by Graydyl

Created on: June 14, 2008

The "Mozart effect" is based on a 1993 study, which reported temporary improvements in IQ among students who listened to a Mozart piano sonata. Although Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's music doesn't necessarily improve IQ all the time, it encouraged other classical composers and provoked interest. Mozart composed over 600 works, including 49 symphonies, almost 20 operas, 25 piano concertos, 23 string quartets, 42 violin sonatas, and many other chamber compositions in his lifetime. Mozart's music has a very unique and special style. His compositions appear quite simple but are in actuality very intricate and complex. Like Haydn and Beethoven, Mozart was just as comfortable writing simple melodies as he was writing complicated works. Mozart's music has had an important impact of classical music.

Mozart was considered a child prodigy when he started composing music at the age of five years old. He started showing signs of his remarkable music talent at the age of three. He learned to play the harpsichord at the age of four. Mozart composed many sonatas for the harpsichord, piano, violin, as well as orchestral and other works before he was 14.

After Mozart's father recognized his magnificent talent, he devoted much of his time to Mozart's musical education. Wolfgang composed pieces, gave public performances, met other musicians, and played the organ in many churches. In 1769, Wolfgang worked for the archbishop of Salzburg, who dismissed him in 1781. Mozart then went to Vienna to seek his fortune. He was still a brilliant performer and an active composer. After he married in 1782, he tried to support his family and earn a living by performing, making compositions, and giving piano lessons. He had a difficult life in which he earned only a meager amount of money by composing orchestral pieces, operas, and other music for various instruments. This scanty amount of money never produced enough money to sustain his family. Sadly, he died at the young age of thirty-five in poverty in 1791.

Mozart wrote over 40 symphonies, many of which are still performed today. Some were initially overtures for operas, and last only a few minutes. His later symphonies, which are more popular today, are complete orchestra pieces that last from 20 to 30 minutes. Almost all of his symphonies contain four movements.

Mozart excelled in many kinds of musical composition, including operas. Mozart's operas reveal him as one of the superior musical dramatists. It is not often that any composer has such

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