Wolfgang and Nannerl Mozart's father, Leopold Mozart, was himself a professional musician, and famously promoted his children's prodigious musical gifts. In the fall of 1762, when Wolfgang was six years old, Leopold took him and Nannerl on a trip to Vienna, where the children gave a command performance that astonished all the nobles at court. In return, the court paid the Mozarts in cash and gave Wolfgang and Nannerl special costumes. Musicologist Maynard Solomon reports in his biography of Mozart that Wolfgang received a suit made of the finest lilac-colored cloth: a jacket and matching waistcoat, both trimmed with gold braid. And after all the gifts rolled in from other Viennese nobles, Leopold Mozart was able to bank a sum of cash worth more than two years of his annual income. Subscribe and listen to Mozart Minute and other Classical 101 podcasts on iTunes or through Classical 101 Podcasts , and be sure to check out our new WOSU Public Media Mobile App
Jennifer Hambrick unites her extensive backgrounds in the arts and media and her deep roots in Columbus to bring inspiring music to central Ohio as Classical 101’s midday host. Jennifer performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago before earning a Ph.D. in musicology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.