Mozart was born in 1756 and lived only 35 years, dying in 1791 of rheumatic fever. His full name was Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Gottlieb Mozart, although he preferred Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Amadeus is a translation of Gottlieb. Mozart wrote many of his most famous works while living in Vienna and working as the composer for the Imperial and Royal Chamber. He lived such an expensive lifestyle that despite being paid handsomely for his work he was constantly broke or in debt.
Even as a child, Mozart was a prolific composer. He started composing small works at age 5 under the instruction of his father. When he was 6, he toured the royal courts of Europe playing piano for nobles. He wrote his first three symphonies when he was 8 years old. By the end of his teenage years, Mozart had mastered the piano, violin and harpsichord.
Mozart had an ear for the structure of music. Mozart would often write full pieces of music directly from his mind in completed form on paper, rather than making multiple drafts. Mozart also reputedly perfectly rewrote Allegri's "Miserere" from memory after hearing it played in the Sistene Chapel only twice. After hearing a piece of music played, Mozart could write the notes perfectly from memory. Mozart could do this without seeing any of the actual composition notes.
Mozart was one of the most prolific composers of music during the period. Whereas some composers like Beethoven only wrote nine symphonies, Mozart wrote more than 50. Mozart also composed 21 stage and opera pieces, 25 piano concertos, 15 violin concertos and hundreds of other pieces. In total, Mozart wrote more than 600 pieces of music during his lifetime.