Lamberhurst Music Festival - Mozart

On Mozart’s birthday, 10 interesting facts about the musical genius

Mozart was both on this day, 27th January, in 1756. He composed over 600 works, and is one of the most influential composers of all time. Here are 10 facts you might not know about him.

  1. Mozart  was baptized Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart. He dropped the first two names and changed Theophilus (meaning ‘loved by god’) to its Latin translation “Amadeus”
  2. Gustav Mahler’s (1860–1911) last word before he died was “Mozart”
  3. Mozart could hear a piece of music once, and then write it down from memory. The beautiful choral piece by Allegri ‘Misere’ was a closely guarded secret and only ever sung at Easter in St . Peters in Rome. In 1770, the 14 year old Mozart heard it, went back to his lodgings with his father, and wrote it out. Musical historians think that it is possible that without Mozart, that wonderful work might have been lost forever
  4. A 1993 report in Nature led to the expression ‘The Mozart Effect’ which believes that listening to Mozart increase one’s IQ
  5. No one is quite sure where Mozart is buried as he was buried according to the custom of the time, in a simple grave
  6. Mozart was the first person to write piano concertos as we know them today
  7. Mozart wrote his first symphony aged 8 years old
  8. Mozart was one of 7 children, but only 2 (Mozart and his sister Maria Anna) survived infancy. Mozart himself had 6 children, but only two survived infancy
  9. Mozart was left handed
  10. It is alleged that Mozart could write music before he could write words