Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg in Austria, the son of Leopold, Kapellmeister to the Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg. By the age of three he could play the piano, and he was composing by the time he was five; minuets from this period show remarkable understanding of form. Mozart's elder sister Maria Anna was also a gifted keyboard player, and in 1762 their father took the two prodigies on a short performing tour, of the courts …

…mmon theory today is that Mozart died of uremia following chronic kidney disease. Another possibility is rheumatic fever. Regardless of the cause, Mozart became bedridden for the last two weeks of his life. He died at shortly after midnight on December 5th, 1791, aged thirty-five years, eleven months, and nine days. Mozart's legacy is incestimalbe. A master of every form in which he worked, he set standards of excellence that have inspired generations of composers.