A Violin Sonata to Celebrate Mozart's Birthday

«January 27 marks the 260th birthday of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, one of the most beloved composers of the Western canon and arguably the most famous child prodigy in music history. Musical talent ran deep in the Mozart household, as Wolfgang's father, Leopold, was himself an established composer and court violinist. In 1756, the same year that Wolfgang was born in Salzburg, Leopold published Versuch einer gründlichen Violinschule, an important treatise on playing violin. The elder Mozart was also music instructor and educator to his children, Maria Anna "Nannerl" and Wolfgang. The children showed great talent at an early age and Leopold famously took them on concert tours throughout Europe.»

Left: Barbara Krafft (1764–1825). Posthumous portrait of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 1819. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

On these tours, young Wolfgang wowed his audiences with his virtuosic piano performances, and he was regarded as one of the finest keyboard players throughout his life. Emperor Joseph III famously encouraged Mozart to engage in a piano competition with Muzio Clementi in Vienna on Christmas Eve of 1781. The emperor judged Mozart to have bested Clementi in this contest and spread the story widely.

Right: J. A. Friedrich (German, mid-18th century). Leopold Mozart Playing the Violin, 1756. Etching and engraving, sheet: 8 1/8 x 6 1/8 in. (20.6 x 15.5 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, The Crosby Brown Collection of Musical Instruments, 1901 (01.2.63)

On the violin, Mozart was more than proficient. He was known to have performed on the violin as a child, with a documented performance at the age of seven for the birthday celebrations of Archbishop Schrattenbach in Salzburg. Several of his violins, including his childhood instrument, survive in his hometown.

As a composer, Mozart wrote for nearly every instrument and ensemble that was commonly played during his lifetime. He composed prolifically for the violin—including a large number of sonatas, five violin concertos, more than two dozen string quartets, and numerous other pieces for chamber music in addition to his orchestral works.

In 1977, Sonya Monosoff and Malcolm Bilson recorded one of Mozart's sonatas for violin and piano using historic instruments from The Met collection. Monosoff performed on the "The Gould" violin by Antonio Stradivari, dated 1693, which had been modified in 1974 to a Baroque setup so that artists specializing in historical performance could use the instrument. Bilson performed on a grand piano attributed to the workshop of Johann Schmidt, a friend of Leopold Mozart's in Salzburg.

Left: Antonio Stradivari (Italian, 1644–1737). "The Gould" Violin, 1693. Spruce top, maple sides and back, ebony fingerboard, and gut strings. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of George Gould, 1955 (55.86 a–c)

Related Links
Of Note: "Tracing the History of Antonio Stradivari's 'Gould' Violin" (April 25, 2016)

Of Note: "Happy Birthday, Mr. Mozart" (January 27, 2014)