Leopold Mozart The rain was pouring down, flooding the streets of the suburbs of Vienna. On December 6, 1791, thunder rumbled all around the funeral procession as it trudged towards the Saint-Marx cemetery. As he reached the city walls of Vienna, the few friends who had accompanied Mozart on his last journey returned due to the unusually bad weather conditions. Such a scene is unfortunately appropriate to represent the tragic end of Mozart who had begun his life with such immeasurable promise. On January 27, 1756, Leopold Mozart paced the hallway of his home in Salzburg, Austria, in anticipation of the arrival of his seventh child. His wife, Anna Maria, had given birth to a boy: Wolfgang. Wolfgang and his only other surviving brother, Nannerl, grew up immersed in music. He progressed quickly and began composing before he even knew how to write. Leopold believed that his child's gift should be enhanced through travel, so the family left Salzburg in 1762 with the intention of "showing the world a miracle." From court to palace, the Mozart family traveled the roads of Europe, presenting Wolfgang to the world as a child genius. Often his father took him to carnivals and masked balls and dressed the little boy as a harlequin. These experiences had not only made Wolfgang something of a legend, but also allowed him to gain musical experiences far beyond those of a mere child prodigy. On his eleventh birthday, orders poured in not only from the court but also from the bourgeoisie. He wrote one act of an oratorio to be performed in March, and followed it with a Latin comedy, Apollo and Hyacinth. In September 1767, the Mozart family left for Vienna where, after recovering from smallpox, Mozart was inspired by his father to write his first opera, La Finta Semplice. Mozart was so impressed by Vienna that he and his father returned to Italy alone in 1769. Traveling through the cities of Italy, his recitals were one success after another, and his opera "Mitridate, re diPonto" saw its twentieth consecutive performance in Milan. A failed attempt at a commission in Milan led Mozart to understand how fickle society could be and brought them home to Salzburg. Mozart's farewell to Milan was tinged with bitterness and he resigned himself to a life as a court musician in Salzburg, but the seventeen-year-old genius ...... middle of paper ......o grew up to become the great composer he became. If Leopold had not had such an influence on him, Mozart might not have been forced to work day after day with such intensity and relentlessness on his compositions later in his life. Mozart's astonishing achievements may have been partly due to the influence of his father. Yet whatever Mozart's personal struggles, he left an impression on us through his music that will last through the years. Bibliography Gartner, Heinz. (translation by Reinhard Pauly) Constanze Mozart After the Requiem. Munich: Langen Muller. 1922. pp 11-25. Jahn, Otto. (translation by Pauline Townsend) Life of Mozart. New York: Cooper Square Publishers, Inc. 1970. pp. 264-352. Parouty, Michel. Mozart From child prodigy to tragic hero. New York: Discoveries. 1993.pp. 13-127. Rothstein, Edward. “Riddle and variants”. New York Times. March 26, 1995. pp. 8-9. Thompson, Molley (producer/director) Mozart. (1995). New York, New York. A&E Television Network. 50 minutes Stafford, William. The myths of Mozart. California: Stanford University Press. 1991.pp. 3-17. Erich, Valentin. Mozart and his world. New York: Thames and Hudson Ltd. 1959.pp.. 1-128