Today in music history, 1756: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria. He was among the greatest composers of all time, having composed symphonies, concertos, and sonatas for piano, violin, horns and wrote operas, oratorios, dances, and pieces for string quartets and quintets. As a child, he toured western Europe with his family, performing for royals.
Having twice heard a mysterious and sacred piece in Catholic Mass, Gregorio Allegri’s Miserere mei, Deus (which forbidden to be transcribed on the punishment of excommunication), fourteen-year-old Mozart wrote it down from memory and made some improvements. Instead of excommunication, Pope Clement XIV congratulated the boy and his genius.
Take a few moments to recognize this gift to western culture by listening to Piano Sonata No. 17 in B flat, K. 570.
