Editing Leopold Mozart (section)

==Life and career==
===Childhood and youth===
He was born in [[Augsburg]], son of [[Johann Georg Mozart]], a [[bookbinding|bookbinder]], and his second wife Anna Maria Sulzer.{{sfn|Solomon|1995|p=21}} From an early age he sang as a choirboy. He attended a local [[Society of Jesus|Jesuit]] school, {{ill|St. Salvator, Augsburg|de|Jesuitenkolleg St. Salvator|lt=St. Salvator}}, where he studied logic, science, and theology, graduating ''[[magna cum laude]]'' in 1735. He studied then at the St. Salvator Lyzeum.<ref name="Solomon 1995, 22-23">{{harvnb|Solomon|1995|pp=22–23}}</ref>

While a student in Augsburg, he appeared in student theater productions as an actor and singer,<ref name=Solomon1995>{{harvnb|Solomon|1995}}</ref> and became a skilled violinist and organist.<ref name=Grove-1>{{harvnb|Grove|loc=Section 1}}</ref> He also developed an interest, which he retained, in microscopes and telescopes.{{refn|Records of the high-quality English optical instruments, made by [[John Dollond|Dollond]] of London, that he owned in later life appear in the public announcement of his estate sale, September 15, 1787, published in Deutsch 1965, pp296–297.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Deutsch |first1=Otto Erich |title=Mozart, a documentary biography |url=https://archive.org/details/mozartdocumentar0000deut_i1h0/page/n5/mode/2up |via=archive.org |page=296 |publisher=Stanford, Stanford University Press |access-date=19 November 2024 |date=1965}}</ref>|group=n}} Although his parents had planned a career for Leopold as a Catholic priest, this apparently was not Leopold's own wish. An old school friend told Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1777, "Ah he [Leopold] was a great fellow. My father thought the world of him. And how he hoodwinked the clerics about becoming a priest!"<ref name="Solomon 1995, 23">{{harvnb|Solomon|1995|p=23}}</ref>

He withdrew from the St. Salvator Lyzeum after less than a year. Following a year's delay, he moved to Salzburg to resume his education, enrolling in November 1737 at the Benedictine University (now [[University of Salzburg]]) to study philosophy and jurisprudence.<ref name="Solomon 1995, 22-23" /> At the time Salzburg was the capital of an independent state within the [[Holy Roman Empire]] (the [[Archbishopric of Salzburg|Prince-Archbishopric of Salzburg]]), now part of Austria. Except for periods of travel, Leopold spent the rest of his life there.

Leopold received the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy in 1738.<ref name=Grove-1 /> However, in September 1739, he was expelled from the university for poor attendance, having "hardly attended Natural Science more than once or twice".<ref>From his expulsion record, quoted in {{harvnb|Solomon|1995|p=23}}</ref>

===Early music career===
[[File:Anna Maria Mozart.jpg|thumb|upright|Anna Maria Pertl Mozart, wife of Leopold]]
[[File:Wolfgang-amadeus-mozart 2.jpg|thumb|upright|W. A. Mozart in 1763]]
In 1740, Mozart began his career as a professional musician, becoming violinist and valet to one of the university's canons, Johann Baptist, Count of [[Thurn und Taxis|Thurn-Valsassina and Taxis]]. This was also the year of his first musical publication, the six Trio Sonatas, Opus 1.<ref name="Solomon 1995, 23" /> These were titled ''Sonate sei da chiesa e da camera''; Leopold did the work of copper engraving himself.<ref name=Grove-1 /> He continued to compose, producing a series of German Passion cantatas.<ref name=Grove-1 />{{Refn|In music a [[Passion (music)|Passion]] tells the story of the last days of Jesus, as in [[Johann Sebastian Bach|J. S. Bach]]'s ''[[St Matthew Passion]]''|group=n}}

In 1747, he married [[Anna Maria Mozart|Anna Maria Pertl]], who bore him seven children, although only two of them survived past infancy:<ref>[http://roglo.eu/roglo?lang=en;p=maria+anna;n=pertl;], [[GeneWeb|Genealogical database]] by [[:fr:Daniel de Rauglaudre|Daniel de Rauglaudre]]. (retrieved January 27, 2025)</ref>
* Johann Leopold Joachim (August 18, 1748 – February 2, 1749)<ref>[http://www.mozarteum.at/en/mozart-life-and-work/mozarts-calender.html?suche=&jahr=1748 Mozart Day by Day: 1748] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140225221342/http://www.mozarteum.at/en/mozart-life-and-work/mozarts-calender.html?suche=&jahr=1748 |date=February 25, 2014 }}, [[Mozarteum]]</ref><ref name=DbD1749>[http://www.mozarteum.at/en/mozart-life-and-work/mozarts-calender.html?suche=&jahr=1749 Mozart Day by Day: 1749] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140225221224/http://www.mozarteum.at/en/mozart-life-and-work/mozarts-calender.html?suche=&jahr=1749 |date=February 25, 2014 }}, Mozarteum</ref>
* Maria Anna Cordula (June 18, 1749 – June 24, 1749)<ref name=DbD1749 />
* Maria Anna Nepomucena Walpurgis (May 13, 1750 – July 29, 1750)<ref>[http://www.mozarteum.at/en/mozart-life-and-work/mozarts-calender.html?suche=&jahr=1750 Mozart Day by Day: 1750] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140225221339/http://www.mozarteum.at/en/mozart-life-and-work/mozarts-calender.html?suche=&jahr=1750 |date=February 25, 2014 }}, Mozarteum</ref>
* [[Maria Anna Mozart|Maria Anna Walburga Ignatia]], "Nannerl" (July 30, 1751 – October 29, 1829)
* Johann Karl Amadeus (November 4, 1752 – February 2, 1753)<ref>[http://www.mozarteum.at/en/mozart-life-and-work/mozarts-calender.html?suche=&jahr=1752 Mozart Day by Day: 1752] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140225221456/http://www.mozarteum.at/en/mozart-life-and-work/mozarts-calender.html?suche=&jahr=1752 |date=February 25, 2014 }}, Mozarteum</ref><ref>[http://www.mozarteum.at/en/mozart-life-and-work/mozarts-calender.html?suche=&jahr=1753 Mozart Day by Day: 1753] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140225221222/http://www.mozarteum.at/en/mozart-life-and-work/mozarts-calender.html?suche=&jahr=1753 |date=February 25, 2014 }}, Mozarteum</ref>
* Maria Crescentia Francisca de Paula (May 9, 1754 – June 27, 1754)<ref>[http://www.mozarteum.at/en/mozart-life-and-work/mozarts-calender.html?suche=&jahr=1754 Mozart Day by Day: 1754] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140225221227/http://www.mozarteum.at/en/mozart-life-and-work/mozarts-calender.html?suche=&jahr=1754 |date=February 25, 2014 }}, Mozarteum</ref>
* [[Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart|Johann Chrysostomus Wolfgang Theophilus]] (January 27, 1756 – December 5, 1791)

In 1743, Leopold Mozart was appointed to a position (fourth violinist) in the musical establishment of [[Count Leopold Anton von Firmian]], the ruling [[Archbishopric of Salzburg#Prince-Bishopric (1213–1803)|Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg]].<ref name=Grove-1 /> His duties included composition and the teaching of violin (later, piano) to the choirboys of the Salzburg cathedral. He was promoted to second violinist in 1758 and in 1763 to deputy [[Kapellmeister]].{{Refn|Leopold is sometimes described as having had the post of "court composer" at Salzburg. The ''[[Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians|Grove Dictionary]]'', addressing this, says "the title 'Hofkomponist' [court composer], used to describe Mozart in a 1757 report on Salzburg published in [[Friedrich Wilhelm Marpurg|F. W. Marpurg]]'s ''Historisch-kritische Beyträge zur Aufnahme der Musik'', had no official sanction."|group=n}} He rose no further; others were repeatedly promoted over him to the head position of Kapellmeister.{{sfn|Solomon|1995|p=28}}

The question of whether Leopold was successful as a composer (either in terms of artistic success or fame) is debated. The ''Grove Dictionary'' says that as of 1756, "Mozart was already well-known. His works circulated widely in German-speaking Europe." However, biographer [[Maynard Solomon]] asserts that he "failed to make his mark as a composer",<ref name="Solomon 1995, 32">{{harvnb|Solomon|1995|p=32}}</ref> and [[Alfred Einstein]] "judged him to be an undistinguished composer".{{sfn|Solomon|1995|p=33}}

Scholars agree, however, that Leopold was successful as a pedagogue. In 1755, he wrote his ''[[Versuch einer gründlichen Violinschule]]'', a comprehensive treatise on [[Playing the violin|violin playing]]. This work was published in 1756 (the year of Wolfgang's birth), and went through two further German editions (1769, 1787), as well as being translated into Dutch (1766) and French (1770).<ref name="Solomon 1995, 32" /> Today, the work is consulted by musicians interested in 18th-century performance practice; see [[Historically informed performance]]. This work made a reputation in Europe for Leopold, and his name begins to appear around this time in music dictionaries and other works of musical pedagogy.<ref name="Solomon 1995, 32" />

[[File:Louis Carrogis dit Carmontelle - Portrait de Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Salzbourg, 1756-Vienne, 1791) jouant à Paris avec son père Jean... - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|The Mozart family on tour: Leopold, Wolfgang, and Nannerl. Watercolor by [[Louis Carrogis Carmontelle|Carmontelle]], ca.&nbsp;1763<ref name=Solomon1995/>]]

===As teacher of Nannerl and Wolfgang===

Mozart discovered that his two children were [[child prodigies]] in about 1759, when he began with keyboard lessons for the seven-year-old Nannerl. The toddler Wolfgang immediately began imitating his sister, at first picking out thirds on the keyboard{{refn|From Nannerl's reminiscences, composed 1792 and printed in Deutsch 1965{{incomplete short citation|date=September 2021}}|group=n}} and then making rapid progress under Leopold's instruction. By 1762, the children were ready to work as concert performers, and Leopold began taking the family on extensive concert tours, performing for both aristocracy and public, throughout central and western Europe. This tour included Munich, Vienna, Pressburg (Bratislava), Paris and the Hague together with a lengthy stay in London;<ref>{{CathEncy|wstitle=Johann Chrysostomus Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart}}</ref> see [[Mozart family Grand Tour]].

The discovery of his children's talent is considered to have been a life-transforming event for Mozart. He once referred to his son as the "miracle which God let be born in Salzburg".<ref name=Grove-1 /> Of Leopold's attitude, the ''Grove Dictionary'' says:

{{quote|The recognition of this 'miracle' must have struck Leopold with the force of a divine revelation and he felt his responsibility to be not merely a father's and teacher's but a missionary's as well.<ref name=Grove-1 />}}

By "missionary", the ''Grove Dictionary'' refers to the family's concert tours.

Scholars differ on whether the tours made substantial profits. To be sure, often the children performed before large audiences and took in large sums, but the expenses of travel were also very high, and no money at all was made during the various times that Mozart and the children suffered serious illnesses. Mozart biographer Maynard {{harvnb|Solomon|1995}} takes the view that the tours were lucrative and produced long-term profits for Leopold; Ruth {{harvnb|Halliwell|1998}} states to the contrary that their income generally only covered their travel and living expenses.{{citation needed|date=November 2019}}

Since the instruction took much of his time, and the touring kept him away from Salzburg for long periods, Mozart cut down his activities in other areas. Nannerl later claimed that he "entirely gave up both violin instruction and composition in order to direct that time not claimed in service to the prince to the education of his two children".<ref name=Grove-1 /> After 1762, his compositional efforts seem to have been limited to revising his earlier work, and by 1771 he had ceased composing altogether.<ref>Sources: [[Wolfgang Plath]] and [[Cliff Eisen]], cited in {{harvnb|Solomon|1995|p=33}}</ref>

The touring continued into the early 1770s. The last three trips were to Italy, with only the father accompanying Wolfgang. Leopold Mozart's failure to advance above his Vice-Kapellmeister position at Salzburg is attributed by the ''Grove Dictionary''<ref name=Grove-1 /> to the great amount of time that the journeys kept him away from Salzburg (the longest journey was about three-and-a-half years). After the final return from Italy in 1773, Leopold was repeatedly passed over for the Kapellmeister post.{{Citation needed|date=November 2019}}

===Family life in Salzburg===
[[File:BoezlschiessenTargetMozartAndBaesle.PNG|thumb|''[[Bölzlschiessen]]'' target, Wolfgang and his cousin [[Maria Anna Thekla Mozart]], October 1777]]
Although Mozart is portrayed (notably by Halliwell 1998) as generally quite worried about money, the Mozart family evidently by 1773 felt prosperous enough to upgrade their living quarters. They left the home in the [[Getreidegasse]] where the children had been born and moved to rooms in the ''[[Tanzmeisterhaus Salzburg|Tanzmeisterhaus]]'' ("Dancing-Master's House"), which had been the home of the recently deceased dancing master Franz Karl Gottlieb Spöckner. As tenants of Spöckner's cousin and heir Maria Anna Raab, the Mozarts had eight rooms, including the quite large room that Spöckner had used for dancing lessons. This the Mozarts used for teaching, for domestic concerts, for storing keyboard instruments sold by Leopold, and for ''[[Bölzlschiessen]]'', a form of recreation in which family and their guests shot airguns at humorously designed paper targets.{{sfn|Halliwell|1998|p=202}}

Starting around this time, a major preoccupation was the lengthy and frustrating struggle to find a professional position for his son. His wife died in 1778 in Paris while accompanying Wolfgang on a job-hunting tour.{{citation needed|date=November 2019}}