Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Superstars of the Classical Age

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 – 1791)

Mozart: One of the greatest musical geniuses of all time!!

“Two centuries after his death, our fascination with the brief life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the greatest musical genius in history has never been greater.

A man of immense contradictions, Mozart astonishes with the number and variety of his compositions: forty-one symphonies, twenty-seven piano concertos, twenty-five string quartets, seventeen operas, and more.

Virtually every major piece he wrote in the last ten years of his life is still in the active repertoire, virtually every piece he created in the last five is a towering masterpiece. He is the most frequently performed composer in concert halls worldwide, and the recent bicentennial observances of his death as well as Hollywood’s adaptations of his musical creations have made them familiar to millions

(Harris, 1991, Inside Cover)

From: What to Listen for in Mozart, Robert Harris, 1991

Compositions by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Biography
= https://www.allmusic.com/artist/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart- mn0000026350/biography
= https://www.britannica.com/biography/Wolfgang-Amadeus-Mozart
= http://www.wolfgang amadeus.at/en/biography_of_Mozart.php

Symphonies

=Symphony Definition
https://www.britannica.com/art/symphony-music
https://www.bbc.com/bitesize/guides/zthrcdm/revision/
=the traditional music catalogue reported a total of 41 symphonies written by Mozart, however, recent research shows that Mozart actually wrote up to 68 complete musical works using the Symphonic form
=41 traditional symphonies
           =Links to Symphony Performances:
=Symphony No. 35 in D major, “Haffner”, K. 385 (1782)
                      — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqTaCsfbIGE
                       =Symphony No. 38 in D major, “Prague”, K. 504 (1786)
                     — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xkN8UFNVVOo
                      =Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550 (1788)
                      — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApvqOhbsriA
               =Symphony No. 41 in C major, “Jupiter”, K. 551 (1788)
                       — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHuhATcs99E

Concertos

=Concerto Definition
    = https://study.com/academy/lesson/classical-concerto-definition-form-quiz.html
    = https://www.britannica.com/art/concerto-music
Piano Concertos
            = Mozart wrote 27 finished and completely original piano concertos, although other piano concertos included arrangements of keyboard sonatas by other contemporary composers as well as a few that have remained unnumbered
           =Links to Piano Concerto Performances:
            +Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, K. 467
                      —https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1FEvl2lcUo
               + Piano Concerto No. 23 in A major, K. 488
                      — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXeBFhqViYg
               + Piano Concerto No. 26 in D major, “Coronation”, K. 537
                        — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kT6iP6Jkt8
Violin Concertos
           = Mozart wrote 5 Violin Concertos in Salzburg around 1775
           =Links to Violin Concertos
                + Violin Concerto No. 3 in G major, K. 216 (1775)
                        — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6L6rvDxo2A
                + Violin Concerto No. 4 in D major, K. 218 (1775)
                        — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXr2DFU8wGU
Horn Concertos
           = Mozart wrote 4 Horn Concertos
           = Links to Horn Concertos
               + Horn Concertos No. 4 in Eb major, K. 495 (1786)
                       — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEJFuWgkGkY
Woodwind Concertos
           = Mozart wrote Concertos for the following Woodwind Instruments:
                      –Bassoon, Oboe, Flute and Clarinet
           =Links to Woodwind Concertos
               + Clarinet Concerto in A major, K. 622 (1791)
                        — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YT_63UntRJE

Chamber Music
=Chamber Music Definition
          =https://wmich.edu/mus-gened/mus150/ChamberMusic.htm
String Quartets
= String Quartet Definition
      =http://www.classical-music.com/article/what-string-quartet
           = Mozart wrote 26 String Quartets
           = Links to String Quartets
                + String Quartet No. 19 in C major, “Dissonance”, K. 465 (1785)
                        — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zbNgyJkzdw
Serenades
=Serenade Definition
     = https://www.8notes.com/glossary/serenade.asp
           = Mozart wrote 13 Serenades
           =Links to Serenades
                + Serenade No. 13, “Eine kleine nacht musik”, K. 525 (1787)
                      — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPbxIT9W1AY

Sacred Music
Masses
= Mass Definition
            = http://www.catholictradition.org/Eucharist/mass-history.htm
           = Mozart wrote 18 Masses
            =Links to Masses
                       =Coronation Mass, K. 317 (1779)
                       — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKZF9ObEjYQ
                        = Requiem Mass in D minor, K. 626 (1791; unfinished)
(completed by F.X. Sussmayr after Mozart’s death)
                        — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qyXVgC_tCw
Motet
= Motet Definition
       = https://www.britannica.com/art/motet
       = http://www.classical-music.com/article/what-motet
            = Mozart wrote 5 Motets
= Links to Motets
                 + Ave verum corpus
—https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HXjn6srhAlY

Opera
= Opera Definition
      = https://www.theopera101.com/operaabc/history/
     = https://www.britannica.com/art/opera-music
     = http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ab36
            = Mozart wrote 21 Operas
            = Links to Operas
                  + Le nozze di Figaro, K. 492 (1786)
                         — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QZpZ00woAmA
                  + Don Giovanni, K. 527 (1787)
                         — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JbhL_Ph2CfU
                  + Die Zauberflote, K. 620 (1791)
                        — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02u4Jf_aNPI