The lost Genuis of Mozart's Sister

Maria Anna Mozart was a child prodigy like her brother Wolfgang Amadeus, but her musical career came to an end when she was 18.

Wolfgang and Nannerl Mozart, c. 1763, by Eusebius Johann Alphen (1741–1772)

When Mozart was a toddler, Nannerl (four and a half years older) was his idol. According to Maynard Solomon, "at three, Mozart was inspired to study music by observing his father's instruction of Marianne; he wanted to be like her." The two children were very close, and they invented a secret language and an imaginary "Kingdom of Back" of which they were king and queen. Mozart's early correspondence with Marianne is affectionate. Occasionally Wolfgang wrote entries in Marianne's diary, referring to himself in the third person.

“I am writing to you with an erection on my head and I am very much afraid of burning my hair”, wrote Nannerl Mozart to her brother Wolfgang Amadeus. What was being erected was a large hairdo on top of Nannerl’s head, as she prepared to pose for the Mozart family portrait.

Mozart Family Portrait

The children toured most of Europe (including an 18-month stay in London in 1764-5) performing together as “wunderkinder.” Far from being in her brother’s shadow, Nanner actually shone as the more talented youngster. There are contemporaneous reviews praising Nannerl, and she was even billed first.

In a letter, Leopold Mozart (their father, pictured above) wrote: “My little girl plays the most difficult works which we have… with incredible precision and so excellently. What it all amounts to is this, that my little girl, although she is only 12 years old, is one of the most skillful players in Europe.”

Nannerl copied down some of Wolfgang’s compositions when he was too young to write them down. So, it’s possible some of Wolfgang’s compositions are hers. We also know when he was in London working on his first symphony, she wrote it all down and orchestrated it for him. It’s unclear how big their collaboration was, but she was an extremely talented musician.

In contrast to her brother, who quarreled with their father and eventually disobeyed his wishes with respect to career path and choice of spouse, Marianne remained entirely subordinate to her father.

When Nannerl reached the age when she could get married, her father stopped taking her on the road – A little girl could perform and tour, but a woman doing so risked her reputation. And so she was left behind in Salzburg, and her father only took Wolfgang on their next journeys around the courts of Europe. Nannerl never toured again.but she carried on composing until her marriage in 1784.

Portrait of Maria Anna Mozart, c. 1785

The society was as such that, of course, there were women composers, but the ones that could show their work were nobility. Women had to play for nothing. If they made money off their music, they were thought of as prostitutes.

Wolfgang wrote a number of works for Marianne to perform, including the Prelude and Fugue in C, K. 394 (1782). Until 1785, he sent her copies of his piano concertos (up to No. 21) in St. Gilgen. 

There is evidence that Marianne wrote musical compositions, as there are letters from Wolfgang praising her work, but the voluminous correspondence of her father never mentions any of her compositions, and none have survived.

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