CHAPTER 1 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart The Story You Know Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a famous composer Composers are people who write music He was a child prodigy A prodigy is someone with amazing skills or talents Mozart played piano and violin at an early age He started composing at age 5 He performed in front of kings and queens By age 17 he had composed over 600 songs He helped develop classical music Classical music includes symphonies concertos operas and sonatas These are special musical forms Mozart’s work inspired many people His music is played all the time But there’s more to his story 4
Mozart didn’t like trumpets 5
CHAPTER 2 A Musical Miracle Mozart’s birth name is interesting It’s Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart Johannes is like John Wolfgang is a German male name It means wolf’s path It’s the name of Mozart’s grandfather Chrysostomus means golden mouth Theophilus is Greek It means loved by God It’s the name of Mozart’s godfather Mozart preferred Amadeus Amadeus is the Latin form of Theophilus Mozart was born on January 27 1756 January 27 was the feast day of Saint John Chrysostom Saints are holy people Mozart’s first two names were in honor of this saint 6
Mozart was playful He sometimes signed his name as Wolfgangus Amadeus Mozartus 7
