Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is one of the most important figures in the history of music, having exerted a great influence on it with his work.
Unlike colleagues working in the same direction, Mozart wrote in different styles and everywhere managed to succeed.
The strict and deep forms of his works were filled with special emotionality, thanks to which the experts easily recognized his handwriting.
He devoted most of his attention to the opera, giving him special love. He is considered one of the main reformers of the genre (along with Christoph Gluck), and his musical drama is the standard.
Having lived only 35 years, the composer left a rich legacy and today we will remember 10 Mozart's most famous works from a huge list of his works.
10. Fake simpleton
The composer wrote this opera in ~ 1768, when he was only 12 years old. It was ordered by the Austrian emperor Joseph II, but the prime minister had to be postponed for a year. Vienna musicians were frightened of the competition from the young talent and began to weave intrigues, so the general public got acquainted with the work only in 1769.
Despite the warm welcome, it did not cause a furor and was forgotten for many years, until in 1921 it was again placed in the German Karlsruhe.
The opera was based on the libretto of Carlo Goldoni, written in the style of hard satire, however, when creating music, Mozart radically changed everything. The sound was soft, especially the part of Rosina, and despite the conventions and some angularity of the individual fragments, this was an amazing composition for a 12-year-old child.
It immediately became clear to everyone that they had a huge talent, and a great future lay ahead of him.
9. Little night serenade
Mozart specialized in creating serious musicHowever, he also wrote light works to order. At concerts and court balls, popular at that time, entertaining music was often performed and the Little Night Serenade was written for one of these events. So, at least, most experts believe, because the exact motives that prompted the composer to write this masterpiece are unknown.
The serenade consists of 4 parts and was invented in 1787, subsequently becoming one of Mozart's business cards.
They published it after his death - in 1821. Initially, there were 5 parts in it, but the latter was irretrievably lost and it is not known for certain what happened to her.
8. The cheated groom
This opera has a rather interesting story: firstly, she never performedsince it was not finished, and secondly, unknown libretto author.
Some historians claim that in the summer of 1783, Lorenzo da Ponte sent him to Mozart, but you cannot vouch for the authenticity of this fact.
The composer first agreed to write an opera for the Italian troupe, performing in Vienna, but for unknown reasons, stopped working.
Perhaps he was unable to qualitatively adapt the music for the Viennese scene and decided to quit, and perhaps the reason was the beginning of his work on “The Figaro Wedding”.
7. Turkish march
The Turkish March, also known as the Turkish Rondo and Alla Turca, is the third, final part of the piano sonata No. 11 in A major.
This work turned out so distinctive that it is often performed separately from the entire sonata and he has the greatest popularity.
In the second half of the 18th century (the march was written in 1784), Turkish music was in fashion, so Mozart tried to recreate the sound of the Janissaries.
This is far from his only experiment in this direction: in his own opera Entführung aus dem Serail, the composer also imitated the Turkish sound.
6. The wedding of Figaro
If in the case of The Cheated Groom, Lorenzo da Ponte is only presumably the author of the libretto, then The Marriage of Figaro was definitely written by him based on the publication of Pierre-Augustin Beaumarchais.
Mozart worked on this opera for 5 monthshaving spent a lot of energy, but the first performance on May 1, 1786 in Vienna was not successful.
However, the composer was not very surprised: the work ridiculed the aristocracy and touched on the theme of the French Revolution, and people already did not like it when they were told the truth about themselves.
As a result, the “Wedding” was even banned in Vienna, but in Prague it was a huge success (it was played there in December of that year).
Interesting fact: for singing in Russian, the opera was first translated by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, always admiring the work of Mozart.
5. Don Juan
The opera is based on the play by Antonio de Zamora, and the libretto based on it was written by the very same Lorenzo da Ponte.
She owed her birth to the success of The Marriage of Figaro in Prague: after a loud premiere, entrepreneur Pasquale Bondini offered Mozart a contract for a new work and he accepted it.
Don Giovanni was written in a hurry: despite the fact that the premiere was postponed from October 14 to October 29, 1787, the musicians still had to play practically without rehearsals, since they received the notes shortly before entering the stage on the day of the concert.
Mozart finished the final score literally on the go, so everyone was afraid of failure, but nothing happened.
Curious fact: according to unconfirmed reports, the composer, together with da Ponte, met with Casanova and took advice from him.
4. Requiem
In July 1791, an unknown man dressed in black came to Mozart's house. He ordered a mass from the composer and paid in advance, and then left. Later it turned out that this was the servant of Count Franz von Walzegg, to whom Mass was needed for his recently deceased wife.
Despite the fact that the composer accepted the advance and promised to do everything, while working on Requiem, he was often interrupted by other, more urgent and profitable orders.
Unfortunately for everyone, the composer did not finish the mass, having died early. There are unconfirmed rumors that Mozart, who felt approaching death, was sadly joking that he wrote “Requiem” for himself.
When he was gone, his wife was afraid that the customer would take the money issued in advance, so she asked Mozart's friends to finish the mass. Joseph Eibler and Franz Xaver Süzmeier fulfilled this request, paying tribute to the deceased comrade.
3. The Magic Flute
Written in the libretto by Emanuel Schicaneder, the comedy opera The Magic Flute, according to some legends, is considered the cause of Mozart's death.
The story for which he wrote music makes fun of Masonic rituals, and the composer himself, as you know, was part of the order of “free masons”.
Some lovers of conspiracy theories believe that the Vienna box, which did not appreciate humor, “ordered” the composer.
2. Concert for piano and orchestra No. 21
Concert for piano solo, flute, two oboes, two bassoons, two horns in C, two trumpets in C, timpani and strings. Consists of those parts:
- Allegro maestoso
- Andante
- Allegro vivace assai
The most popular is the second part, performed in a subdominant manner in F major and also consisting of three parts.
Even now, several centuries after writing, this the concert is still able to cause goosebumps.
1. Symphony No. 40
The composer completed work on the 40th symphony three weeks after the completion of the 39th, released 2 pieces at once in July 1788.
Shortly before his death, Mozart returned to Symphony No. 40 and reworked it a bit, adding, among other things, a clarinet.
Fragments from it can often be heard in movies, video games, and even in the songs of contemporary artists who do not hesitate to make covers for the classics.