Maria Anna Mozart: A Talent We Lost to Misogyny
How much do you know about the other talented Mozart?
Everybody knows who Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is. Even if you don't know anything about classical music, Mozart is a composer you can name. He is one of the most famous and influential composers of the 18th century.
But was he the only talented musician in his family? Or was he the only one who actually got the chance to compose his own music and be accepted by society? How many of us know the story of his older sister, Maria Anna Mozart?
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart had an older sister named Maria Anna Walburga Ignatia Mozart. She was also nicknamed Nannerl. She was born in 1751, and she was a child prodigy like her little brother. Their father, Leopold Mozart, was also a musician, and he started to train his children from a very early age. Leopold knew his children were child prodigies and encouraged them. Maria Anna, Wolfgang Amadeus, and their father traveled together and gave many concerts. The siblings composed and worked on many songs together. She was actually billed first after their concerts. She also played for Emperors and Empresses and even befriended Marie Antoinette. Her talent was accepted and praised by many when she was just a kid.
“My little girl plays the most difficult works which we have… with incredible precision and so excellently. What it all amounts to is this, that my little girl, although she is only 12 years old, is one of the most skilful players in Europe.” - Leopold Mozart about his daughter Maria Anna
Maria-Anna also composed her own songs. However, sadly, none of her works survived. Her brother expressed his opinions for her music in one of his letters to his sister:
“My dear sister! I am in awe that you can compose so well, in a word, the song you wrote is beautiful.”
The concerts they gave and the songs they composed together all ended when Maria Anna turned 15. According to the traditions and rules of the times, women were not allowed to perform publicly after a certain age. It is believed that she continued to compose and play piano secretly, but none of her works were known to the public and survived to our times.
A little girl could perform and tour, but a woman doing so risked her reputation. And so she was left behind in Salzburg, and her father only took Wolfgang on their next journeys around the courts of Europe. Nannerl never toured again. - Sylvia Milo, the creator of the play ''The Other Mozart'' explaining why Nannerl had to give up on performing.
Milo also has a theory about some of Mozart's music belonging to his sister. She explains her theory about why this might be the case:
“ She copied down some of Wolfgang’s compositions when he was too young to write them down. So, it’s possible some of Wolfgang’s compositions are hers. We also know when he was in London working on his first symphony, she wrote it all down and orchestrated it for him. It’s unclear how big their collaboration was, but she was an extremely talented musician.”
Unfortunately, we will never know the talent she had or the music she could give to the world.
In 1785, Nannerl married Johann Baptist Franz von Berchtold zu Chambre, and they had 4 children. She died in 1829.
There is a documentary called Mozart's Sister* about her story. Madeleine Hetherton-Miau, the director of the movie, notices how the siblings sit close to each other like equals (in the picture I put before) and becomes curious about their relationship and lives. Then, she finds out the truth about Nannerl and decides to do deeper research.
“Her situation’s very fragile. If her father dies, because he’s getting older, there’s nowhere for her to go. She must have felt very trapped at that point in her life because she couldn’t earn her own money unless she became a servant. She was entirely dependent on the men in her life,” - Madeleine Hetherton-Miau about the situation Nannerl was in.
I think this quote explains why we have so many lost pieces today. Even though Maria Anna lived during the times we call ''Enlightenment'' or ''the Age of Reason'' when everything was developing into something new and people were enlightened and educated, it was only for men.
Maria Anna is just one example of the art we lost because of misogyny. Fanny Mendelssohn, for example, had the same fate as she was overshadowed by her brother Felix Mendelssohn, and more than 200 of her works were lost. I sometimes think about all the songs, books, plays, inventions, and discoveries we could have and how different and developed our world would be if women were given the same chances as men. It is a beautiful thing that we still had composers like Clara Schumann, who had to go against her husband and whose many works are lost now; authors like Mary Ann Evans, who had to use a pseudonym like George Eliot to write; inventors like Hedy Lamarr, whose inventions were stolen by and credited to men; and so many more strong and talented women that had to fight to exist.
That's why it is important to talk about these women. It is important to talk about Maria Anna Mozart; it is important to remember her. It is important that we remember how society failed these women and still do.
*There is also another movie called by the same name, Nannerl, la soeur de Mozart. It is not a documentary but a reimagined story about Maria Anna's life you can also check.
References:
https://www.womensweekly.com.au/news/tv-film/was-mozarts-sister-a-musical-genius-too/
https://www.classicfm.com/composers/mozart/sister-nannerl-most-talented/
https://womenshistory.info/maria-anna-mozart/
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/maria-anna-mozart-the-familys-first-prodigy-1259016/