Mozart: A Life From Beginning to End (Composer Biographies Book 1) by Hourly History

Author:Hourly History [History, Hourly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hourly History
Published: 2017-12-26T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

The Man Behind the Music

“All I insist on, and nothing else, is that you should show the whole world that you are not afraid. Be silent, if you choose; but when it is necessary, speak—and speak in such a way that people will remember it.”

—Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

It is simple to define Wolfgang Mozart’s life by the sheer magnificence of the body of musical work he left behind. Many biographers delve deep into the intricacies of the evolution and formation of his music and style, his process of composition, and the genius mind that shaped hundreds of years’ worth of classical music. It is easy to forget that behind the beauty of Mozart’s creations, there was a painfully human man, who was at the mercy of the same joys and sorrows as the rest of civilization.

In terms of Mozart’s general physical appearance, he was noted by many contemporaries and early biographers to be rather average, giving no indication as to the genius which lay within. His hair was light and extremely fine, and he was known to be extremely vain in that regard, perhaps out of insecurity. He was short and incredibly thin, with large expressive eyes. His face was pitted and scarred due to a childhood case of smallpox.

Smallpox was a deadly disease in this period as more and more people flocked to urban centers, therefore allowing the disease to spread with incredible ease. Outbreaks were frequent and devastating, with each occurrence killing or disfiguring millions of people. The chances of surviving a bout of smallpox were incredibly small, especially for children. Those who did survive were often left severely disabled—the most frequent side effect was blindness. In this regard, Mozart’s survival with little more than a few scars can nearly be regarded as a miracle.

This childhood illness occurred when Mozart was only 11 years old, and he and his family were touring in Vienna. The family was renting rooms in the home of a local goldsmith, and in October 1767, all three of the goldsmith’s children contracted the disease. The Mozart family, fearing that it may spread to them, fled the city as quickly as possible, but it was too late. The incubation period of smallpox is roughly 12 days, and the young Wolfgang had already been exposed. They were two days north of Vienna when the boy began to exhibit physical symptoms. Due to the nature of the pustular rash that can form, the young Mozart did lose his eyesight for nine days at the least and had to protect his eyes for several weeks after he had recovered before his sight fully returned to him.

Throughout his time in the Viennese court, Mozart was also well known to have a keen interest in fashion, and there are many documented accounts from the period that detail his extravagant wardrobe. He was noted by his wife to be soft-spoken, except when he became excited or conversation steered toward a subject on which Mozart felt passionate, at which time his voice would become “powerful and energetic.

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