On 27 May 1784, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart bought a pet starling bird at a Viennese pet shop. Normally historians and musicologists don’t pay much attention to composers’ pets, but this starling wasn’t your average pet. Because when Mozart recorded the

Today I accidentally stumbled over another rarity from the vault of unusual and singular instruments! The instrument in question—variously called “Tangent piano” in English, “Tangentenflügel” in German, “cembalo angelico” in Italian, and “clavecin harmonieux et celeste” in French—sounds like a

It was advertised as the musical discovery of the century! In 1933, the Hungarian violinist Jelly d’Aranyi stepped onto the London stage and performed a preciously unknown violin concerto by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. That concerto had been published in 1933

Growing up a musical genius can be very dangerous! When Leopold Mozart realized that his son Wolfgang had a unique talent, he saw a great opportunity to make money. Shuffling his son and daughter around the courts and musical centers

Teaching was part of Mozart’s life-style, and we have reports that it was not uncommon for him to offer instruction while playing billiards or at the bowling alley. Vocal and instrumental instruction was not treated as an isolated phenomenon but

One of the great joys of music from the Classical period is what other composers did with it. It was very common, even up through the 19th century, to take a theme from one composer’s work and do variation sets

Full of optimism, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart arrived in Vienna in 1781 ready to make his mark on the Viennese musical scene. By sheer coincidence he was introduced to the Baroness Martha Elisabeth von Waldstädten. She was thirty-seven at that time

Wolfie Mozart loved his little violin and hated trumpets! At least that’s what Andreas Schachtner tells us in a series of letters written to Constanze after the composer’s death.