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Title: Mozart : The story of a little boy and his sister who gave concerts
Author: Tapper, Thomas
Language: English
As this book started as an ASCII text book there are no pictures available.
*** Start of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Mozart : The story of a little boy and his sister who gave concerts" ***
CHILD'S OWN BOOK
_of Great Musicians_
MOZART
[Illustration]
_By_
THOMAS TAPPER
THEODORE PRESSER CO.
1712 CHESTNUT STREET
·PHILADELPHIA·
[Illustration]
Directions for Binding
Enclosed in this envelope it the cord and the needle with which to bind
this book. Start in from the outside as shown on the diagram here. Pass
the needle and thread through the center of the book, leaving an end
extend outside, then through to the outside, about 2 inches from the
center; then from the outside to inside 2 inches from the center at the
other end of the book, bringing the thread finally again through the
center, and tie the two ends in a knot, one each side of the cord on the
outside.
THEO. PRESSER CO., Pub's., Phila., Pa.
MOZART
The Story of
A Little Boy and His Sister
Who Gave Concerts
This Book was made by
................................................................
Philadelphia
_Theodore Presser Co._
1712 Chestnut Str.
COPYRIGHT, 1915, BY THEODORE PRESSER CO.
Printed in U. S. A.
[Illustration]
................................................................
Born
................................................................
Died
................................................................
MOZART
The composer whom we call WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART was called Wolferl
when he was a little boy.
He had a sister, MARIA ANNA, who was called NANNERL.
Nannerl was five years older than her brother. She had lessons from her
father on a kind of piano called a harpsichord.
Here is a picture of one.
[Illustration: MOZART'S HARPSICHORD.]
When Wolferl was three years old he used to listen to Nannerl's playing.
He always watched and listened when Papa Mozart gave her a harpsichord
lesson.
Little as he was, he would often go to the harpsichord and try to pick
out tunes with his chubby fingers. His father noticed that Wolferl could
remember quite a little of the music that Nannerl was practising.
And here is a picture of Wolferl trying to reach the keys so as to play
the melody of his sister's lesson.
[Illustration: THE INFANT MOZART AT THE PIANO.]
When Wolferl was four years old he began to take lessons.
While he practised no one ever spoke to him because he was so serious
about it. If other children came to play with Nannerl he would make
music for their games and marching; playing in strict time all the
while.
Here is Nannerl's picture when she grew up to be a young lady.
[Illustration: MOZART'S SISTER.]
Father Mozart loved both of his children deeply and often played with
them. The violin was the instrument he liked best and little Mozart had
daily lessons in his home. Here we see him playing while his sister
sings.
[Illustration: A MOZART FAMILY TRIO.]
In this picture we see Papa Mozart, who was a very fine player on the
violin. Wolferl and Nannerl are playing the piano.
[Illustration: MOZART PLAYING WITH HIS FATHER AND SISTER.]
When Wolferl was nearly six his father took him and Nannerl on a concert
tour. Everybody wanted to hear them play and they gave many concerts.
Wolferl spent all his boyhood with his music. He went to many places to
play, even as far from Salzburg, in Austria (where he was born), as to
Paris and London.
Everywhere he went people were happy to see him and his sister and to
hear them play. And they, too, were happy to play because they loved the
music so much.
When they reached Vienna they played for the Emperor and Empress.
When Wolferl was presented to the Empress he jumped up into her lap and
kissed her.
Wolferl was always busy composing music. But he played games and had a
good time just like any other boy. When he was busy with his music,
however, he never let his thoughts go to anything else.
But we must not go too fast, for we want to see how Wolferl is growing
up.
Here is his picture when he was five years old and beside it another
when he was eight years old. Do you see his wig and sword?
[Illustration: MOZART AT FIVE.]
[Illustration: MOZART AT EIGHT.]
Everybody in Paris wanted to hear Wolferl play when they knew that he
had come, so they asked him to read at sight; to play the bass part to a
melody and to accompany a song without seeing the music.
People also took great delight in asking him to play on the harpsichord
with a cloth stretched over the keyboard so that he could not see the
keys.
They all went to London to play for the King. The King wanted to see for
himself how skilful little Mozart was, so he gave him pieces by Bach and
Handel to play at sight. Mozart read them off at once. Here is a fine
picture of the Mozart children when they played for the King and the
Queen.
[Illustration: MOZART AT THE COURT OF THE EMPEROR.]
It must have been very fine for a little boy of seven to play for kings
and queens. But Wolferl was not spoiled by it all. He was just a happy
hearted boy all the time.
He always made it a rule to put his mind on what he was doing and do it
the very best he knew how.
It is just as good a rule now as it was when he was alive.
It is time now that we learned the birthday of Mozart. If we think of it
every year on the 27th of January, it will be easy to remember it.
In what year was he born?
Here is another picture of Mozart in 1766. How old was he then?
(Beethoven was born four years afterward.)
[Illustration: MOZART IN 1766.]
When anyone is always busy at one thing he soon gets a lot done. As
Wolferl grew and kept on writing music all the time he made a great many
pieces. Some were short like a song, others were long like an opera. He
wrote for the piano, the violin and the voice. And he composed operas,
symphonies and ever so many other kinds of music.
Mozart liked to be alone when he was working upon his compositions. He
used to go to a little house on the edge of Vienna and lock himself in.
The people of the city of Salzburg, in Austria, took this house long
after Mozart's death and moved it to a park where all may go to see it,
just as we in America go to see the houses of William Penn, Lincoln and
Washington.
[Illustration: WHERE MOZART COMPOSED.]
Can you remember, without turning back, the year in which Mozart was
born?
Some other great musicians were alive at that time. And during his
lifetime some were born who became great men.
In the year when Mozart was born both Handel and Haydn were living. And
Haydn lived eighteen years after Mozart's death.
You can remember it by these lines:
|1732 The years of Haydn's life 1809|
------------------------------------------------------
|1756 The years of Mozart's life 1791|
--------------------------------------
When Mozart was fourteen years old Beethoven was born. Mozart knew him
and he knew Papa Haydn also, and they were very good friends.
In our own country there lived in Mozart's lifetime Benjamin Franklin
and three Presidents of the United States--George Washington, John Adams
and Thomas Jefferson.
I wonder if Washington ever heard of Mozart?
Perhaps we can best keep all these names together by looking at this
page now and again.
1706 Benjamin Franklin was born.
1732 Washington and Haydn were born.
1736 Patrick Henry was born.
1743 Thomas Jefferson was born.
1750 Bach died.
1756 WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART was born.
1759 Handel died
1770 Beethoven was born.
1771 Walter Scott was born.
1790 Franklin died.
1791 Mozart died.
1809 Joseph Haydn died.
Isn't it fine to think of Mozart writing so much music, so many operas,
symphonies and sonatas; traveling so much, meeting so many people and
never being spoiled by it all.
While he wrote many very great pieces of music, here is something he
composed when he was five years old. He made up the pieces at the piano
and his father wrote them down note for note in a little copy book.
[Illustration]
FACTS ABOUT MOZART.
Read these facts about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and try to write his
story out of them, using your own words. When your story is finished,
ask your mother or your teacher to read it. When you have made it, copy
it on pages 14, 15 and 16.
1. Full name: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
2. Born Jan. 27, 1756; died Dec. 5, 1791.
3. The sister's name was Maria Anna.
4. Maria Anna was five years older than Wolfgang.
5. The pet names of the children were Wolferl and Nannerl.
6. Little Mozart loved to hear his sister play.
7. He started to study when he was four.
8. Mozart went on a concert tour with his sister when he was six years
old.
9. When he was a child he visited many great cities, among them Paris,
London and Vienna.
10. Handel and Haydn were living when Mozart was born.
11. Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Patrick Henry, Thomas
Jefferson and Walter Scott were all alive during the time of Mozart.
12. Mozart was five years old when he wrote his first piece.
SOME QUESTIONS.
1. In what country was Mozart born?
2. In what city was Mozart born?
3. Where did Mozart play before the Emperor and the Empress?
4. Did Mozart play games and have a good time like other boys?
5. Why did people ask Mozart to play upon the harpsichord with a cloth
stretched over the keys?
6. Whose compositions did the King of England ask Mozart to play?
7. What great American patriot was born in the same year as Haydn?
8. Which lived the longer life, Haydn or Mozart?
9. Have you ever heard a piece by Mozart?
10. Was Mozart spoiled by meeting many people?
THE STORY OF MOZART
Written by.....................................
On (date)......................................
Write a short story about Mozart and his sister and copy it on these
pages.
[Illustration: THE BOY MOZART PLAYING.]
Transcriber's Notes
Text in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_)
On page 3, Mozart's sister's name was changed to "MARIA".
*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Mozart : The story of a little boy and his sister who gave concerts" ***
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