Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Austria in 1756. Mozart’s father, Leopold was a professional musician, so Mozart would be too, right? Leopold began teaching Mozart clavier pieces when Mozart was only 4 years old. It started out as fun, but young Mozart surprised everyone by repeating the pieces perfectly. He also began composing little pieces. Leopold thought this was his chance to be famous, so he toured around Germany, France, and also England. They had to travel by horse and cart, and suffered from illnesses. They also didn’t get paid for a while, either, so times were tough. When Mozart was 17, he got a job as a court musician for Prince Archbishop of Salzburg. But, he got bored of Salzburg. In 1777, he left Salzburg, and went to Paris in 1778, looking for a job. He went back to Salzburg, and his father got him a job as a court organist. He constantly fought with his employer, Archbishop Colloredo, which was rude to him. When he tried to quit, he was not allowed to, but finally, he did. Mozart was done working with others, so he moved to Vienna in 1881. From now on, he will work for himself. His career started out well, everyone loved his music, and he even played piano for the Emperor. Over the years, he made lots of Piano concertos, and he performed everywhere. He had lots of money, and him and his wife moved to a luxury apartment, and started spending. In 1785, Haydn, himself, told Mozart’s father, that his son was the best composer ever known to him. In 1786, his first opera in 4 years was released. It was a success in Vienna and even more successful in Prague. Then, his fame went down. Austria was at war. Less and less people listened to his music. In 1786, he started to perform less and less in public. He tried to get famous again by taking trips to other European cities. But in 1790, he performed better, he made music that people liked, and his fame started to grow. In 1791 he was at a premiere for his latest opera. But he got sick. He was confined to bed towards the end of the year. His wife nursed him on his deathbed. He tried to write his last piece. He finally died on December 5, 1791. aged 35. He was buried in Vienna.
