Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Born

27 January 1756, Salzburg

Died

5 December 1791, Vienna

Life

Mozart was born in Salzburg on 27 January 1756, the seventh and last child of the court musician Leopold Mozart. From June 1763 to December 1766, while still a small boy, he toured Europe with his family and his sister Nannerl, playing in Paris, London and The Hague.

Back home he worked for the Salzburg court, as a salaried concertmaster from 1772 and as court organist from 1779. In 1781 he broke with the Archbishop of Salzburg and settled in Vienna, where he made his living as a freelance performer, opera composer and teacher. He wrote 22 stage works, among them The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, Così fan tutte and The Magic Flute.

Mozart died in Vienna on 5 December 1791, aged 35.

Why play Mozart

Mozart wrote music for learners himself. On 26 June 1788 he entered a piano sonata in his own catalogue as "a little piano sonata for beginners": that is the Sonata in C major, K. 545, published after his death, in 1805, as the Sonate facile. You can play its opening movement, or start with the easy version.

The Minuet in F major, K. 2 is written in Nannerl's music book, dated 1762, when Mozart was about six. And the Rondo alla Turca is the last of the three movements of his Sonata in A major, K. 331, which probably dates from 1783. Its easy Turkish March is a fine first taste.

When Mozart lived