Constanze Mozart

• 1. Birth In A German Town

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  Maria Constanze Cäcilia Josepha Johanna Aloysia Mozart entered the world on the 5th of January 1762 in Zell im Wiesental. This small town sat near Lörrach within what is now Baden-Württemberg, southwest Germany. At that time, the region belonged to Further Austrian territory inside the Holy Roman Empire. Her father Fridolin Weber worked as a double bass player and music copyist. He also served as a prompter for local productions. Her mother was named Cäcilia Stamm. The family included four daughters who all received singing training. Two of her sisters, Josepha and Aloysia, went on to achieve distinguished musical careers. They performed in premieres of works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

• 2. Courtship And Marriage Crisis

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  Mozart first arrived in Vienna on the 16th of March 1781. He stayed at the house of the Teutonic Order with his patron Archbishop Colloredo. By May he had to leave and chose to board in the Weber household. He originally intended to stay there only one week. After some time it became clear that Mozart courted Constanze, who was nineteen years old. Her mother requested he leave to maintain propriety. Mozart moved out on the 5th of September to a third-floor room in the Graben. Surviving correspondence shows they briefly broke up in April 1782 over jealousy involving another young man. His father Leopold refused permission for the marriage initially. Daniel Heartz suggests Constanze eventually moved in with Mozart despite social disapproval. Sophie tearfully declared their mother would send police if she did not return home. On the 4th of August 1782 Mozart wrote asking if police could enter houses without cause. He decided to marry Constanze that same day in a side chapel of St Stephen's Cathedral. The marriage contract assigned five hundred gulden from her to him. They agreed all joint acquisitions would remain common property.

• 3. Musical Partnership And Influence

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  Constanze Weber received extensive training as a musician throughout her youth. She played a direct role in shaping specific compositions by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The Great Mass in C minor featured extraordinary writing for soprano solo parts. This included the Christe eleison section of the Kyrie movement and the aria Et incarnatus est. Constanze sang in the 1783 premiere of this work held in Salzburg. Maynard Solomon described the piece speculatively as a love offering intended for her. During courtship Mozart began visiting Baron Gottfried van Swieten regularly. Van Swieten allowed him to examine his collection of Bach and Handel manuscripts. A letter dated the 20th of April 1782 reveals Constanze fell deeply in love with Baroque counterpoint. Mozart wrote to his sister Nannerl explaining how Constanze scolded him for not recording fugues. She asked repeatedly until he composed Fantasy and Fugue K. 394 specifically for her. He stated clearly that she was the cause of the fugue coming into existence. Some scholars argue Mozart exaggerated her musical refinement due to his father's opposition.

• 4. Widowhood And Financial Survival

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  Mozart died in 1791 leaving significant debts behind. Constanze faced immediate financial crisis following his death. She obtained a pension from the emperor to support herself and children. The couple had six children but only two survived infancy: Karl Thomas and Franz Xaver Wolfgang. Constanze organized profitable memorial concerts to generate income quickly. She mounted a benefit performance on the 29th of December 1794 at the Kärntnertortheater in Vienna. Her sister Aloysia Weber sang the role of Sextus during this event. Constanze took the role of Vitellia in subsequent performances across Vienna and other cities. She promoted publication of her late husband's works through various campaigns. These efforts gradually made her financially secure and ultimately wealthy. By 1842 she left her sons a major fortune totaling around thirty thousand florins. This wealth came entirely from earnings generated by Mozart's music sales and performances.

• 5. Second Marriage And Biographical Legacy

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  Toward the end of 1797 Constanze met Georg Nikolaus von Nissen. He was a Danish diplomat and writer who initially rented space from her. They began living together in September 1798. In 1809 they traveled to Pressburg today known as Bratislava to marry legally. Austria barred marriage between Protestants like Nissen and Catholics like Constanze at that time. From 1810 until 1820 they lived in Copenhagen before traveling throughout Europe. They settled permanently in Salzburg in 1824 where both worked on a biography of Mozart. Constanze published their joint work in 1828 two years after her second husband died. During her final years in Salzburg she had company from widowed sisters Aloysia and Sophie. The biography shaped public perception of Mozart for decades afterward. It derived partly from myths concerning her first husband's life created during their collaboration.

• 6. Modern Reassessment Of Character

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  Early twentieth century scholarship severely criticized Constanze as unintelligent and unmusical. Critics labeled her unfaithful and neglectful toward Mozart without good evidence. Such assessments remained current despite being tainted by anti-feminism according to Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Modern biographers including Braunbehrens Solomon and Halliwell complained about unfair treatment. Earlier critics named included Alfred Einstein and Wolfgang Hildesheimer. An alleged daguerreotype taken in October 1840 claimed to show Constanze aged seventy-eight. Scholars rebutted this claim because outdoor photography lenses were not invented until after her death in 1842. Her biographer Agnes Selby noted she suffered crippling arthritis preventing travel to Bavaria. Author Sean Munger observed the woman in the photo did not look seventy-eight years old. Contemporary research corrects these historical portrayals of her intelligence and fidelity.