Leopold Mozart
Johann Georg Leopold Mozart was born on the 14th of November 1719 in Augsburg. His father worked as a bookbinder and his mother was Anna Maria Sulzer. The family expected him to become a Catholic priest from an early age. He attended a local Jesuit school where he studied logic, science, and theology. Graduation came magna cum laude in 1735. An old school friend told Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1777 that Leopold had hoodwinked the clerics about becoming a priest. This comment suggests a deliberate choice against the path laid out for him by his parents.
Leopold began his professional career in 1740 as a violinist and valet to Count Johann Baptist Thurn-Valsassina. That same year saw the publication of his first musical work, six Trio Sonatas. He engraved the copper plates himself for this Opus 1 collection. In 1743 he joined the musical establishment of Prince-Archbishop Count Leopold Anton von Firmian. His duties included composing music and teaching violin to choirboys at the Salzburg cathedral. Promotion to second violinist arrived in 1758. By 1763 he held the rank of deputy Kapellmeister but never rose higher than that position. Scholars agree he succeeded brilliantly as a pedagogue rather than a composer. His 1755 treatise Versuch einer gründlichen Violinschule became a standard text on violin playing. The book went through multiple German editions and translations into Dutch and French. It remains consulted today by musicians interested in eighteenth-century performance practice.
Leopold discovered his children were prodigies around 1759 when he started keyboard lessons with seven-year-old Nannerl. Young Wolfgang immediately imitated his sister and made rapid progress under his father's instruction. Concert tours began in 1762 across central and western Europe. The family performed before aristocracy and public audiences in Munich, Vienna, Pressburg, Paris, and London. These journeys lasted for long periods including a stay in London lasting about three-and-a-half years. The tours kept him away from Salzburg so much that he ceased composing altogether after 1771. He entirely gave up both violin instruction and composition to direct time toward educating his two children. Some scholars argue these tours produced substantial profits while others claim income only covered travel expenses. No money was made during times when the children suffered serious illnesses.
Anna Maria Pertl married Leopold on the 21st of November 1747. They moved into an apartment on Getreidegasse 9 where their landlord Lorenz Hagenauer became a frequent correspondent. Anna Maria was almost always pregnant in the first decade of their marriage. She gave birth to seven children in just under eight years but only two survived infancy. Johann Leopold Joachim died on the 2nd of February 1749 at six months old. Maria Anna Cordula lived only six days in June 1749. Maria Anna Nepomucena Walpurgis died on the 29th of July 1750 at two months old. Johann Karl Amadeus passed away on the 2nd of February 1753 at three months old. Maria Crescentia Francisca de Paula died on the 27th of June 1754 at one month old. Only Nannerl and Wolfgang reached adulthood. The couple moved to larger quarters in the Tanzmeisterhaus around 1773. Their wife died in Paris in 1778 while accompanying Wolfgang on a job-hunting tour.
Wolfgang left home permanently in 1781 when he chose not to return from Vienna with his employer Archbishop Colloredo. He pursued a freelance career that achieved great fame though poor planning later changed this status. His father strongly opposed the move and wanted him back in Salzburg. A fairly harsh family quarrel resulted from this decision. Leopold also strongly opposed Wolfgang's marriage to Constanze Weber in 1782. He gave permission late, reluctantly, and under duress. The visit by Constanze to Salzburg between July and October 1783 was described as not entirely happy. In 1785 Leopold visited his son in Vienna during the peak of his career success. He heard Joseph Haydn praise Wolfgang as the greatest composer known to him. This visit marked the last time they saw each other face-to-face. They continued to correspond but their relationship remained strained until the end.
Leopold Mozart's music is inevitably overshadowed by the work of his son Wolfgang. His Cassation in G for Orchestra and Toys remains popular today. This piece is variously attributed to Joseph Haydn or Michael Haydn. Other surviving works include symphonies, a trumpet concerto, and light orchestral pieces. A contemporary report described his compositions prior to 1757 as having a naturalistic feel. His Jagdsinfonie calls for shotguns while Bauernhochzeit includes bagpipes and pistol shots. A musical sleigh ride requires bells and whips alongside a rich orchestra. Much of what survives is light music though some substantial work exists including Sacramental Litany in D major from 1762. Three fortepiano sonatas were published during his lifetime. Scholars have only recently begun to assess the scope or quality of his output. Cliff Eisen finds examples of sensitivity to orchestral color in a Symphony in G major that compares favorably with contemporaries. Some of his work was erroneously attributed to Wolfgang and some pieces attributed to Leopold were subsequently shown to be the work of Wolfgang.
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Common questions
When was Johann Georg Leopold Mozart born and where?
Johann Georg Leopold Mozart was born on the 14th of November 1719 in Augsburg. His father worked as a bookbinder and his mother was Anna Maria Sulzer.
What career path did Leopold Mozart choose instead of becoming a priest?
Leopold Mozart began his professional career in 1740 as a violinist and valet to Count Johann Baptist Thurn-Valsassina. He later joined the musical establishment of Prince-Archbishop Count Leopold Anton von Firmian and held the rank of deputy Kapellmeister by 1763.
How many children did Anna Maria Pertl have with Leopold Mozart and how many survived infancy?
Anna Maria Pertl gave birth to seven children in just under eight years but only two survived infancy. The surviving children were Nannerl and Wolfgang, while five others died between 1749 and 1754.
Why did Leopold Mozart stop composing music after 1771?
The concert tours kept him away from Salzburg so much that he ceased composing altogether after 1771. He entirely gave up both violin instruction and composition to direct time toward educating his two children.
When did Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart leave home permanently and what happened next?
Wolfgang left home permanently in 1781 when he chose not to return from Vienna with his employer Archbishop Colloredo. His father strongly opposed the move and wanted him back in Salzburg, resulting in a fairly harsh family quarrel.