Mozart was a successful composer and violinist. He used the form of concerto (like theSymphony, in several section) to display the qualities of wind instruments, like the horn. His crowning achievements in concerto form, however, are for piano and orchestra - in all 25 works. Mozart's performances of his own piano concertos had much to do with the development of the instrument. (Einstein) .
In 1770, he began to master the two types of Italian opera: opera buffa (comic opera) and opera seria (serious opera). A trip to Vienna in 1773 introduced Mozart to the influence of Haydn, whose Sturm und Drang string quartets had recently been published. In Rome Mozart heard a performance of Allegri's Misere; the score of this work was closely guarded, but Mozart managed to transcribe the music almost perfectly from memory. In 1777,Mozart's family visited Paris. His mother fell ill and died during their visit. Her death on July 3rd left Mozart grieving and in isolation. He reluctantly returned to Salzburg full of dread, and was greeted by his father with these words: "If your mother had come back home from Mannheim, she wouldnot have died. You would have.
got to Paris at a better time. and my poor wife would still be (alive) in Salzburg." (Einstein, Landon).
Mozart married Constanze Weber, against his fathers say, on August 4 1782 in St. Stephen's Cathedral. The following year, Mozart experienced the birth and death of their first "fine sturdy baby, round as a ball," Ramiund Leopold. Despite this grief, Mozart remained buoyant in Vienna where he continued producing concerto after concerto, while Constanze tended to their second son, Karl Thomas. On Mozart's first visit to Milan, his opera Mitridate, ré di Ponto was successfully produced, followed on a subsequent visit by Lucia Silla. The piece showed signs of the rich, full orchestration that characterizes his later operas. In 1783, Mozart and Constanze visited Salzburg, where he helped Michael Haydn out of a difficult spot, by writing some violin duets.