Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. He was born in 1756 and died in 1791. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition resulted in more than 800 works representing virtually every Western classical genre of his time.
Born in Salzburg, Mozart showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood. At age five, he was already competent on keyboard and violin, he had begun to compose, and he performed before European royalty.