Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) was the genius Austrian composer who had the most influence on European classical music. His works are considered pinnacles in the fields of piano, chamber, symphonic, religious and opera music. Mozart’s music also influenced many famous later artists.

The special thing is that his talent started very early when he was only 13 years old when composing. However, many music experts today are questioning whether Mozart’s works were composed by him alone or in collaboration with his little-known sister, Maria Anna Mozart (1751-1829). .

Maria Anna Mozart (1751-1829)

Another prodigy

Maria Anna, also known as Marianne or Nannerl, was also a musical prodigy similar to her younger brother Mozart. When she was only 7 years old, her father Leopold Mozart taught her about music.

As children, both Marianne and Mozart were taken by Mr. Leopold to many European cities to play the piano and participate in competitions to show off their talents. At that time, Marianne’s talent was widely known as a prodigy, as well as recognized by the European music community.

There is still no definitive evidence that Marianne is better than Mozart because she is a few years older and of course plays better music. However, Marianne clearly won a number of music competitions involving Mozart and also had a strong talent for composing.

However, when she turned 18, the age to get married at that time, Marianne was no longer allowed to go on tour with her younger brother by her father due to the culture of that time. Since 1769, Marianne was forced to stay at home with her mother while her father Leopold and younger brother Mozart continued to tour in many cities in Europe.

Regardless, Marianne still had a passion for music and continued to compose many tunes. These works were sent to Mr. Leopold and his younger brother Mozart.

While Mozart extremely supported his sister in continuing to pursue composition, her father Leopols was not very enthusiastic about this. At one performance, Mozart even declared that the music he played was composed by his sister and this made Mr. Leopold unhappy.

According to him, a woman like Marianne has a duty to get married and not pursue a musical career because a woman cannot become a musician according to the culture of that time. Since then, Mr. Leopold forbade Marianne from composing music and refused to teach her violin and harmonica.

Currently, there are not many manuscripts and letters about Marianne left and not many experts can prove that this sister played a big role in Mozart’s works. However, research by Professor Martin Javis shows that Mozart’s younger brother used music composed by Marianne himself to learn piano.

Mozart’s family (center), including father Leopold and sister Marianne

This could be an important starting point to prove the hypothesis that Marianne contributed to creating many songs signed by her younger brother, who is 5 years younger than her.

In the 18th century, it was against the culture and not highly appreciated by the community for a girl like Marianne to compose music. Therefore, many experts believe that she did not sign her pen name on many of her compositions, or cooperate with Mozart to produce music, and may even have borrowed her younger brother’s pen name.

The sister’s sacrifice

When Mozart was just a baby, he idolized his older sister. Research documents show that Mozart was deeply impressed at the age of 3 when he saw his father Leopold teach Marianne music and wanted to become talented like his sister.

From a young age, her father Leopold himself had to admit that Marianne was one of the best musical prodigies in Europe with innate musical skills. Meanwhile, Mozart also declared that no one could play his music as well as his sister.

From childhood to adulthood, the two Mozart sisters were quite close to each other. Even when he was famous, his younger brother Mozart still regularly sent his sister his works for reference and performance at aristocratic gatherings.

The Mozart sisters

However, like many other women at that time, Marianne’s talent was stunted by society. The fact that a woman composed music at that time was unacceptable according to 18th century culture. In addition, Mozart’s family was not aristocratic or wealthy, but just middle class.

Meanwhile, father Leopold wanted to devote himself to Mozart’s career by borrowing money to organize tours. The inevitable consequence was that Mozart’s family encountered financial difficulties and his older sister Marianne was forced to step in to save her younger brother’s career on her father’s orders.

Initially, Marianne loved Franz D’ippoid, an officer and private teacher, but this love was vetoed by her father because Franz had no financial strength. Instead, Marianne was forced to marry Johann Sonnenburg (1783-1801), a wealthy nobleman who had two wives and five children.

Contrary to her younger brother Mozart, who was willing to go against his father to pursue his own style of writing, Marianne is a gentle woman who knows how to be patient for her family. She agreed to marry Sonnenburg to help relieve some of the family’s financial burden from her father and younger brother’s tours.

According to many experts, Leopold’s decision was in line with the culture of the time because, unlike men, women at that time were not allowed to collect money for performing music. Charging money when women performed music in 18th century aristocratic circles was considered no different from being a prostitute. Therefore, it was impossible for Marianne to pursue a musical career and help her family.

After her husband died in 1801, Marianne returned to her hometown and worked as a music teacher. She also contributed greatly to compiling biographical books about Mozart after his death.

In the last years of her life, Marianne was blind in both eyes and despite having a huge fortune, she had to live in loneliness without anyone sharing her passion for music and recognizing her talent.