Another Composer in the Mozart Family?
Clip: Season 21 Episode 5 | 2m 25sVideo has Closed Captions
Letters between siblings Wolfgang and Maria Anna Mozart suggest she, too, composed music.
Roughly 700 letters written by members of the Mozart family have been preserved. Siblings Wolfgang and Maria Anna Mozart kept up regular correspondence while he was touring Europe, but only fragments of a handful written by Maria Anna still exist today. In at least one letter, Wolfgang praises his sister’s musical compositions — but written copies have never been found.
SECRETS OF THE DEAD is made possible, in part, by public television viewers.
Another Composer in the Mozart Family?
Clip: Season 21 Episode 5 | 2m 25sVideo has Closed Captions
Roughly 700 letters written by members of the Mozart family have been preserved. Siblings Wolfgang and Maria Anna Mozart kept up regular correspondence while he was touring Europe, but only fragments of a handful written by Maria Anna still exist today. In at least one letter, Wolfgang praises his sister’s musical compositions — but written copies have never been found.
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipOf the more than 700 handwritten Mozart family letters that have been preserved, just fragments of a handful of her letters remain.
Letter writing was expensive, so they used as little paper as possible.
Some of Maria Annas letters survived because she wrote on the bottom of a letter Wolfgang began, or vice versa.
The letters also revea that Maria Anna was writing her own music during this time.
One time they speak of a song, and one time the letters speak of a minuet where she did the bass line and did it very well.
Theres a particular letter where Wolfgang praises her composition, and begs her to compose more.
“You should compose more often.” Maria Anna sent her composition to her brother in Rome.
But there's no record of wher the document may have gone next.
Her composition could be sitting unknown in a private collection or archive.
It's, its really heartbreaking we don't have the composition.
We don't know what happened to it.
Perhaps it is somewhere, but it seems unlikely that this would be the only thing she would have composed.
It was probably the best thing she thought at the moment to show to him.
I'm sure she composed many things before she sent that one.
Clues in Maria Anna Mozart's Childhood Notebook
Video has Closed Captions
Is there evidence Maria Anna Mozart composed music recorded in her childhood notebook? (1m 30s)
Video has Closed Captions
Learn the untold story of Maria Anna Mozart, Wolfgang’s older sister and collaborator. (32s)
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorship
SECRETS OF THE DEAD is made possible, in part, by public television viewers.