Maria Anna Mozart
On the 30th of July 1751, Maria Anna Mozart entered a world that would soon know her as Nannerl. Her father Leopold began teaching her to play the harpsichord when she was seven years old. She progressed with such speed that by age thirteen, he called her one of the most skillful pianists in Europe. The family embarked on concert tours through much of Europe starting in January 1762. They traveled first to Munich and then to Vienna between September 1892 and January 1763. A three-year grand tour followed from June 1763 until November 1766, covering London and Paris. Press notices described an eleven-year-old girl performing difficult sonatas with almost incredible ease. Another review noted her brilliant execution of long pieces with astonishing precision. At age fifteen, her dazzling days as a touring musician were behind her.
Leopold Mozart planned for his daughter to marry for financial support while preparing Wolfgang for a Kapellmeister position. Society viewed professional positions open to women as limited to singing rather than keyboard performance. Halliwell notes that Marianne had to adopt a passive attitude waiting for a man to provide salary and abode. By 1768, she essentially ended her public career as a touring musician. Her brother continued to tour with Leopold to Italy while Marianne stayed at home in Salzburg. The only real professional positions available to women did not include her forte. She was forced to wait until a future husband could enable her to practice in the limited way described. This essential difference between her and Wolfgang was caused by her sex and not by any lack of talent.
On the 23rd of August 1784, Marianne married magistrate Johann Baptist Franz Freiherr von Berchtold zu Sonnenburg. They settled in St. Gilgen, a village about twenty-nine kilometers east of Salzburg. The journey took six hours regardless of whether one walked or took a carriage on bad roads. She called this remote location a wilderness in one of her letters. Her new husband allocated a small room with just one window for her piano playing. It included both a bed and the instrument itself. Marianne practiced three hours a day despite the damp lakeside location causing trouble for piano actions. The government had built a substantial residence for the Pfleger in 1720 which became their home. She managed to play probably in very small ensembles her brother's new concertos sent to her. A weekly official messenger service carried music scores rolled up in backpacks alongside candles and lard.
During their childhood, the four-and-a-half-years-older Marianne served as her brother's idol. At age three, Wolfgang was inspired to study music by observing his father's instruction of Marianne. They invented a secret language and an imaginary Kingdom of Back together. By the time Wolfgang traveled to Italy, there was often correspondence between the two siblings. He sent her works he had composed including the Prelude and Fugue in C from 1782. Until 1785, she received copies of his piano concertos up to number twenty-one in St. Gilgen. Wolfgang took the trouble to write down cadenzas that he would have played from memory or improvisation. His last letter to her is dated August 1788, fully three years before his death. Some scholars infer a falling out because no further letters exist after that date. In 1800, she wrote about reanimated sisterly feelings after reading Niemetschek's biography of him.
Letters written by Wolfgang show that Marianne composed works of music though no manuscripts survive. He wrote in one letter that he was in awe that she could compose so well. Her career as a part-time piano teacher began in Salzburg in 1772. Albert von Mölk testified that students of Nannette Mozart were singled out for care and precision in their playing. She taught several young women of Salzburg during the last years of her unmarried state. Her students included daughters of the aristocracy like Count Lodron and members of the middle class. According to entries in her diary from 1783, she was an early teacher of Joseph Wölfl who became a famous virtuoso. After returning to Salzburg following her husband's death in 1801, she resumed teaching Anna Sick who later became court pianist at Stuttgart. Positive press reviews appeared more than a third of a century after her prodigy career had ended.
Marianne served posterity by providing much useful information to biographers of her celebrated brother. Not long after his death in 1791, Friedrich Schlichtegroll consulted her about creating the first biography of Mozart. She responded by writing an essay covering several pages and persuaded Johann Andreas Schachtner to write down memories. These documents offered information that would never otherwise have been obtainable. In 1820, Constanze Nissen settled in Salzburg with Georg Nikolaus Nissen intending to write a comprehensive biography. Marianne shared her extensive collection of letters and memorabilia which formed an important part of the finished work. She also helped ensure survival of the Mozart oeuvre by tracking down missing works on behalf of publishers. Her brief but informative reminiscence of her brother's childhood remains preserved today alongside some entries from her diary.
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Common questions
When was Maria Anna Mozart born and what name did she become known by?
Maria Anna Mozart entered the world on the 30th of July 1751 and became known as Nannerl. Her father Leopold began teaching her to play the harpsichord when she was seven years old.
Why did Maria Anna Mozart stop touring as a professional musician in 1768?
Society viewed professional positions open to women as limited to singing rather than keyboard performance. By 1768, she essentially ended her public career as a touring musician because her brother continued to tour with Leopold while Marianne stayed at home in Salzburg.
Where did Maria Anna Mozart live after marrying Johann Baptist Franz Freiherr von Berchtold zu Sonnenburg on the 23rd of August 1784?
Marianne married magistrate Johann Baptist Franz Freiherr von Berchtold zu Sonnenburg on the 23rd of August 1784 and settled in St. Gilgen. This village is located about twenty-nine kilometers east of Salzburg and was described by her as a wilderness.
What music compositions did Wolfgang send to his sister Maria Anna Mozart between 1782 and 1785?
Wolfgang sent her works he had composed including the Prelude and Fugue in C from 1782. She received copies of his piano concertos up to number twenty-one in St. Gilgen until 1785.
How long did Maria Anna Mozart teach piano students in Salzburg during her unmarried state?
Her career as a part-time piano teacher began in Salzburg in 1772 and lasted through the last years of her unmarried state. She taught several young women of Salzburg including daughters of the aristocracy like Count Lodron and members of the middle class.