Mozart and Musical

Change:

The Classical Period

1750-1827

It’s lucky for us

Bach

died in 1750 because

that neatly divides the

18

th

century in half.

Bach’s death in 1750

ends the

Baroque

period and begins a

new musical period

called the

Classical

period.

The most
famous
composer
of the

Classical

period
was

Mozart

.

Wolfgang Amadeus

Mozart

1756-1791

As with
many great
composers,

Mozart’s

first teacher
was his
father,
Leopold
Mozart.

Leopold Mozart,

1765.

Mozart

could

write music
before he could
write words!
When he was
five he wrote a
minuet for
keyboard.

A minuet is a slow dance for

couples and groups of

people. It was popular

during his day.

Listen to

Mozart’s

Minuet

Mozart

was so

talented as a
child that he
played for kings
and queens. This
portrait of him
was painted in
1762, when he
was just six years
old.

Children during Mozart’s time

dressed just like adults. He just

finished playing for Empress

Maria Theresa of Austria.

By the time

Mozart

was six

he was already

starting to write

harder and

harder music.

Listen to an early

piano solo he wrote.

Does it sound

different than the

minuet you just

heard?

As

Mozart

grew older, his
reputation
spread. Not
only was he a
gifted
musician, but
he could also
compose his
own music.

Mozart at 14, 1770.

He’s playing the

harpsichord.

Mozart 2 years

before his death in

1777.

Unlike

Bach

,

whose music
was very
complicated
and serious,
Mozart’s
music was
meant to be
fun and
entertaining.

Listen to
Mozart’s Rondo
alla Turka

This is a portrait of Mozart’s family. The

portrait on the wall is of his dead mother,

Anna Maria. His father is to the right. The

girl with the big hair is his older sister,

Nannerl. Mozart is in the red jacket. Can you

identify the instrument?

This portrait, painted after

Mozart’s death, is said to

look the most like him. It

was painted in 1819.

Mozart was
only 36
years old
when he
died in
1791. In
his short
life he
wrote over
600
compositio
ns!

Mozart died
penniless despite
his enormous
talent. The
greatest
composer the
world has ever
known is buried
in an unmarked
grave. Some
believe Mozart
may have been
murdered by a
jealous rival.
What do you
think?

Listen to Variations on

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little

Star by Mozart

1
.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

Online Bibliography

•

Alexandre H. Hohmann's Mozart
Pictures Frame,

http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/Str
asse/9570/mozart/pictures.html

, available July 22, 2001.

•

Mozart's Magical Musical Life,

http://www.stringsinthemountains.
org/m2m/1once.htm

, available July 22, 2001.