![]() Leopold is the parent in the classroom who lends his child the full capacity of his own professional expertise. Let’s think of Wolfgang Mozart’s first violin sonatas as a large-scale science fair project for school. 2 as Mozart’s Opus 1 in February 1764 when he was only eight years of age. 1 in C, it was published together with Sonata No. Mozart wasn’t learning how to compose in his head, he was learning how to compose on the keyboard (more on this must be left for another post). Then, once it exists, this music can be transferred to any voice or instrument, or combination of instruments. The lesson from Leopold is that composers do create their music by playing around, experimenting and developing ideas on the keyboard. Then, Leopold helped to collect them together into a multi-movement work and transcribe them for violin and keyboard. 6, originated first as individual keyboard pieces that were first written down by Leopold. From their genesis on the keyboard, these pieces were later upcycled to other instrument combinations. In the Notenbuch für Nannerl there’s a string of keyboard pieces composed by Wolfgang in 1763 (when he was age 7). When teaching a child composer, be sure to date all work. These notes give a little window into the times, spaces and days in the life of a little boy and his dad in the middle of making music together. 11 ten Maÿ 1762” and “ di Wolfgango Mozart d. Leopold wrote details like, “ di Wolfgango Mozart d. One of the sweetest things about doing research on Wolfgang Mozart’s first compositions is reading the little notes his father made in the Notenbuch of hand-written music. YouTube video of Mozart’s earliest compositions performed on harpsichord. ![]() Leopold didn’t attempt to “correct” these stylistic mismatches in the compositions. He already sounded like the “Mozart” we know in his second composition ever. The ending hearkens to the elongated endings Wolfgang would write as an adult for opera arias and symphony movements. But instead of the final cadence occurring at the end, it arrives in an odd place between measures 8 and 9, followed by an extended Classical-sounding ending on broken C triads (chords) for the remainder of the piece. The interplay between the right and left hand lines gives it a contrapuntal texture found in Baroque music. Mozart’s next composition, Allegro in C, K. Two distinct styles were thus mixed into one piece, and to Leopold Mozart, that was okay. 1a (Mozart’s first piece) begins in 3/4 time with four measures in a decidedly Classical style, then switches to 2/4 with four measures imitating Baroque music. Upon listening to recordings, it’s clear that these pieces welled up out of a joyful sense of creativity. The music is unrestrained and spontaneous. Mozart’s first pieces bear the true marks of a child composer. He simply wrote the music down as Wolfgang created it - straight up. He might have been tempted to “over teach” and ask Wolfgang to do more with the ideas, to round it out with a returning section or repeats. Leopold Mozart deserves credit for having written down young Wolfgang’s first piece with believable accuracy. It was short, sweet, presented a cute musical idea or two - then suddenly stopped. Mozart’s very first composition, Andante in C, K. It’s okay for the first pieces to be short is the first piece he added to the book, himself. It’s believed that his own Allegro in C, K. ![]() ![]() ![]() It wasn’t until 1764, when Mozart was eight years old, that his own handwriting appears in the Notenbuch. Mozart composed them between the the ages of five and seven (1761 to 1763). Mozart’s first 14 compositions are in his father’s handwriting. So, what can we learn from Mozart’s first compositions on how his father taught him? It’s okay to write the music down for the childĪre you worried that if you write a child’s composition down for them, that others will question whether it’s truly their work? But he was still a beginner on the keyboard and a beginner at composing. In the beginning he truly was a very curious, alert and talented child. Wolfgang has become a bit of a legend and it’s not easy to know what to believe about his childhood musical abilities. This notebook leaves a trail showing the young Mozart’s progress from his very first attempt at composing, to pieces that showed the results of some lessons in composition from his father, Leopold Mozart. His first playful creations can be found in the Notenbuch für Nannerl, his older sister’s notebook. It is believed that Mozart began composing his first little keyboard pieces at the age of five. Perhaps the world’s best-known wunderkind (wonder child) of all time is the young Wolfgang Mozart. ![]()
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