A project of VIENNA MOZART YEAR 2006

Mohsen Dhafer GHARIB,Mozart s Life

Today Mozart – the pop star between baroque and revolution – is the best known musical genius of all time. And he spent his most creative, most successful years in Vienna. A project of VIENNA MOZART YEAR 2006
The child prodigy

Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart was born in Salzburg on 27 January 1756. Father Leopold Mozart taught his children Wolferl and Nannerl to play the cembalo, the organ and the violin. His gifted son wrote his first composition at the age of only five.
Leopold Mozart proved a successful manager to his children: In 1762 the Mozart children travelled to Vienna for several months, where they played to Empress Maria Theresa in the hall of mirrors at Schönbrunn Palace. After the concert, quite unabashed, Wolferl jumped up onto the empress’s lap, hugged and kissed her. The child prodigy, a little man with a powdered wig and miniature dagger, was the talk of the town.

In 1768, during the Mozart family’s second visit to the imperial capital, Maria Theresa gave the twelve-year-old a two-hour audience at the Imperial Palace, the residence of the Habsburg family for over 600 years. By this time, Wolfgang was a much-travelled man: He was familiar with London, Paris, Brussels and many cities in Germany, and had performed in many stately homes, and (when his purse was nearly empty) even in bourgeois dance halls. In the autumn of 1781, Mozart gave a concert at the Imperial Palace in honour of the Duke of Württemberg. He spent Christmas Eve the same year with Maria Theresa’s son, Emperor Joseph II, at the imperial apartments.
His own master

In the year 1781, Mozart – now 25 years of age, and with 350 compositions to his credit – stayed at the house of the Teutonic Order in Vienna for several weeks in the retinue of his employer, the Archbishop of Salzburg. It is here that he resolved to go his own way, and was discharged in disgrace.
This was the beginning of the most successful period of his life. Mozart remained in Vienna, thus escaping from the clutches of his overbearing father, earning a living as a freelance musician with commissioned compositions and piano lessons. In 1782 Mozart married Constanze Weber in the Gothic cathedral of St. Stephen, to this day a landmark of the city.

“If I had to marry all the women I’ve laughed with, I’d have at least 200 wives.”

The couple plunged into the musical and social life of Vienna, had six children (only two of whom survived infancy), and stayed together despite several affairs until Mozart’s death. In 1786 Gottfried Freiherr van Swieten, director of the court library in Vienna, invited Mozart to his “Sunday academies”, a series of concerts in the rooms of today’s Austrian National Library. Mozart played the piano for his subsequent patron, and sang in his wonderful countertenor voice.

By command of Joseph II, in 1786 a “musical competition” was held between Mozart and Antonio Salieri, the court musical director. It took place in the orangery at Schönbrunn Palace, a popular meeting place for the high society of Vienna. The emperor expressed his preference for Salieri. Although Mozart, now 30 years old, was now at the peak of his career, he still earned only half as much as Salieri for the performance of his works at the court.
A star for eternity

“Così fan tutte” was first performed in 1790, followed in 1791 by “La Clemenza di Tito” and “The Magic Flute”. Mozart fell ill whilst he was still working on his “Requiem”. He was tormented by bouts of fever and symptoms of paralysis, and died on 5 December 1791 at the age of only 35.
The house in which he died on Rauhensteingasse no longer exists. His funeral service was held in the same place as he had married: in St. Stephen s Cathedral. There was no money in the house when Mozart died – a circumstance that gave rise to the legend of his poverty.

Mozart found his last resting place in the romantic cemetery of St. Mark, which at the time was far outside the city. In keeping with the custom of the time, he was buried in a pit without a gravestone together with four or five other dead.
A Guide Leading to Mozart - Guided Walks
Calling Mozart
Audio City Guide on Mozart: His Life, His Work, and His Time

Experience the city as a Mozart exhibition, listen to his "Requiem" where it was created, learn more about the fashion of the Baroque and Rococo eras, and visit locations where the composer genius wrote operas, symphonies, or his famous “A Little Night Music.” An audio city guide with 50 stations makes all of this possible.
“Calling Mozart” can be used with an audio guide, your mp3 player or your cell phone – you can get the most important information on Mozart’s life and work: from the locations of his triumphs to his comparatively modest living quarters during the last years of his life to St. Marx cemetery, where a memorial stone marks Mozart’s last resting place. Quotations from Mozart’s letters and music samples give you a comprehensive idea of the composer and his time.

The “Calling Mozart” sites are marked by special information columns whose locations are shown on special city maps. These maps are available at the Mozart Information Center next to the Vienna State Opera. At the same place, you can rent the “Calling Mozart” audio guides. You can also download the individual “Calling Mozart” stations onto your cell phone via a central telephone number; the respective numbers can be found on each “Calling Mozart” station. Please be aware that your cell phone bill may show high roaming fees if you are using a cell phone from outside Austria. You might prefer renting the audio guide. You can also download the Mozart information onto your mp3 player from
“Calling Mozart” is a cooperation of WienMozart2006 and Radio Österreich 1.
Mozarthaus Vienna

Though Mozart lived at a dozen different addresses in Vienna, the only apartment that has survived to this day is at Domgasse number 5. The composer lived at this address from 1784 till 1787. His apartment on the first floor was positively grand, with four large rooms, two small ones and a kitchen. His whole life long, he attached great importance to outward appearances, so smart clothes and buckled shoes were a must for him.
Wolfgang Amadeus probably spent the happiest years of his life here. At all events, he lived here for longer than in any other apartment. Particularly during this period, Mozart was a celebrated composer, had an illustrious circle of friends, and was asked to give countless concerts at the houses of the nobility.
And it was here at Domgasse that he also penned his best compositions, including what is perhaps his most popular opera “The Marriage of Figaro”.

Occupying 1,000 square meters on six levels, the Mozarthaus was opened on January 27, 2006 – the 250th anniversary of Mozart’s birth. Visitors are immersed in the vibrant world of Mozart, experiencing his bounteous genius and creativity, his family, and his friends and foes in Vienna of the late Baroque. Become acquainted with Mozart’s enigmatic personality – an experience par excellence!

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