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| Cue theme music! |
And now we're going to head back a few centuries to take a look at a woman who history has kind of let fall to the side and be overshadowed unnecessarily. So we're going back to the 1700's to look at Mozart. No, not Wolfgang, the OTHER Mozart. His older sister Maria Ana Mozart
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| She didn't have quite as epic a name but she was still quite awesome! |
Born in 1751 Maria, like her more famous brother was musical prodigy. Her father, a court musician began her instruction at the age of 8 and she became and accomplished pianist in an incredibly short amount of time. She proved so dextrous and skilled that as a young girl she played all across Europe and was hailed as a genius in the 1760's.
You may wonder why you so rarely even here that Mozart had a sister and to understand that, we've got to examine both her father and her relationship to her brother.
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| Only the Jackson 5 would top them for awkwardness |
Anna Maria (nicknamed Nannerl) was 5 years older than her brother and the two apparently led a fairly charmed childhood. Much of what we know is based on letters and correspondence at the time but it seems the two were quite fond of each other. Both the young musical prodigies were encouraged by their father Leopold, to play and he arranged shows for them all over Europe. Both were able to break down just about any composition they heard into notes and play the most difficult pieces with frightening ease. By all accounts they were equally skilled.
Heck, Mozart himself may have actually felt his sister the better player. Some scholars debate but there seems to be evidence that Mozart believed his sister to be one of the best pianists in Europe even at the age of 12. In fact, she's likely the reason we even have Mozart as we know him at all, because seeing her play when he was a toddler was likely one of the things that drove his early interest in the musical arts. Again, there is debate about how much influence she had on her baby brother's musical accomplishments but I for one maintain that if nothing else, she'd probably have been assisting and filtering her father's instruction to her brother and would have helped him understand what he was doing. All of this concerned one may wonder why it's so rare she's heard about...
Yeah, the answer is as obvious as you think. See their father Leopold was kind of jerk! Controlling and demanding his children had markedly different attitudes toward dealing with him. According to the correspondence that remain between the two, Around the age of 16, when Nannerl was getting to marrying age young Mozart announced that a piece he'd performed and had received well had been composed by his siter. Their father was outraged. Women simply didn't become composers in this era and he set his sights on marrying Maria off and devoting his time and energy to his second child and only son.
That's right folks. One misogynist dickweed deprived us of what could have been the greatest duo of the 18th century. Nannerl was forced to stay home and teach wealthy children piano to finance her younger brother's growing popularity and success during his tours and forbid her to study new instruments or composition. She would find and lose her love of music multiple times throughout life but could never fully escape the controlling influence of her father. Imagine the collaborations the two could have done had their father not sabotaged his daughter's growth? Imagine how they could have pushed each other.
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| Possibly his sister's biggest fan and most pissed off that you haven't heard of her |
None were more incensed by their father's betrayal than Mozart himself. Apparently, he tried but failed to convince his sister to defy their father as he famously did and he wa the greastest proponent of her music and playing for a long time but the time nad distance slowly cooled their affection for one another. Anna Maria Mozart would contiue to support herself with her musical skills, providing lessons in piano for the rest of her life
The summation here is that Anna Maria Mozart brings up a dark and often overlooked area of historical scholarship. How many great women do we not know about because they lived in a period when their accomplishments wouldn't be celebrated SPECIFICALLY because they were women? How many master musicians, artists, thinkers, scientists etc, have gone unnoticed because they weren't walking around with the societally approved tackle? Heck, are there some of Wolfgang's works that we attribute to him that are actually his sister's secret compositions? We may never know. But musical genius ran thick in the Mozart family and it seems unfair not to acknowledge that lightning not only struck twice, but that the Mozart we know and celebrate was actually the second striking!
Tomorrow, we got back to the entertainment world with someone who made us laugh ourselves silly. Until next time.
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