Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart
Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart was born in Vienna on the 26th of July 1791. He arrived into this world four months and ten days before his famous father died. His parents were Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Constanze, who already had five other children. Franz was the youngest of six and the younger of two surviving sons. The elder brother Karl Thomas chose government service over music instead. Karl became an excellent pianist but never pursued a professional career. He eventually died unmarried in Milan during 1858. This family history cast a long shadow over the young Franz's life from the very beginning.
Needing money to survive, he traveled to Lemberg in 1808. This city is now known as Lviv in Ukraine today. There he gave music lessons to the daughters of Polish count Wiktor Baworowski. The pay was good for these private lessons. Yet Franz felt lonely in the small town of Pidkamin near Rohatyn. In 1809 he accepted an offer from another aristocrat named Count von Janiszewski. He moved to teach music in the town of Burshtyn. Besides teaching he gave local concerts playing both his own pieces and those of his father. These performances introduced him to important people throughout Galicia. After two years there he moved back to Lemberg in 1813. He spent twenty-five years teaching students like Julie von Webenau who later became his lover and sole heir.
His opus numbers only go up to thirty total works. After 1820 he seems to have given up composing almost entirely. An eleven-year gap exists between 1828 and 1839 when he wrote nothing at all. Nevertheless recordings of his music can be found today by listeners. He wrote mainly chamber music and piano music for performance. His largest compositions were two piano concertos written during his career. The first concerto could pass for one of his father's late works except for youthful exuberance. The second concerto is more contemporary to the 1810s with a virtuosic piano part showing hints that the younger Mozart was developing his own style. This stylistic shift marked his attempt to find independence from his father's legacy.
In the 1820s Franz made the acquaintance of Schubert and Robert Schumann. Both men held him in high esteem as a musician. He knew Schubert well enough that they became close until Schubert died in 1828. Around that same time Mozart participated in a project involving Anton Diabelli. He was one of fifty composers to write a variation on a theme for part II of the Vaterländischer Künstlerverein. Part I contained thirty-three variations supplied by Beethoven which gained independent identity. These connections placed him within the highest circles of European musical life despite his introverted nature. He constantly underrated his talent and feared comparisons with what his father had done.
Five Variations on a romance from Méhul's Joseph Opus 23 were published in 1820. But the work remained mistakenly attributed to the young Liszt until 1994. A copyist's manuscript wrongly noted it was written par le jeune Liszt meaning by the young Liszt. The work was published in good faith during 1990 and catalogued as Liszt's S147a. Leslie Howard recorded the work in similar good faith in 1992 for his series of recordings. Shortly afterwards Howard noted in sleeve notes that the attribution is false. It has since been established that the work is from the pen of Mozart's son Franz Xaver. Since the writing is not vastly different from other pieces in this collection scholars decided not to discard it entirely.
A monument of Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart stands erected in Lviv Ukraine today. It sits in Yevhena Malanyuka Square where people can view it. His will was executed by Josephine de Baroni-Cavalcabò who lived from 1788 to 1860. She was a longtime patron to whom he dedicated his cello sonata. He died from stomach cancer on the 29th of July 1844 in Karlsbad now Karlovy Vary. He was buried there after his death. An epitaph etched on his tombstone reads May the name of his father be his epitaph. This phrase reflects how veneration for him was the essence of his life. Modern recordings keep his music alive despite the vast majority remaining unknown to listeners.
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Common questions
When was Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart born and where?
Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart was born in Vienna on the 26th of July 1791. He arrived into this world four months and ten days before his famous father died.
What happened to Karl Thomas Mozart after he chose government service over music?
Karl Thomas Mozart became an excellent pianist but never pursued a professional career. He eventually died unmarried in Milan during 1858.
Where did Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart teach music lessons starting in 1808?
He traveled to Lemberg which is now known as Lviv in Ukraine today. There he gave music lessons to the daughters of Polish count Wiktor Baworowski.
Why did Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart stop composing almost entirely after 1820?
An eleven-year gap exists between 1828 and 1839 when he wrote nothing at all. This stylistic shift marked his attempt to find independence from his father's legacy while fearing comparisons with what his father had done.
Which work by Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart was mistakenly attributed to Liszt until 1994?
Five Variations on a romance from Méhul's Joseph Opus 23 were published in 1820. A copyist's manuscript wrongly noted it was written par le jeune Liszt meaning by the young Liszt.
When and where did Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart die and who executed his will?
He died from stomach cancer on the 29th of July 1844 in Karlsbad now Karlovy Vary. His will was executed by Josephine de Baroni-Cavalcabò who lived from 1788 to 1860.