Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus MozartMUSI-100Maverick Boldt2/18/2016

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BackgroundBorn January 27, 17567th child of Leopold and Anna MariaPiano lessons at age 4Age 10 played for many great kings of EuropeAs a teenager he became more a serious composerBecame court musician as a teenager until age 25

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Training/Influence Wolfgangs father Leopold Mozart was a big influence early in his lifeMet Johann Bach and other composers from his travels to France England and Germany, who influenced his music laterStudied with Giovanni Battista MartiniMet and became friends with Franz Joseph Haydn.Started playing music at age 3Began Piano Lessons at age 4Wrote first piece at age 5Played for many important people, improving his skills

Johann Sebastian Bach

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Best AccomplishmentsPerformed at various locations at age 6, such as royal courts where queens, emperors and other prestigious guests were in attendance.One of the most important classical composers in history. Worked as Kapellmeisterfor the archbishop of Salzburg.Composed over 600 works

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Master WorksMozart composed over 600 works, his best include:"Paris Symphony" "Commotion Mass" "Missa Solemnis" "Post Horn Serenade" "Sinfonia Concertante" "Requiem Mass" "Haffner" "Prague" "Linz" "Jupiter" "Idomeneo" "The Abduction from the Seraglio" "Don Giovanni" The Marriage of Figaro" "La Clemenza di Tito" "Cosi fan tutte""The Magic Flute."

Musical StyleClassical:concertosoperasoratoriosquartetssymphonies and chambervocal choral music.

Piano Sonata in C major, K.545This piece is a fast paced piano solo, Wolfgangs 16th piano sonata. The melody starts with a moderate pace, but soon becomes very fast, including many notes into a short span of time. It is clear that this piece would be very hard for an average piano player to play at full speed.Youtube Link

Marriage Of Figaro OvertureThis piece has a moderate tempo, and is played by an orchestra that sounds like its composed of almost solely stringed instruments. The tempo and volume change suddenly a few times during the piece, although it is fairly easy to recognize when this will happen because the piece is so famous. The melodys intensity matches the current intensity the song is at.Youtube Link

Personal ReactionWhile listening to some of Mozarts pieces, I was very impressed by how he can shift the pace of the song without it sounding clunky or forced. This is especially true during Piano Sonata No. 16. While listening to some of his works, it reminded me of Bugs Bunny because of the music style played during the show. It is actually very likely it was one of Mozarts works being played.While researching Wolfgang Mozart, I learned a lot about him I previously didnt know, including that he composed over 600 works during his short lifespan of only 35 years. I also think it is cool how he started playing music so young, even performing for very important people at a very young age.

Works Cited"Fast Facts About Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart." About.com Education. Web. 18 Feb. 2016. http://musiced.about.com/od/classicalmusicians/p/mozart.htm Willoughby, David. The World of Music. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010. Print.