Karl Thomas Mozart

• 1. Introduction

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  Karl Thomas Mozart was the son of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and he died on the 31st of October 1858 as the last of the family line. Most people know the father's name and almost nothing about the children he left behind. Karl was a gifted pianist, yet his working life did not follow the path of music. What did the son of such a famous composer do instead? Why did he leave Vienna behind for Italy? And what did he leave to a small village near two lakes?

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• 2. Prague and the Piano

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  On the 21st of September 1784, Karl was born in Vienna, the second son of Wolfgang and Constanze Mozart. Only two of their children would survive, and the other was his brother Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart. Karl was sent to school in Prague, where his teachers included Franz Xaver Niemetschek and František Xaver Dušek. Under their care he became a gifted pianist. He would not complete that schooling.

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• 3. Between Ledger and Keyboard

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  In 1797, Karl set out for Livorno to begin an apprenticeship with a trading firm. Music stayed in his thoughts. He planned to open a piano store in the years that followed, but the project failed for lack of funds. In 1805 he moved to Milan and took up music studies with Bonifazio Asioli. Those studies ended in 1810, when Karl became an official in the Austrian financial administration and the governmental accounting department in Milan. He also served as the official Italian translator for the Austrian Court Chamber. Outside the city, he would soon find a place of his own.

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• 4. A House Near the Lakes

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  In the village of Caversaccio, in Valmorea, Province of Como, Karl owned a house. The village lies not far from Lake Como and Lake Lugano. He valued the amenities of the place, and he was especially fond of the wholesomeness of its water. He bequeathed the house to the town. A plaque dedicated to him states as much, and the Town Hall of Valmorea still keeps a copy of the will.

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• 5. The End of the Name

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  Karl was a regular presence at events connected with his father, and he kept attending them until he died in Milan in 1858. He never married and had no children. His brother Franz Xaver had also remained unmarried and childless, so no direct descendants of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart outlived Karl. The will kept in Valmorea, together with the plaque in Caversaccio, remains among the few lasting marks of his own life.

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