Leopold Mozart attended the faculty of philosophy of Salzburg University from 1737 to 1739. A few years later an appointment as fourth violinist at the court of the prince-archbishop ensured the young musician a modest income. On 21 November 1747, Leopold married Anna Maria Walburga, daughter of the archiepiscopal court supervisor Wolfgang Nikolaus Pertl from St. Gilgen, in Salzburg Cathedral. Leopold published his pedagogical experience as a violin teacher at the Kapellhaus entitled “Treatise on the Fundamental Principles of Violin Playing” in 1756, the year that his son Wolfgang was born; the book was published by Johann Jakob Lotter in Augsburg. In 1759 Leopold began to compile a book of music “Pour le Clavecin” for Nannerl which was intended as instruction for beginners and contained Wolfgang’s first compositions. The two children Nannerl and Wolfgang had the best teacher - their father, whose prime concern was to encourage his son’s talent.
Years later a friend of the Mozart family (the court trumpeter Johann Andreas Schachtner) recalled in a letter to Maria Anna Berchtold zu Sonnenburg how “the little Wolfgang had asked if he may be allowed to play second violin. Papa found the request a bit foolish since Wolfgang did not have the slightest idea how to play the violin. I asked that he be allowed to play with me and in the end Papa said, ‘go and play with Mr. Schachtner, but as quietly as possible so that no one can hear you, otherwise you will have to leave’. And this is what happened: Wolfgang played the violin with me and soon to my astonishment I noticed that I was quite superfluous. I put my violin to one side and looked at your Papa, who shed tears of admiration and comfort at this scene".