This summer I've been diving into the life and music of Mozart. What has struck me is that Mozart's life as a musician wasn't that different from today's musicians. He and his father spent most of their time on the road, traveling from city to city, doing shows. They made a living from getting paid for their performances. Sometimes they were decently paid, but fairly often they were given a trinket. Mozart's father, in his letters back to his wife, often complained about the poor pay. It was a life of hustle and hard work.
Mozart's life reminded me of the “On the Road Again” life of Willie Nelson. At age 93, Willie is still on the road, playing outdoors in the summer heat. Like Johnny Cash, he has spent most of his life on a tour bus. Mozart lived that life in the 1700's; Willie is living that life some 300 years later. Of course, Mozart, a child prodigy, started his life as a traveling musician at the young age of 5. Willie started as an adult. By the time Willie had his first hit solo album, at age 40, Mozart had been dead for five years. He died at the young age of 35. Mozart created composed over 600 works in his short life.
As a young person learning classical guitar, I became quite familiar with Bach, as numerous Bach compositions have been transcribed for guitar. I didn't become enamored with Mozart until I heard my son's children's choir perform Laudate Dominum (from Vesperae solennes de confessore K 339) with a professional soprano. It was unforgettable. Click here for a performance of Laudate Dominum on YouTube.