The Mozart Siblings

Here you will find a selection of articles I wrote about Mozart and especially his sister, Nannerl.

What Ever Happened to Mozart’s sister?

This is the story of a little girl born in Austria in 1751 who was a musical genius. Her father, a gifted violinist and composer, was a very strict and fervent Catholic, while her housewife mother was a cheerful and happy soul. Music came as naturally to this little girl as breathing and nothing gave her greater enjoyment than making music…

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A Special Rapport between Brother and Sister

When they were children, Wolfgang and Maria Anna “Nannerl” Mozart were a successful duo, a pair of enfants prodiges who shared exhilarating experiences — such as performing for the kings of Europe — and dramatic ones — such as illnesses that took both of them to the brink of death.

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Was Nannerl as Great a Genius as Mozart himself?

There will never be a definitive answer to this question. Those of Mozart’s biographers who mention his sister Nannerl, generally take it for granted that she was a good player, but would absolutely not have been able to compose. I wonder how one can claim to judge a talent that never had the possibility of expressing itself.

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Mozart’s Sister and Shakespeare’s Sister

Virginia Woolf wrote her famous essay A Room of One’s Own in 1928/1929, reworking ideas from two lectures she had given to her students at Cambridge on the subject of women and literature. One of the most interesting aspects for me was the part about William Shakespeare’s imaginary sister-poetess.

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Mozart’s Murder: Look for the Guilty Woman

As we all know, there is nothing concrete to explain Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s early death (in 1791), and so, over the centuries, speculation has mounted. Some time ago, streptococcus was mentioned, for the first time I think; other hypotheses include nephritis, mercury poisoning and syphilis.

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