Her brother, Wolfgang, once wrote that he was 'in awe' of her compositions

Mozart's sister was just as talented as the great composer - but had to stop playing so she could learn to sew and find a husband, experts say.

Maria Anna Mozart, nicknamed 'Nannerl', was seen as being just as skilled as her brother Wolfgang Amadeus and received rave reviews across Europe for her musical ability.

But despite often being billed first in shows the siblings played together, Nannerl was 'not given the opportunity' to make money from her talent later in life and stayed at home because of the family's economic struggles, it has been reported.

Leopold Mozart (right) started to teach his daughter Maria Anna (left) to play harpsichord as a child alongside her brother Wolfgang (centre)

The composer's father Leopold Mozart, a court musician, started to teach Maria Anna to play harpsichord when she was just eight-years-old - with her three-year-old brother by her side.

By the 1760s she was touring Europe as a pianist, performing in Germany, Austria, London and Paris.

According to the Smithsonian, Leopold wrote in a letter in 1764: 'My little girl plays the most difficult works which we have... with incredible precision and so excellently.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (pictured) said he was 'in awe' of his sister's composing

'What it all amounts to is this, that my little girl, although she is only 12 years old, is one of the most skilful players in Europe.'

Six years later, Wolfgang wrote to his sister saying that he was 'in awe that you can compose so well, in a word, the song you wrote is beautiful.'

Leopold ended her touring when Maria Anna was eligible to marry at the age of 18 - though she carried on composing at home in Salzburg while her father and brother were travelling through Italy.

Her experiences have been brought to life in the play 'The Other Mozart', written by Sylvia Milo.

She told the Huffington Post that the Mozart family 'risked everything' trying to promote Wolfgang 'so they could be lifted up by him.'

She added: 'The decisions that Leopold made were absolutely logical. They made sense for the survival of the family. I don't blame him one bit actually.

'Still, the society was as such that, of course, there were women composers, but the ones that could show their work were nobility. Women had to play for nothing.

'If they made money off their music, they were thought of as prostitutes. And that was not the position of Nannerl Mozart. She wasn't given that opportunity.'



