Who was Wolfgang

Amadeus Mozart?

Historical background
 Active
vocabulary
• to play a musical instrument
• old-fashioned
• to compose music
• to pay attention to somebody
• to have a hard time doing something
• a trick
• to do an excellent job
• a genius
 Questions

1. At what age did Mozart learn to play the first instrument?

2. What instrument was it?
3. At what age did Mozart start composing music?
4. How many instruments could Mozart play at the age of eight.
5. Who was Mozart’s father?
6. Why didn’t people believe that Mozart’s talent was real?
7. How did a lawyer find out that Mozart was a child and a genius?
Chapter 1
 Active
vocabulary
• to be strict
• to spend hours practicing
• to be common
• for short
• to be satisfied
• to stand on someone’s toes
• strings
• to be worked by something
• can hardly believe something
• to look more closely
 Questions

1. Who taught Wolfgang and his sister music?

2. When and where was Mozart born?
3. How many brothers and sisters did Mozart have?
4. How was Mozart called in the family?
5. How did the parents find out about the talent of the boy?
6. What music instruments were there at the time of Mozart’s life?
7. How did his father find out that Mozart also could compose
music?
 Active
vocabulary
• amazed
• to be serious
• to dare to do something
• to invent something
• to express one’s feelings
• to grow up speaking a language
• to shield someone against something
• to feel sorry for someone
• to be astonished
• to be filled with something
• to be charmed
 Questions
6. How did Mozart compose his music?
7. What was little Mozart’s character like?
8. What kind of games did Mozart’s father invent?
9. What for did Mozart compose music?
10. Did Mozart and his sister go to school?
11. What language was Mozart’s native language?
12. What was the relationship in Mozart’s family?
13. How did Mozart’s father find out that his son could play the violin?
14. Who wanted to listen to Mozart and his sister playing music?
15. What was Vienna like?
16. How did the Empress’s reaction to Mozart’s behavior?
17. What did Mozart’s father decide after visiting Vienna?
Critical thinking

1. In your opinion, what kind of person do we call a genius?

2. In your opinion, what is more important: talent or a lot of

practice?

3. In your opinion, what is more astonishing: a child playing

music instruments at the age of three or a child
composing music at the age of five ?
Homework

• review the active vocabulary

• write a plot summary of chapter 1 using all words from

active vocabulary lists

• read chapter 2 and 3 of the book Who was Wolfgang

Amadeus Mozart and prepare for the discussion