Mozart Bicentennial Stamps

This post features the Mozart bicentennial stamps from 1956. The entire musical world seems to celebrate the major milestone anniversaries of important composers. For example, this year, 2020, is the 250th anniversary of the birth of Beethoven (1770-1827). Even though the Covid pandemic shut down every concert hall in the world, there were still plenty of concerts in the few months before this started, including cycles of Beethoven’s symphonies, string quartets, and piano sonatas. I remember being an elementary student in 1985 when the world similarly celebrated the 300th anniversary of the birth of Bach, Handel, and Scarlatti (seems to me Bach got the lion share of those celebrations).

Perhaps the biggest anniversary year from a philatelic consideration was the 1956 bicentennial of the birth of Mozart. That year, the composer appeared on stamps from many countries. This is in part because of Mozart’s enormous popularity, among adults and children alike (who gravitate towards the stories of him as a child prodigy). It is also because he traveled throughout Europe and various countries claim at least a small part in the historical record of his achievements. This blog is going to try and capture some of those stamps from 1956 alone, as with many of the other great composers there are many, many, more Mozart stamps that have been issued in other years. I’ll add to this if and when I add more to my collection!

Austria

Mozart (1756-1791) was born in Austria, so let’s start there. During his lifetime, Austria was a part of the Holy Roman Empire. Mozart was born in the city of Salzburg and later spent much of his adult life in Vienna. The country also has a long history of featuring composers on postage stamps beginning with a 1922 series (which did include Mozart). The country issued a single stamp that featured Mozart as an older man (he died at 35, so that is a relative term). The image is from an unfinished portrait of Mozart by the artist Joseph Lange. The stamp design was engraved by Rudolf Toth.

East Germany

Of course, Austria and Germany share many cultural and historical links, and speak the same language. Present-day Germany was also a part of the Holy Roman Empire and we know that Mozart and his family traveled and worked extensively in the country. Mozart’s father was actually from Augsburg, a City Mozart visited when he met the famous piano maker Johann Andreas Stein.

In 1956, Germany was divided into West Germany and East Germany following the partition of the country after their defeat in World War II. Both of the countries issued postage stamps dedicated to the Mozart bicentennial. East Germany issued a much more beautiful pair that featured two different profile portraits of the composer designed by Kurt Eigler.

West Germany

The West German stamp is more rather unattractive. The stamp is purple and features a silhouette of a keyboard instrument superimposed with a few measures from a Mozart handwritten score.

Czechoslovakia

Perhaps the most interesting contribution to the stamps issued in honor of Mozart’s bicentennial come from the country of Czechoslovakia. Citizens of Prague loved Mozart’s music during his lifetime, prompting him to make several trips there. Most importantly, he also premiered several works there, including his opera Don Giovanni.

The six stamps in the Mozart bicentennial series pay tribute to this relationship. I have this series of stamps on two first day covers and I find them rather attractive (the stamps and the covers). The subjects are in the style of hand drawn portraits, with an oval frame that are each a different color. The design for the stamps is by K. Svolinski and the were engraving by Jindra Schmidt.

They were designed by K. Svolinski and w. Read more here. There is the image of Mozart on the lowest stamp in the series. Three other stamps in the series are dedicated to Czech composers Josef Myslivecek, Jiri Benda, and Xaver Dusek. These composers were all contemporaries of Mozart.

The other two stamps in the Mozart series feature buildings. The first stamp features the Bertramka House, where Mozart would stay when he was in Prague. The second is of the Nostic Theater where Don Giovanni made its premiere.

Other Countries

While Austria, Germany, and Czechoslovakia can all lay claim to Mozart and his life in significant ways, other countries that issued bicentennial stamps are further afield. I do not have much to say about the Soviet stamp issued that year. Russia and the Soviet Union have historically featured a great many music-themed stamps and they especially revere classical music, so it makes great sense that they would also issue a Mozart stamp. The image seems to be based on a portrait from 1789 of Mozart made by Dora Stock in silverpoint.

Another European country celebrating the Mozart bicentennial with a stamp was Romania. The above stamp features a mature Mozart in profile. The single color, purple stamp has the denomination 2.55 Romanian leu.

And arguably, I think my favorite stamps of that year are a triptych from Belgium. The first of the three stamps features the young Mozart and is based on the portrait of the composer made by Pietro Antonio Lorenzoni in 1763. The second stamp in the series is double width and while celebrating the composers birthday, also pays tribute to Queen Elizabeth of Belgium as a patron of the arts. The stamp features her portrait alongside a Mozart piano sonata. The third stamp features the Palace of Charles of Lorraine. While it is known that the young Mozart performed in Brussels for Prince Charles of Lorraine, it is not known where the performance took place. The three stamps were designed by A Meulemans and engraved by J. Vroye.