Maria Anna Mozart – Forgotten Genius

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When it comes to Mozart, words such as ‘genius’ and ‘prodigy’ are usually assigned to the younger of the two siblings, Wolfgang. Indeed, it seems that most people have never even heard of an elder Mozart, let alone a sister. Yet it was Maria Anna (commonly and henceforth known as Nannerl), Wolfgang’s elder sister, about whom these words were first written – she may have been the greater genius of the family, but sadly we will never know. Though an incredible musician and almost certainly a composer in her own right, none of her work survives to us today, and her achievements have been eclipsed by her brother’s.

Nannerl, born in 1751, was the first surviving child of Leopold and Anna Maria Mozart. Leopold was a musician himself and became entirely devoted to his children’s education, running a strict household. Nannerl first began to play the harpsichord when she was just seven years old and immediately took to it, learning with astonishing alacrity. Wolfgang, four-and-a-half years younger than Nannerl, quickly joined her. He idolised Nannerl and the two were incredibly close as children – they invented a secret language and imagined a kingdom called Beck where they ruled as king and queen.

Maria Anna and Wolfgang Mozart, c. 1763, by Eusebius Johann Alphen

Within three years, both children were accomplished enough to perform for royalty. In 1762, Nannerl (11) and Wolfgang (6) played for Elector Maximilian III in Munich; a witness wrote of the duo: “The poor little fellow plays marvelously. He is a child of spirit, lively, charming. His sister’s playing is masterly, and [the prince] applauded her.”

Leopold, spotting an opportunity in his children’s talent and ages, planned a grand tour for 1763, which lasted three years. They played both public and private concerts for nobility and the general population and stopped in 88 different cities. Wolfgang’s young age and considerable talent was a draw for audiences, but he did not overshadow Nannerl. It was she, rather than he, who was given top billing, and so masterful was her playing that her father claimed her to be ‘one of the most skilful players in Europe’.

This early experience would have been life-changing for Nannerl, as she would have seen and done so many things that young girls of her era would never have been allowed to do. Unfortunately, it would all too soon come to an end.

In 1769, Nannerl turned eighteen. Being of marriageable age, she was subsequently left behind when Wolfgang and their father continued touring, helping her mother to run the household. She continued to play, and she likely even composed. There are no surviving compositions that are credited to her, though it is thought that some of Wolfgang’s pieces may have originally been Nannerl’s. 

Having grown up watching her mother act entirely subservient to her father, Nannerl had none of Wolfgang’s rebelliousness. She was a product of her time – an obedient young girl who did not bemoan her fate when told to stay home. 

Nannerl no longer suffers by comparison with the boy, for she plays so beautifully that everyone is talking about her and admiring her execution.

Leopold Mozart, writing about Nannerl

Anna Maria died in 1778, so Nannerl (then 27) took over the job of Leopold’s housekeeper. A few years later, the close relationship with her brother fractured and broke when he disobeyed Leopold and left for Vienna, marrying a woman Leopold did not approve of. Nannerl took their father’s side, and the breach between the two never quite mended.

Nannerl did not marry until she was 33, unusually late for a woman of the time. She had fallen in love with Franz d’Ippold, a captain and private tutor, but her father stopped this union and she instead married Johann Baptist Franz von Berchtold zu Sonnenburg, a twice-widowed magistrate with five children. Nannerl was expected to care for these five alongside her own three, though the youngest (Maria) only lived a year and the eldest (Leopold) lived with his grandfather until the elder Leopold’s death in 1787.

Nannerl maintained a close relationship with her father for the rest of his life. In fact, he appeared to truly care for his daughter as not only did he give her financial aid, but he paid for Wolfgang’s music to be sent to her, gathered musicians for her to play with when she visited, and even encouraged her to stand up to her husband. This seems to have been a double-edged sword, however, as her closeness to her father preserved distance with her brother. They never visited each other after Wolfgang’s marriage in 1783, and all correspondence stopped after 1788.

Maria Anna Mozart, c. 1785

Wolfgang died in 1791, aged 35. Around 1800, Nannerl discovered Franz Xaver Niemetschek’s biography of him, most of the contents of which was new to her. Reading it seemed to soften her feelings towards her brother, and she wrote: 

“Herr Prof. Niemetschek’s biography so completely reanimated my sisterly feelings toward my so ardently beloved brother that I was often dissolved in tears, since it is only now that I became acquainted with the sad condition in which my brother found himself.”

Her husband died in 1801, upon which she moved back to Salzburg with her children and began working as a music teacher, finally free from the influence of men. She also worked with her brother’s wife, Constanze, on a biography of Wolfgang, and it is thanks to her that so much of Wolfgang’s music survives to us today.

By 1820, Nannerl’s health was in decline and she was blind by 1825. Visiting in 1829, author Mary Novello met a  “blind, languid, exhausted, feeble and nearly speechless” old woman who was plagued by loneliness. She also believed Nannerl to be impoverished, though on this count she was wrong; Nannerl was really just frugal, and left a small fortune when she died on 29th October 1829. She was 78 years old.

Nannerl’s genius has since been forgotten, and we will never truly know what she could have become. It is a sad story, but a recurring one – a woman is cast aside in favour of a male relative, or forced to leave her passions behind to fulfil her designated duties as wife and mother. Nannerl is one such case, and it is now for us to remember her, though history may not.

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