Maria Anna Mozart: The Forgotten Prodigy

Maria Anna Mozart, cropped from "The Mozart Family," by Johann Nepomuk della Croce. Public Domain

Everyone knows about the genius of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Comparatively few, though, are aware that he had an older sister who was also an immensely talented musician.

In their youth, both children were whisked around Europe on equal footing, performing before the high and mighty. As time went on, however, Maria Anna Mozart was sidelined in favor of her brilliant brother. Her talents were ignored, and, until recently, she was all but forgotten. What happened?

Two Talented Siblings

Leopold Mozart (1719–87) and his wife Anna Maria (1720–78) had seven children, but five died in infancy. Of the two surviving children, the fate of one is world famous. Johann Chrysostomus Wolfgang Theophilus Mozart, better known as Wolfgang Amadeus (1756–91) grew up to become one of the greatest composers of all time.

But five years earlier, another child had been born: Maria Anna Walburga Ignatia Mozart (1751–1829). Or as her family called her, “Nannerl.” Leopold, a court composer, began teaching her harpsichord lessons when she was 7 and even compiled a book of compositions for her, arranged in order of difficulty. The young “Wolferl” (Wolfgang’s childhood nickname) observed these teachings from the cradle, inspired by her model. When he, too, began displaying musical talent, Leopold decided to capitalize on their training.

A portrait of Maria Anna as a child in 1763. Public Domain

A Grand Tour of Europe

In the summer of 1763, the entire Mozart family set off on grand a tour of Europe, performing in many major capitals. Nannerl was almost 12 and Wolfgang 7. To pass the time in long carriage rides, the children created an imaginary realm they called “Das Konigreich Riicken,” or “The Kingdom of Back.”

This fantasy world has resulted in a great deal of historical speculation. Exactly what was this Kingdom of Back? Unfortunately, few concrete details have come down to us beyond a vague outline. As Jane Glover describes it in “Mozart’s Women: His Family, His Friends, His Music,” we know that it was a realm that Wolferl and Nannerl co-ruled as king and queen. Their servant Sebastian sometimes made drawings for them, inspired by all the palaces, royalty, and opulence they encountered on their grand tour. Clearly, it was an outlet where the children escaped from the demanding schedules of their public appearances.

Mozart family on tour: Leopold, Wolfgang, Nannerl, circa 1763, by Carmontelle. Watercolor. Public Domain

As they traveled throughout Europe, the sibling pair played before audiences of wealthy bankers, nobles, and royalty. They performed for Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, King Louis XV of France, and King George III of Great Britain. In London, their father advertised them both as “Prodigies of Nature.” Here, they even played for middle-class audiences in the Cornhill tavern.

Wolferl always idolized his older sister, but his abilities were progressing past hers, and he was getting most of the applause. He was put to various challenges, like having to supply the bass line to a given melody, or identifying the pitches of bells and clocks (in addition to the more usual instruments). While audiences admired Nannerl’s expert keyboard skills, they were positively spellbound by Wolfgang.

When the Mozart family finally returned to Salzburg three years after they had left, Nannerl stayed there. She was now an adolescent, having aged out of the “child prodigy” category. Back in London, Leopold made it appear that she was younger so that people would be more impressed. But the ruse was now over.

Receding From the Limelight

As Wolfgang’s fame grew, Nannerl’s talents were largely ignored. She and her mother read the letters of Leopold and Wolfgang with envy.

References to the Kingdom of Back occasionally crop up in the correspondence between Wolfgang and Maria Anna. In a letter dated Aug. 14, 1773, Wolfgang addressed Nannerl as “my queen.”

As the years went by, though, this fantasy world became more and more distant for Nannerl. Reality had set in. She was confined to giving keyboard lessons, playing, and composing her own pieces privately in Salzburg. And when Wolfgang found a new home in Vienna, she lost her childhood playmate and co-ruler from the Kingdom of Back.

When their mother died in 1778, her only companion was the grumpy Leopold. She had always been quick-tempered, but now became subject to crying and shouting fits. In 1784, she married an older widower, Johann Baptist Franz von Berchtold zu Sonnenburg. She inherited five stepchildren in the marriage and moved to the Austrian village where he served as prefect. At the age of 33, she disappeared from the Mozart family story.

A portrait of Nannerl's husband Johann Baptist Franz von Berchtold zu Sonnenburg, by an unknown artist, third quarter of 18th century, Salzburg Museum. Public Domain

Nannerl the Composer

She reemerged in the following decade, though. After her brother died, she was approached by his biographers, supplying them with memories from the letters and diary entries in her possession. It is because of Nannerl that we have so many details about Wolfgang’s early life, including the mysterious Kingdom of Back.

We know that Nannerl herself wrote music, since Wolfgang praised her compositions in some of his letters. In a letter dated July 7, 1770, he encouraged her after receiving a “lied” (song) she had written: “My dear sister! I’m amazed to discover that you can compose so delightfully. In a word, your Lied is beautiful. You must compose more often.”

Neither this lied, nor any of the other music she wrote, has survived. Recently, though, an Australian music professor, Martin Jarvis, came to a different conclusion. After conducting forensic analyses of Mozart’s manuscripts, he claimed that two of Wolfgang’s five violin concertos, in a different handwriting, may have been written by Nannerl.

Nannerl in Novels

Sadly, we will probably never know what Nannerl’s music sounded like. And while there remain no full-length biographies of Maria Anna Mozart, there have been several novelizations about her life, and even a film.

The most recent of these novels, and the most unique, is “The Kingdom of Back” by Marie Lu. Writing from Nannerl’s perspective, Lu centers the story around the imaginary world the young prodigies created together:

“‘We should give the kingdom a name,’ Wolferl announced. … ‘Let’s call it the Kingdom of Back,’ he declared.

“‘What a curious name,’ I whispered. ‘Why?’

“Wolferl looked pleased with himself. ‘Because it’s all backward, isn’t it?’ he replied. ‘The trees turned on their heads, the moons where there should be sun.’”

Marie Lu's young adult historical fiction on the life Mozart's sister, Nannerl.

As the story progresses, real historical events interweave with an ever-more elaborate fantasy world, “a dream of fog and stars, faery princelings and queens of the night.” As “the other Mozart” is sidelined by her brother’s talent, the Kingdom of Back comes to symbolize her internal conflicts, reflecting her own struggles and ambitions.

The fictional speculations of Lu and other novelists are the closest we will likely ever get to knowing the achievements and inner life of Maria Anna Mozart. But though her story remains one of the great “What if?” questions of history, her achievements are finally being recognized in our own time. She is no longer a forgotten prodigy.

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