Born on November 14 in the past time 1719 – Leopold Mozart, Austrian violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 1787) Johann Georg Leopold Mozart (November 14, 1719 – May 28, 1787) was a German composer, conductor, teacher, and violinist. Mozart is best known today as the father and teacher of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and for his violin textbook Versuch einer gründlichen Violinschule. He was born in Augsburg, son of Johann Georg Mozart (1679–1736), a bookbinder, and his second wife Anna Maria Sulzer (1696–1766). From an early age he sang as a choirboy. He attended a local Jesuit school, the St. Salvator Gymnasium, where he studied logic, science, theology, graduating magna cum laude in 1735. He then moved on to a more advanced school, the St. Salvator Lyceum. While a student in Augsburg, he appeared in student theatrical productions as an actor and singer, and became a skilled violinist and organist. He also developed an interest, which he retained, in microscopes and telescopes. Although his parents had planned a career for Leopold as a Catholic priest, this apparently was not Leopolds own wish. An old school friend told Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1777, Ah he [Leopold] was a great fellow. My father thought the world of him. And how he hoodwinked the clerics about becoming a priest! He withdrew from the St. Salvator Lyceum after less than a year. Following a years delay, he moved to Salzburg to resume his education, enrolling in November 1737 at the Benedictine University to study philosophy and jurisprudence. At the time Salzburg was the capital of an independent state within the Holy Roman Empire (the Prince-Archbishopric of Salzburg), now part of Austria. Except for periods of travel, Leopold spent the rest of his life there. Leopold received the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy in 1738.However, in September 1739 he was expelled from the university for poor attendance, having hardly attended Natural Science more than once or twice. In 1740, he began his career as a professional musician, becoming violinist and valet to one of the universitys canons, Johann Baptist, Count of Thurn-Valsassina and Taxis, in 1740. This was also the year of his first musical publication, the six Trio Sonatas, Opus 1. These were entitled Sonate sei da chiesa e da camera; Leopold did the work of copper engraving himself. He continued to compose, producing a series of German Passion cantatas. In 1747 he married Anna Maria Pertl, who bore him seven children, although only two of them survived past infancy: Maria Anna Wallburga Ignatia (called Nannerl) and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. In 1743 Leopold Mozart was appointed to a position (fourth violinist) in the musical establishment of Count Leopold Anton von Firmian, the ruling Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg. His duties included composition and the teaching of violin (later, piano) to the choirboys of the Salzburg cathedral. He was promoted to second violinist in 1758 and in 1763 to deputy Kapellmeister. He rose no further; others were repeatedly promoted over him to the head position of Kapellmeister. The question of whether Leopold was successful as a composer (either in terms of artistic success or fame) is debated. The Grove Dictionary says that as of 1756, Mozart was already well-known. His works circulated widely in German-speaking Europe. However, biographer Maynard Solomon asserts that he failed to make his mark as a composer,,and Alfred Einstein judged him to be an undistinguished composer.For discussion of Leopolds musical works, see below. Scholars agree, however, that Leopold was successful as a pedagogue. In 1755, he wrote his Versuch einer gründlichen Violinschule, a comprehensive treatise on violin playing. This work was published in 1756 (the year of Wolfgangs birth), and went through two further German editions (1769, 1787), as well as being translated into Dutch (1766) and French (1770).[12] Today, the work is consulted by musicians interested in 18th century performance practice; see Historically informed performance. This work made a reputation in Europe for Leopold, and his name begins to appear around this time in music dictionaries and other works of musical pedagogy
Posted on: Fri, 14 Nov 2014 13:55:05 +0000
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