January 27th is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s birthday. This year he would have turned 257 years old. He was born in Salzburg, Austria to Leopold and Anna Marie Mozart. A child prodigy, in his lifetime Mozart composed over 600 musical pieces and is well-known for his symphonies, concertos and operas. Today his music remains popular among classical music aficionados, and some of his pieces have been adapted to modern music. Each interprets in his own way the music of heaven.

Mozart learned to play the piano at the age of three, while looking on as his seven-year-old sister Nannerl was given piano lessons by their father Leopold. Leopold himself was a successful composer, violinist and assistant concertmaster to the aristocracy in Salzburg. When Wolfgang was four Leopold started giving him formal piano lessons. At age five Wolfgang started composing his own pieces, and at six was performing in public.

Leopold, a seasoned teacher, made learning fun for Wolfgang and Nannerl. Besides music he taught them languages and academic subjects. Mozart also learned to play the violin and clavinet. Music produces a kind of pleasure which human nature cannot do without. – Confucius