Lecture Access

This lecture will be available to view until 4 May 2026

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OVERVIEW

Watch on Demand | Online Lecture


Leopold Mozart famously described his son Wolfgang Amadeus as “a miracle given by Godin Salzburg,” a claim seemingly confirmed by the child prodigy’s astonishing early achievements. 

From his formative years performing across Europe to his creative peak in Vienna during the 1780s, Mozart transformed classical music through works of remarkable range, emotional depth, and formal brilliance. His operas, symphonies, chamber music, and sacred compositions reshaped musical expectations and left an enduring imprint on Western art music.

Yet Mozart’s life was marked by tension between acclaim and insecurity. Despite his reputation, he struggled with unstable income, shifting patronage, and the demands of an increasingly competitive musical world. His early death at just thirty-five, while working on a Requiem commissioned under conditions of secrecy, gave rise to persistent myths surrounding his final years and circumstances.

In this lecture, Sandy Burnett moves beyond legend to present a more historically grounded portrait of Mozart, examining the cultural world that shaped both his triumphs and his vulnerabilities, while honouring the scale of his musical genius.

LECTURER

Biography

Sandy Burnett is one of the UK’s most authoritative broadcasters in the field of classical music. His broadcasts, interviews, and lectures are all underpinned by the hands-on experience of being a practising musician. Since 2017, Sandy has been an accredited Arts Society lecturer, his talks aimed at unlocking the worlds of classical music and jazz to general arts-loving audiences; his busy diary of speaking engagements takes him right across the world. After studying at St Catharine’s College, Cambridge and working as music director for the RSC, National Theatre and in London’s West End, Sandy spent a decade as one of the core team of presenters on BBC Radio 3; his broadcasting work was admired and appreciated by many classical music lovers.

Sandy Burnett

Musician & Broadcaster