Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (January 27, 1756 - December 5, 1791) was born in Austria during the Classical Period of music. He had one older sister, Maria Anna. Their father Leopold began teaching Maria to play on the keyboard when she was seven. Wolfgang, who was only three years old, watched and began to pick out tunes himself. Leopold quickly realized that his children had ana amazing talent for music. By the time that Wolfgang was four or five, he was already beginning to compose little pieces.
Wolfgang and his sister never went to school. Their father gave up his own work to focus on teaching them. He taught them to play many different instruments, including the violin, math, languages, and other school subjects. Both children were very smart. Wolfgang especially liked math and learned languages very quickly.

When Wolfgang was six years old, the family traveled from their home in Salzburg to Munich in Germany. The trip took two days by horse-drawn carriage - it would only be a couple hours in a car. They spent three weeks in Munich and played for the elector of Bavaria. The trip was a success, so Leopold soon set off on longer tours all over Europe.

All of the travel was difficult, but it was also very important for him as a musician. Not only did it make Mozart famous - not easy in a time before television, recordings, and the internet - but he met most of the important musicians of the times and learned about music from them. He visited London when he was about eight and met J.C. Bach and heard his symphonies. They inspired him to write a symphony of his own.

Audiences in the Classical period were not as interested in Mozart once he was no longer an amazing little boy. He was a bit of an odd character who was sometimes rude or silly. He did not have much patience with people who were not as smart as he was. He worked in his home town of Salzburg for a while but later moved to Vienna, where he spent the last 10 years of his life. He composed, taught, and performed for a living. He gave lessons in the morning and in the afternoon he performed for wealthy people. He often went to concerts in the evenings and then composed music until very late at night.
Mozart married Constanze Weber, and they had two surviving sons. As a mostly freelance musician, Mozart's income was unpredictable. At times he made lots of money and at others very little. Both Mozart and his wife loved luxury and comfort and did not spend their money wisely. They were at times deeply in debt. Mozart died at the age of 35.