Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart- a man who wasn’t just the greatest musician who ever lived, but a musical prodigy that lives with us till date. Born to Anna and Leopold Mozart in the year 1756 in Salzburg, Austria- everything about the life of Mozart is a piece of history that many study. It’s probably because he lived a very glorious yet surprisingly short life, or just the fact that he became a legend in no time. It takes years of discipline, study, and exposure to hone their skills for most musicians and composers. But Mozart was born with an innate sensibility of music. He was four when he learned to write a piece of music, by age six he started composing and wrote his first symphonies at age of eight. His father Leopold; a violinist and award-winning composer of the classical era, is believed to be the primary reason for his early success. Many criticised Leopold when he started bringing his son to live performances, accusing him of commercialising his son’s talents.
Despite all the judgements, Leopold truly believed that it was his duty to nurture his son’s musical gifts and showcase them to the world. Wolfgang Mozart’s early exposure, not only gave purpose to his music but also infused immense confidence in the boy to an extent that some also found him rather snooty.
Let alone the temperament, Mozart was undoubtedly the best at what he did. It is always hard to put it into words, but Mozart’s music always felt ‘right’- so perfectly balanced that it felt almost wrong to think of an improved version. He had the ability to turn something simple into sublime. As a virtue of which he grew famous very early, and started performing in different countries. He was so natural that he’d ask his audience to suggest themes, and he would come up with something magical. Even when Mozart made (technical) ‘mistakes’ he would make the ‘right’ mistake- and it would all sound perfect. His natural talent of perfectly balancing compositions brought a revolution in Operas as well. During the Baroque era (1600–1750); when opera had taken Europe by storm; the operas would be based on gods or god-like heroes, epic tragedies where the characters often felt like empty vessels. But later in the classical era when Mozart stepped in, he brought a focus shift to ‘real-life things’ and realistic characters. ‘The Marriage of Figaro (Le Nozze di Figaro)’ is an excellent example of this shift where the servants ultimately outwit their aristocratic masters. Based on a play by French writer Beaumarchais, The Marriage of Figaro was fast, irreverent and funny, but also full of stunning music. Mozart can also be considered a master of high drama as seen in his masterpiece Don Giovanni.
As legendary as Mozart was, he was an equally stubborn man and never really documented much of his musical compositions. Most of them were catalogued in the 19th century by Köchel. One of his most talked-about compositions ‘Requiem in D minor’ makes it a further compelling topic since it was the last Mozart wrote as a composer. Requiem is a piece of music written to honour the dead at a ceremony. Mozart was asked to write this requiem at a very strange time of his life. He had recently lost his father, his health and financial conditions were deteriorating. Some of his last compositions such as the Jupiter, K 551 are reflective of deep-rooted trauma and prolonged sadness. Thus when he was approached to write the requiem, he immediately threw himself in and kept working on it for several months. He was completely immersed in perfecting it and was obsessive over completing the composition. It was as if he knew his end is near and had to write this requiem as a final adieu to the world. Well, no one will ever know a complete truth, but he did die shortly even before he could complete the requiem. He was just 35 and his early death is a subject of debate in itself. Finally ‘Requiem in D minor’ was completed by his own student Franz Xaver Süssmayr. Irrespective of the composers behind the Requiem in D minor, it’s still an exquisite, emotionally evocative piece that countless people around the world admire to date.
One of the things that makes him immortal is that he immersed himself in his art in a way only a few people could understand. I read one historian say that Mozart believed in a system of collapsed time; that entire symphonies would appear whole, big-bang-style, and he would just grab the end and transcribe. Isn’t that so beautiful a thought? The transformative effect he had on the music of his time(1756 -1791) and the subsequent profound impact that it had on the evolution of music for us all is what makes Mozart relevant. Most of us have lost the ability to appreciate his music that dates back much before the 17th century because it is too hard for us to understand now. But the language of music from that time is the foundation of western classical music. Even people who find it hard to enjoy classical music comprehend Mozart’s music as something rare and soulful. He was truly gifted at taking something pure (as human emotions) and moulding it into something that expressed an unfulfillable longing. He lived a brief life but his art was such that his name continues to prevail centuries after centuries.
Thank you for the Music Dear Mozart.
