[Painting of Mozart, narrator speaking:] Mozart’s father had been eminent Austrian musician, who gave up his own career to guide his young son, who’s extraordinary musical gifts were evident at an early age. [painting of Mozart playing piano] By age 6, Wolfgang began touring Europe as a keyboard virtuoso. He didn’t only perform prepared pieces, he could site read unfamiliar pieces placed before him, and even improvise complex compositions on the spot. [portrait of Mozart as child] He had already begun to compose as well, completing his first symphony before he was 9, his first oratorio at 11, and his first opera at 12.

As he traveled from one country to another, young Wolfgang demonstrated an uncanny ability to absorb and customized the qualities of the music he heard, from Italian opera to Mannheim symphonies often improving on his models instantly.

Despite his popularity as a child, [painting of adult Mozart] as an adult Mozart could not find a secure, satisfying position. [painting of Vienna] At age 25 he went to Vienna to seek a career on his own. His years in Vienna were frustrating and disappointing. [painting of Mozart writing music] He could not earn enough money to support himself and his family, squandering what little he had in gambling, and self-indulgence. He became exhausted, then ill. [painting of Mozart playing piano] Mozart did not have wide interests, he knew and cared about little except for music. Most of his compositions were designed to win instant commercial success. He often failed, even at this. But his music remained strangely untouched by the harsh realities of his life. With their combination of child-like purity and technical sophistication his works convey a sense of serenity and joy, of divine order.