Beethoven and Mozart are the two most important musicians of their time. Their
pieces are everlasting and will live on forever. Their styles are so unique and
uplifting that they could never be matched. These masterminds played in the same
time period but their lives differed tremendously. There are some similarities
and many differences between these two but one fact will remain: They are the
central and most vital part of all music. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was one of the
most prolific and important musical innovators we have ever seen. His style of
music helped re-shape music and the Classical period. Mozart was born in
Salzburg, Austria in 1756. Mozart was a child prodigy, claiming most success as
a youth. At the age of six, Mozart could play the harpsichord and violin,
improvise fugues, write minuets, and read music perfectly. At the age of eight,
he wrote a symphony and at eleven, an oratorio. Then amazingly, at the age of
twelve he wrote an opera. Mozart's father was Leopold Mozart, a court musician.
Both Mozart and Beethoven had help from their fathers in different ways.
Mozart's father helped him travel around as a young musician and with this he
traveled many places and seen many well-known people and aristocrats. With
Mozart's early successes came many challenges to his life. He had greater
expectations from the community and from his father. Unlike, Beethoven, Mozart
was a bit spoiled as a youth and because of this he would not tolerate to be
treated as a servant. He completely relied on his father to help him and would
not work with the archbishop. This would become a problem when Mozart did not
develop enough initiative and could not make decisions on his own. Then, at age
25, Mozart broke free of Salzburg and became a freelance musician in Vienna.
This is where Mozart found some success. He wrote, Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail,
a German opera in 1782. Mozart earned a living giving lessons and holding
concerts. Mozart later wrote Don Giovanni and The marriage of Figaro and these
were highly acclaimed pieces. Eventually, Mozart's popularity faded and his
music was found to be too complicated and hard to follow. Mozart's music was
very versatile and his masterpieces were in many forms. His piano concertos are
very important and are popular pieces. Mozart was also a master of the opera,
writing many popular operas in his time. During his last year, Mozart was more
successful. He wrote and opera and a Requiem, which he did not finish. W.A.
Mozart's great passion in his work can be felt in many of his various works and
his style is that of the utmost perfection and can never be replicated. Mozart
died in 1791, in Vienna at the age of just 35. Ludwig Van Beethoven came in the
later part of the Classical Period and helped bridge this period with the
Romantic era. Beethoven is considered by many the greatest musician to ever play
and is a mere genius. His influence is felt today and will continue to be felt
throughout time, with his pieces being so dramatic and profound that they will
never be lost. Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany in 1770, into a family of
musicians. Beethoven was not as much a child star as Mozart but did accomplish
many things as a youth. Beethoven played for Mozart at age sixteen and Mozart
said, "Keep your eyes on him; some day he will give the world something to
talk about." When Beethoven was twenty-two he left Germany and went to
Vienna, to study with Joseph Haydn. Beethoven had a extremely rough upbringing,
with his father being an alcoholic and a very abusive person. Many of
Beethoven's works are based on the horrendous experiences he had growing up.
Beethoven had two brothers, both younger. Beethoven's father died when he was
young, so he was forced to take care of the family. Beethoven was a
self-educated, very vain and self-absorbed man. He had very high expectations
and was often said to have very rude and disastrous behavior. Beethoven refused
to be a servant and refused to be told what to do, claiming that he should be
treated as an artist and deserved more respect than an average person. Beethoven
was struck with what would be his greatest downfall; deafness. This occurred in
1802 when doctors learned that he was in fact becoming deaf and there was
nothing that could be done to help. This impairment reshaped his music. This led
the way to a very tense and exciting side of his pieces. Beethoven's music
differs with Mozart's in that is more intense and has a greater range of pitch
and dynamics. Beethoven's greatest pieces are his symphonies, which can be heard
today as often as in his days. Beethoven was a very good innovator with his
variations to music. Compared to Mozart, Beethoven tried to unify contrasting
movements by means of musical continuity. Often times Beethoven's music would
not have a clear ending and were dragged out a bit longer than expected.
Beethoven died in 1827, in Vienna.