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Happy Birthday, Wolfgang!
On 27 January 1756 in an apartment on the third floor of Getreidegasse 9 in the city of Salzburg, Anna Maria Pertl Mozart gave birth to her 7th and youngest child. She and her husband Leopold suffered the loss of 5 other children who died in infancy, and they and their living daughter Nannerl welcomed this new arrival who was baptized at St Rupert’s Cathedral as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus.
Here at Classical California, we celebrate Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (he added the ‘Amadeus’ as a young man) every weekday at 9am on Mozart in the Morning, but in honor of his 270th birthday, we’ve put together a party itinerary that you can use to plan your own birthday bash for this most adored of composers. The most successful soirees need food, music and fun, and we’ve supplied all three!
Mozart would begin his daily routine with a breakfast of 2 cups of coffee with goat’s milk, 3 squares of chocolate, an apple streusel, wienerschnitzel, and an egg souffle called Salzburger nockerl. But his favorite meal of all were liver dumplings, often served in a soup. Here’s the recipe for the main course of our birthday feast, Mozart’s Liver Dumplings.
Judging by Mozart’s daily breakfast menu, we can tell he loved sweets! In these modern times, a visit to Vienna would not be complete without popping into one of the many confectioners in Mariahilfer Strasse and sampling the varieties of truffles named after our birthday-boy, the rich and delectable Mozartkugeln. You can easily buy them on-line, but it’s a special occasion so why not have a go at making your own!
Now that our menu is sorted, let’s plan the party games!
Wolfgang loved games of all kinds, especially dice games. Learn how to play one of the most popular and one of his particular favorites, a game called Hazards.
Another pastime that was popular in European taverns and the public houses of Great Britain was a bowling-at-pins game called Skittles. Mozart mentions his fondness for it in his correspondence, and even in the margins of his manuscripts like his Trio in Eb K 498. Scored for clarinet, viola, and piano, the “Kegelstatt” Trio was conceived as music to be played at home among friends.
Here are the Manhattan Chamber Players performing Mozart’s fun-loving Kegelstatt Trio
Mozart’s birthday is practically an official holiday here at Classical California, so we hope this inspires you to throw your own birthday bash in honor of (almost) everyone’s favorite composer! If you’ve got some great Mozart-inspired party ideas please leave them in the comments. Alles Gute zum Geburtstag, Wolfy!
