WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART

AMADEUS IN 1791

PERSONA

Mozart's Last Days

On January 27, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart celebrated his thirty-fifth and last anniversary. Alone, tired, sick, and without any penny, he composed three operas and several pieces in exchange of a few florins.

Creations
“Working so hard and hastily made one believe that he wanted to put a stop on material angishes by taking refuge in the creations of his mind. He overworked at such a point that not only did he forget his surroundings but also his own exhaustion. All of a sudden, he lost all strengths, and had to be carried to his bed.”
Nissen

Mozart died in Vienna. It was fifty-five minutes past midnight on Monday, December 5, 1791

SOCIETÀ

Communal Grave

The time was mild and foggy, and last tribute paid to Mozart amounted to a funeral service without any music, a third class procession, and then the communal grave.

He departed from this world leaving behind him works that were still misunderstood, his wife Constance and his two sons, Karl Thomas and Franz Xaver, who would later die without descendants. Before the end of her life, Constance will have enjoyed substantial income from Mozart's works and will die wealthy.

Regrets
“I was a long time out of me by the death of Mozart; I could not believe that Providence recalled an irreplaceable man so early in the other world. Over all, I consider it regrettable that before dying, Mozart did not have the occasion to convince English people, who are still unaware of him, of the truth that I preach daily to them.”
Joseph Haydn

KOECHEL

From Flute to Requiemm

The Magic Flute

In March, he joined with Schikaneder to compose the Magic Flute, a German opera intended for a popular theatre of the suburb. This coloured, tenderizing, funny and magic work, describes the stages leading to the achievement of oneself through characters evolving with different degrees of anguish and resolution.

Celestial Music

During the summer, he composed the Introït of his Requiem.

The Clemency of Titus

In September, he composed in eighteen days his La Clemenza di Tito opera, intended for the solemn celebrations of Leopold II coronation.

His last days

His last days were devoted to his infamous Requiem.

K.429	Masonic Cantata: "Dir, Seele des Weltalls" (To you, heart of the universe, Oh! Sun), in E flat Major
K.595	Concerto for piano No. 27 in B flat Major
K.596	"Sehnsucht Nach dem Frühlinge" (longing for spring), Lied in F Major
K.597	"Im Frühlingsanfang" (When Spring comes), Lied in E flat Majorr
K.598	"Das Kinderspiel" (Games of children), Lied in A Major
K.599	Six minuets: 1 in C, 2 in G, 3 in E flat, 4 in B flat, 5 in F, 6 in D
K.600	Six German Dances: 1 in C, 2 in F, 3 in B flat, 4 in E flat, 5 in Ground, 6 in D
K.601	Four minuets: 1 in A, 2 in C, 3 in G, 4 in D
K.602	Four German Dances: 1 in B flat, 2 in F, 3 in C, 4 in A
K.603	Two contredanses for orchestra
K.604	Two minuets: 1 in B flat, 2 in E flat
K.605	Three German Dances: 1 in D, 2 in G, 3 in C
K.607	"Il Trionfo delle Donne" (The triumph of the ladies), Contredanse for orchestra in E flat Majorr
K.608	Fantasia No. 2 for mechanical organ in F Minor
K.609	Five contredanses for orchestra
K.610	"Les filles malicieuses" (The malicious girls), Contredanse for orchestra in G Majorr
K.612	Aria "Per Questa Bella Mano" For bass in D Major
K.613	Eight variations for piano on a theme of Schack, in F Major
K.614	String quintet No. 7 in E flat Major
K.617	Quintet for harmonica, flute, oboe, viola and violoncello
K.618	"Ave Verum", Motet for four voices, in D Major
K.619	A small German cantata for a soprano with accompaniment of piano, in C Major
K.620	"Die Zauberflöte" (the Magic Flute), opera
K.621	"Clemenza di Tito", Opera-seria
K.621a	Aria: "Io Ti Lascio, o Cara, Addio..." for bass, in E flat Major
K.622	Concerto for clarinet, in A Major
K.623	"Das lob der Freundschaft" (The praise of the friendship), masonic Cantata in C Majorr
K.623a	Masonic lied: "Lasst uns mit Geschlungnen Haenden" (Let us intertwine our hands), in F Majorr
K.626	Requiem Mass No. 17 in D Minor

CON SPIRITO

Emptiness

Child Cheerfulness
“These days, you can't believe how much time goes so slowly, far from you. I can't explain my feeling to you: it's a kind of emptiness... that really hurts me, a desire never satisfied, thus never ceasing, persisting and even growing day by day. - When I think of our childlike cheerfulness we spent in Baden... and what sorrowful and boring hours I'm now living here! ... That an hour comes when my business has its term, and the following hour will not find me here.”
Mozart to Constance

The taste of death
“I already have the taste of death in mouth, I feel the death, and who will assist my good Constance, if you do not stay there?”
Mozart dying

Glossaryexpressions and names used in this page

Baden: Located about 26 km south of Vienna, Baden was the "noble" spa of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Constance was in cure there.
Haydn: Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809). Famous Austrian composer whose work falls under the traditional style. He shared a deep friendship with Mozart.
The taste of death: Mozart's remarks brought back by his sister-in-law, Sophie Weber.
Nissen: Georg-Nikolaus von Nissen was Mozart's widow second husband. He wrote a biography of Mozart.
Vienna: Capital of the Republic of Austria. Vienna had been for 400 years the heart of the Austrian Empire when in the XVIIIth century, Maria Theresa and her sons Joseph II and Leopold II – from Habsburg's family – reigned on the Empire.