Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791)

The son of Leopold Mozart, a violinist and teacher, Wolfgang was composing by the age of five. With his sister Nannerl he toured Europe as a child prodigy — Munich, Vienna, Paris, London, then Italy, where he studied and triumphed in opera.

Reluctantly employed by the Archbishop of Salzburg, he settled in Vienna in 1781 as a freelance musician. He lived from concerts, pupils and publications, and composed at a prodigious rate: piano concertos, the quartets dedicated to Haydn, operas with the librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte (The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, Così fan tutte), then The Magic Flute. He died at 35, leaving his Requiem unfinished.

The “K.” (or “KV”) number attached to his works comes from the catalogue drawn up in the 19th century by Ludwig von Köchel.

A virtuoso pianist, Mozart wrote for the light, clear Viennese fortepiano. His sonatas look simple on paper but demand great purity: a singing tone, a discreet left hand, runs as even as pearls. They are often said to be “too easy for children and too difficult for adults”.