Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria, in 1756. He was the son of Leopold Mozart, a famous composer and violinist in the court of the Archbishop of Salzburg. Contrary to the career of Haydn, Mozart began his career before he was five years old. He was deemed a child prodigy. Mozart began composing before the age of five and performed in the court of the Empress Maria Theresa at the age of six. The following year, his father organized a performing tour for Mozart that would take him to Paris, London, and Munich. By the time the young Mozart was 13 years old, he had written sonatas, concertos, symphonies, religious works, and several operas. Before Mozart reached manhood, he had attained a mastery of all forms of his art. Mozart was a free spirit, however, and was more interested in developing his own pursuits as a freelance musician than he was in living under the traditional patronage system like Haydn. He made his patrons so unhappy with him that he was dismissed by the Archbishop. He then established himself in Vienna as a free artist.
While in Vienna, Mozart continued to pursue an official appointment and, at length, did receive an appointment from Emperor Joseph II. However, the Emperor appears to have only assigned him the simplest and most uninteresting tasks, such as composing dance music for the court balls.
In 1782 Mozart married Constance Weber. This marriage very much upset Mozart's father, who exercised tremendous control over the young Mozart, and it seems to have marked the liberation of Mozart from his domineering father. Constance, however, was not able to help Mozart in any way financially, and, having declared independence from his father, Mozart was cut off from the financial aid that his father might have given him. In addition, his attitude and lack of decorum with the aristocracy and those who would have asked him to compose for them caused him not to receive the remuneration that was his due owing to his genius and ability.
Mozart died at the age of 35 in 1791, virtually penniless and in many respects not particularly well known or highly acclaimed. It was not until years after his death that the works of Mozart began to be revived and performed with great regularity and Mozart gained the notoriety that he had sought throughout his life.