History Extra Podcast: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Life of the Week

Date: December 16, 2025
Host: Lauren Good
Guest: Hannah Templeton (Musicologist and Cultural Historian)

Episode Overview

In this episode of History Extra’s “Life of the Week” series, Lauren Good speaks with musicologist Hannah Templeton to explore the life and legacy of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The conversation traces Mozart’s journey from child prodigy in Salzburg, through his formative European tours, to his influential career in Vienna and the myths that have shaped our view of his final years. Templeton provides fresh insight into Mozart’s family dynamics, creative process, and ongoing cultural impact.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Early Life and Family Background

• Birth and Family:

  • Born January 27, 1756, in Salzburg. Seventh child, but only he and his sister Nannerl survived infancy.

    “His parents had seven children, but only two survived. So he had an older sister called Nannerl Mozart…” (02:42)

  • Father Leopold Mozart: court composer, intellectual, highly involved in Wolfgang and Nannerl’s education—music, language, maths, and religion.

    “Leopold Mozart oversaw his children’s whole education...He taught his children everything they knew musically.” (02:42)

• Early Musical Development:

  • Began playing keyboard at three by imitating Nannerl.
  • Composed first pieces by age 4 or 5; at five, performed for Empress Maria Theresa in Vienna.

    “From when he was three years old, he could play simple pieces on the keyboard…he composed his earliest pieces by 4 or 5 years old.” (03:39)

• Leopold’s Influence:

  • Leopold corrected or assisted in Wolfgang’s early works, heavily involved until Wolfgang’s teens.

    “Right up until he was a teenager, there was rarely a piece of music he composed that Leopold hadn't maybe made some corrections in.” (04:30)

• Mother’s Role:

  • Less involved educationally or musically, but present on family tours.

    “She certainly wasn’t as educated as him…she wasn’t teaching them in the way that Leopold was.” (05:08)

Childhood Tours and European Influence

• Motives and Experiences:
  • Family traveled extensively across Europe (1763–66), including Vienna, London, Holland, Belgium, and Switzerland, seeking both musical opportunities and broad education.

    “They went on a great big tour of Western Europe from 1763 to 1766…a large motivation was getting his children the best possible musical education.” (05:43)

  • Letters from Leopold describe music, architecture, food, politics, and more—insight into 18th-century European life.

Salzburg Employment and Musical Frustrations

• Early Professional Appointments:

  • Honorary concertmaster (as a child); later secured paid court composer post after further Italian tours. (07:49)

• Conflicts at Court:

  • Under Archbishop Colloredo, faced restrictions and dissatisfaction—preference for Italian musicians, limited scope for instrumental music.

    “The Mozarts…became quite quickly dissatisfied with Collored. They didn't like him as an employer…” (08:23)

  • Comparisons drawn with Michael Haydn, who was more prolific in religious music output.

Formative Travels and Personal Hardship

• Further Travels and Artistic Growth:

  • Composed symphonies, sonatas, and operas abroad—work aligned with the tastes and needs of locations and patrons visited.

    “The pieces were always written for specific intentions, it really varied as to what he composed.” (10:22)

• Exposure to Varied Styles:

  • Absorbed diverse musical influences; connected with major figures such as Johann Christian Bach and Carl Friedrich Abel in London, Italian musicians and academies in Italy.

• Personal Hardships:

  • On tour with his mother, faced personal and professional challenges:
    • Fell in love with Aloysia Weber in Mannheim (relationship did not materialize).
    • Encountered limited success in Paris; mother died there after illness, causing strain with his father Leopold.

      “To be quite frank, the whole tour was a disaster, really...” (14:17) “The big catastrophe that happens is when they're in Paris. Wolfgang's mum dies…So Wolfgang is only 22 years old, he's having to make all those decisions…” (14:56)

Vienna: The 'Golden Decade'

• Arrival in Vienna:

  • Summoned in 1781; broke with Colloredo and decided to stay.
  • Lived with the Weber family; married Constanze Weber (Aloysia’s sister), causing a lasting rift with Leopold.

    “He was dismissed from the service…and he decides to stay in Vienna. He then moves in with the Weber family…and this is actually how he met his wife, Constanze.” (21:52)

• Professional Achievements:

  • Commissioned to write Die Entführung aus dem Serail (major success).
  • Established himself as Vienna’s leading keyboard virtuoso—famed “keyboard duels” with Clementi.
  • Organized subscription concerts (a financial innovation) and wrote concertos for himself to perform.

    “He establishes himself as the foremost keyboard player in Vienna. They used to have like keyboard duels…” (21:52)

  • Flourished as a composer for orchestral and operatic music (e.g., Don Giovanni, The Magic Flute).

• Personal Life:

  • Marriage to Constanze: depicted as loving and tender, with witty correspondence and shared enjoyment of fashion, games, and dancing.
  • Of five children, only two survived—parallel to his parents’ experience.

    “By all accounts…those letters…read really sort of tenderly, quite witty between them, they have clearly had a really good relationship.” (26:23)

Finances and Final Years: Myths and Realities

• Struggles and Recovery:

  • Later 1780s: financial troubles from high lifestyle, Constanze’s spa treatments, and changing concert culture.

    “He did have some cash flow problems…we do see him writing to some of his patrons, asking, begging for them to lend him money.” (28:27)

  • Borrowed money, but so did many in Vienna’s musical circles; in his last years, financial prospects improved again.

• Operatic and Popular Success:

  • By late 1780s/early 1790s, his works were in demand across Europe. Wrote The Magic Flute, received commissions and invitations.

• Dissecting the Myths:

  • Myth: Died a pauper—actually buried in an unmarked grave, as was common for the middle class.

    “There’s this myth of him being buried in a pauper’s grave when he died…He is buried in an unmarked grave in Vienna because that was the custom of the time…” (32:26)

  • Myth: Poisoned by Salieri—no evidence; probable cause was rheumatic fever.

    “So he wasn’t poisoned by Salieri. There’s no—that’s another myth…” (34:34)

  • Myth: Wrote his Requiem for himself—he received the commission to honor a count’s wife; he didn’t finish the work.

Legacy and Historical Image

• The “Mozart Myth”:

  • Much of what we believe about Mozart’s personality and death comes from early biographers, limited sources, or those with their own regional or personal agendas.

    “So many of the ideas about Mozart we have now come from these really, really early writings when either people had really clear agendas…or they were working from quite a limited range of sources.” (29:50)

  • Contrasting narratives: Mozart as a childlike, isolated genius vs. evidence of his intellectual engagement (Freemason, wide-ranging library, social networks).

    “You look at his, his library that he had. So just like his dad in that sense really. But…this perception of this genius who can't function in the world outside of his music, that's just not an accurate representation of his character at all.” (35:38)

• Enduring Popularity:

  • His music’s brilliance and the myths around his life and early death created a powerful, lasting legacy—an icon discussed and revered beyond almost any other composer except possibly Wagner.

    “He never gets lost in that sense. He's always such a strong presence throughout the 19th century, the romantic period, right the way through.” (37:19)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On childhood musical training:

  “From when he was three years old, he could play simple pieces on the keyboard. And very quickly he started to progress. And Leopold realized that he was really gifted.” — Hannah Templeton (03:39)

• On family correspondence revealing Mozart’s humanity:

  “You really see just the everyday life and the humanity and the feelings of this family and this person who composes all this amazing music.” — (19:15)

• On the Vienna years:

  “He was really just flourishing musically. In 1783 onwards, he wrote more than a dozen piano concertos for his subscription concerts. He would play those himself.” — (24:22)

• On enduring myths:

  “There's nothing spectacular about [Mozart’s burial]. That was just perfectly in line with the customs of the time. But again, we do have all that kind of mythology surrounding…” — (32:26)

• On why Mozart remains iconic:

  “Obviously you've got his music, which is wonderful, and that in itself is enough really. But then his death and all that. We talked about the mythology…such a good story.” — (35:38)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:42] Mozart’s birth, family, and early education
• [03:39] First musical steps and early compositions
• [05:43] The European tours and their significance
• [07:49] First court position in Salzburg
• [10:22] Travels and musical influences
• [14:17] Hardships: The ill-fated tour, Aloysia Weber, and his mother’s death
• [21:52] Move to Vienna, professional success, and marriage
• [26:23] Married life, children, and family dynamics
• [28:27] Financial struggles and concert culture changes
• [32:26] Debunking myths about his decline and death
• [34:34] Causes and myths of Mozart’s death
• [35:38] Lasting legacy and historical memory

Conclusion

This episode paints a nuanced portrait of Mozart—not only as the musical genius celebrated worldwide, but as a complex, relatable human figure shaped by family, travel, joy, tragedy, and myth. Through letters and recent scholarship, Hannah Templeton helps distinguish the real Mozart from legend, providing listeners with both factual richness and engaging storytelling.