Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria, where his father Leopold was a violinist and composer. Wolfgang (or Wolferl, as his family called him) was a child prodigy. He composed his first piece of music at age five; he had his first piece published when he was seven; and he wrote his first opera when he was twelve. By the time Wolfgang was 6, he was an excellent pianist and violinist. He and his sister Maria Anna (known as Nannerl) traveled all over Europe performing for royalty and the aristocratic elite..
As a young man, Mozart tried but failed to establish himself as a composer in Paris. He returned to Salzburg where he was briefly employed in the court of the Archbishop of Salzburg. He was restless, aware of his genius, and thought Salzburg too small for his talent. He relocated to Vienna where he met with some success. He married Constance Weber and fathered two sons. He still had a lot of trouble handling the fact that he was no longer a child prodigy. Mozart was still a musical genius, but after he stopped being an extraordinary child, people stopped making a big fuss over him.
Mozart was only 35 when he died in Vienna after a brief but unknown illness. During his short life, Mozart wrote more than 600 musical works, all of the very highest quality. His works include the operas The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, Cosi fan tutte and The Magic Flute; the symphonies in E-flat major, G minor, and Cmajor (“Jupiter”); concertos for piano, violin, and various wind instruments; and numerous chamber pieces, works for the church, minuets and other dances, songs, and the Requiem. He composed in all different musical forms, including operas, symphonies, concertos, masses, and chamber music. Today, he is still considered a genius!