Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Myths of genius.
Who doesn't know Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart today? Of course, his music is an acknowledged history of world culture. Part of the upbringing and education of many generations of musicians and people all over the world.
Each of us knows a few facts about this controversial but intriguing personality. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is the most mythologised personality in the history of music. No biography has spawned more rumours, legends, detective stories and fictions. Today we will try to immerse ourselves in a world of facts about the acknowledged genius - what is true and what is myth - we will probably never know. But we will try.
Mozart was known to be a child prodigy who wrote music from the age of four. Is it true that he was a European superstar, but spent all his money on wigs and women. And some people even say that he stole other people's ideas! Did he write his Requiem in anticipation of his death? And is it true that he was poisoned by Salieri?
Some rumours started while Mozart was still alive thanks to relatives, friends and ordinary acquaintances. Some came much later - during the Romantic era, i.e. at the beginning of the 19th century: the Romanticists were inspired both by Mozart's work, especially by the story of Don Giovanni and by his early death.
Let's find out where the myths about the great composer came from.
Myth 1. Mozart was a child prodigy, starting to play and write music at the age of four
Strangely enough, this is practically true.
Mozart was indeed a prodigy, and perhaps the most famous prodigy in the history of world music. He did start playing early and mastered it phenomenally quickly. Leopold Mozart, the legendary music teacher, described his son's astonishing success on the clavier, an early version of the modern piano: Wolfgangierl learned the Minuet and Trio on 26 January 1761 at half past ten in the evening for half an hour, the day before his fifth birthday. At the same time the boy also studied the violin - one of his childhood violins can be seen today in Salzburg, in the house where he was born. Soon after his son was born, Leopold Mozart published a book called Experience of the Fundamental School of the Violin, and apparently began putting it into practice. At the age of seven, Wolfgang Mozart was already playing the violin for the Archbishop, and at the age of eight he began performing by playing the organ.
Mozart's first remaining autographs date from 1764 - the author was eight years old at the time. Up to that point, the child's improvisations and later compositions were recorded by his father. According to his meticulous notes, Mozart completed his earliest improvisation at the age of five, in April 1761. Less than a year later he wrote his first piece - Allegro for Clavier in F Major. Of the world classics, only Sergei Prokofiev took up the art of composition at a similarly early age.
Myth 2: Mozart was forced to study music
This is not true.
Leopold Mozart was a progressive and talented educator, so he did not educate with a stick, but rather with a carrot. His educational principle demanded time, effort and dedication: so he managed not to damage the gift of the child by rude manipulation. He never punished a child with violence. At the same time in the eyes of Wolfgang the authority of his father was unquestionable - he practically prayed to him, stating that "the Lord is followed immediately by the Pope". His father, in turn, saw him as a genius.
Wolfgang impressed his parents so much with his gift that he was rather spoilt. Johann Adolf Hasse, one of his famous contemporary composers, even feared: "Don't let his father spoil him too much and spoil him with an incense of exaggerated praise".
Myth 3: Mozart became an instant child star and performed all over Europe
And so it was.
Leopold Mozart was the father of two child prodigies: Nannerl, Wolfgang's older sister, also grew up to be a promising performer. Their first tours began as early as January 1762, when the younger Mozart was six years old and his sister was ten. Although Munich, where they were travelling, was not far from Salzburg, it was still a real tour. They spent almost three weeks at the court of Elector Maximilian III Joseph of Bavaria.
Together with his sister, little Wolfgang toured all the musical capitals of Europe. Six months after his triumph in Munich, the family and their children travelled to Vienna. At one of their stops they gave their first public concert, and in Vienna they enjoyed a series of concerts: at the court of Maria Theresia, in the salons of aristocracy and at the homes of foreign ambassadors. At the same time they received an offer to perform in Versailles. In the summer of 1763, the whole family left for a three-year tour around Europe: Munich, Augsburg, Ulm, Ludwigsburg, Bruchsal, Mannheim, Schwetzingen, Frankfurt, Coblenz, Bonn, Cologne, Aachen, Brussels, and finally Paris and Versailles. These are just the cities in which they gave concerts. The main purpose of the trip was to attend a concert at Louis XV's in Versailles. And the next destination was London. George III was so delighted with the performance that he wished to hear the young geniuses again at the celebrations marking the next anniversary of his accession to the throne.
After almost a year in England the adventures continued: Canterbury, Calais, Lille, Ghent, Antwerp, The Hague, Amsterdam, Utrecht, Antwerp. Brussels again, Paris, Versailles, Dijon, Lyon, Geneva, Lausanne, Bern, Zurich, Donaueschingen and finally Munich and Salzburg again. Wolfgangängerl returned home a renowned musician, performing for kings and rulers. On the eve of his fourteenth birthday his family left for Italy. The second and third Italian journeys, which in 1771 and 1772 took only the male members of the Mozart family, were triumphant. Europe was conquered, and with it the entire musical world.
Myth 4: Mozart was a genius, so he earned a lot
Indeed.
Mozart earned a lot of money during his years on tour: his family became one of the wealthiest in the provincial Salzburg. At the age of 18 Wolfgang was already receiving a yearly wage of 150 guilders as a concertmaster in the court chapel. But that was not his only source of prosperity. Admirers, including royalty, regularly gave him gifts. As a rule, these were jewels, which the musician pragmatically "cashed in". European productions of his operas and publications brought in considerable income. He also continued to perform as a virtuoso.
At the age of 25, Mozart decided to finally move to Vienna, resigned from the service and became a free artist. He continued to receive orders, and his operas and performances were as successful as ever. For four years he held author's concerts - the so-called "academies" - for the most brilliant audiences, including the imperial couple. He received a fee of nearly 1,600 guilders for one of these concerts.
Like most musicians of his time, Mozart earned his living not only through tours, concerts and theatre performances, but also through private lessons - three or four lessons a day. The number of pupils from wealthy, preferably aristocratic families was a facet of musical success.
By the age of 30 Mozart was already living in Vienna with his family and receiving a regular annual salary as a court chamber musician at the Austrian court. He was only required to provide musical accompaniment for balls - an honorary position rather than hard work. Emperor Joseph II of Austria commissioned him for an opera, while King Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia commissioned six string quartets.
Mozart was considered a fashionable composer, and so people were ready to pay for his works. The recognition of his talent, however, was not unconditional. His contemporaries - Antonio Salieri, Domenico Cimarosa and Vicente Martino y Soler - received far greater recognition during his lifetime. Mozart thought he deserved better and was pleased to quote one nobleman's praise of him in a letter to his father - "such people only come along once every 100 years".
Myth 5: Mozart used other people's ideas
Never.
Originality was considered the principal virtue of music after Mozart's death: the motto of the Romantic Age was the idea of inventing musical material. The basis of creativity was work according to samples - such a model could be a genre, a style and even a musical theme composed by someone else. Therefore the historical style of this era is now more recognisable than the individual styles of individual composers.
Myth 6: He was rich, but he could not make good use of his money and he lived poorly
This is partly true.
The composer's extreme poverty is, of course, a myth. It was created by Constanza Mozart, who, after her husband's death, sought help from influential acquaintances. Her debts were repaid fairly quickly, which means there wasn't very much of it.
However, Mozart did not make much use of the money, though he constantly tried to persuade his father and family to the contrary. All he earned he spent on renting expensive housing in the centre of Vienna, the maintenance of servants and his own sled, for visitors, to dress himself and his beloved wife, for regular care of appearance, as required by the ruling court. He celebrated his wedding in Vienna's main cathedral, St Stephen. During the last years of the composer's life, Constanza visited an expensive spa, which formed a separate, substantial expense. It is difficult to say whether the treatment was a necessity or a tribute to fashion, like expensive clothes.
Mozart was unable to control not only his expenses, but also his income. He was absolutely short of royalties from the many theatres that staged his operas. He loved and knew how to compose and perform music - and he spent all his time on this. During the last four years of his life his financial position took a turn for the worse. Not through Mozart's own fault, however: Austria was at war and the economic crisis ensued. Philanthropists became less generous and the composer never lived to see better days.
Of course, there are many stories about Mozart. Every year the biography of this great composer becomes more and more. I am sure that interest in this fascinating figure will never fade, and love for his music, recognized classics will flourish and intensify with each new generation.
