Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born in Salzburg, Austria in January of 1756. By the age of four, he had exhibited such extraordinary powers of musical memory and ear-sophistication that his father, Leopold (a highly esteemed violin instructor and a composer in his own right) decided to sign young Wolfgang up for harpsichord lessons.

At five, Wolfgang was composing music; at six, he was a keyboard virtuoso, so much so that Leopold took Wolfgang and his older sister Maria Anna, known as Nannerl, on a performance tour of Munich and Vienna.

From that time on, young Mozart was constantly performing and writing music. Wherever he appeared, people gaped in awe at his divine gifts. By his early teens, he had mastered the piano, violin and harpsichord, and was writing keyboard pieces, oratorios, symphonies and operas. His first major opera, Mitridate, was performed in Milan in 1770 to such unqualified raves that critics compared him to Handel.