Genius and insanity often go hand-in-hand, so it should come as no surprise Mozart, the paramount musical genius of the western world, was kinda off his rocker. An eccentric man known in modern times for lunacy (thanks in part to the film Amadeus, in which he’s portrayed as a complete nutcase bestowed with inimitable gifts by the god’s of music), Mozart did his fare share of bizarre things.
Weird things Mozart did run the gamut from telling jokes befitting a 7-year-old while writing some of the most sophisticated symphonies of all time to asking his wife not to bathe because the dangers of it made him anxious. As told anecdotes or letters written by his own hand, evidence of Mozart eccentricities may have you wondering exactly what was going on his head as he guffawed over fart jokes while writing The Magic Flute.
Whether you’ve just come off three overwhelming hours of watching the director’s cut of Amadeus on Netflix or are a classical music fan looking to get a kick out of some funny things Mozart did, you’re in the right place. Read on for a list of weird Mozart stories, and to discover some of the most outlandish aspects of this world-renown composer’s life.
Possessed with Superhuman Musical Gifts, He Began Composing at Age 5
Photo: Anonymous / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
Mozart’s musical genius is so staggering it would be unbelievable were it not true. His ability to perform and compose complex pieces of music at an age at which most children struggle to read chapter books boggles the mind, and is frankly bizarre.
Mozart started learning music from his sister’s lesson book when he was three years old, and could play minuets by the age of four. He composed his first music at age five and, encouraged by his father, Leopold, was performing internationally by the age of six. According to eyewitnesses, he could improvise astoundingly well at the same age, playing his own material for hours on end. As a teenager, Mozart could listen to a single performance of a piece and write down the music from memory. The kicker? Half of the symphonies he wrote were composed between the ages 8 and 19.
Phil Grabsky, director of the documentary In Search of Mozart, sees the composer’s preternatural gifts in a different light. Of Mozart, Grabsky said:
What the characters we sometimes call geniuses have in common is drive and determination, often good parenting, and the fact that they are products of the social conditions of their time. All of this was true for Mozart. His talent wasn’t simply a gift from God, it was the result of tremendously hard work.
Goethe Saw Mozart Perform At Age 7, And Compared His Genius To Shakespeare’s
Photo: Georg Oswald May / Public Domain
In 1763, seminal German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (pictured above) saw Mozart in concert in Frankfurt. Mozart was 7, Goethe 14. Much later in life, Goethe addressed the subject of genius, defining it as the ability to consistently produce works that “have consequences and lasting life,” adding “all the works of Mozart are of this sort.” He compared Mozart’s genius to that of William Shakespeare and Italian Renaissance artist Raphael, describing it as “unreal.”
Goethe wasn’t the only historical luminary taken with Mozart’s gifts. Austrian composer Joseph Haydn, who was 24 years Mozart’s senior and a tutor to both him and Beethoven, told Mozart’s father, “before God and as an honest man,” Wolfgang was the “greatest composer” he’d ever encountered, either in person or through published music.
His Father Was Also an Eccentric, and Their Relationship Was Bizarre and Extreme
Photo: Artist Unknown / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
Mozart’s father, Leopold, was a monstrous man, though debate exists in scholarly circles whether he exploited and manipulated his son, or whether his overbearing drive and insistence upon success made Mozart who he was, for better or worse. Maybe the truth is a little bit of both.
Like trophy kids of today, Mozart lived with constant pressure to succeed placed upon by his father, himself a musician. Leopold quit his job so he and Mozart could embark on lengthy, grueling tours, the profits from which he pocketed. While these tours took their toll on Mozart, and contributed to his eccentricities, scholar Ruth Halliwell argues they also made him who he was, as did Leopold’s recognition that his son’s musical gifts far eclipsed his own and, therefore, that Mozart should receive the best musical education possible.
As Mozart gew up, Leopold vociferously opposed his marriage and routinely shamed him for his spendthrift ways. When Mozart finally broke away, his father wrote a manipulative letter: “Your whole intent is to ruin me so you can build your castles in the air.” Leopold also tried to guilt his son into not severing ties with him by blaming him for the death of his mother, who passed away on a visit to Paris with her son. “I hope that, after your mother had to die in Paris already, you will not burden your conscience by expediting the death of your father.”
He Proposed to a Woman, Then Told Her to Lick His Butt and Married Her Sister
Photo: Artist Unknown / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
At 21, Mozart met German opera singer Aloysia Weber and her three sisters on a trip to Mannheim. Weber was 16 and seductive, a stunning soprano. Shortly after meeting her, Mozart proposed, though could offer relatively little; he was unemployed, struggling to find a position in Mannheim. She told him she would consider the proposal. In the meantime, Mozart traveled to Paris, hoping to find a job.
He saw Aloysia again after leaving Paris, on a visit to Munich. She pretended not to know him (or maybe even actually forgot him), and was pregnant and married to a tall, handsome actor. Infuriated, Mozart sat down at a nearby piano and belted out a spiteful tune, allegedly containing the lyric “The one who doesn’t want me can lick my butt.”
Yet all’s well that ends well. Mozart married Aloysia’s younger sister, Constanze, who was 14 or 15 when he first met her (dirty dog, Wolfgang). He also wrote a number of pieces for Aloysia to perform.
He Loved Vulgarity and Wrote His Cousin a Letter That Reads Like Juvenille Marquis de Sade
Mozart’s love of vulgarity appears frequently in writing. Take, for example, a letter sent to his 19-year-old cousin, Maria Anna, who he purportedly had a crush on. The first sentence contains four child-like rhyming pairs: “writing biting,” “aunt slant,” uncle garfuncle,” and “well mell.” He repeats this pattern throughout the letter, sometimes to make a point (“God fraud”), sometimes nonsensically (“stroke choke”).
Halfway through his missive, Mozart includes the phrase “Oh, my ass burns like fire!” He wonders whether he has to take a dump (which he can apparently taste in the air), then reports on “a long and melancholic sound” trumpeted by his ass. Two paragraphs later, he returns to this subject, writing:
I hear a noise in the street. I stop writing—get up, go to the window—and—the noise is gone—I sit down again, start writing once more—I have barely written ten words when I hear the noise again—I rise—but as I rise, I can still hear something but very faint—it smells like something burning—wherever I go it stinks, when I look out the window, the smell goes away, when I turn my head back to the room, the smell comes back—finally My Mama says to me: I bet you let one go?
But that’s not all. While he signs off with a poem and offers his cousin 10,000 kisses, he also writes: “Oui, by the love of my skin, I shit on your nose, so it runs down your chin. apropós. do you also have the spuni cuni fait?—what?—whether you still love me?”
He Was Literally Kicked Out Of A Palace for Refusing to Act Like a Servant
Most musicians of Mozart’s time were employed by royalty or nobles, and Mozart was no exception. He was the court organist for Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg Hieronymus von Colloredo when his opera Idomeneo premiered to great acclaim. However, musicians and artists of the era were typically treated like servants – they were trotted out to perform, then took their dinner in the kitchen with the rest of the serving class.
Mozart’s refusal to behave like a servant was progressive for the era, but also indicative of the composer’s ego and bizarre, almost overwhelmingly stubborn state of mind. He unilaterally decided some of the concerts Von Colloredo had him perform were not included in the terms of their arangement, and therefore demanded separate payment for them (which he didn’t get). At one high society function, Mozart, who, like all servants, was not meant to mingle with noble guests, caused a scandal by brazenly striking up a conversation with a Russian ambassador he knew.
Mozart’s refusal to apologize for his transgressions, even after his father went to great lengths to smooth everything over with the Prince-Archbishop, resulted in him literally being kicked out of Von Colloredo’s house, along with all his possessions.
He Had Bizarre Obsessions Surrounding His Wife, Such As His Fear of Her Dying in the Bath
Anecdotal evidence indicates Mozart was a classic obsessive-compulsive who fixated on objects, thoughts, and the repetition of certain ideas. In letters to his wife, he expresses an irrational fear of her leaving the home, so much so you have to wonder whether he would’ve been better off marrying an agoraphobic. Messages like “Never go out walking alone, it terrifies me” and “Please do not go to the casino today” were sent frequently.
There’s also cause to believe he was afraid of her drowning in the bath. One note said: “I entreat you to take the bath only every other day, and only for an hour. But if you want me to feel quite easy on my mind, do not take them at all, until I am with you again.” Either that or he was into dirtiness. Or filthiness. Filthy little Mozart.
His Strange Behavior May Have Been the Result of Severe Tourette’s Syndrome
Mozart has been depicted in popular culture as a quirky-but-lovable a man who occasionally engaged in childlike or irresponsible behavior. In reality, Mozart’s behavior suggests he had coprolalia, or the involuntary utterance of obscene words. His brother-in-law, Joseph Lange (the guy who knocked up Aloysia), stated: “Never was Mozart less recognisably a great man in his conversation and actions, than when he was busied with an important work…he took delight in throwing into sharp contrast the divine ideas of his music (with) these sudden outbursts of vulgar platitudes.”
Other relatives describe his hyperactive behavior, frequent facial tics, and obsessive-compulsive tendencies: “he often used to touch his napkin to his lips, make grimaces, tap his hands or feet on objects, or play with hats, pockets, tables and chairs seemingly playing clavier.” Mozart’s inappropriate joking and rhyming and lack of foresight indicate issues with impulse control. All of these symptoms add up to a textbook case of Tourette’s Syndrome.
As A Child, He Constantly Sought Affection And Frequently Cried From Loneliness
As Peter Gay points out in Mozart: A Life, Wolfgang was a needy child who constantly sought affection. When he was six, Mozart “jumped into the Hapsburg empresses’s lap, put his arms around her neck, and earnestly kissed her, apparently hoping for a like response.”
While on tour with his father, Mozart would sometimes wake up crying, and list all of the people he missed from home. He also had a habbit of asking adults whether or not they loved him. Because Wolfgang was prone to pranks, adults more often than not assumed this to be a joke, and replied no in jest, causing the boy to “break down and cry.”
He Begged for Money from People Who Knew He Was Rich
Mozart spent most of his adult life attempting to borrow money from friends, patrons, and publishers. He is frequently portrayed in popular culture as having been dirt poor. Ah. the life of a starving artist, dependent upon the morsels of the humble and charitable. As it turns out, this wasn’t quite the truth.
Mozart’s frequent requests for money were made while he raked in a 10,000 Florins a year, an amount that put him in the top five percent of wage earners. The upper class survived on just 450 Florins a year, approximately one twentieth what Mozart earned. He lived lavishly, dressed extravagantly, traveled extensively, drank heavily, and gambled unprecedented sums. Despite his staggering income, Mozart frequently wrote to acquaintances pleading for cash, because he couldn’t stop spending.
His Financial Irresponsibility Was Extreme, But He Was Also Victim to History
Mozart was obscenely irresponsible with money, yet that wouldn’t have been a problem were it not for musical trends and historical circumstances beyond his control. He was an in-demand, very famous composer, but unable to find a royal court appointment after losing his post with the Archbishop. While his attitude certainly didn’t help in this regard, the real bane of Mozart’s existence was the preference for Italian composers like Antonio Salieri, who were all the rage at the time.
To make matters worse, the mid-1780s brought economic challenges for both Austria and Mozart. A war with the Ottoman Empire meant less support for the arts, and Mozart saw his income shrink. Though unable to find a court appointment, Mozart lived like had one. He resided at a fashionable address, dressed extravagantly, sent children to boarding schools, kept servants, and even stabled a horse in the Vienna Woods.
As debts mounted, Mozart moved his family to the suburbs; while in Vienna, he moved nine times in 11 years. Eventually, he borrowed against future earnings, many of which never came, because he died young. After his death in 1791, Mozart’s wife, Constanze, spent years selling his manuscripts and hosting memorial concerts to pay off his debts. She was aided by a survivor’s pension provided by the Austrian government for her to return to relative prosperity.
He Had Basically No Distinguishing Features, Other Than Being Really Short
Mozart didn’t have the distinguishing features of other geniuses, such as Beethoven’s intense brow, philosopher Spinoza’s wide dark eyes, or Einstein’s shock of untamed hair. Rather, he was very plain. One associate described him as “a remarkably small man, very thin and pale, with a profusion of fine, fair hair of which he was rather vain.”
An early biographer added, “there was nothing special about [his] physique. He was small and his countenance, except for his eyes, gave no signs of his genius.” His facial complexion was pitted, a reminder of his childhood case of smallpox.
Mozart compensated for his average appearance with his fashion choices, often wearing a bright crimson coat and golden cocked hat for his performances. Think of him as the Prince of the Classical era.
His Sister Thought He Was an Impulsive Child Until the Day He Died
Mozart had six siblings. Only one, Maria Anna, survived to adulthood. Five years older than her brother, Maria Anna was also a musician, and performed at a young age with her brother. Once she reached her late teens, Leopold forbid Maria Anna from playing music publicly, thinking it inappropriate and unladylike. Of her brother, she wrote:
This same being who, considered as an artist, had reached the highest stage of development even from his very earliest years, remained to the end of his life completely childish in every other aspect of existence. Never, until he died, did he learn to exercise the most elementary forms of self‐control.
He Exhibited a Gross Paucity of Intellectual Development and Social Awareness
Photo: Johann Nepomuk della Croce / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
It’s possible Mozart was considered weird in his day due to a complete lack of intellectual or social sophistication. Tutored by his father, he never received formal education. Thus, his intellectual and social capabilities were severely limited during key developmental years. Mozart didn’t connect with children other than his sister. An 18th century Michael Jackson, he spent his childhood performing, dominated by a father driven by ambition.
This strange duality, of being a musical genius but otherwise completely inept, was captured by the comment of one of his contemporaries, violinist Karl Holst, who said: “Outside of his genius as a musical artist, Mozart was a nullity.”
Although it’s impossible to know whether Mozart was OCD, had Tourette’s, or suffered from other mental illnesses, such afflictions could have had an impact on his social skills and the way in which others perceived his intelligence and sophistication.
The Mystery Surrounding His Requiem, Which He Died Before Completing
Photo: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain
In the final weeks of his life, Mozart was approached by an intermediary of Austrian count Franz Von Walsegg, who had the habit of commissioning works and passing them off as his own. The count sought to commission Mozart to compose a requiem for his recently deceased wife. Mozart agreed, and took half the payment for the job up front.
Before finishing the piece, Mozart died of unknown causes (“severe military fever” was listed as cause of death). His wife, Constanze, in need of money, hired composers to secretly finish the piece, so she could receive the second half of the payment from Walsegg. She found herself in the difficult position of needing to keep the authorship of the piece secret form Walsegg, so he would pay her, and also the public, so she could rake in high fees from performances with Mozart’s name attached.
The secrecy surrounding the writing of Mozart’s Requiem has led to many version of the truth, even from biographers who personally interviewed Constanze. According to these interviews, at some point while writing the piece, Mozart realized he was dying, and thus began composing what he considered his own requiem. He apparently fainted numerous times while composing the work, and had it with him in bed when he died. He left notes on how he wanted it finished, though it’s unknown whether or how closely Franz Xaver Süssmayr, who did most of the finishing, followed these notes.
The Many Mysteries of Mozart’s and His Family’s Graves and Remains
Photo: Invisigoth67 / Wikimedia Commons / Creative Commons
Many myths have arisen around the circumstances of Mozart’s death and burial. What actually killed him is still a matter of debate, although a combination of kidney failure brought on by a severe strep throat seems a likely possibility. His wife did not attend his funeral, which has been construed negatively, though at the time, widows were expected to stay at home, mourning their husbands, so this was not unusual. It’s been suggested Constanze was in such a hysterical state after Mozart’s death that she had to be sedated, and was therefore unfit to leave the house. So, even if she wanted to break convention and attend the funeral, she couldn’t have.
Contrary to what Hollywood told us, Mozart was not thrown into a mass grave in a cloth sack on a dark and stormy night. He was buried in what was known as a third class grave, typical of the middle class of the day, on a cold winter night. This meant an individual, dirt grave in a coffin with a small marker permitted.
One aspect of this third class burial is pretty weird in modern times: Mozart’s grave was only guaranteed for 10 years, after which the city had the right to dig it up, dispose of the remains, and recycle the grave. Because that is exactly what happened, the marker in St. Mark’s Cemetery in Vienna denotes an approximate location of Mozart’s original burial, not a grave site.
There are enough irregularities concerning the burial locations, missing remains, and similar such issues with people related or otherwise connected to Mozart that researcher David E Morton, who runs the website Mozart’s Musical TradeMark, compiled a massive list called “Missing and Moved Mozarts and Friends.”
His Skull Might Not Be His Skull and His Relatives Might Not Be Related
Photo: Public Domain
The disappearance of Mozart’s remains resulted in controversy concerning a skull at the Mozarteum, a world-renown music university in Salzburg. The story goes something like this: 50 years after Mozart’s death, a man named Jacob Hyrtl was given a skull by a Viennese gravedigger who claimed it was Mozart’s. This wasn’t unheard of at the time – those in search of a payday or important relic often sought the remains of famous people in graveyards.
When Hyrtl’s died in 1892, his brother, an anatomy professor, found the skull and showed it to associate Ludwig Frankl. Frankl’s description was published with great fanfare and controversy in an article entitled “Mozart’s Skull found!” The skull was exhibited in Mozart’s birthplace in Salzburg, then transferred to the Mozarteum private collection, its veracity remaining controversial.
In 2006, the Mozarteum, determined to settle the controversy, employed DNA experts, who compared material from the skull to mitochondrial DNA from Mozart’s grandmother and niece, exhumed from the family vault in Salzburg. The result: inconclusive. A major problem was that, while the DNA from the skull didn’t match the two relatives, the two relatives didn’t match each other, either.
It’s long been believed the Mozart family graves in Salzburg were invented to attract tourists, the bones currently interred there a ruse. After failing to resolve the controversy, the Mozarteum returned the skull to a private vault. You can see it if you make a request in advance.