Cultural Cocktail Hour
Rock on, Gottlieb– the many nicknames of Mozart
First published by Cultural Cocktail Hour in 2011
Cultural Cocktail Hour® is a registered trademark
by Leticia Marie Sanchez
A lecture by Professor Robert Greenberg, from San Francisco Performances, revealed hidden gems about Mozart’s name. Enjoy!
Baptized Name: Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart
The divinely-inspired composer adored word games.
He called himself: Di Mozartini, Mozartus, and Mozarti
He also enjoyed playing with the letters of his name and called himself:
Romatz, Trazom, Volfgangus (Latin Version) Gangflow (backwards)
His middle name, Theophilus, had the most permutations
His father called him GOTTLIEB because Gottlieb is the German version of Theophilus- “love of God”)
What was Mozart’s personal favorite?
Amédée, the French version, which he picked up when he lived in Paris.
He actually never referred to himself as Amadeus!
(Unless it was a joke, then he would call him self Woolfgangus Amadeus)
Out of respect for Mozart’s preference, someone should have told FALCO to title their 80′s hit “Rock Me, Gottlieb.”
or “Rock me, Trazom.”
Editor’s Note: For a refresher on the Falco tune in question, check out: