Was Mozart a Freemason?

Mozart was an active and enthusiastic Freemason, having been initiated in the autumn of 1784 in the Lodge Zur Wohltätigkeit (Charity) in Vienna 1. Following an imperial decree on December 1, 1785, several Viennese lodges were consolidated, placing him within the united Lodge Zur Neugekrönten Hoffnung (Crowned Hope) 1. His contemporary Franz Joseph Haydn was likewise part of his Masonic circle 1.

Mozart composed a substantial body of music explicitly intended for Masonic ceremonies and lodge meetings 1. These compositions include the opening and closing odes Opus 483 and Opus 484 1, the song Die Gesellenreise (KV 468) 1, the cantata Maurerfreude (KV 471) 1, and the orchestral elegy Maurerische Trauermusik (KV 477) 1. His short Masonic cantata Opus 623, composed for the consecration of a new Masonic temple on November 15, 1791, was the final completed work whose performance he personally conducted prior to his death 1. Several other pieces, including the wind adagios KV 411 and KV 412, were also written for lodge use 1.

His opera The Magic Flute (Die Zauberflöte, KV 620) incorporates explicit Masonic symbolism and ritual themes 1. Its libretto, written by Emanuel Schikaneder, drew plot elements from Abbé Terrasson's 1731 novel Sethos, which depicts ancient Egyptian initiation rites 1.

At a Lodge of Mourning held by his brethren in 1792 following his death, an oration was published to benefit his family 1. It commemorated him as an enthusiastic follower of the Order who brought beauty to lodge proceedings and demonstrated deep charitable feeling toward his fellow Masons 1.