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Mozart Dies – 1791
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Just 35 years old, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, one of the most famous composers of all time, died. He had been very ill for several months with what was then termed “severe military fever” (possibly rheumatic fever, but it could be other illnesses or disorders). He had a very simple funeral with few if any mourners and a common (unmarked) grave—but such was the custom in late-eighteenth-century Vienna (which is now in Austria but was then part of the Holy Roman Empire). The public loved his music and attended memorial services and concerts to mourn his loss.
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Mozart died early even by the averages of his time, but the world is lucky that he started creating original music very early in life. By age five (living in Salzburg, Holy Roman Empire), he could already play piano and violin—and he was already composing music and playing for royalty.
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By age 12 he composed his first choral mass. It was for a 4-part choir, 2 violins, viola, bass, and organ!
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- Find out more at Fun Trivia!
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- Listen to a Mozart classic at Classics for Kids and dso Kids!
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- Play Mozart’s dice game and compose a minuet!
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