Maria-Anna Mozart

Maria-Anna 'Nannerl' Mozart was five years older than her younger brother, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and before his genius came to light, Nannerl was THE musical genius of the Mozart family and was well-known throughout Europe. Born to Leopold Mozart and his wife Anna Maria, in July 1751, their eldest and only daughter could play, and even compose, the most difficult musical pieces way before she was 12 years of age. Her father, Leopold, made several notations on his own musical pieces of the prodigal talent that both his beloved children possessed. In a letter dated in 1764, he wrote that she could play 'with incredible precision' the most difficult musical pieces and that 'although she is only 12 years old, was one of the most skillful players in all of Europe'.

The titled and underlined link is where you can check out the whole movie on YouTube for 'Mozart's Sister' directed by René Féret. You can easily change the subtitling from Spanish on this free version by clicking settings in the video, and changing the CC (Closed Caption) to auto-translate into English. You can also check out the actual movie, with a much better English subtitle, on Amazon Prime for $3.99.

Maria-Anna (pictured above), whose nickname was Nannerl, was taught to play harpsichord at just 8 years old by her father, Leopold Mozart, who taught both his chidren. For more than three years, Wolfgang and Nannerl toured Europe by horse drawn carriage with their father, who made all the arrangements for his children to entertain the most Aristocratic of society. By the age of 10, she had already begun to experience a world that few girls, if any, were allowed to ever see during the 1700's.

During an illness their father was suffering through, in 1764, the two prodigies were told to keep quiet, not even being allowed to use their instruments. Nannerl reportedly wrote Wolfgang his first symphony (K.16) and somewhere in history it was noted that he specified his older sister 'Remind me to give something good to the horns'. After Leopold recovered, the three of them went back to business, continuing to tour and play for thousands of people. Society in the 18th century was not fit for young women to become such successes. At some point, when Leopold realized his eldest child had such aspirations to compose music, he sent her back home to Salzburg, Austria. This was pretty much a demotion. At 18 years old, Nannerl became a piano teacher until she was married off. Although none of her compositions exist today, that we know of, she and Wolfgang continued to correspond, even after a suitor was finally approved of for marriage by their father.

After marrying Johann Baptist Franz von Berchtold zu Sonnenburg in 1784, Maria-Anna 'Nannerl' moved from Salzberg to St. Gilgen. She only returned to Salzburg to give birth to her first son, but then left him in care of her father. Could she have been hoping that her father could work his musical magic on another Mozart? Perhaps she suffered depression in a world where the potential of her musical talent could never be fulfilled. In a letter from Wolfgang while he was in Rome, dated in 1770, long before her marriage, Wolfgang wrote her, 'My dear sister! I am in awe that you can compose so well. In a word, the song you wrote is beautiful.'

Scientists today understand that exposure to music at a young age, even in the womb, actually changes the wiring of our brains. We have been using classical music to learn, find mental clarity, sleep better, ease the symptoms of depression, produce emotional responses in therapeutic settings, and it has even been used to calm those who suffer from anxiety and a variety of other mental illnesses. Classical music helps to boost memory, lower blood pressure, and ease pain.

Pregnant women have been known to use classical music during pregnancy in hopes that it positively influences their unborn babies, and plenty of parents that have colicky babies use it to soothe while they rock their babies to sleep...sometimes for hours! Or maybe it's for the frazzled nerves of the parents? A Neonatal Care Unit in Italy did a study on newborns and found that classical music, specifically the compositions of Mozart and Beethoven, helped reduce their pain perception during antibiotic injections and heel needle pricks for tests, increased their oxygen saturation, and also helped quicken the newborns post-stress recovery. Two specific sonata's, Mozart's 'Sonata for Two Piano's' and 'Moonlight Sonata' by Beethoven, were used by the Italian researchers. Both classical works are 'rich in harmonics and medium-low frequencies, with a regular rhythm'. As anyone else can agree, both songs sound like lullabies.

Researchers have also studied the brains of those who have musical talent. They discovered the brains of musicians are completely different than the brains of non-musicians. Even if the musical genius of the Mozart children wasn't genetic, there is no doubt that their very young exposure to it was a huge influence on them both. Even just learning to play an instrument helps to rewire the brain by strengthening existing circuits and even creating new ones! Classical music is complex and helps the brain improve pathways for language development, emotional regulation, increased blood flow to the left side of the brain, and also improves other cognitive functions. The brains of musicians have also been found to be bigger than the brains of non-musicians.

Most indefinitely, Leopold Mozart was onto something! Just imagine that Wolfgang heard his elder sister while still in the womb, then bonded with her while they both learned from their father. Nannerl's prodigal talent significantly influenced her young brother. If it hadn't been for her, he never would have become the great composer that millions of people have enjoyed throughout 18th Century Europe, spreading across the world, all the way to present-day 2020!

During 1984, a movie about the famous composer and musician Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, starring Tom Hulce and F. Murray Abraham, was released to theaters. 'Amadeus' was a winner of 8 Oscar Awards and won 4 Golden Globe's the following year. My maternal grandmother took me and my cousins to see this movie. I became a huge Mozart fan and I was barely 10 years old. When this movie came to my tiny town, available to rent on VHS tape, I used to pick it over and over. Eventually, it became a part of our home VCR library, and ever since then I don't think I could love a movie about another composer more!

How many other people who loved the movie about this famous European classical musician also knew that he had a similarly musically inclined older sister? She was almost completely left out of the box office biography on his life! Anyone who has an older sibling, or who has looked up to an elder sibling figure, knows the impact they have. Considering how much time the Mozart siblings spent learning about music, playing music, and touring together, it's pretty likely they had this language (that their father taught them both) only the two of them could understand. It's probably likely that if 18th century society had been different in Europe, Maria-Anna 'Nannerl' Mozart would have become the World's First Woman Composer long before her younger brother made it big.

A Children's Book by Elizabeth Rusch is available here, and you can also read 'Mozart's Letters, Mozart's Life' by Robert Spaethling. Hopefully someday, there will be a movie about her life from what we can all piece together. It's believed that either she burned the compositions she had done, or they were lost under the name of her brother. After his death, Nannerl made it a personal mission that not a single person would ever forget her younger, and only, little brother.

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