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Article: Mozart's Vienna.
- Article from:
- Calliope
- Article date:
- April 1, 2003
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2003 Carus Publishing Co. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart moved to Vienna on March 16, 1781. Not quite two months later, he sat down and wrote with optimism: "My happiness begins today." The composer was young and ambitious, and one of the greatest cities of Europe lay before him. What was this city like, and why was Mozart attracted to it?
Perhaps even more then than now, Vienna sparkled with cultural attractions and political life. It was a capital city in more ways than one. Joseph II, the Habsburg emperor of Austria, ruled his countrymen from Vienna and presided over a mature but lively music scene there.
An appreciation for music seemed to run in the ruling Habsburg family. Emperor ...