FAMOUS COMPOSERS:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

MOZART BIOGRAPHY HISTORY LESSON

Directions:

Print the Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart reading comprehension passage and questions (see below).

Students should read the passage silently, then answer the questions.  Teachers may also use the text as part of a classroom lesson plan.

Lesson Excerpt

It can be said that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a child genius. He was born in Salzburg, Austria in 1756 and soon earned the nickname “wunderkind” (wonder child). Mozart learned to play keyboards when he was just three years old, and he was composing music for the piano by the age of five. He wrote his first full symphony when he was nine years old, and he was only twelve when he completed his first full opera!

Mozart was born into a musical family. His father Leopold was a composer and violin teacher. Wolfgang never went to school. Instead, his father tutored him at home. Not surprisingly, Wolfgang's favorite subjects were math and music. As a child, Mozart had great respect for his father, who soon realized that his son was a musical genius. Mozart's father proudly encouraged young Wolfgang to perform in public when he was just a small boy. Wolfgang traveled all over Europe performing with his father. In fact, he spent much of his childhood on the road. He became well known as a child performer, and was even somewhat of a spectacle because he was performing and composing at such a young age.

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