Mongolia – 2006 – 500 Togrog – 250th Birthday Mozart Silver (PROOF)

Description

Johannes Chrysostomos Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart was born in Salzburg on January 27, 1756. His family called
him ?Wolferl?; later, he would call himself Wolfgang Amadé (derived from the Latin Amadeus instead of the Greek
Theophilus). His father Leopold had already begun organising the first performances of the young piano virtuoso in 1761.
The family spent the following years with the child prodigy giving concerts throughout Europe. It was during this period
that Mozart composed his first works, which were printed in Munich in 1766.

In 1770, his performances in Rome also delighted Pope Clemens XIV, who made the young Mozart ?Knight of the Golden
Spur?. The extroverted artist turned to be a genuine workaholic, subsequently producing over 28,000 sheets of music.
626 major works are listed in the ninth edition of the so-called Köchelverzeichnis (KV), the catalogue drawn up by Ludwig
von Köchel (1800-1871). Mozart?s final commissioned composition, the famous Requiem, remained unfinished. The
composer died of fever in Vienna on December 5, 1791: he was barely 35 years old.

As well as its illustrious moments, the artist?s career also had its fair share of low points. A major reason for Mozart?s
posthumous fame lies in the great success of his opera The Magic Flute, which was premiered in the year of his death.
Its musical brilliance aroused the interest of the public and critics in other works by Mozart, of which there are over 20
operas, 40 symphonies, 19 masses as well as various pieces of chamber and piano music.

The popularity of the composer, who certainly knew how to enjoy life, has also remained undiminished throughout the
world in the 2006 Mozart Year. Hence the new opera house in the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar recently opened with
a performance of Mozart?s opera Don Giovanni ? to popular acclaim. The new special issue of a Mongolian coin now
combines this event with the birthday of probably the most famous composer of all times.