The composer
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...
( , ) went by many different names in his lifetime. This resulted partly from the church traditions of the day, and partly from Mozart being multilingual and freely adapting his name to other languages.
Baptismal record
Mozart was baptized as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart on 28 January 1756, the day after his birth, at
St. Rupert's Cathedral in
Salzburg
Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian) is the List of cities and towns in Austria, fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872.
The town is on the site of the ...
. The baptismal register of the cathedral parish contains the entry shown below, written down in
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
by city chaplain Leopold Lamprecht. A transcription with editorial additions by
Otto Erich Deutsch
Otto Erich Deutsch (5 September 1883 – 23 November 1967) was an Austrian musicologist. He is known for compiling the first comprehensive catalogue of Franz Schubert's compositions, first published in 1951 in English, with a revised edition pub ...
follows.
![Mozart Taufeintrag](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ed/Mozart_Taufeintrag.jpg)
Mozart's father Leopold announced the birth of his son in a letter to the publisher Johann Jakob Lotter with the words "... the boy is called Joannes Chrisostomus, Wolfgang, Gottlieb" ("''der Bub heißt Joannes Chrisostomus, Wolfgang, Gottlieb''" in German). The baptismal names "Joannes" and "Chrysostomus" also have German equivalents, namely "Johann" and "Chrysostomos" (or less frequently, "Chrysostom"). The widely used ''
Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...
'' employs these versions in the heading name for its Mozart article, which parenthesizes the little-used baptismal names: "(Johann Chrysostom) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart."
Here are the details of the various names given on the register:
*Mozart's first two baptismal names, "Joannes Chrysostomus", represent his
saint's name
A saint's name, which is usually also a biblical name, is the name of a saint given to individuals at their baptism or confirmation within the Catholic Church, as well as in certain parts of the Eastern Orthodox Churches, Oriental Orthodox Churches ...
, following the custom of the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
. They result from his birthday, 27 January, being the feast day of St.
John Chrysostom
John Chrysostom (; gr, Ἰωάννης ὁ Χρυσόστομος; 14 September 407) was an important Early Church Father who served as archbishop of Constantinople. He is known for his homilies, preaching and public speaking, his denunciat ...
. The document also records that Mozart was of legitimate birth and gives the names of his parents and his father Leopold's occupation as court musician. The first paragraph indicates that the baptism took place at 10:30 in the morning, and that Mozart had been born at 8:00 the night before. The baptismal name "Joannes Chrysostomus" was in conformance to Catholic custom and was not used by Mozart in everyday life. "
Chrysostomus" means "golden mouth."
*"Wolfgangus" is "
Wolfgang", adapted to the Latin used in the parish register. Mozart used "Wolfgang" in German-speaking contexts. "Wolfgang", which means "walks with wolves", was the name of his maternal grandfather.
*"
Theophilus
Theophilus is a male given name with a range of alternative spellings. Its origin is the Greek word Θεόφιλος from θεός (God) and φιλία (love or affection) can be translated as "Love of God" or "Friend of God", i.e., it is a theoph ...
" comes from Greek and is variously rendered as "lover of God" or "loved by God." "Gottlieb" is its German form, and the familiar "Amadeus" is its Latin form. In later life, Mozart himself would use the Italian and French equivalents, respectively "Amadeo" and "Amadè". "Theophilus" was a name of Mozart's godfather, the merchant Joannes Theophilus Pergmayr, whose presence is recorded in the fourth paragraph.
Later life
Austrian musicologist
Otto Erich Deutsch
Otto Erich Deutsch (5 September 1883 – 23 November 1967) was an Austrian musicologist. He is known for compiling the first comprehensive catalogue of Franz Schubert's compositions, first published in 1951 in English, with a revised edition pub ...
, who studied all available letters and documents about Mozart, arrived at the following conclusion about what he had called himself: "In Italy, from 1770, Mozart called himself 'Wolfgango Amadeo', and from about 1777, 'Wolfgang Amadé'."
The use of multiple language versions of the same name was perhaps common in Mozart's day.
Joseph Haydn
Franz Joseph Haydn ( , ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...
went by "Joseph" (German, English and French), "Josephus" (Latin) and "Giuseppe" (Italian); and
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...
published his works as "Luigi" (Italian) and as "Louis" (French). (This use has persisted in Italy, where it is quite natural to this day to name a street "viale
Giorgio Washington" after the American president, and the like.)
Mozart's preference for "Wolfgang Amadè" can be seen on the wedding contract for his marriage to
Constanze Weber
Maria Constanze Cäcilia Josepha Johanna Aloysia Mozart (née Weber; 5 January 1762 – 6 March 1842) was a trained Austrian singer. She was married twice, first to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; then to Georg Nikolaus von Nissen. She and Mozart had six ...
, dated August 3, 1782, where his signature says "Wolfgang Amade Mozart". In the parish register entry for the marriage, dated August 4, Mozart is referred to as "Herr Wolfgang Adam Mozart", which is a different name but probably a misspelling for "Amadé" (or Amadeus).
Mozart spelled "Amadè" variously in regard to the accent on the final letter. Robert Spaethling, who translated many of Mozart's letters, writes, "
ozartis especially nonchalant in his placement of Italian and French accents: sometime he writes 'chèr papa', at other times 'chér papa,' and even his own name appears variously as 'Amadé', 'Amadè', and plain 'Amade'." As a web search indicates, modern usage also varies among these three alternatives.
Mozart's preference for "Amadè" was not in general respected by others. Frequently, he was called either "Wolfgang Amadeus" or "Wolfgang Gottlieb". Here are examples:
*The day Mozart died, his name was entered in the death records of the Vienna Magistrate as "Wolfgang Amadeus". This is the earliest posthumous source that uses the Latin version of his name. In this time it was common practice to use a latinized form for all death records.
*In a letter dated December 11, 1791, Mozart's widow
Constanze, in severe financial straits, asked to be given a pension by the Emperor (the appeal was ultimately successful). She signed herself "Konstantia Mozart,
née
A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
Weber, widow relict of the late Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart." Imperial officials, replying to her request, used the same name.
*A
benefit concert
A benefit concert or charity concert is a type of musical benefit performance (e.g., concert, show, or gala) featuring musicians, comedians, or other performers that is held for a charitable purpose, often directed at a specific and immediate hu ...
for Mozart's family was held in
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
on December 28, 1791, billed as "Concert in memory of Wolfgang Gottlieb Mozart".
The rise of "Amadeus"
It is possible that the now-standard "Amadeus" originated as a facetious name. He signed some letters in
mock Latin as "Wolfgangus Amadeus Mozartus"; this was certainly no accident as in one letter he did the same to the date of the letter as well: adding
"-us" to the end of each word.. But he never signed any letter as "Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart" himself.
Mozart's only mention as "Wolfgang Amadeus" in an official document made during his lifetime was found in 1998 by Mozart scholar
Michael Lorenz in the registers of the Lower Austrian Governorship, where in May 1787 "Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus" is referred to as having applied for the return of his written surety for his friend . Other uses of "Amadeus", from immediately after Mozart's death in 1791, are given above.
The 19th century saw the gradual victory of "Amadeus" over alternative middle names. The earliest (18th century) biographers of Mozart, such as
Friedrich Schlichtegroll
Adolf Heinrich Friedrich Schlichtegroll (8 December 1765 in Waltershausen – 4 December 1822 in Munich) was a teacher, scholar and the first biographer of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. His brief account of Mozart's life (6000 words) was published in a ...
and
Franz Niemetschek
Franz Xaver Niemetschek ( cz, František Xaver Němeček, links=no; pl, Niemeczek, links=no) (24 July 1766 – 19 March 1849) was a Czech philosopher, teacher and music critic. He wrote the first full-length biography of Wolfgang Amadeus Moz ...
, used "Gottlieb". However, in 1798 the publishing firm of
Breitkopf & Härtel
Breitkopf & Härtel is the world's oldest music publishing house. The firm was founded in 1719 in Leipzig by Bernhard Christoph Breitkopf.
The catalogue currently contains over 1,000 composers, 8,000 works and 15,000 music editions or books on ...
began to issue a (partial) Complete Works edition under the name "Amadeus". The dominance of "Amadeus" began around about 1810; Romanticism, notably in the person of
E. T. A. Hoffmann, "seized upon this name to proclaim its veneration for Mozart". Although various scholars since that time have made use of "Amadè" or "Gottlieb", "Amadeus" remains by far the most familiar term for the general public.
The signature on the autograph scores is commonly (di)Wolfgango Amadeo Mozart
[https://www.themorgan.org/sites/default/files/images/music/pages/115426/115426v_0001.jpg]although sometimes Amadeo Wolfgango Mozart for example on symphony 1 and the Haffner Symphony. The autograph of his 35th (Haffner) symphony is held at the Morgan Library on Madison Ave. at 36th street, New York City. The violin concertos also show this variation, with the autographs of numbers 1 (K. 207) and 3 (K. 216) autographs in Krakow showing "Amadeo Wolfgango" and the remaining, including violin concerto no. 5 (K. 219) held at the U.S.
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
, showing the more common Wolfgango Amadeo.
Facetious names
In the frequently playful letters of his youth Mozart would sometimes spell his name backwards,
viz.
The abbreviation ''viz.'' (or ''viz'' without a full stop) is short for the Latin , which itself is a contraction of the Latin phrase ''videre licet'', meaning "it is permitted to see". It is used as a synonym for "namely", "that is to say", "to ...
, "Mozart Wolfgang" or "Trazom". See above for the possible origin of "Amadeus" as facetious.
Notes
Sources
*
*
Further reading
*
Anderson, Emily (1938) ''The Letters of Mozart and His Family''. Currently in print with Palgrave Macmillan (1989)
*
*
Deutsch, Otto Erich (1965) ''Mozart: A Documentary Biography''. English translation by
Eric Blom
Eric Walter Blom (20 August 188811 April 1959) was a Swiss-born British-naturalised music lexicographer, music critic and writer. He is best known as the editor of the 5th edition of ''Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' (1954).
Biogr ...
,
Peter Branscombe
Peter John Branscombe (7 December 1929 in Sittingbourne, Kent – 31 December 2008 in St Andrews, Scotland) was an English academic in German studies, a musicologist, and a writer on Austrian cultural history.
Career
Branscombe attended Dulwich ...
, and Jeremy Noble. Stanford, California: Stanford University Press. This work contains English translations of all of the documents cited above.
*''
The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians
''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...
'', online edition, article "Mozart". Copyright 2008, Oxford University Press.
*
Solomon, Maynard
Maynard Elliott Solomon (January 5, 1930 – September 28, 2020) was an American music executive and musicologist, a co-founder of Vanguard Records as well as a music producer."Maynard Solomon" in ''Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians'', v ...
(1996) ''Mozart: A Life''. Harper Perennial.
{{Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Name
A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. The entity identified by a name is called its referent. A personal ...
Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...
Language comparison