Not sure this is a good answer--sounds more like a soundbite from a rushed music history class than an argument from knowledge of Mozart's biography. Aristocratic employment of musicians was still a predominant factor in the musical economy of Mozart's time. Mozart just wasn't very good at the kinds of emotional and interpersonal labor needed to succeed in such a system. The fact that he *could* sustain himself by cobbling together a living from various other sources does speak to the growth of a middle class with disposable income, but this strikes me as essentially a parallel historical development--not the result of a "fall of patronage." (I mean, hell, aristocratic patronage was still plenty important in the 19th century, too. That fact just doesn't align well with the infatuation of 20th century textbooks with the growth of the bourgeoisie.)
There's a large-format dimensioned reference book (11x17" at least) called,
*'The Timetables of History: A Horizontal Linkage of People and Events'* by Bernard Grun.
It lines up world events horizontally in rows. Reason: this permits you can see at a glance everything that was happening for any date or date-range.
Everything and I mean everything is listed. Births, deaths, books being published, operatic premieres....
This is a good question. That century was relatively stable from an arts perspective as it was the middle of the Age of Enlightenment with a resurgence in arts and music, especially under Joseph II. Perhaps the biggest thing happening in the backdrop was the stirring of the upcoming French Revolution. It is notable that the US also declared independence during Mozart’s lifetime. But it’s hard to tell what if any of these political events affected his music.
Relatively stable is doing a lot of lifting. It wasn't the thirty years war, but the 18th century saw a lot of political change that for sure effect Mozart's music. Specifically, the rise of liberal thought - famously, the Marriage of Figaro almost never saw light of day because it is a pro-republican, anti-noble play and opera. Mozart however, from his surviving letters, seems not to have taken a large interest in politics compared to Beethoven, who despite only being active 20 years after mozart was seeing far more political and social strife in europe with the french revolution and the subsequent coalition and napoleonic wars.
With Mozart and liberal thought, you have to bring up freemasonry. Mozart was Catholic but became a freemason even though that was officially forbidden.
This was a very important historical and social underpinning to late 18th century liberalism. I think Mozart even met Thomas Jefferson but Jefferson thought he was weird.
This seems highly unlikely given that La Marseillaise was composed after Mozart's death. Can you elaborate more?
K 501 is an Andante & Variations on an original theme for piano duet. If you are talking about the second theme from the 25th Piano Concerto, then sure, it's a martial theme that has a few notes in common with La Marseillaise, but given that it predates it by \~5 years, it's unlikely to be a quote and more likely to be a coincidence.
The Austro-Turkish War of 1788-1791. John Rice's biography of Salieri discusses this primarily in terms of its effects on Salieri's output, but it affected Mozart just as strongly. The war put a big strain on the Habsburg monarchy's finances, restricting its financial support for music, which directly led to a bit of a downturn in Mozart's career in the late 1780s. The war is also essentially what killed Emperor Joseph II, who was largely responsible for the flourishing of opera in Vienna during the decade of Mozart's maturity. Even his death led to one of Mozart's best (if largely overlooked) compositions, as *La clemenza di Tito* was written for the coronation of Joseph's successor as King of Bohemia in 1791. Even the genre of this opera (opera seria) reflects the different aesthetic preferences of Joseph and Francis, so it's an especially easy way to trace a historical influence from a particular event to specific musical outcomes for Mozart.
Well, yes and no. On a broad level it's true that the Habsburg monarchy and the Ottoman Empire were geopolitical neighbors and often in conflict, and so Viennese music in particular was often interested in dealing with anxieties about this by "representing" Janissary music. But on a specific level, the war of 1788-1791 didn't lead to a big uptick or change in the use of the *alla turca* style so far as I know. I'm going from memory here, but *Abduction* is from 1782 and the sonata with the rondo alla turca is from a year or two later. So both of them predate this specific war.
A more direct reference may be the "Albanian" disguises in *Così fan tutte* from 1790, but I'm not really sure how Mozart's contemporaries would have understood the relationship between Albanians and the Ottoman Empire at the time.
I have in my bibliography "The brain of Mozart" written by Bernard LECHEVALIER (but it’s in French). I don’t know if there is some English translation . . .
Emperor Joseph is mentioned in several of the other responses --- but note in particular the death of Maria Theresa in 1780. Maria Theresa was not only less of a supporter of the arts than her son was, but was also a proponent of censorship and of religious repression.
This would have made it easier to a whole bunch of things, from getting opera librettos approved to being able to become a Freemason without offending the authorities.
Mozart doesn’t seem the type to be particularly bothered about current events in the way that Beethoven was. He wrote the sinfonia and concertante for violin and viola the year after his mother died and Don Giovanni the year his father died though.
Books say this particular German movement had an influence on Mozart
[https://www.metopera.org/discover/education/educator-guides/werther/sturm-und-drang/](https://www.metopera.org/discover/education/educator-guides/werther/sturm-und-drang/)
When you consider that Hume is labelled a Rationalist philosopher and an Enlightenment philosopher and both labels mean roughly the same thing. The "labels" we use are not fixed and concrete. In modern terms are we modernists or post-modernists? Does anyone really wake up in the morning saying "It's great to live in a post-modernist world.". lol
The "sturm and drang" movement would have influenced Mozart whether he cared to be part of it or not. I mean I get affected by the vast numbers of people who are diagnosed with ADHD or who have diagnosed themselves as ADHD as is more the case. lol
Sorry I am being silly but on a serious note we all take in the current trends even if we are not concious of it. And that would also be the case for Mozart.
I will add that the difference between modernist and post-modernist is inclusivity. So if you take the Fatboy Slim video:
[Praise You (Official Video)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruAi4VBoBSM)
That is a good example of post-modernism. Graffit art maybe also. Waffling on but if it helps to understand why Mozart cannot be separated from the times he lived in then it is a worthwhile waffle.
Yes, I was going to be the grammar police here, feeling bad about it because there are so many fascinating comments. But OP, you need to be careful about language! You have a pretty cringeworthy error right in your title. Events in Mozart's life *affected* his music.
It's annoying to have it pointed out, but errors like that in your essay will signal carelessness to the reader and distract from what you are trying to say.
Now, I wish I had something of interest to add to this really interesting discussion thread!
the death of his mother.
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKs1WpMJ0X8&t=627s&ab\_channel=AukeJ2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKs1WpMJ0X8&t=627s&ab_channel=AukeJ2)
Fall of patronage system. Subscription concerts, concert arias
Not sure this is a good answer--sounds more like a soundbite from a rushed music history class than an argument from knowledge of Mozart's biography. Aristocratic employment of musicians was still a predominant factor in the musical economy of Mozart's time. Mozart just wasn't very good at the kinds of emotional and interpersonal labor needed to succeed in such a system. The fact that he *could* sustain himself by cobbling together a living from various other sources does speak to the growth of a middle class with disposable income, but this strikes me as essentially a parallel historical development--not the result of a "fall of patronage." (I mean, hell, aristocratic patronage was still plenty important in the 19th century, too. That fact just doesn't align well with the infatuation of 20th century textbooks with the growth of the bourgeoisie.)
Kind of interesting that Patronage and subscription is something that modern composers also have to consider.
Read Jan Swafford’s biography. Emperor Joseph’s reign had a dramatic effect on Mozart’s music.
I'm working through that biography, albeit slowly. We also know his mother's passing deeply affected him too.
There's a large-format dimensioned reference book (11x17" at least) called, *'The Timetables of History: A Horizontal Linkage of People and Events'* by Bernard Grun. It lines up world events horizontally in rows. Reason: this permits you can see at a glance everything that was happening for any date or date-range. Everything and I mean everything is listed. Births, deaths, books being published, operatic premieres....
This is a good question. That century was relatively stable from an arts perspective as it was the middle of the Age of Enlightenment with a resurgence in arts and music, especially under Joseph II. Perhaps the biggest thing happening in the backdrop was the stirring of the upcoming French Revolution. It is notable that the US also declared independence during Mozart’s lifetime. But it’s hard to tell what if any of these political events affected his music.
Relatively stable is doing a lot of lifting. It wasn't the thirty years war, but the 18th century saw a lot of political change that for sure effect Mozart's music. Specifically, the rise of liberal thought - famously, the Marriage of Figaro almost never saw light of day because it is a pro-republican, anti-noble play and opera. Mozart however, from his surviving letters, seems not to have taken a large interest in politics compared to Beethoven, who despite only being active 20 years after mozart was seeing far more political and social strife in europe with the french revolution and the subsequent coalition and napoleonic wars.
With Mozart and liberal thought, you have to bring up freemasonry. Mozart was Catholic but became a freemason even though that was officially forbidden. This was a very important historical and social underpinning to late 18th century liberalism. I think Mozart even met Thomas Jefferson but Jefferson thought he was weird.
Kv 451 quotes the Marseillaise
This seems highly unlikely given that La Marseillaise was composed after Mozart's death. Can you elaborate more? K 501 is an Andante & Variations on an original theme for piano duet. If you are talking about the second theme from the 25th Piano Concerto, then sure, it's a martial theme that has a few notes in common with La Marseillaise, but given that it predates it by \~5 years, it's unlikely to be a quote and more likely to be a coincidence.
Could you tell me which movement and bar?
Sorry, I meant KV 501. First movement, a minute and a half in…
503 25th PC
I've seen it argued that the "Viva la libertà!" bit in the Don Giovanni act 1 finale could be related to those currents!
The Austro-Turkish War of 1788-1791. John Rice's biography of Salieri discusses this primarily in terms of its effects on Salieri's output, but it affected Mozart just as strongly. The war put a big strain on the Habsburg monarchy's finances, restricting its financial support for music, which directly led to a bit of a downturn in Mozart's career in the late 1780s. The war is also essentially what killed Emperor Joseph II, who was largely responsible for the flourishing of opera in Vienna during the decade of Mozart's maturity. Even his death led to one of Mozart's best (if largely overlooked) compositions, as *La clemenza di Tito* was written for the coronation of Joseph's successor as King of Bohemia in 1791. Even the genre of this opera (opera seria) reflects the different aesthetic preferences of Joseph and Francis, so it's an especially easy way to trace a historical influence from a particular event to specific musical outcomes for Mozart.
Where we also see the "Turkish style" which gives us the famous *Alla turca* and large parts of *Die Entführung aus dem Serail*
Well, yes and no. On a broad level it's true that the Habsburg monarchy and the Ottoman Empire were geopolitical neighbors and often in conflict, and so Viennese music in particular was often interested in dealing with anxieties about this by "representing" Janissary music. But on a specific level, the war of 1788-1791 didn't lead to a big uptick or change in the use of the *alla turca* style so far as I know. I'm going from memory here, but *Abduction* is from 1782 and the sonata with the rondo alla turca is from a year or two later. So both of them predate this specific war. A more direct reference may be the "Albanian" disguises in *Così fan tutte* from 1790, but I'm not really sure how Mozart's contemporaries would have understood the relationship between Albanians and the Ottoman Empire at the time.
I have in my bibliography "The brain of Mozart" written by Bernard LECHEVALIER (but it’s in French). I don’t know if there is some English translation . . .
In one of his letters he notes Voltaire's death and says good riddance to that atheist.
Emperor Joseph is mentioned in several of the other responses --- but note in particular the death of Maria Theresa in 1780. Maria Theresa was not only less of a supporter of the arts than her son was, but was also a proponent of censorship and of religious repression. This would have made it easier to a whole bunch of things, from getting opera librettos approved to being able to become a Freemason without offending the authorities.
His involvement with Freemasonry also resulted in a dramatic and profound change in his music.
Affected. I can't think of any Mozart work influenced by historical events.
Mozart doesn’t seem the type to be particularly bothered about current events in the way that Beethoven was. He wrote the sinfonia and concertante for violin and viola the year after his mother died and Don Giovanni the year his father died though.
Books say this particular German movement had an influence on Mozart [https://www.metopera.org/discover/education/educator-guides/werther/sturm-und-drang/](https://www.metopera.org/discover/education/educator-guides/werther/sturm-und-drang/) When you consider that Hume is labelled a Rationalist philosopher and an Enlightenment philosopher and both labels mean roughly the same thing. The "labels" we use are not fixed and concrete. In modern terms are we modernists or post-modernists? Does anyone really wake up in the morning saying "It's great to live in a post-modernist world.". lol The "sturm and drang" movement would have influenced Mozart whether he cared to be part of it or not. I mean I get affected by the vast numbers of people who are diagnosed with ADHD or who have diagnosed themselves as ADHD as is more the case. lol Sorry I am being silly but on a serious note we all take in the current trends even if we are not concious of it. And that would also be the case for Mozart. I will add that the difference between modernist and post-modernist is inclusivity. So if you take the Fatboy Slim video: [Praise You (Official Video)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruAi4VBoBSM) That is a good example of post-modernism. Graffit art maybe also. Waffling on but if it helps to understand why Mozart cannot be separated from the times he lived in then it is a worthwhile waffle.
The Austro-Turkish wars got Mozart and other composers interested in janissary music. That’s when Turkish marches started getting popular.
He was friend of Giacomo Casanova, one of the best known european adventure and writer.
His father and the death of his mother.
What effected his music was his brain. Lots of stuff affected his music.
The build of their instruments and the halls in which they performed.
Affect != Effect
Yes, I was going to be the grammar police here, feeling bad about it because there are so many fascinating comments. But OP, you need to be careful about language! You have a pretty cringeworthy error right in your title. Events in Mozart's life *affected* his music. It's annoying to have it pointed out, but errors like that in your essay will signal carelessness to the reader and distract from what you are trying to say. Now, I wish I had something of interest to add to this really interesting discussion thread!
the death of his mother. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKs1WpMJ0X8&t=627s&ab\_channel=AukeJ2](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKs1WpMJ0X8&t=627s&ab_channel=AukeJ2)