Appendix
The following is a chronological statement of the principal events in the life of Mozart:
1756 Born at Salzburg, Austria, Jan. 27.
1762 Concert tour with his sister. Received at the Austrian Court.
1763 Received at the Court of France.
1764 Received at the Court of England.
1765 Received at the Court of Holland.
1768 Appointed Concert-meister to Archbishop of Salzburg.
1769 Visited Italy and elected member of the Accademia Filarmonica at Bologna.
1769 “Mitridate” produced at Milan.
1771 Second visit to Italy.
1778 Visited Paris.
1781 Composed “Idomeneo.”
1782 Married Constanze Weber, third daughter of Fridolin Weber, a prompter and copyist.
1786 Composed “Marriage of Figaro.”
1787 Composed “Don Giovanni.”
1787 Appointed Chamber composer to the Emperor.
1787 Composed his last three symphonies.
1789 Concert tour through Germany.
1791 Composed “The Magic Flute” and “The Requiem.”
1791 Died in Vienna, Dec. 5.
1859 Monument erected on the probable site of his grave by the city of Vienna.
Footnotes
1Leopold Mozart was the son of a bookbinder at Augsburg, and was born Dec. 14, 1719. He was a skilful musician, and rose to be vice chapelmaster at the Court of the Archbishop of Salzburg.
2Johannes Chrysostom Sigismund Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the great composer, was born at Salzburg, Jan. 27, 1756.
3Maria Anna Pertl, Mozart’s mother, was a foster child of the convent of St. Gilgen in Strasburg. She was a good-hearted and very handsome woman, a faithful wife and loving mother, but not of striking intellectual ability.
4Anton Cajetan Adlgasser was organist at the cathedral of Salzburg, and court musician. He was also noted as a composer. He died in 1777, while playing the organ.
5A mountain in the Salzburg Alps, about eight miles from that city. It is celebrated in folk lore, and many legends of Charlemagne and Barbarossa are connected with it.
6Mozart’s full name was Johann Chrysostom Sigismund Wolfgang Amadeus. He was the youngest of seven children. In the family he was addressed as “Wolfgang,” or “Wolfgangerl,” the termination “erl,” like “chen,” being a diminutive, and used as a term of endearment.
7Mozart’s sister, Maria Anna, was born Aug. 29, 1751. Her household name was “Nannie,” or “Nannerl.”
8Andreas Schachtner afterwards was the principal trumpeter in the band of the Archbishop of Salzburg. His father was also a trumpeter.
9This was a work of considerable importance, entitled “An Attempt toward a Fundamental System for the Violin,” published in Augsburg.
10Nissen, one of Mozart’s biographers, says this concerto was written with a full score of accompaniments, including even trumpets and drums. This, however, is probably incorrect, for the compositions of his earlier period are mainly for strings, and the few wind instruments usually found in the small orchestras of that period.
11The word “concerto” in this connection is probably used in its old restricted sense, when this musical form resembled the sonata. The modern form of the concerto was fixed by Mozart, but at a later period in his life.
12The first of Mozart’s compositions catalogued by Köchel is a minuet and trio for piano. Upon the manuscript, which is still preserved, his sister has written: “The undersigned witnesses that this piece was composed by her brother in his fifth year.” The original is without title, and bears the date 1761.
13Linz, the capital of upper Austria, is a city of about 50,000 population, on the Danube River.
14In a letter written Oct. 16, 1762, Mozart’s father says: “The following Tuesday we reached Ipo, where two Minorites and a Benedictine, who had been our companions on the water, said mass, between which our Wolferl rattled about on the organ, and played so well that the Franciscan fathers, who were entertaining some guests at dinner, quitted the table, and, together with their company, hastened into the choir, when their astonishment was inexpressible.”
15Georg Christoph Wagenseil was born Jan. 15, 1715, in Vienna, and died there March 1, 1777. He was the Court composer, organist to the Dowager Empress Elizabeth, and music master to the Empress Maria Theresa and the imperial princesses.
16Andreas Schachtner, Court trumpeter, in his recollections of Mozart, says: “If a trumpet was held before him, it was like putting a loaded pistol to his ear. Papa, wishing to overcome this childish dread, on one occasion told me not to mind this aversion, but to sound the trumpet near him. Scarcely had Wolfgang heard the shrill sound when he turned pale and began to sink to the ground. Had I gone on he certainly would have fallen in convulsions.”
17Baron von Grimm was a distinguished German-French critic and author, and one of the most brilliant literary celebrities of this period.
18Mozart and his father left Paris for London, April 10, 1764, and remained in England until August 1. The children were kindly received at Court, and made as usual an extraordinary impression.
19Upon arriving at the Hague, Mozart’s sister was first taken ill, and then Mozart himself took a violent fever, which lasted several weeks. It was nearly two months before he could play in Holland.
20Johann Adolph Hasse, a distinguished dramatic composer, was born March 25, 1699. It was Hasse who said, after hearing Mozart’s “Ascanio in Alba,” written when he was thirteen years old, “This boy will throw us all into the shade.”
21Giovanni Battista Martini, usually called Padre Martini, was born at Bologna, April 15, 1706, and was one of the most learned musicians of his time. He left many compositions and some important works in musical literature.
22Carlo Broschi Farinelli, born at Naples, Jan. 24, 1705, was a famous soprano singer. He created a furore all over Europe, and received distinguished honors at many Courts.