Tony Nguyen MUS302L Tuesday 7-8

Extra Credit Paper In a time where inequality for women was at an existence, Maria Anna Nannerl Mozart, the other Mozart, was also a very talented keyboard virtuoso within the Mozart family. She was born on July 30, 1751 in Salzburg to Leopold Mozart and Anna Maria Pertlin. Her father was a well-known violinist who taught under the court and was also well known for his violin virtuosos. At a young age Nannerl showed a great interest in the works of music. Her father would give her music lessons when she was about seven, and at the age of ten, her and her brother, Mozart, would go on about their first professional tour. Mozart, her younger brother by four years, took most of the recognition because he was so extraordinary and talented. Mozart was a considered a musical genius and would pick up lessons much faster than Nannerl would. He would look up to her when he was young but soon would surpass what she could do. He fully learned how to play the piano at a very, very young age, and he composed his first short piece when he was four. When they perform together for King George III, the two would collect an enormous amount of praise. Everyone was so impressed at the two young virtuosos playing at a mastery level, but they were even more astounded with young Mozart.

Throughout her whole career touring with her younger brother, Mozart would always cast a shadow over her. He would receive an exponential amount of praise than she would have but that did not trouble her. Most female composers of the preceding would have been overlooked, but since she would affiliated with her brother, it gave her a chance to stand out more than any other female composer at the time, and because of that, she was very proud of her brothers achievements. During her timeline, there was a time when her mother died and she was forced to move back home to take care of the house. She was very good at what she does and earned a sufficient amount of money to make it through. Throughout her life, she would help out her younger brother a lot even if her hands were tied with other tasks. After the death of her mother, the amount of work around the house doubled. When she turned seventeen, Nannerls touring career cease to an end because she was at a marriageable age. Nannerl was an appealing and eye-catching girl when she was young. It was said that she had many suitors that offered to take her hand in marriage. She fell in love with a tutor but her father would not allow it. She would then marry and become a teacher just like her father. Unlike her brother, Mozart, who married who married a woman of his pleasing, Nannerl was very obedient of her fathers wishes and would comply to most of what he said; even whom she may marry. Leaving her musical career behind, Nannerl married Johann Baptist, a 47-year-old counselor from Sonnenberg. She bore three of his children and took care of his five other children before he married her. I think the most important aspect of Nannerls biography would be the fact that she was a women composer in that era. I can imagine how hard it was for her to be

accepted and taken seriously among her peers. Even though she was just as musically gifted as Mozart was, she did not gain as much exposure as he did simply because she was a women. At a very young age, she was forced to conform to what society wants by cutting her career short and going through marriage. I feel that if she had the same opportunity as her brother did when they were touring together, she might have had a chance of considered being great. I dont think she was considered a genius then because her brother overshadowed her most of the time they were together and because society would not allow it; one of the main reasons why castrato opera singers were of male talent. People acknowledged that she could play the most difficult pieces and was very talented in what she does, but as soon as a man can do the same thing, she would be replaced with no questions asked. She was not considered a genius because her work was just considered hard work. Unlike her brother, who was capable of composing symphonies within his head, she is talented because she works at it. A genius is someone who displays of unprecedented insight on originality, creativity, and intellectuality. I dont remember reading or researching about much of that. In hindsight, I dont think she can be considered a genius because she was overshadowed by her gifted and talented younger male brother her whole entire life. In general, we would never be able to know how far Nannerl could have taken her skills to as a musician because it was cut short, and because of that, she would not be able to be considered a genius. There would be no definitive answer to whether she was as great as she was told to be.