The Sad Fates Of Mozart's Children

Leopold's hold on Wolfgang continued even as his son became an adult. When Wolfgang courted an opera singer named Aloysia Weber at age 21, his father objected and sent him to Paris so he couldn't pursue the affair. Mozart ended up wedding her younger sister, Constanze, also a musician, on August 4, 1782. Their first child, Raimund Leopold, was born 10 months later, but died within two months from "Gedärmfries," a fever and infection, according to Interlude

This began a terrible pattern of the couple losing children during pregnancy or soon after birth. Constanze gave birth to five more babies: Karl Thomas, Johann Thomas Leopold, Theresia Constanzia, Anna Maria, and Franz Xaver, with only two, Karl and Franz, growing into adulthood. Author Stephen Hicks has written about infant mortality rate and notes that during the 18th century, infant deaths reached more than 50%. Mozart's parents also suffered from such loss, with five babies dying. 

Like many talented musicians, Wolfgang died leaving little money behind for his family. Louis Carp wrote in "Mozart: His Tragic Life and His Controversial Death" that when it came to money, he was "casual to a fault, indecisive, careless, and extravagant, he did not seem to face reality, and he lacked adroitness in business and financial matters." 

While Wolfgang liked to live extravagantly, wearing the most luxurious fashions, sending his sons (pictured above) to private school, and giving expensive parties, his lack of fortune also had to do with how the music industry changed.

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