User:Atcovi/History/Beethoven and Mozart

Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (baptized Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus) was born in Salzburg, Austria, in 1756. He was the second survivor out of six children. He began taking piano lessons from his musician father – Leopold, at the young age of 4.

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.

Mozart travelled almost all the time. Before he was 25, he had visited most of the great cities of Europe.

In 1769, on a visit to Rome, history tells us that Mozart went to hear the Sistine choir sing; and, after returning home, he put the entire work on paper from memory.

When he grew up, Mozart moved to Vienna, and tried to earn a living as a pianist and composer. But he 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 a cute kid, people stopped making a big fuss over him. Back then, musicians were treated like servants, but Mozart did not, and could not think of himself as a servant.

Mozart moved to Vienna in 1782, where he married Constanze Weber. It was during their life together, (much of which was spent in poverty), that his three great operas - Don Giovanni, The Magic Flute and The Marriage of Figaro, were written. The writing of his last work The Requiem (Mass for the Dead) was never finished.

In 1785 he dedicated six string quartets to Joseph Haydn, a life-long friend of Mozart.

In July 1791, Mozart received a commission from an unknown patron (now known as Count F. von Walsegg) to write a Requiem. Mozart became convinced that he was writing the Requiem for his own funeral, and he died on December 5th of that year, leaving his student Sussmayr to complete the work. Mozart died in Vienna when he was only 35 years old. He received a cheap funeral and was buried in an anonymous grave. Today, he is still considered a genius of the Classical Era!

Please answer the following questions
1) Where was Mozart born?	a. Munich, Germany	c. Paris, France	b. Vienna, Austria		d. Salzburg, Austria

2) At what age did Mozart begin composing?	a. 4		c. 3	b. 5		d. 7

3) At what age did Mozart write his first opera?	a. 12		c. 7	c. 5		d. 6

4) What nickname did Mozart’s family use for him?	a. Mozy	c. Wolfie	b. Amadeus	d. Wolferl

5) What city did Mozart move to when he was older?	a. Salzburg		c. Vienna	b. Frankfurt		d. Rome

6) Why did Mozart have a difficult time as an adult?	a. He was ill			c. He was depressed	b. He had lost his family	d. He was no longer a child prodigy

7) Which opera was NOT written during Mozart’s marriage to Constanze Weber?	a. Don Giovani		c. The Magic Flute	b. Apollo and Hyacinth	d. The Marriage of Figaro

8) Which other famous composer did Mozart dedicate his string quartets to?	a. Johann S. Bach		c. Joseph Haydn	b. Gustav Mahler		d. Antonio Vivaldi

9) What about the Requiem did Mozart believe?	a. That he was writing 	c. That he was not well enough to write  it for his own funeral			another large musical work b. That the Requiem 	d. That he would not write music for an was not worth his time		unknown patron

10) Mozart died unexpectedly, and received a “poor man’s” burial. What age did he did?	a. 40		c. 32	b. 36		d. 35

Beethoven
Most people who like classical music would say that Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) was one of the greatest composers in history.

He was born in the German city of Bonn, but spent most of his life in Vienna, the capital of Austria.

His father, a musician in Bonn, encouraged him to play and compose music from an early age. The young Beethoven showed clear signs of being a musical genius, giving a public piano performance at the age of eight and then publishing his first musical composition when he was twelve. One of the most well-known facts about Beethoven is that he started losing his hearing in his late twenties, and later became completely deaf. Amazingly, however, this did not stop him composing.

In the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, most composers worked for the Church or for royal courts, but Beethoven was a freelancer who sold his music to publishers and also received money for playing the piano in public concerts. As a young man he often had money problems, which became worse when his deafness stopped him playing the piano, but later in his life, after becoming very famous, he received financial support from wealthy aristocrats.

Beethoven also suffered from depression, caused partly by his increasing deafness and partly by problems in his personal life – for example he wasn’t able to marry the woman he loved because she was already married with children. In his thirties he almost committed suicide, but after choosing not to end his life he began working harder than ever, producing wonderful pieces of music such as his Eroica symphony.

Like many geniuses, Beethoven was a true eccentric. He had a lot of strange habits, such as getting washed many times a day but deliberately wearing clothes that were dirty, and he always seemed to get into arguments with people, but he also had a close group of friends all the way through his life.

He had strong political beliefs. He supported the democratic ideals of the French Revolution (1789) and dedicated the Eroica to Napoleon Bonaparte, the leader of France, because it seemed he too supported those ideals. Later, however, Beethoven decided Napoleon had betrayed the revolution, so he furiously crossed out the Frenchman’s name from the all the papers containing the music for that symphony.

Decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F)
1. Beethoven did not always have a lot of money. (T)

2. Although he composed a lot of music, he never learned to play music himself. (F)

3. He composed most of his music early in his life, before he began to suffer from depression. (F)

4. He had a group of friends when he was a young man, but lost them later in his life. (F)

5. His parents were not interested in music. (F)

6. He changed his opinion about Napoleon Bonaparte. (T)

7. He thought democracy was a good idea. (T)

8. For most of his life he composed music for the Church. (F)

9. He was already beginning to go deaf when he published his first musical composition. (F)

10. He was an adult when he almost committed suicide. (T)

11. He wrote the Eroica symphony for a woman he loved. (F)

12. He often wore dirty clothes, thinking they were clean. (F)


 * The eight answers below are to questions about the text on Worksheet A. Can you write the questions?

1. When did Beethoven die? Answer: In 1827.

2. What city did Mozart move to when he grew up? Answer: In Vienna.

3. When did he start to become deaf? Answer: In his late twenties.

4. Did Beethoven stop his musical career due to his deafness? Answer: No, he was able to continue.

5. Who gave Beethoven financial support? Answer: Wealthy aristocrats.

6. How many times did Beethoven wash himself? Answer: Many times a day.

7. Why didn't Beethoven marry her original lover? Answer: Because she was already married with children.

8. Why did Beethoven change his opinion on Napolean Bonaparte? Answer: Because he thought he had betrayed the ideals of the French Revolution.