Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart 1756 1791 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 -1791)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 -1791) • Born in Salzburg, Austria

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 -1791) • Sound of trumpet would send him from room screaming. • Didn’t like flute either • Was Compulsive. When he was learning math, he would fill the whole room (walls, floors, furniture) with numbers using chalk • On a visit to France, proposed to Marie Antoinette at the age of 7!

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 -1791) • Considered a child prodigy • Began playing harpsichord at age 4 • Began writing music at age 5 • At the age of 5, began touring Europe with his family playing harpsichord • Wrote his first opera at the age of 11

Symphony No. 40 • The classical symphony typically contained four movements. • • 1 st movement - fast movement 2 nd movement - slow movement 3 rd movement - Minuet (dance in 3, 4 time) 4 th movement - fast movement • Mozart’s Symphony No. 40 was one of only two symphonies that Mozart wrote in a minor key. • Symphony No. 40 was completed in just a few weeks in July of 1788.

Piano Concerto No. 21 in C Major • The Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major was completed on March 9, 1785, four weeks after the completion of another concerto. • This concerto has three movements

Concerto • Concerto – a piece of music that features an instrument or instruments with the orchestra used as accompaniment • Soloist – a performer who plays alone • Cadenza – an ornamental passage performed by a soloist near the close of the composition, usually improvised • Example from the 1 st mvmt. http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=8 v. N 0 Vohbi 2 Y

Listening Samples • Symphony No. 40 • 1 st movement http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=l 45 DAu. XYS Is • Piano Concerto No. 21 • 2 nd movement http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=FZNt 3 ESnf 8 Q