Attributed to Giambettino Cignaroli (1706–1770), Mozart in Verona, 1770. Oil on canvas. On loan to the Mozarteum from a private collection. Photo: Christie’s Images / Bridgeman Images.
Mozart’s life reads like a series of miracles, at once defying explanation and inspiring awe. Born in 1756 in Salzburg, Mozart revealed from his early childhood an extraordinary musical ear, astonishing gifts for improvisation, and a precocious fluency in composition. For the next three decades he produced a seemingly inexhaustible flow of melody, shaped with emotional complexity and remarkable speed, until his life was cut tragically short. More than two centuries later, Mozart’s music and story continue to inspire and captivate audiences around the world.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Treasures from the Mozarteum Foundation of Salzburg explores Mozart’s life and career through a remarkable display of iconic objects, many never before seen in the United States. Among them are the clavichord on which he composed his 1791 opera The Magic Flute, his childhood violin, personal and family artifacts, handwritten letters, musical manuscripts, and portraits. Autograph manuscripts and early printed editions of major works from the Morgan’s own distinguished holdings, and those of a notable private collection, illuminate Mozart’s narrative and bring us close to the genius, loves, passions, triumphs, sorrows, and humor of this great composer.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Treasures from the Mozarteum Foundation of Salzburg is organized by the Morgan Library & Museum in collaboration with the Mozart Museums of the International Mozarteum Foundation, Salzburg.
The exhibition is made possible by The Packard Humanities Institute; an anonymous donor, in memory of Melvin R. Seiden; and Brook Berlind; with generous support from the Lucy Ricciardi Family Exhibition Fund; Christopher J. and Julie K. Salmon; Anne and Chris Flowers; the Achelis & Bodman Foundation; and Ayesha Bulchandani.
Hello. I’m Colin B. Bailey, Katharine J. Rayner Director of the Morgan Library and Museum, and I’m delighted to welcome you to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Treasures from the Mozarteum Foundation of Salzburg. This exhibition is a landmark collaboration and the coming together of two great Mozart collections. The International Mozarteum Foundation and the Morgan Library hold precious materials that, together with treasures from the private collection of Christopher Salmon, illuminate every aspect of Mozart’s life. We start with the prodigy's Salzburg beginnings, move to the Vienna masterworks and his family’s posthumous return to Salzburg, where they established the foundations that would culminate in the Mozarteum’s incomparable collections today. Shown together for the first time, objects from these collections allow us to tell the story of Mozart’s life and legacy anew, pairing autograph scores with the letters, portraits, and everyday artifacts that place his music in a vivid, human context.
As you move through the gallery, look for the audio symbols to hear Mozart’s music corresponding to the manuscripts seen in the gallery, and to hear translations of the letters also seen, read by actors Christopher Inman and Carolyn Bost, revealing Mozart’s voice and those of his mother Anna Maria, his sister Nannerl, and his wife Constanze. You will also be hearing, Christopher Salmon, co-curator of the exhibition, and Robinson McClellan, the Morgan’s Mary Flagler Cary department head and the curator of this exhibition.
Thank you for joining us at the Morgan. We hope you enjoy your visit.