Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791)

Mass in C Major, K. 317 (Coronation Mass)
Exsultate, jubilate, K. 165 Ave verum corpus, K. 618

Mozart's life was all too short. Born in Salzburg in 1756, the son of a leading court musician, he amazed Europe as an infant prodigy, undertaking protracted tours under the guidance of his father. Adolescence and early manhood proved less satisfying. The Mozarts had security in Salzburg, but the city, under its new Archbishop, seemed to have little to offer, and Mozart was certain that he deserved something better. In 1781, after fulfilling a successful commission in Munich with his opera Idomeneo, he travelled to Vienna to join his patron, the Archbishop. When he was denied the opportunities that seemed within his grasp and particularly the chance of making some impression on the Emperor, he quarrelled with his employer and, not for the first but now for the last time, was dismissed.

Mo