Composer and Musician. He is best remembered as the father and teacher of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and for his violin textbook "Versuch einer grundlichen Violinschule." The son of a bookbinder, he attended a local Jesuit school, the St. Salvator Gymnasium and became a skilled violinist and organist. After graduating in 1735, he attended a more advanced school, the St. Salvator Lyceum, but withdrew after less than a year. In November 1737, he moved to Salzburg, Austria, to resume his education at the Benedictine University and received a Bachelor of Philosophy Degree in 1738. In 1740, he began his career as a professional musician, becoming violinist and valet to one of the university's canons, Johann Baptist, Count of Thurn-Valsassina and Taxis. The same year, he composed his first musical publication, the six Trio Sonatas, Opus, entitled "Sonate sei da chiesa e da camera," He continued to compose, producing a series of German Passion cantatas. In 1743, he was appointed to a position (fourth violinist) in the musical establishment of Count Leopold Anton von Firmian, the ruling Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg. His duties included composition and the teaching of violin (later, piano) to the choirboys of the Salzburg cathedral. In 1755, he wrote his "Versuch einer grundlichen Violinschule," a comprehensive treatise on violin playing that was published the following year. In 1758, he was promoted to second violinist and, in 1763, to deputy Kapellmeister. He rose no further, and others were repeatedly promoted over him to the head position of Kapellmeister. Around 1759, he discovered that his two children were musically gifted, when he began with keyboard lessons for his seven-year-old daughter Maria Anna (called Nannerl). His young son Wolfgang immediately began imitating his sister, at first picking out thirds on the keyboard and then making rapid progress under Leopold's instruction. By 1762, the children were ready to work as concert performers, and he started taking the family on extensive concert tours, performing for both aristocracy and public, throughout central and western Europe. This tour included Munich, Germany; Vienna, Austria; Paris, France; Brussels, Belgium; and the Hague, Netherlands; together with a lengthy stay in London, England. The touring continued into the early 1770s and the last three trips were to Italy, with only Leopold accompanying Wolfgang. His failure to advance above his Vice-Kapellmeister position at Salzburg was attributed to the inordinate amount of time that the journeys kept him away from Salzburg (the longest journey was about three and a half years). After the final return from Italy in 1773, he was repeatedly passed over for the Kapellmeister post. In 1781, Wolfgang heft home to pursue his musical career in Vienna and he resided with Nannerl in Salzburg until she married in 1784 and moved to St. Gilgen, Austria. His relationship with Wolfgang was often quarrelsome, and they were quite often estranged from each other, as he did not always approve of Wolfgang's decisions, especially his marriage to Constanze Weber in 1782. He is portrayed by some historians as being tyrannical and possessive. In early 1787, his health began to fail, and he died soon afterwards at the age of 67.