Great Music
“I pay no attention whatever to anybody's praise or blame. I simply follow my own feelings.”

—Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart


Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) was one of the most prolific and influential composers in the history of classical music. During his 35 years of life, he composed more than 600 works, many of which have been hailed as masterpieces of Western music.

Beginning just three years after his birth in Salzburg, Austria, Wolfgang was tutored in music by his father, Leopold Mozart, who was a successful composer and musician for the court in Salzburg. By age five, Wolfgang had exceeded his father’s expertise; by six, he was performing on tour for European royalty as a child prodigy; and by 13, he had composed dozens of sonatas, concertos and symphonies. He continued to write music throughout his youth and early adulthood, creating hundreds of works that are celebrated as some of the greatest pieces of choral, operatic and symphonic music ever written.

In 1781, Mozart relocated to Vienna, where he soon achieved acclaim as a composer and as the “finest keyboard player” in the city. Although he occasionally toured throughout Europe to promote his music, Vienna was his home for the remainder of his life. Here he met his wife, Constanze, with whom he had six children, only two of whom survived infancy. It was also here that he experienced the height of his success, as well as the lowest points of his life and career. As is the case with many artists, Mozart’s success waxed and waned, especially during the late 18th century, when the country struggled through a war with the Ottoman Empire which drastically limited the time and money Austrian royalty could contribute to the arts.

The final year of Mozart’s short life was one of his most productive. In the months before his death, he composed some of his best-known works: the motet “Ave Verum Corpus,” the opera "Die Zauberflöte" ("The Magic Flute"), and his unfinished “Requiem.” After battling a mysterious illness for three months, Mozart died on December 5, 1791.

Words will never convey the majesty of Mozart’s music, but his notes have lived across centuries and resonated in the hearts of millions.

Great Music. Pass It On!

This billboard about Great Music features Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Pass It On®

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Your Comments
Jenna Herritt from Kent state APRIL 14, 2020
Nice tribute I'm glad to say the music was great no doubt about it.

Abby from Wisconsin AUGUST 29, 2016
I love Mozart! I am a pianist myself and I receive great inspiration from him.

Skyler from Nevada SEPTEMBER 23, 2015
Oh yes, Mozart's music is the base of all music today.

NULL from NULL JANUARY 22, 2015
I love Mozart. His music is amazing. I'm in band in school and I play the snare drum and im pretty good at it. I keep trying and trying and i get it. Practice makes perfect is the theme. -Katie Benham WWHS 8th grade 13 years old

Stacy Ma from 563 70th street SEPTEMBER 11, 2014
you people rock. Mozart was one of my favorite composers.

Reyna from Rowland Heights,CA MAY 6, 2014
Always believe yourself, even though everybody around you is doubting you.

Laura Richard from Louisiana Port Allen JANUARY 9, 2014
Reach for everything, do it without looking, grab for the non-exiting things to. Trust, have faith, believe and your WILL succeed!

Margarita Powers from Montevideo - Uruguay MAY 13, 2013
To Margot Vivien: I do hope you will get well soon! What you say about singing a song whenever you are down is so much true... However not all people get to understand that that simple song is just what you need to look up and begin again. Thanks

COWBOB from SOMEWHERE MARCH 12, 2013
AWESOMENESS!

h889 from iowa MARCH 1, 2013
Love it!

Buster brown from Austin Tx FEBRUARY 28, 2013
Saw this billboard on manor and airport. I was actually listening to Mozart at the time, and it made me smile.

Michael W. O'Connor from Bristol, Tn. DECEMBER 5, 2012
Roanoke,Virginia was my home for 24 years and during that time Sister Rose Benedict, impressed upon me, through my piano lessons, the importance of music appreciation. Your poster and recognition of Great Music, esp. Mozart, is just superb! I hope your value will spread all over. Thank you all.

Antonnio Flores from Fontana californiai NOVEMBER 8, 2012
I love this poster.

Margot Vivian Artner from Vienna, Austria OCTOBER 31, 2012
Thank you all for your loving comments. Having grown up and having lived almost all my life in Vienna (whenever I wasn't in Australia), I have taken Mozart for granted until a few years ago, when I joined the Choir Cantamus. We've sung Ave Verum Corpus at the most recently Mass - beautiful! A few days ago, I've caught a very bad cold and cannot, for the life of me, sing right now. For me, this is the worst punishment ever and, although having known how important music is to me, it has really struck me hard this time and I've now realized that there is no life without singing! Whenever you're down, please sing a song, it doesn't matter which one, how good or how bad, as long as it makes you happy!

Younger Cato from Paramount, Ca OCTOBER 31, 2012
I grew up in Paramount, a lower middle class LA suburb not known for promoting the higher arts. In fact, taste in music like Mozart's is overwhelmingly rare in these parts. So I was astonished to see a billboard promoting the great master in the city where I grew up, where I fell in love with Mozart, his music, and the rest of the classical tradition. After my initial shock, I realized how appropriate having this billboard in my town actually was. I and hoped that it would help at least one other curious youngster come to know and fall in love with this most intimate of art-forms. Thank you so much for doing what you do, whoever you are.

peport p. from philippines OCTOBER 18, 2012
music is a friend. friend is another self. for me, music is another self. to be a great self as music, i just let my feelings to work on me. this leads me to my passion to work, pray and study. this makes me feel i'm great because i have loved these things. feelings really are a divine that makes us great.

Susan Isherwood from LI, NY SEPTEMBER 27, 2012
I love this poster. I am a music teacher in a girls school in Queens and I wonder if I can get a copy of it for my classroom. Thanks!


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