Wikipedia:Today's featured article/March 11, 2009



The Mozart family grand tour was a 1763–1766 journey around the capitals and other major cities of western Europe, undertaken by Leopold Mozart, his wife Anna Maria, and their musically gifted children, Maria Anna and Wolfgang Amadeus. Leopold was a court musician to the Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg, and by 1763 held the post of deputy Kapellmeister. He obtained a protracted leave of absence so that the precocious talents of his children, then aged eleven and seven respectively, could be demonstrated to the wider world. The social and pecuniary opportunities that might accrue from a prolonged trip, taking in the major European courts, complemented what Leopold saw as his duty, as a Catholic and a German, to display the talents of his miraculous children. The grand tour itinerary took the family, via Munich and Frankfurt, to Brussels. From there they travelled to Paris and then London. In London Wolfgang made the acquaintance of some of the leading musicians of the day, heard much music, and composed his first symphonies. The family moved on to Holland, where the schedule of performances was interrupted by the illnesses of both children, but Wolfgang continued to compose prolifically. (more...)

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