Requiem

Mozart received the commission to compose the Requiem sometime between July 12 and August 25, 1791. At the time, he was engaged in writing two major operas, Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute) and La clemenza di Tito. There is no indication that he began work on the Requiem until mid-­September, after returning from Prague, where La clemenza di Tito had just premiered. The Magic Flute followed soon after, premiering on September 30. When Mozart became gravely ill in late November, the Requiem remained unfinished, and he died before completing it. After his death, his widow Constanze, eager to secure the remainder of the commission, first asked Mozart’s student Joseph Leopold Eybler to continue the work. Eybler became overwhelmed and withdrew. Another student, Franz Xaver Süssmayr, then completed the score.