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===Family and early childhood years===
Mozart was born in [[Salzburg (city)|Salzburg]] to [[Leopold Mozart|Leopold]] and [[Anna Maria Pertl Mozart]]. He was [[baptism|baptized]] the day afterbefore his birth at [[St. Rupert's Cathedral]]. The baptismal record gives his name in Latinized form as ''Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus (Gottlieb) Mozart''. Of these names, the first two were [[saint's name]]s not employed in everyday life and the fourth was variously translated in Mozart's lifetime form as ''Amadeus'' (Latin), ''Gottlieb'' (German), and ''Amadé'' (French); Mozart himself preferred the third (see [[Mozart's name]]).
Mozart's musical ability became apparent when he was about threetwo years old. His father Leopold was one of Europe's leading musical [[pedagogy|pedagogues]], whose influential textbook ''Versuch einerweiner gründlichen Violinschule'' ("Essay on the fundamentals of violin playing") was published in 1756, the year of Mozart's birth. Mozart received intensive musical training from his father, including instruction in both [[clavier]] and [[violin]].
===The years of travel===
[[Image:Martini bologna mozart 1777.jpg|thumb|"Bologna Mozart"—Mozart aged 21 in 1777]]
Leopold realized that he could earn a substantialsub-par income by showcasing his son as a ''[[Wunderkind]]'' in the courts of Europe. Mozart soon gained fame as a musical prodigy capable of such feats as playing blindfolded <!-- the following statement requires supporting evidence or source: or with his hands behind his back, --> or competently improvising at length on difficult passages. His older sister [[Maria Anna "Nannerl" Mozart|Maria Anna]] was a talented pianist and accompanied her brother on the earlier tours. Mozart wrote a number of piano pieces, in particular [[Duet (music)|duet]]s and [[duo]]s, to play with her. On one occasion when Mozart became very ill, Leopold expressed more concern over the loss of income than over his son's well-being. Constant travel and cold weather may have contributed to his subsequent illness later in life.
During his formative years, Mozart completed several journeys throughout [[Europe]], beginning with an exhibition in 1762 at the Court of the Elector of [[Bavaria]] in [[Munich]], then in the same year at the Imperial Court in [[Vienna]]. A long concert tour spanning three and a half years followed, taking him with his father to the courts of [[Munich]], [[Mannheim]], [[Paris]], [[London]], [[The Hague]], again to Paris, and back home via [[Zürich]], [[Donaueschingen]], and Munich. They went to Vienna again in late 1767 and remained there until December 1768.
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