Biography of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart-Part 3
-1783 Start of Period of Extraordinary Success (26)
Mozart was very productive and began the most fruitful period of his life when he got back in Vienna. Piano was the most prominent instrument in Vienna, and Mozart thrived as a pianist-composer. In just over five weeks, he appeared in 22 concerts, five of which were his own. He would either play already existing pieces or improvise on the piano. He would also conduct symphonies. Piano concertos were his main concern at the time; he composed three in 1782–83, six in 1784, three in 1785, three in 1786; one in 1788; and one in 1791. They were very special in the piano concerto world, each one with distinct individual characteristics, except perhaps for the last two. The six string quartets which he started in 1782 was finished in early 1785, and he dedicated it to Haydn. That year, Haydn told to Leopold that Mozart was the greatest composer he had ever known. According to Haydn, not only did Mozart have good taste, but he also had an incomparable abundance of knowledge in composition. During Leopold’s visit, Mozart played his D Minor concerto (KV 466), which is uncharacteristically willful and irregular; this is Beethoven’s favorite of Mozart’s concertos.
-1785 Return to Opera (28)
Mozart returned to the opera scene in late 1785, collaborating with the librettist Lorenzo da Ponte. The Marriage of Figaro was premiered in Vienna in 1786, it was successful in Vienna and also later in Prague. These successes led to the commission for a second collaboration, Don Giovanni, which premiered in 1787 in Prague. Both of these operas are still considered to be among Mozart’s most important works, but the musical complexity often poses a challenge for the performers and the listeners.
-1787 Decline in Career and Financial Troubles (30)
In December 1787, Mozart received a steady job serving under Emperor Joseph II as his “chamber composer”. However it was just a part time job with little work and only 800 florins per year. Mozart once complained that the pay was “too much for what I do, too little for what I could do”. However, this income proved to be valuable when the hard times arrived. Between 1788 and 1791, musicians in Vienna underwent financial struggles because Austria was at war with Turkey. It was suggested that Mozart suffered from depression at this time, and his rate of producing music declined. His major works in this period were the last three symphonies (39, 40, 41) and the last opera collaborated with Da Ponte (Cosi fan tutte, premiered in 1790). There are records of short letters that Mozart had written to his friends asking for loans. Though his income from 1786-91 was still much better than the average musician, he was very dissatisfied with it because it was much lower than that of the section of society with which he would like to be associated. He was taught to mingle with the aristocracy by his father, and that idea stuck with him. His expensive taste like that of a nobleman hastened his financial shortcomings.
-1791 Finale (35)
In his final year, Mozart recovered from the financial struggles of the previous years and became productive again. During this time he wrote The Magic Flute, his final piano concerto (KV 595), Clarinet Concerto (KV 622), the last of his series of string quintets (KV 614), the revised 40th Symphony, and the Requiem (KV 626). His financial situation has began to improve from annuities from patrons, and he started to pay off his debts. Mozart was very satisfied by the recognition his late works received, especially by The Magic Flute and the Little Masonic Cantata (KV 623). Mozart fell ill in September while he was in Prague for the premiere of his opera La clemenza di Tito. His illness worsened in November; he was bedridden, suffering from fever, swelling, and vomiting. He passed away on December 4th, 1791. Mozart’s body was sewn into a linen sack and transferred from a reusable coffin into a common grave with other bodies. No friends or family attended the burial. It was the common practice of the time and it may have reflected his own wishes.
Recourses:
“Classic FM.” Classic FM. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2017.
Cs.lafayette.edu. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2017.
Sadie, Stanley. “Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.” Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 06 Jan. 2017. Web. 23 Feb. 2017.
“Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART — Biography of Mozart.” Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART — Biography of Mozart. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2017.
