Then Leopold decided that his son should definitely become a composer. Wolfgang, like his Nannerl, began performing very early. The audience was fascinated by the performance of the child prodigies.

Youth and the beginning of creativity

Since 1781, the hero of this article lived in Vienna. Haydn is a classic. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, along with these great musicians, created works that will never be forgotten. He managed to achieve such heights not only thanks to his innate talent, but also to perseverance and hard work.

How old was Mozart when he died? The composer was only thirty-five. And ten years before his death he settled in Vienna. In this short period of time, Wolfgang has transformed from a little-known musician into

The house belonged to the Webers, whose family had three unmarried daughters. One of them - future wife Wolfgang, Constance. In the same year, when he first crossed the threshold of the Weber house, he began to create the opera “The Abduction from the Seraglio.” The work was approved by the Viennese public, but Mozart's name still had no weight in musical circles.

Glory

Soon Mozart married Constance Weber. After the wedding, his relationship with his father went wrong. Mozart Sr. was hostile towards his daughter-in-law until his last days. The peak of Wolfgang's fame was in the mid-eighties. A few years before his death, he begins to receive huge fees. The Mozarts move into a luxurious apartment, hire servants and buy a piano for crazy money at that time. The musician strikes up a friendship with Haydn, to whom he once even gives a collection of his works.

In February 1785, the public was presented with a piano concerto in D minor. “Why did the great Mozart die in poverty?” - sometimes you can hear such a question. What is the basis for the opinion about the financial troubles of the pianist and composer? After all, in the mid-eighties, Mozart was at the peak of his fame. He was one of the wealthiest musicians in Vienna in 1787. Four years before his death, he sent his son to a very expensive and prestigious educational institution. And in the same year, the great pianist joined the Masonic lodge. But in last years the composer was somewhat shaken. However, it was still far from poverty.

Financial difficulties

In 1789, Wolfgang's wife fell ill. He was forced to send her to a medical resort, which shook his financial situation. A few months later, Constance began to recover. By that time, The Marriage of Figaro had already achieved considerable success. Mozart began writing works for the theater. He had written operas before. But his early works were not successful.

The last year of Mozart's life became very fruitful. He wrote a symphony in G minor and received the position of conductor. And finally, I started working on Requiem. It was ordered by a stranger who wanted to honor his wife.

Requiem

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, whose biography is surprisingly eventful, despite his early death, wrote countless works. He had many students, and during his lifetime he received good royalties from the publication of his works. Shortly before his death, he began to create his last work, “Requiem.” The work captured him so much that he stopped accepting students. In addition, his health suddenly began to deteriorate every day.

How Mozart died was told years later by relatives who witnessed the death of the great composer. Among them was the son of a musician. According to the memoirs of relatives, Mozart suddenly became so ill that he had to call a doctor. And not just any, but the best in Vienna. Indeed, the healer helped the musician. However, the improvement did not last long. Soon Mozart fell ill completely.

Acute millet fever

According to the memoirs of Sophie Weber, the musician’s sister-in-law, after his condition worsened, his relatives decided to call another doctor. The cause of Mozart's death is controversial because his symptoms were so unusual that they prevented doctors from coming to unanimous opinion regarding the diagnosis.

In recent weeks, the composer's hearing has become more acute. He suffered unbearable pain, even from touching his body to his clothes. Mozart grew weaker every day. And, in addition, his condition worsened due to imperfect medical methods. The patient was regularly bled: this therapeutic technique was considered universal in those days. The cause of Mozart's death might have been established if he had lived in the 21st century. In the eighteenth century, treatment methods were, to put it mildly, ineffective. The death certificate of the genius stated: acute millet fever.

A good part of the Viennese population suffered from this disease at that time. The doctors did not know how to treat him. Therefore, one of the doctors, having visited the dying man, concluded: he could no longer be saved.

General weakness of the body

The life and work of Mozart is the topic of many books, fiction and documentaries. His rare gift was discovered at an early age. But in addition to his unique abilities, Mozart, contrary to popular belief, had extraordinary hard work. Much has been said today about how Mozart died. There is a version that the great musician was poisoned by the envious Salieri. But the composer's contemporaries thought differently.

After Mozart's death, some doctors claimed that he died from a serious infectious disease. His body was unable to fight as a result of general weakness. And Mozart was physically weakened due to many years of work without break or rest.

Over the years, it has become increasingly difficult for researchers to diagnose a musician. There are many contradictions in the records of Sophie Weber and other relatives. It was these circumstances that gave rise to a lot of versions about the death of Amadeus Mozart. Let's look at each of them.

Salieri

The version that Mozart died at the hands of an envious person is the most common. And it was precisely this that formed the basis of Pushkin’s tragedy. According to this version, Mozart's life and work were surrounded by idleness. Nature allegedly endowed the musician with such talent that no effort was required. Mozart managed everything playfully and easily. And Salieri, on the contrary, with all his efforts was not able to achieve even a pathetic fraction of what Mozart could do.

Pushkin's work is based on artistic fiction. But many readers today do not distinguish the author’s fantasies from confirmed facts. Pushkin's characters argue that genius and evil are incompatible concepts. In the work of the Russian writer, Salieri stirs poison for Mozart because he does not agree with him. He believes that he is sacrificing an idle but gifted composer to art.

The opinion that Salieri is a murderer is considered to be one of the versions also because at the beginning of the nineteenth century his confession was found in one of the church archives, in which he confessed and repented of his crime. There are no confirmed facts that this document actually existed. However, even today, many admirers of Mozart’s work are confident that the genius became a victim of the envy of a “colleague.”

Constance

There is another version of poisoning. Her adherents believe that Mozart was sent to the next world by his wife. And one of the musician’s students helped her with this. If you believe the rumors, the passionate romance between Constance and Züssmayr was accompanied by a showdown and extremely emotional reconciliations. The beloved of Mozart's wife was a very ambitious man, if not a careerist. And he could well have entered into a love affair with Constance solely in order to harass his great teacher. But why did Süssmayr need to get rid of Mozart? What would his death give him?

In addition, this version is less plausible due to the fact that after the musician’s death his diary was preserved. And it is evidence of the deepest devotion and love that reigned in the Mozart family.

Ritual murder

And finally latest version. If we take into account only those that talk about violent death, then this one is perhaps the most plausible. As already mentioned, the great musician was Masonic lodge. Masons, as a rule, help their “brothers”. But they did not help Mozart when he was experiencing severe financial difficulties. They even ignored the death of the composer, without canceling the next meeting as a sign of mourning.

Some researchers believe that the reason for the murder was Mozart's intention to create his own lodge. In one of the last works - “ Magic Flute"- Masonic symbols are used. It was not customary to demonstrate something like this to the uninitiated. Perhaps Mozart was killed by his Masonic brothers.

Burial

It is known where Mozart is buried. At St. Mark's Cemetery. The date of burial remains controversial. According to the official version - December 6. It is widely believed that Mozart was buried in mass grave, intended for the poor. But, according to historians, the burial took place according to the third category. It was not a beggar’s funeral, but it was not a magnificent farewell ceremony for a great composer, pianist, and teacher. As often happens, true fame for Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart came after his death.