Mozart’s Sister And Wife Could Have Been Professional Musicians, Too
They were extremely talented, but had limited opportunities because of their gender
Everyone knows of the genius of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. But his sister, Nannerl, and his wife were great musicians, too. These women are so buried in history that even though I’ve loved classical music all my life, I only learned of their prowess (and indeed, Nannerl’s existence) very recently.
In the Amazon show Mozart In The Jungle, Nannerl Mozart appears in a vision to the female main character, encouraging not to give up on her musical career as she herself did.
And as I learned only this morning (spurring me to write this article), Mozart’s wife, Constanze Weber, was a talented musician, too. It makes sense that Mozart would want to marry a woman who was proficient musically, but I’d always pictured her as the vapid girl depicted in the movie Amadeus.
Maria Anna Walburga Ignatia Mozart, also known as Nannerl Mozart, was born in 1751 in Salzburg, Austria. Like her younger brother, Wolfgang, she was a child prodigy, a skilled musician and keyboard player. The two siblings were very close, and Wolfgang referred to Nannerl as “my dearest sister.”
Their father, Leopold Mozart, was a composer and musician, and he played a central role in the education and training of both siblings. Nannerl and Wolfgang often performed together in concerts across Europe, even playing in front of royalty.
Contrary to our modern myth of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, lone child genius, contemporary reviews show us that Nannerl was often billed first. Until she turned 18, that is, writes Sylvia Milo, who created a one-woman show titled The Other Mozart.
Continues Milo:
A little girl could perform and tour, but a woman doing so risked her reputation. And so she was left behind in Salzburg, and her father only took Wolfgang on their next journeys around the courts of Europe. Nannerl never toured again.
In the late 18th century, woman simply weren’t professional musicians. Leopold encouraged her to focus on domestic duties rather than pursuing a career in music.
Sadly, none of Nannerl’s music has survived. After she stopped touring, she did send one last composition to her father and brother. Wolfgang called it “beautiful.” Leopold never replied.
“Did she stop?” asks Sylvia Milo:
Perhaps she never showed it to anybody again, perhaps she destroyed it, maybe we will find it one day, maybe we already did but it’s wrongly attributed to her brother’s hand.
I wonder what Nannerl’s compositions were like. Since she was a skilled keyboard player, it’s reasonable to assume that she composed music for the keyboard.
Wolfgang composed a wide variety of music, including symphonies, operas, piano concertos, and chamber music. It’s possible that Nannerl’s compositions were similar in style to her brother’s, but that’s just speculation. These compositions may not have been preserved because they were not considered as significant or as valuable as Wolfgang’s music.
In 1785, Nannerl married Johann Baptist Franz von Berchtold zu Chambre, a jurist and government official who served as a councilor in the Austrian Empire. After their marriage, Nannerl and her husband lived in the town of St. Gilgen, where they had four children, three of whom survived to adulthood.
Nannerl died in St. Gilgen on July 29, 1829, at the age of 77, outliving her brother by 38 years.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s wife, Constanze Weber, was not a professional musician, but she was musically talented and had a love for music. Constanze and Wolfgang met and married in 1782, with the marriage facilitated by Mozart’s father, Leopold. The couple were together for a little over a decade before Wolfgang’s death in 1791 at the age of 35.
Constanze came from a musical family and sang in the choir at the St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, which was made up of trained singers who performed at Mass and other religious services, as well as in concerts and other public performances. The choir was known for its high-quality vocal performances and for its repertoire of sacred music, which included works by composers such as Mozart, Haydn, and Salieri.
Constanze also played the harp and the piano and sang in private concerts with her husband. In the late 18th century, it was not common for women to play multiple instruments. Men were the ones who were trained as musicians and to perform in public.
Constanze was one of the rare women who knew more than one instrument, but even there she was limited. Instruments such as the harp, piano, and harpsichord were seen as more suitable for women because they were not as physically demanding as other instruments. These were the instruments Constanze played.
Overall, it appears that Wolfgang and Constanze had a close and loving relationship (contrary to the acrimonious marriage we see depicted in Amadeus). Constanze supported Wolfgang in his career as a composer and often helped him with the practical aspects of his work, such as copying out scores and managing his finances.
Wolfgang was affectionate and devoted to Constanze, referring to her as “my dear wife” in his letters. Despite their strong bond, the couple faced financial struggles and had to work hard to make ends meet. They had six children together, but only two survived to adulthood. After Wolfgang’s death, Constanze worked to promote his music and preserve his legacy, and she played a key role in the publication of his compositions.
The true tragedy of this story: only Wolfgang’s genius is fully remembered today, while the talents of Nannerl and Constanze are largely forgotten. So it goes with women in history.
Thanks for reading! Here are a couple other history pieces I’ve written:
