Just a Mozart blog

Haydn: What’s the craziest thing you have ever done for a friend?

Gershwin: Which music genre would you associate your hometown (or your favourite place) with?

Salieri: What foreign culture do you find the most interesting?

Vivaldi: What clothing item from the past would you want to bring back?

Verdi: Do you like the country you live in? If not, in what country would you like to live?

Mahler: Do you have any irrational fears?

Shostakovich: Is there an underrated film you think deserves more attention?

Wagner: List three unpopular opinions.

Rossini: List three things that never fail to make you happy.

Liszt: Would you like to be famous? If yes, for what?

Beethoven: List three pet peeves.

Stravinsky: Do you always speak your mind or are you the type of person who prefers to avoid conflict?

Brahms: Is there anything you are obsessed with?

Mozart: Do you have a favourite childhood memory?

Schubert: If you had to come up with a stage name for yourself, what would it be?

Tchaikovsky: Do you mind if something you like becomes mainstream?

Paganini: Have you ever had a paranormal experience?

Bach: What is the worst way to die, in your opinion?

Chopin: Is there a common misconception people have about you?

Today I had to answer a letter from your brother which cost me a lot of writing, so I can write very little to you … You’ll readily understand that I had to write a very emphatic letter, because he made no lesser suggestion than that I should take his 2 children into my care, since he would like to make a journey through Germany to England … The good honest silhouette maker H[err] Müller had sung Leopoldl’s* praises to your brother, so he found out that the child is with me, which I’d never told him: so this was how the good idea occurred to him or perhaps his wife. that would certainly not be bad, – They could travel in peace, – could die, – – could stay in England, – – then I could run after them with the children etc: as for the payment he’s offering me for the children, for servants and the children etc: – Basta! my excuse is forceful and instructive, if he cares to profit from it.

*Leopoldl: Nannerl’s son

“der Bub heißt Joannes Chrisostomus, Wolfgang, Gottlieb” [Leopold Mozart announcing the birth of his son in a letter to a friend]

Mozart’s names and nicknames.

Mozart was baptized on 28 January 1756, the day after his birth, at St. Rupert’s Cathedral inSalzburg as “Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart”. Mozart’s first two baptismal names, “Joannes Chrysostomus”, represent his saint’s name, following the custom of the Catholic Church. They result from the fact that his birthday, 27 January, was the feast day of St. John Chrysostom. "Chrysostomus" means “golden mouth.” “Wolfgangus” is “Wolfgang”, adapted to the Latin used in the parish register. The composer used “Wolfgang” in German-speaking contexts. “Wolfgang,” which means “wolf’s path,” was the name of the composer’s maternal grandfather. “Theophilus” comes from Greek and is variously rendered as “lover of God” or “loved by God.” “Gottlieb” is its German form, and the familiar “Amadeus” is its Latin form. “Theophilus” was a name of Mozart’s godfather, the merchant Joannes Theophilus Pergmayr.

His family often used short forms of his first name “Wolfgang” such as Woferl, Wolferl, or the nickname Wolfganggangerl (in Salzburgian dialect “gangerl” means “little devil”). There is no evidence that his family used the nickname “Wolfie”. The name “Sigismundus” was added after his Confirmation rites.

Mozart would often adapt his name(s) to foreign languages he spoke: in Italy, he would humorously sign his letters as “Wolfango Amedeo de Mozartini”.

Was Franz Xaver actually Mozart’s son?