At 15, he wrote that he was hearing whole operas “at home in my head.” Mozart later admitted to feeling “as proud as a peacock” about his fame.

He was commissioned to write operas for Milan's carnival, was admitted to Bologna's prestigious Accademia Filarmonica, and directed the first three performances of his opera Mitridate, rè di Ponto.

A series of tours of Italian cities beginning in December 1769 confirmed Mozart's preternatural talent. He was 8.Īt age 11, he wrote his first true opera, Apollo et Hyacinthus. While playing a series of concerts in Paris, Mozart published his first piece of music: a violin sonata in five parts. At one concert in Munich, Mozart and his sister played together for three straight hours, and they wowed audiences everywhere they went. Mozart took in Paris, London, Amsterdam, Versailles, and more as he traveled with his family. The experience in Vienna would lead to the beginning of a wildly successful tour across Europe that stopped at dozens of cities and royal courts between 17. In return, he proposed marriage to the future queen of France. It’s said that she helped Mozart when he slipped on a polished floor. At the Habsburg summer residence outside Vienna, Mozart met Archduchess Marie Antoinette, who was two months his senior. When he was 6, Mozart's family was performing at royal courts, and he began to perform concerts himself. MOZART HUNG OUT WITH A YOUNG MARIE ANTOINETTE. By the time he was 4 years old, Mozart could learn a song on the clavier in just 30 minutes. Both children showed immense musical talent.

Little Wolfgang and his older sister Maria Anna were taught to play the clavier (a stringed keyboard instrument) from a young age. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria on January 27, 1756, to his mother Anna Maria and his father Leopold Mozart, who was a composer and music teacher at Salzburg Cathedral. MOZART'S FATHER THRUST HIM INTO THE MUSIC BUSINESS. Here are some things you might not know about the famous child prodigy. He continues to inspire everyone from film directors to computer scientists today. A genius composer turned pop culture icon, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote more than 600 musical works and influenced other maestros like Beethoven and Tchaikovsky.

Wolfgang amadeus mozart