Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria in 1756. Even before he was four, he had amazing powers of musical memory and ear-sophistication. Mozart's father, Leopold, felt that he was so great he decided to sign Wolfgang up for harpsichord lessons. At five years old, he was already composing his own music. And at age six, wolfgang was a keyboard vituoso, so great that Leopold took Wolfgang and Maria Anna, his daughter on a tour of Munich and Vienna. By Mozart's early teen years, he had mastered the piano, harpsichord, and violin. So, he wrote keyboard pieces, oratorios, symphonies, and operas. Mozart's first major opera was Mitridate, which was performed in Milan in 1770. At the time, Mozart was only fourteen years old.
As Mozart became an adult, he spent his time living mostly in Vienna. Mozart was in demand as a performer and composition teacher. Mozart had poor business skills and constantly fell into proverty. In 1788, Mozart gave up performing in public and spent his time composing music. Mozart's fortune never returned to him after that. Mozart died in 1791at the age of thirty-five. Since he was so poor, he was buried in a pauper's grave.
