Mozart and Freemasons 

• Became a mason in December of 1784, quickly became a master mason. 
  
• Part of the Enlightenment/humanist faction of masons, often referred to as the Illuminati. 
  
• The Marriage of Figaro: opera based on a play by Beaumarchais, another Freemason. It espouses the idea that people of lowly class could be noble in spirit, and vice versa. 
  
• "The purpose of music in the [Masonic] ceremonies is to spread good thoughts and unity among the members" so that they may be "united in the idea of innocence and joy," wrote L.F. Lenz in a contemporary edition of Masonic songs. Music should "inculcate feelings of humanity, wisdom and patience, virtue and honesty, loyalty to friends, and finally an understanding of freedom."
  
• The Masonic initiation ceremony began with the candidate knocking three times at the door to ask admittance. This is expressed musically as a dotted figure:
  

• This figure appears three times in The Magic Flute overture. 
  
• Mozart wrote a number of specifically Masonic compositions. 
  
• Haydn was also a Freemason, as were most of Mozarts other friends.