Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756~ 179 1)
Austrian composer, representative of Vienna Classical Music School. /kloc-0 was born in Salzburg on October 27th, and 1756 died in Vienna on February 5th.
Mozart was born into a family of court musicians. He showed his musical talent at the age of 3, studied piano with his father at the age of 4, composed music at the age of 5, studied violin with his father at the age of 6, wrote many sonatas and symphonies at the age of 8, and wrote 1 1 opera at the age of 0. He only lived to be 36 years old. Heavy creation, performance and poor life damaged his health and made him die prematurely, and his music works became the precious heritage of the world music treasure house.
As a teenager (1762 ~1773), Mozart, aged 6, led by his father, made an experimental tour in Munich, Vienna and Pressburg, and achieved success. From June 1763 to March 1773, he went to Germany, Belgium, France, Britain, the Netherlands, Italy and other countries 10, and all of them were successful. These touring performances have had a positive impact on Mozart's artistic development. He had access to the most advanced music art in Europe-Italian opera, French opera and German instrumental music. He also met composers such as Bach, Martini and Samartini. And learn composition techniques from them, making him the most widely composed composer at that time. On the one hand, young Mozart influenced the fashion etiquette and gorgeous artistic style of the aristocratic upper class in his travel performances, on the other hand, because of his low status as a citizen musician, he developed an arrogant character and despised dignitaries. And the heavy performance task with commercial nature destroyed his health.
During this period, Mozart published six sonatas for Harper Secord and violin (or flute) in London, and composed three symphonies and operas, False Goodwill (1768), Bastian and Bastina (1768) and Mitridat, King of the Capital (/kloc). Some works reflect his influence by J.C. Bach. The works of this period have shown the universality of Mozart's creative genre and his interest in opera creation.
Maturity ended (1774 ~1781)1773 Mozart returned to Salzburg to make up for the interrupted music and cultural study under the guidance of his father, and at the same time created a large number of works by using the knowledge and materials obtained during his travels. Including the operas The Fake Gardener (1775) and The Shepherd King (1775).
Mozart is now an adult, and he is not satisfied with his humble slave status. In order to strive for personal and creative freedom, after fierce struggle, he finally got the consent of the archbishop in September 1777, and then traveled with his mother for two years. In order to find another job and leave Salzburg forever, he taught and performed in Munich and Mannheim, which further deepened his understanding and experience of the unequal system. When he was in Mannheim, he got the help and sympathy of some citizen musicians, got in touch with the important Mannheim Music School in Europe at that time, and heard the performance of the first-class orchestra. 1In May 778, he returned to Paris. As his mother died and he couldn't find a job, he had to return to Salzburg in June 1779.
During this period, Mozart composed two flute concertos, 1 oboe concerto, seven piano and violin sonatas and three piano sonatas in Mannheim, which reflected the influence of Mannheim School of Music. In Paris, he also composed Paris symphony, symphony concerto, orchestral overture, flute and harp concerto, flute and string quartet, four piano variations and four piano sonatas. When I passed Mannheim for the second time, I wrote three symphonies of religious music, symphony concerto for violin and viola, serenade, suite, concerto for two pianos and three organ concertos. 1780 Completed the creation of the opera Idomeno.
Mozart's works in this period reflected the influence of the hurricane movement trend of thought at that time in content, and new elements appeared in form, such as the presentation part of 1 movement in the form of Poisoning, and the second (or more) theme appeared in the reproduction part, which often changed the order of the theme, and sometimes the theme material was treated differently from the presentation part. In the 1 theme, the second theme appears in the copy section. These techniques enhanced the drama of his music works and further formed the classical sonata form.
During his stay in Vienna (1781~1791), Mozart couldn't stand the humiliation of the archbishop any longer, so he resolutely resigned as archbishop and went to Vienna to make a living. He is the first composer in Austrian history who has the courage and determination to get rid of the court and church and safeguard personal dignity. However, although he was a free composer in name, he was still unable to resist the oppression of feudal society. The hardships of life had a profound impact on his thought and creation, and became the most important 10 year in Vienna. 178 1 year, after breaking with the archbishop, he wrote the famous opera "Temptation of the Harem". The play premiered in July 1782 and was a great success. 1782, he married constance Weber, the daughter of Mannheim musician, without his father's consent. Mozart forged a deep friendship with Haydn in Vienna at that time. He learned from Haydn's experience in composing quartets and symphonies, and composed six string quartets for Haydn. 1784 joined the "* * * Economic Association" and is a member of the eighth chapter of Vienna. He enthusiastically participated in the activities of this secret religious group with bourgeois enlightenment color, and was deeply impressed by his thought of freedom, equality and fraternity, and wrote many works inspired by this thought.
1785, the once closed Vienna National Theatre was restored, and Mozart had the opportunity to engage in opera creation. He wrote a farce "Theatre Manager" (performed on 1786). 1786, The Wedding of Figaro was completed and staged, which had a great influence and even became a household name in Prague. 1787 "Don Juan" completed the performance.
In Vienna, Mozart discovered Bach's works. He deeply studied and studied Bach's polyphonic techniques. This played an important role in his later creation.
1in April, 789, Mozart, from a poor family, went to Dresden, Leipzig and other places in Berlin under the leadership of the student Duke Carl Lee Sinowski. Although it was a sensation, it failed to get him out of economic difficulties. 1790 65438+ 10, his opera "Woman's Heart" was staged. In February, when the emperor died, Mozart asked Leopold II, the heir of the emperor, to take over the position of court musician L. Hoffman, which was granted, but it didn't come true. 179 1 year, he wrote the opera "Tito's Good", which was unsuccessful. In September of the same year, he composed the last opera "Magic Flute", and when he was seriously ill, he composed a large-scale religious music work "Remembering the Lost Time". He died before he finished all this. After his death, he was buried in an unknown place in Vienna's poor cemetery.
In his short life, Mozart created a large number of musical works, involving various fields, leaving many immortal masterpieces.
Mozart's main creative field is opera. In his 36-year life, he has been engaged in opera creation for 25 years and has written more than 20 operas. Among them, The Wedding of Figaro, Don Juan and The Magic Flute are the most representative.
The Marriage of Figaro is based on Pierre Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais's play, which was banned in Austria at that time. The opera script was adapted by Italian poet L da Ponte and premiered on 1786. Although the adaptation of the script weakened the original's attack on feudal society and increased lyrical description, it still maintained the critical spirit of the original, exposed and satirized the hypocrisy and luxury life of the feudal aristocrats represented by the count, praised the integrity, wit and courage of the "third class" people represented by Figaro and Susanna, and showed the optimistic spirit of winning the anti-feudal struggle. The main contribution of Mozart's opera lies in that it did not follow the comic exaggeration and juggling style of the popular Italian interesting opera at that time, but paid attention to depicting the characters' personalities, making psychological characterization, enhancing the lyricism of the opera, and exerting the skills and expressive force of duet in the play.
The script of Don Juan was also adapted from Da Ponte. First broadcast on 1787. It is based on a famous Spanish folklore. At that time, various versions of legends were widely circulated in European countries, and there were already art forms such as drama, opera and ballet. Mozart and da Ponte chose G Bertas's opera script "The Story of the Stone" (composed by Italian composer G gazzaniga), which had great changes in plot and characterization. Through the contradictory character of Don Juan, an aristocrat, and the despicable end of his cheating and hurting women, the decadent life of the feudal aristocracy was exposed, and at the same time, the master's contempt for feudal ethics and the pursuit of happiness were affirmed. This is an opera with ethical significance, which reflects the interest and concern of German and Austrian intellectuals on ethical issues since the late 1980s. It is an important work of Mozart to develop opera-style drama on the basis of Italian interesting opera. When dealing with the music of this opera, Mozart strengthened the psychological description of the characters, making the characters more complex and real, and at the same time used drama duets to enhance the contradictions and conflicts of the opera.
The Magic Flute is the last opera that Mozart wrote and performed a few months before his death in 179 1. Its script was put forward and written by Mozart's old friend E. Hikaned, a small theater manager who was enthusiastic about German national opera. This opera is based on Vilander's myth Lulu. Through the story that the hero struggled for his ideal and finally won, he praised the idea that light will surely overcome darkness. The ideas reflected in this opera are closely related to Mozart's pursuit of enlightenment and his ideals of freedom, equality and love in an "economic society". Several main characters may be metaphors of characters in social reality at that time. For example, Salaste Rowe, the high priest, reminds people of Bonn, the head of the * * * Aid Society and Mozart's good friend who died not long ago. Mozart used a typical Protestant chorus style to make his music solemn and lofty. After dark, the villain may be Maria Tracy (who suppressed the * * * Economic Association during her reign). This role needs a superb coloratura soprano to play, and the music performance is difficult and there is no inner feeling. The hero of the play, Prince Tamino, may be Joseph II who sympathizes with the * * * Economic Association. His music is beautiful and moving, and he uses lyric arias in formal operas. Pamina is a symbol of the lofty spirit of the people. This opera is Mozart's masterpiece of developing German national fairy tale opera on the basis of German-Austrian singing drama and divine drama. It marks the end of the development of German-Austrian operetta in the18th century, which laid the foundation for later German romantic operas and became the pioneer of the latter.
Symphony Mozart wrote about 50 symphonies, of which 4 1 is numbered and can be divided into several groups like other instrumental works. Symphonies are mostly written in the early years under the influence of different musical styles, so there are traces of imitating different styles. We can see the influence of Bach, Genser, Mohn, especially Haydn and Mannheim School represented by Stamitz.
Mozart's most representative symphonies are seven Among them, Symphony No.31 (Paris) was written for the Paris Symphony Orchestra, one of the most outstanding symphony orchestras in Europe at that time. It has the musical style of Paris and rich sound effects. Symphony No.35 (hafner) is actually a serenade, and Symphony No.38 (Prague) is usually called "Symphony without minuets". It only has three movements, and it is no longer a pair.
Mozart's last three symphonies in E flat major, G minor and C major are his best symphonies. It was written in six weeks from June to August. 1788. People usually classify them as a group, but they each have their own characteristics: Symphony No.39 in E flat major is cheerful, bright and full of poetry; Symphony No.40 in G minor is full of drama and Haydn's optimism, but it is completely different from Haydn in technique and is called Mozart's "Hero" symphony. Symphony No.41 in C major (usually called Jupiter) is magnificent and optimistic, which indicates the emergence of L.van Beethoven's heroic symphony.
Mozart's symphonies (especially the last three) are the highest achievements of all Beethoven's previous symphonies. His outstanding contribution lies in attaching importance to the contrast between movement and theme in movement.
Concerto is one of the most outstanding genres in Mozart's music creation except opera. He composed more than 50 concertos of various solo instruments and bands in his life. On the basis of baroque concerto, these works established the structural principles of 1 8th century classical concerto: the divertimento structure of three movements (sonata form of1movement, lyric movement similar to aria form in the second movement, dance or popularity in the third movement); Double presentation part, solo instrument, technical cadenza, etc. At the same time, it strengthens the position of solo instrument and emphasizes its musical character different from concerto band. Because of Mozart's achievements, concerto is no longer a one-sided expression of skills, but has the same profound significance as symphony. Mozart became the founder of the modern concerto form.
Among Mozart's concertos, piano concerto occupies a prominent position. * * * has written 27 films, among which the representative works are D minor, C minor and A major. In addition, there are seven violin concertos, among which three in G major, A major and D major are outstanding. In wind concerto, clarinet concerto in A major is also outstanding. There are also four horn concertos and/kloc-0 concertos for flute and harp.
Mozart composed 17 piano sonatas, 6 violin sonatas and 35 piano violin sonatas, which contributed to the development of the classical sonata suite and established the sonata suite form of the Vienna classical school with three movements. In the piano sonata, he completed the transition from Harper Secord style to piano style. In his piano sonatas in 1980s, the piano effect and range were fully exerted, such as Piano Sonata in A Major (1783) and Piano Sonata in C Minor (1785). The former embodies the characteristics of his life customs, while the latter shows sharp contrast, juxtaposition and dramatic power, which indicates the birth of Beethoven's piano sonata. Mozart's piano and violin sonatas were gradually liberated from the influence of Italian A corelli g·b· Samartini and others, and formed their own independent style. From 1778, Mozart put the piano and violin in the same important position, such as E-flat major (178 1), B-flat major (1784), E-flat major (1785) and A-flat major.
Among the 23 string quartets composed by Mozart, the best ones are six dedicated to Haydn (1773), which reflect Mozart's thoughts and styles from different aspects-sincerity, kindness, cheerfulness and optimism. Unlike Haydn and Beethoven, Mozart's genius is not manifested in the quartet, but in the quintet. The most prominent are the string quintet in C major (1787) and the string quintet in G minor (1787). The former is innovative in music structure and theme treatment, while the latter is a tragic work, which reflects the author's consideration and thinking on social reality. In addition, clarinet quintet in A major and several viola quintets are also praised as his masterpieces.
Religious Music Because of his position, religious music occupies a large part in Mozart's works. Among them, the commemorative songs he wrote before his death are the most representative. This work injects the author's deep feelings for the whole life, showing his suffering from exploitation, humiliation and poverty all his life, and his unremitting pursuit and yearning for light and joy as a citizen musician. Mozart wrote most of the music, and the rest was faithfully completed by his student F.X. Sushmael according to his plan and style, and played by Count Walther in the name of composer in February 1793+.
In addition to the above genres, Mozart also created a large number of serenades, dance music and so on. In these folk works, Mozart adopted the factors of folk music. It reflects his connection with folk music, which is characterized by lightness and liveliness. Among them, "Serenade for Strings in G Major" has a great influence, which not only contains fresh and lively emotions, but also has broad and simple lyricism.
Generally speaking, Mozart's creative achievements are all over the music field. They reflect that at the end of 18, the oppressed German and Austrian intellectuals got rid of the shackles of feudal absolutism and pursued the dignity of a beautiful society and bright and just people. His music style is characterized by sincerity, delicacy, popularity, elegance, lightness and elegance, and most of them are full of optimism, which reflects the optimism spirit of the German and Austrian bourgeoisie in the rising period. In Vienna's later creation, tragic and dramatic styles also appeared, which reflected social contradictions more deeply.
After Mozart's death, his bones were buried in St. Max's cemetery. Address: 6-8 Leberstrasse, Vienna, St. Marx Friedhoff,110.
189 1 year, his tombstone was moved from St. Marx's Cemetery to Tomb No.55 of the Central Cemetery Celebrity Cemetery 32A. A marble statue of Mozart was created in 1896, and now it is located in the castle garden, which is a place that tourists like to visit.