Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Gottlieb Mozart was, and remains to be one

of the greatest composers of all time. You may recognize him better as Wolfgang

Amadeus Mozart. He began as a child prodigy and continued to write thousands of works

that are studied and preformed around the world. W. A. Mozart was one of the most

inspirational and prolific composers ever.

W. A. Mozart was born to Leopold and Anna Maria Mozart in Salzburg, Austria

in 1756. Soon after Wolfgang was born, his father, Leopold Mozart wrote, "I must

inform you, that on January 27, at 8 pm, my dear wife was happily

delivered of a boy." His family had a strong musical background with his father

being a composer and a very gifted violinist. Because of his musical background, he

began playing many different instruments and composing at a very young age. He

became an accomplished pianist at the age of five and wrote his first minuet at the age of

six. By the time he was eleven, he was already writing operas. Mozart spent much of his

time between the ages of six and seventeen playing the piano across Europe as a child

prodigy. Although Mozart was extremely gifted as a child, he never reached his full

potential. Later in life, he said, “I get paid far too much for what I do, but far too little for

what I could do.”

A recent study made by BBC News discovered the “missing link” in Mozart’s

musical development as a child. Mozart historians discovered a concerto that young

Wolfgang wrote before his first “official” piano concerto, K 175, when he was 6. The

real first concerto was found to be dismissed by his father as, “too hard to play.” Mozart

replied, “ That’s why it’s a concerto, you have to practice along time before you can play
it.”

Mozart wrote the great majority of his pieces and symphonies at a very young age

and even though he never reached his full potential, he still wrote numerous pieces when

he was older. During his lifetime, he composed over 1,000 works including symphonies,

concertos, minuets, and operas. He created music from virtually every genre of his time

and songs ranged from outrageously difficult to simple songs with haunting melodies.

His masterpieces possess a natural flow that is considered a work of art.

W.A. Mozart was greatly admired by his fellow composers, such as, Wagner,

Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, and Prokofiev. Studying his music became a standard part of

musical training in the 19th and 20th centuries. Mozart was a small man, standing at a

mere 5’4,” with thin hair, which he was very proud of. His appearance definitely did not

give and sign of his intelligence. He had a quirky sense of humor and stood at the center

of the Viennese musical world. Although Mozart was a pure genius, his intelligence did

not come without many problems. It is well known that he had Narcissistic Personality

Disorder, a mental illness where you are so self-absorbed that you cannot see from

anyone else’s perspective. During his later years, he lived in a very deep depression

where he lost interest in music and was sad all the time. Researchers are also debating

whether or not Mozart had Bipolar Disorder.

Mozart accomplished a huge amount before his tragic death in 1791 when he was

only thirty-five years old. He died of Rheumatic Fever in a time when medicine was not

good enough to properly treat the disease. Mozart left behind a legacy that is unfolded

millions of times by musicians and composers every day.