When we picture the young Mozart, many of us are drawn to the idea of a child prodigy touring Europe, dazzling audiences with his musical prowess. This image, however, is largely a fabrication. It has been shaped by Romantic ideals, associating Mozart with the virtuosos of the early 19th century and the great artists of the Romantic era. Yet, Wolfgang was not a 19th-century pianist whose feats of brilliance left audiences awestruck. Such an image is an anachronism.

The phenomenon of the virtuosic performer as we understand it today began only in the early 1800s. Figures like Paganini and Liszt came to embody the idea of superhuman performers, but this was long after Mozart’s time. By 1840, the piano and the virtuoso had become everyday realities. Mozart, however, belonged to a different era altogether.

Despite this, Wolfgang was later claimed as a symbol by Romantic-era virtuosos. Music publishers, eager to modernise his repertoire, transcribed his works for the piano—music originally written for the harpsichord. Young pianists practised the Minuets from Nannerl’s notebook, hoping to follow in Mozart’s footsteps. Yet, the 19th-century obsession with technical perfection and overcoming challenges was far removed from the world of 18th-century galant music.

“Mozart’s brilliance was less about transcendental technique and more about the improvisational and expressive subtleties of the galant style.”

His improvisational skills, highly praised in his time, were considered emblematic of an absolute and unparalleled mastery. However, this mastery had little to do with the virtuosic acrobatics of the Romantic pianist. It was about understanding and elaborating upon the galant compositions of composers like Telemann and Johann Christian Bach, both of whom had a direct influence on the young Wolfgang.

Mozart’s journey as a performer was marked by improvisation and ornamentation, not the transcendental feats of Romantic virtuosos. In fact, much of the technical brilliance that defined later centuries was still in its infancy during Mozart’s time. His early years as a musician saw him interpreting galant works, not composing transcendentally complex pieces. The romanticisation of Mozart’s abilities has led to a misinterpretation of his music and his era.