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​THE
LIFE OF MOZART,
INCLUDING HIS CORRESPONDENCE.
BY
EDWARD HOLMES,
AUTHOR OF
A RAMBLE AMONG THE MUSICIANS OF GERMANY."
NEW-YORK:
HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS,
82 CLIFF STREET.
184 5.
Music
ML
110
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H95
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PREFACE.
а.
The only biographical notice of Mozart in
English is a translation from the French of
Bombet (M. Beyle), itself a translation from the
German of Schlictegroll -a sketch too short and
scanty to satisfy the interest of the subject, al-
though quite enough to pique public curiosity.
With the exception of occasional fragments in
magazines and reviews, little more is known in
England of the life of the musician, its strug-
gles, varied incidents, and influence upon art, or
of the brilliant reputations that clustered round
him. The object of the following pages is to
supply this deficiency.
To Nissen, who married the widow of Mo-
zart, we are indebted for an elaborate collec-
tion in the original German) of the musician's
correspondence, in which his character and ge-
nius are revealed with the most charming can-
dour and simplicity. But this work is valuable
chiefly for its materials: the compiler under-
took it in his old age, when he had lost his mem-
ory, and was incapable of reducing his papers
to a systematic arrangement. He died over the
iv
PREFAOE.
book, and left it in confusion. All the essential
details of that publication are carefully preserv-
ed in their natural order in this volume; and the
author's highest ambition will be gratified if it
be found that nothing of value or interest has
been suffered to escape.
Every available source of information has
been diligently explored to render this memoir
complete ; and the author has endeavoured
throughout, as much as possible, to let Mozart
tell his own story. By the collation of André's
catalogue with Mozart's own catalogue, and
other scattered memoranda, a full account of
Mozart's compositions is here, for the first time,
given to the public : the original MSS. have
been personally inspected; various fresh chan-
nels of inquiry have been opened up; all pub-
lished authorities, including incidental referen-
ces in fugitive periodicals, have been consulted ;
and the narrative of his life, gathered from eve-
ry quarter, is thus conducted uninterruptedly to
the close.
!
/
4
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
HIS INFANCY.
PART FIRST.
.
LEOPOLD Mozart, the father of the great mu-
sician, was the son of a bookbinder at Augsburg.
He was born December 14, 1719, and was in due
time removed to the University of Salzburg, where
he studied jurisprudence; whether with undeci-
ded views of a profession is doubtful, for he had
already made himself skilful in music, and was an
admirable performer on the violin. On leaving
the University he was received into the family of
Count von Thurn, a canon of the Cathedral, and
by him afterward recommended to the notice of
the Archbishop of Salzburg, who entertained him
in the capacity of valet-musician.
This appointment, however degrading it may
appear to modern ideas of the dignity of art, offer-
ed at that time the best prospect of preferment in
the establishments of the great; and Leopold Mo-
zart found it so, for he was by degrees removed
from the meaner servitude, made one of the court
musicians, and subsequently vice kapell-meister.*
Among names distinguished in music and enrolled
in the service of the court of Salzburg are those
of Eberlin, Michael Hadyn, &c. The emoluments
of a post in the orchestra of the archbishop, from
the highest member of it to the lowest, were in-
credibly small; but the country was cheap, there
* Composer, and conductor of the orchestra.
A 2
6
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
*
3
was sufficient for a simple, contented life, and the
musician's widow was provided for at his death.
In his 21st year, Leopold Mozart made himself
advantageously known by the production of six vi-
olin trios, which, being too poor to publish them
in the ordinary way, he engraved himself. These
trios, and a collection of twelve pieces for the cla-
vier,* under the quaint title, “ The Morning and
Evening melodiously and harmoniously introduced
to the Inhabitants of Salzburg ;" pieces which, it
seems, were daily performed at the times alluded
to by a band on the fortifications, are the only
compositions that he ever published. But, until
convinced of the great superiority of the genius of
his son, he was a most industrious composer, as his
MSS. evince. Before he surrendered the pen to
abler hands, he had accumulated twelve oratorios,
besides a great variety of pieces for the church
and theatre, several pantomimes, more than thirty
grand serenades, many symphonies, concertos for
wind instruments, trios, &c.
He did much to raise the character of the arch-
bishop's musical establishment. His style of com-
position is described as having been contrapuntal
and solid ; consequently, better adapted for eccle-
siastical than secular purposes. But as a compo-
ser, he remained within the trammels of the fash-
ion of his day, subject to all its stiffness and for-
mality; and it was only as his son's genius open-
ed, and his different manner of writing became
apparent, that the father discovered his own talent
to lie rather in the didactic than the inventive part
of music.
* The clavier, a keyed instrument (as its name implies), waş
precursor of the pianoforte. Though weak in tone, it possess-
ed the same power of sustaining sounds, and was capable of deli,
cate expression. Mozart often used the term " clavier" indiffer.
ently for itself and the pianoforte
the
6
--
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
7
No sooner was Leupold Mozart fairly establish-
ed with the archbishop, than he married a young
person to whom he had long been attached, named
Anna Bertlina, a ward of the institution of St. Gil-
gen. The newly-married pair were so conspicu-
ous for beauty of form, that it was said at the time
so handsome a couple had never before been seen
at Salzburg. Of seven children, the issue of this
union, a girl and a boy alone survived the period
of infancy. The girl, named Maria Anna, was
born on the 29th of August, 1751; and her broth-
er, John Chrysostom Wolfgang Amadeus, the sub-
ject of this biography, on the 27th of January,
1756.
As his family increased, Leopold Mozart was
obliged to devote every hour that he could spare
from his laborious official duties to tuition on the
violin and clavier ; and being soon high in esteem
for the pupils he had formed, his circumstances so
far improved as to enable him, in the year of Wolf-
gang's birth, to publish at his own expense a work
of considerable importance in the theory and prac-
tice of music, entitled “An Attempt towards a
Fundamental System for the Violin.'* This per-
formance gradually extended his reputation as an
artist, and as a methodical, sound, and intelligent
instructer, throughout the whole Continent; and it
may be undoubtedly considered, next to the educa-
tion of his own son, as the greatest benefit he ever
conferred upon the art.
The selection of exam-
ples and the system of fingering laid down in this
violin school were thought excellent; and though
an approximation to that of Tartini was discover-
ed in the general principles, it permitted much
greater freedom in the management of the bow.
* Versuch einer gründlichen Violinschule, mit vier Kupfertafeln,
fc., versehen. AUGSBURG.
:
7
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
>
The best violin players of Germany, during the
latter half of the eighteenth century, formed them-
selves upon the principles inculcated in this work.
Even at this day the name of Mozart had emer-
ged from obscurity, and was mentioned by musi-
cians with respect. In proof, it
may be told, that
one of the earliest publications in musical litera-
ture, the critical letters on the art printed at Ber-
lin, in 1759-60, which were successively address-
ed to the most distinguished men, such as Eman-
uel and Friedemann Bach, Kirnberger, Marpurg,
Benda, &c., made its coup d'essai with Leopold
Mozart. “ Could we," said the writer, "in" ad-
dressing our weekly musical dissertations to some
man of eminent desert, make a fitter commence-
ment than with yourself ?"
Leopold Mozart possessed, in addition to his
musical talent, a strong feeling for the sister arts,
and no inconsiderable share of literary ability.
Öne instance will suffice to portray his romantic
and enthusiastic character. Having read some of
the devotional verses of the Protestant poet Gellert
with much pleasure, he addressed to him, though a
stranger, a letter so full of feeling and elegance,
that Gellert, delighted at the compliment, replied
in the warmest terms of friendship and regard.
They never met, however, for the poet was at this
time an hypochondriacal invalid, and soon after-
ward died.
Within the circle of his immediate acquaintance
at Salzburg, the character ascribed to this musi-
cian was that of a satirical humorist. He exhibit-
ed a singular compound of qualities—a mixture of
sense and superstition, of enthusiasm and caution,
of benevolence and prejudice; but the impression
left by his intercourse was, on the whole, highly
agreeable, and he lived not less admired for his
talents than esteemed for his character.
.
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
9
years of
of age
The wonderful musical genius of his family came
to light almost accidentally. When the girl had
.
reached seven years
she became her father's
pupil on the clavier, at which her progress was
great and uniform, and finally made her mistress of
the highest reputation that any female performer
had ever acquired on a keyed instrument. Her
brother, at this time three years old, was a constant
attendant on her lessons, and already showed, by
his fondness for striking thirds, and pleasing his
ear by the discovery of other harmonious intervals,
a lively interest in music. At four, he could al-
ways retain in memory the brilliant solos in the
concertos which he heard; and now his father be-
gan, half in sport, to give him lessons. The musi-
cal faculty appears to have been intuitive in him,
for in learning to play he learned to compose at
the same time, his own nature discovering to him
some important secrets in melody, rhythm, sym-
metry, and the art of setting a bass. To learn a
minuet, he required half an hour; for a longer piece,
an hour; and, having once mastered them, he play-
ed them with perfect neatness and in exact time.
His progress was so great, that at four years of age,
or earlier, he composed little pieces which his fa-
ther wrote down for him.
In teaching his children, Leopold Mozart at first
employed manuscript lessons written by himself in
a book appropriated to that purpose ; composition
or the transcribing of music was perpetually going
forward in his house; and thus the little boy, with
the love of imitation natural at his age, was led to
make his first essays in holding the pen--those of
a composer. The book in which the father wrote
the infantine productions of his boy was preserved
by the sister as a precious relic to the end of her
life; and though it would be gratifying to see his
10
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
u
first composition as the source of a mighty stream
of genius, some uncertainty exists as to its precise
identity. However, the specimen here given was
undoubtedly composed in his fourth year.
#
#
4
2:33
4
#
非
​Ꭿ.
Ꭿ;
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
11
During 1760 and the two following years he was
continually exercising himself in this
manner,* and
acquired great experience in design and modula-
tion; and now the father, no longer in doubt re-
specting the precocious genius of his son, resolved to
bring both him and his sister to the Bavarian court at
Munich, whither he carried them in January, 1762.
The boy was always extremely animated and
intelligent. Before he applied himself to music he
entered into the usual pastimes of childhood with
such interest, that over a pleasant game he would
forget everything, even his meals, but afterward
he lost much of his relish for these recreations, or
liked them only in proportion as they were mixed
with music. One of the great favourites of Wolf-
gang, and his especial playmate, was Andreas
Schachtner, the principal trumpeter in the arch-
bishop's band; a man of cultivated mind and con-
siderable talent in poetry, the intimate friend of
the family. Whenever the playthings were re-
moved from one chamber to another, if this com-
panion were with him, it must be done to music;
and he who carried nothing must play or sing a
march. Such was the ascendency that the art had
gained.
His disposition was characterized by an extreme
sensibility and tenderness, insomuch that he would
ask those about him ten times a day whether they
loved him, and if they jestingly answered in the
negative, his eyes would fill with tears.
The first studies in arithmetic were pursued by
little Wolfgang with such ardour as for a time to
supplant even music in his affections. The walls,
the chairs, the tables, and even the floor, were now
covered with figures; and his predilection for this
* A characteristic selection from these compositions will be
introduced at the end of the work.
12
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
branch of science, with the reputation of expertness
in it which he now acquired, were preserved by
him throughout life.
His desire of knowledge was great on all sub-
jects; but in music he astonished his teacher, not
so much by an avidity of information as by the im-
possibility of telling him anything which he did not
know before. This was a mystery which Leopold
Mozart contemplated in silent amazement. Had
he merely shown the same excellent disposition
for music as his sister, merely made the same rapid
progress on the clavier, there would have been lit-
tle to astonish, even in an age when infant musical
education, now so well understood and apprecia-
ted, was in a great degree experimental; but to
see this child so early display the ambition, and even
the science of the composer, was truly wonderful.
The genius thus revealed in various incidents, partly
comic and partly pathetic, raised in the paternal
heart feelings of devout gratitude, and in every
friend of the family the warmest interest and sym-
pathy.
One day, as Leopold Mozart, accompanied by a
friend, had just returned home from church, he
found little Wolfgang very busy with pen and ink.
“What are you doing there ?" said his father.
Writing a concerto for the clavier,” replied the
boy. “The first part is just finished.”
be something very fine, I dare say; let us look at
it.” “No, no," said Wolfgang, “it is not ready
yet.” The father, however, took up the paper,
and he and his friend began at first to laugh heart-
ily over this gallimatias of notes, which was so blot-
ted as to be scarcely legible; for the little com-
poser had continually thrust his pen to the bottom
of the inkstand, and as often wiped away with the
palm of his hand the blot thus brought up, intent
* It must
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
13
66 It
solely upon committing his thoughts to writing.
But as the father examined the composition more
attentively, his gaze became riveted to the page,
and tears of joy and wonder began to roll down his
cheeks, for there were ideas in this music far be-
yond the years of his son. 6. See,” said he, smiling
to his friend, "how regularly and correctly written
“
it is; though no use can be made of it, for it is so
immensely difficult, nobody could play it."
is a concerto," returned little Wolfgang, “ and must
be practised before it can be performed. It ought
to go in this way.” He then began to play it, but
was unable to accomplish more than give a notion
of his design. This concerto was written with a
full score of accompaniments, and even trumpets
and drums.*
What the ideas of a child of six years old could
have been respecting the combination and employ-
ment of instruments, may be dismissed from the
imagination for another wonder, which is, however,
rather a matter of fact than of conjecture; namely,
that at this age Mozart knew the effect of sounds
as represented by notes, and had overcome the dif-
ficulty of composing unaided by an instrument.
But, having commenced composition without re-
course to the clavier, his power in mental music
constantly increased, and he soon imagined effects
of which the original type existed only in his own
brain.
Leopold Mozart had now for some time declined
all engagements as a teacher of music at Salzburg,
* So says Nissen; but the trumpets and drums are probably
a biographical flourish, designed to embellish a story that needed
no addition of the marvellous. The scores of Mozart, which have
been preserved from his tenth year, show that he wrote for use,
and not for ostentation, his wind instruments being seldom more
than oboes, bassoons, and horns; such, in fact, as the orchestras
of the day readily supplied.
B
14
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
:
а.
the better to superintend the education of his chil-
dren. Of the journey which the father, son, and
daughter made to Munich, in January, 1762, no
farther intelligence has transpired than that they
remained three weeks; that Wolfgang performed
a concerto in the presence of the elector, and, to-
gether with his sister, excited lively admiration.
From this successful opening tour the children
returned to Salzburg, to pursue their music with
renewed spirit; and the boy began at this time to
make acquaintance with the violin,* somebody hav-
ing presented him with a little instrument adapted
to his size and age. New faculties and fresh sour-
ces of wonder were now disclosed.
Before he had received any regular lessons, his
father was one day visited by a violinist named
Wenzl, an excellent performer, for the purpose of
trying over some new trios of his composition.
Schachtner the trumpeter, who tenderly loved the
little musician, has related the anecdote connected
with this performance. 6. The father," he says,
“ took the bass part on the viola, Wenzl played the
first violin, I the second. Little Wolfgang entreat-
ed that he might play the second violin; his father,
however, would not hear of it, for as he had had no
instruction, it was impossible that he could do any-
thing to the purpose. The child replied, that to
play a second violin part it was not necessary to
have been taught; but the father, somewhat impa-
tiently, bid him go away and not disturb us. At
this he began to cry bitterly, and carried his little
fiddle away, but I begged that he might come back
* Nissen and other biographers of Mozart state that he brought
this violin from Vienna at the close of 1762, and first began to
practise it by stealth. There is improbability on the face of this
story; but it is distinctly disproved by a letter of Leopold Mo-
zart's, written on the road to Vienna, where he describes the boy
softening the custom-house officer by a minuet on the violin.
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
15
and play with me. The father at last consented.
Well, then, you may play with Herr Schachtner,
but remember, so softly that nobody can hear you,
or I must immediately send you away. We play-
ed, and the little Mozart with me, but I soon re-
marked, to my astonishment, that I was completely
superfluous. I silently laid my violin aside and
looked at the father, who could not suppress his
tears. Wolfgang played the whole of the six trios
through with precision and neatness; and our ap-
plause at the end so imboldened him, that he fan-
cied he could play the first violin. For amusement,
,
we encouraged him to try, and laughed heartily at
his manner of getting over the difficulties of this
part, with incorrect and ludicrous fingering indeed,
but still in such a manner that he never stuck fast."
On the 19th of September, 1762, the whole fam-
ily set out for Vienna. The letters during their
tour are addressed to M. Hagenauer, at Salzburg,
an Italian merchant, in whose house they lived, oc-
cupying the second floor, the ground floor being
the warehouse—incidents in the picture of their
home, which are introduced merely to help the im-
agination to a feeling of the locality in which the
childhood of Mozart was principally passed. We
must content ourselves with a few notes on the road.
The Bishop of Linz was so fascinated by the
children, that he detained them five whole days at
Passau, by which they lost money. Concerts, how-
ever, replaced it; and now for a glimpse of the lit-
tle musicians in the simple but picturesque lan-
guage of the father.
" The children are in good spirits, and everywhere
just as if at home. The boy is frank and confiding to
overy one, but particularly to officers, whom he seems
as if he had known all his life. My children are the ad-
miration of every one, the boy especially. Counts Her-
1.6
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
benstein and Schlick, the principal personages of this
place, will make a great noise about us at Vienna, and
in all probability our affairs will prosper, God only pre-
serving us, as hitherto, in health. I request you to
have four masses offered for us at Maria-Plain* as soon
as possible."
On the 16th of October he writes from Vienna:
66 We left Linz on the Feast of the Holy St. Fran-
cis, and arrived at Matthausen. The following Tues-
day we reached Ips, where two Minorites and a Bene-
dictine, who had been our companions on the water,
said mass, between which our Woferlt rattled about on
the organ, and played so well, that the Franciscan fa-
thers, who were entertaining some guests at dinner,
quitted the table, and, together with their company,
hastened into the choir, when their astonishment was
inexpressible. At night we were at Stein, and arrived
here on Wednesday. Our business with the revenue
officers was short, and from the principal search we
were entirely absolved. For this we had to thank our
Mr. Woferl, who made friends with the douanier,
showed him his clavier, and played him a minuet on his
little violin.'
Here follows a long list of counts, chancellors,
and bishops, at whose houses they “conversed with
the first ministers and ladies. Everywhere," writes
the father, “the ladies are in love with my boy.
By this time we are the common talk in all places."
At the opera he overhears the Archduke Leopold
speaking about his son with some one in another
*
*
*
* A celebrated shrine lying at a short distance from Salzburg.
Leopold Mozart and his correspondents, Hagenauer and his wife,
were genuine inhabitants of a monastic city, steady believers in
the efficacy of vows, the mediation of saints, and every other ar-
ticle of Catholic devotion. Such traits of simplicity and religion
in the letters of a man, now plunging into the vortex of fashiona-
ble life, are highly characteristic, and well display the school of
morals and manners in which Mozart was educated.
+ The household diminutive of Wolfgang, in Germany, where
erl seems to be the common termination of all the names used in
the “ little language" of affection.
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
17
a
box, and conceives from this a favourable omen of
his introduction to the emperor, concerning which
he had been in some doubt. Mozart's first appear-
ance at the Austrian court is thus described:
"At present I have not time to say more than that
we were so graciously received by both their majesties,
that my relation would be held for a fable. Wofer)
sprang into the lap of the empress, took her round the
neck, and kissed her very heartily. We were there
from three to six o'clock, and the emperor himself came
into the antechamber to fetch me in to hear the child
play on the violin. Yesterday, Theresa's day, the em-
press sent us, through her private treasurer, who drove
up in state before the door of our dwelling, two robes,
one for the boy, the other for the girl. The private
treasurer always fetches them to court."
Meantime the father receives letters questioning
him as to the extent of his absence from Salzburg.
Such inquiries disquieted all his journeys. His
replies intimate that he sees no probability of reach-
ing home before Advent; but his mind is too much
engrossed with his children to dwell much on that
subject, although it gives him no little uneasiness.
To-day we were at the French ambassador's, and
to-morrow we shall go to Count Harrach's. We are
everywhere fetched and sent back in the carriages of
the nobility. We have agreed to be present from six
to nine o'clock at a grand concert, in which all the
greatest artists of Vienna will exhibit. Not to be too
late, we are engaged four, five, even eight days in ad-
vance, as
as was the case with the postmaster-general,
Count Paar, on Monday. On one occasion we were at
a place from half past two till near four o'clock; then
Count Hardegg sent his carriage for us, which took us
full gallop to the house of a lady, where we stayed till
half past five; afterward we were with Count Kauniz
till near nine.
“Would you like to know how Woferl's dress looks ?
"
It is of a lily colour, of the finest cloth, with a waistcoat
B 2
18
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
of the same, the coat, &c., with double broad gold bor-
ders. It was made for the Archduke Maximilian.
Nannerl's dress is the court costume of an archduchess.
It is of white brocaded taffeta, with all sorts of orna-
ments."
a
+
But in the midst of all these triumphs suddenly
comes a reverse :
Happiness and glass, how brittle are ye! I had
already been thinking that we had been for a whole
fortnight but too happy, when it pleased God to send us
a little cross, and we thank His infinite goodness that it
is now over. On the 21st, at seven in the evening, we
were with the empress, on which occasion W oferl was
not himself, and soon after exhibited a sort of scarlet
eruption. Pray get read three holy masses to Loretto,
and three to the holy Francis de Paula."
*
*
*
His next letter is in better spirits :
iMy little boy's danger, and my trouble, are now,
thank God ! past. We paid our good physician with
music yesterday. Some of the nobility have sent to us,
in the mean while, to inquire after Woferl, and to con-
gratulate him on his fête day. That was, however,
all."
The father expected presents. The nobility,
however, who greatly dreaded smallpox, and every
kind of eruptive disease, were too much occupied
by their fears, and the family passed four weeks in
profitless seclusion. At the end of this time they
were again in public, and at court. The rest of
the triumphs of the little Wolfgang consist in verses
from 56
one Puffendorf;" shoe-buckles from the
Countess Theresa Lodron; and “nods and wreath-
ed smiles” from the empress. The Couutess Leo-
pold Kinsky even puts off
, on his account, a party
she was to have given to Field-marshal Daun, a
marvellous great man, who had a coat for every
day in the year.
Characteristic traits remain ta be added to the
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
19
history of this journey. The Emperor Francis
took much pleasure in diverting himself with the
little magician, as he was wont to call Mozart, and
put his address to the test in a variety of ways;
among others, by covering the keys with a hand
kerchief, and desiring him to play with one finger.
Such tasks as this taught the boy soon to distinguish
between his hearers, and not to throw away his
best music upon those who did not appreciate it.
He had the feeling of an artist; and, in order to
make him do his best, it was necessary sometimes
to deceive him, by telling him that this or that hearer
was a profound connoisseur; his performance was
then full of fire and self-concentration, but in other
cases he played only trifles—dances and the like.
As he was one day about to commence a con-
certo, with the emperor seated near him at the
clavier, on looking round he saw himself surround-
ed by court personages only. “Is M. Wagenseil
"
here?" he inquired of the emperor.
“He ought
to be here; he understands the thing." Wagen-
seil was sent for, and the emperor having given up
to him his place at the clavier, “ I am going to play
one of your concertos," said little Mozart; “will
you turn over for me?"
It must be confessed that he was but an indiffer-
ent courtier. The princes of the imperial family
cultivated music, and one of them (afterward the
Emperor Joseph) happening to exhibit a solo on
the violin, when the Mozarts were in attendance in
the anteroom, heard the little critic exclaiming, “Ah!
that was out of tune," and then again, “ Bravo !"
The honest, undisguised truths which the prince
heard on this occasion he never forgot, nor ever re-
curred to them without good-humoured laughter.
The following anecdote relates also to this visit.
As the two archduchesses were one day leading
20
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
+
:
the boy between them to the empress, being un-
used to the highly polished floor, his foot slipped,
and he fell. One of them took no notice of the
accident, but the other, Marie Antoinette, after-
ward the unfortunate Queen of France, lifted him
up and consoled him. He said to her, “You are
very kind: I will marry you.” She related this to .
her mother, who asked Wolfgang how he came to
form such a resolution. “From gratitude," he re-
a
plied.; "she was so good; but her sister gave her-
self no concern about me."
At the beginning of the year 1763 the family
were again at Salzburg, preparing for a journey of
much greater extent in the summer.
The delicate
organization of the young magician was shown at
this time in an invincible horror of the sound of
the trumpet. He could not bear that instrument
when blown by itself, and was alarmed to see it
even handled. His father, thinking to remove this
childish fear, though, one must needs think, in this
instance, with less than his usual prudence, desired
that it should be blown before him, notwithstand-
ing all his entreaties to the contrary. At the first
blast he turned pale and sank to the ground, and
serious consequences might have ensued had the
experiment been persisted in.
His ear was indeed exquisitely fine, of which the
following is a proof. He had, on a certain occa-
sion, played the violin of his friend Schachtner,
which was so great a favourite with him, on account
of its soft, smooth tone, that his usual name for it
was " the butter fiddle.” Some days afterward,
Schachtner, on entering the house, found the boy
amusing himself with his own little violin.
“What
have
you
done with your butter fiddle ?" said he,
and continued to play; but on a sudden he stop-
ped, pondered a while, and then added, " If you
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
21
have not altered the tuning of your violin since I
last played upon it, it is half a quarter of a tone
flatter than mine here.' At this unusual exacti-
tude of ear and memory there was at first a laugh,
but the father thought proper to have the violin
sent for and examined, and the result proved that
the boy was perfectly correct.
The wonder that his talents created, and the ap-
plause that he received, had noill effects; he remain-
ed a simple and affectionate child, free from wanity,
dutiful to his parents, who governed him rather by
looks than words, and so obliging, that how long
soever he might have played, he was always ready
to return to the instrument, without a murmur, if
his father desired it. · He carried his obedience so
far that he would not accept presents, still less ven-
ture to eat anything offered him by friends, without
permission. The only point on which it was ne-
cessary to be peremptory with him was his music;
for, even at these years, he would wholly forget
himself in the pursuit of his ideas, and would often
have sat playing, to the injury of his health, had
he not been driven from the clavier.
Before he went to rest at night, a little solemnity
took place, which could not, on any occasion, be
omitted. He had composed a tune, which was reg-
ularly sung by himself
, at this time, standing in a
chair, while his father, standing near him, sang the
second. The words were merely oragna figata fa
marina gamina fa.
S
ន
Fine.
g
5
위
​22
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
b. C.
be
**
It was
Between the singing, and after it, he would kiss
his father on the tip of the nose, and having thus
expressed his childish affection, go quietly and con-
tentedly to bed. This custom was observed till
he had passed his ninth year. For his father and
instructer, who appeared in every point of view in
a light that commanded respect, he cherished sen-
timents of veneration, and one of his most ordinary
sayings was, “God first, and then papa.
an odd fancy of his at this time, that when his fa-
ther became old, he would have him preserved in
a glass case, the better to contemplate and admire
him.
The children having made great progress in mu-
sic, the family, including the mother, set out on a
new expedition on the 9th of June, 1763. Wolf-
gang was now in his eighth year, and during this
journey he played the clavier, the organ, and the
violin; he sang, played, and composed extempore,
played and transposed at sight, accompanied from
score, improvised on a given bass, and was able, in
fact, to answer every challenge. I thus group
his
performances, in order to enable the reader to form
an immediate estimate of the versatility of his
powers.
The little party no sooner arrive at Wasserburg,
in Bavaria, than, with the enthusiasm of musicians,
they immediately make their way to the organ in
the Cathedral. The incident, as related in one of
the father's letters, is full of interest.
" To amuse ourselves, I explained the pedals to Wolf-
gang. He began immediately, stante pede, to try them,
* Nach Gott könnt gleich der Papa.
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
23
us.
pushed the stool back, and preluded standing and tread-
ing the bass, and really as if he had practised many
months. Every one was astonished; this is a new gift
of God, which many only attain after much labour.”
We next find them at Munich, from whence the
father writes, on the 21st of June, 1763:
" Arrived on the 12th, and on the following day we
drove to Nymphenburg. The Prince of Zweibrücken,
who made our acquaintance at Vienna, saw us from the
palace window walking in the garden, and beckoned to
After he had conversed with us for some time, he
inquired if the elector knew that we were here. Upon
our replying in the negative, he sent one of the gentle-
men near him to ask the elector if he would not like to
hear the children, and a command was shortly sent to
us to attend the concert at eight o'clock. Wolferl ac-
quitted himself as usual.* On the next day we went
to Prince Clement. The only difficulty now is to con-
trive how to free ourselves from this place, as people
are kept waiting for their money so long here that they
are at last glad to get what they have expended. On
the 18th the elector dined in the city; we were pres-
ent, and he, his sister, and the Prince Zweibrücken
conversed with us during the whole entertainment. I
permitted the boy to say that we should set out on the
The elector twice expressed his regret at not
having heard the girl; on the second occasion I replied
that a couple of days more would be of no consequence.
I should not be detained by the prince, but he is waiting
to see what the elector gives. Personally, I cannot
complain of the elector, who is most gracious; he said
to me yesterday, We are old acquaintances; it must be
nineteen years since we first met. But apostles them-
selves must first think of their own affairs and of the
purse,
P.S.-We are at last furnished forth. The elector
has sent us a hundred, and the prince seventy-five flor-
ins."
morrow
6
* He played a concerto on the violin, and made the cadences
extempore.
.:
24
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
Yes-
The next letter, dated Ludwigsburg, July 11,
1763, describes a profitless stay at Augsburg, and
a tedious journey in search of the reigning duke,
from whom it was difficult to gain either an audi-
ence, payment, or dismissal. The state in which
Jomelli lived at Stuttgard, with a great revenue,
carriages and horses, while maintaining a houseful
of his countrymen, forms an interesting feature of
it. But intrigue is attributed to him, and great
prejudice against the Germans.*
At this place
Leopold Mozart falls in with Nardini :
“I have heard a violin player named Nardini, who in
beauty, equality, and purity of tone, and in a certain
singing taste, is not to be surpassed. He, however,
plays no difficulties.”
They shortly afterward arrive at Schwetzingen,
the summer residence of the court.
6. The Prince of Zweibrücken introduced us.
terday a concert was given on our account; it was the
second since May, and lasted from five o'clock till nine.
I had the pleasure to hear, besides good singers of both
sexes, the admirable flauto traverso, Wendling. † The
* The character here given of Jomelli seems to be the result
of hasty and ill-founded suspicion. Metastasio describes him in
a letter to Farinelli, dated November, 1749, as of a spherical fig-
ure, gentle disposition, with an engaging countenance, pleasing
manners, and excellent morals: "I have found in him all the har.
mony of Hasse, with all the grace, expression, and invention of
Vinci.” And in another letter: “If ever you should see him, you
will be attached to him." When Leopold Mozart was at Naples
.
in 1770, he found occasion to change his opinion, and was quite
won over by his kindness. The fate of Jomelli shows the sensi.
bility of his nature. He had lived twenty years, with splendid
reputation, in the service of the Duke of Wurtemburg, where he
imbibed the German taste for harmony. On his return to Naples
he wrote two operas, which were thought heavy, and so ill re-
ceived by his countrymen on this account that vexation broke his
heart. He composed his famous Miserere, and died.
+ Wendling afterward became one of the most génerous and
enthusiastic of the friends of young Mozart, who took an oppor-
tunity of bringing his talents, and those of his daughters, con-
spicuously before the public, in the opera of “ Idomeneo." The
German flute, now in the infancy of its mechanism, was called
......
:
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
25
orchestra is incontestably the best in Germany, com-
posed entirely of young people of good character, who
are neither drinkers nor dicers, nor yet clownish per-
sons; their conduct is as estimable as their talent. My
children have set all Schwetzingen in commotion."
Passing through Heidelberg, their first visit, as
usual, was to the organ.
“ After walking about Heidelberg, our Wolfang tried
the organ in the Heil. Geist Kirche, and played so ad-
mirably, that his name was ordered by the dean of the
city to be inscribed on the organ as an eternal remem-
brance."*
The Elector of Mayence was ill: the family
therefore gave one concert at the Roman King, and
drove off to Frankfort.
66 Our first concert here was on the 18th. All in as-
tonishment, as usual. Wolfgangerl in extraordinary
spirits.
One morning during the journey, Wolfgang, on
awaking, began to cry. I asked him what was the mat-
ter. He said he was so sorry that he could not see his
friends Hagenauer, Wenzl, Spitzeder, Reible, Leitgeb,
Vogt, Cajetan, Nazerl, and the rest. At Mayence
Nannerl was presented with an English hat and a set of
bottles for the toilet (worth four ducats); here, again,
with a snuffbox, &c., and Wolfgang also with a snuff-
box of porcelain.
“Indeed we are obliged to travel noblement, not only
for the preservation of our health, but for the credit of
our court; and as we have no intercourse but with per-
the flauto traverso, to distinguish it from the flute à bec, which was
held longitudinally. The length of the concerts in the middle of
the last century, while the scope of instrumental music was yet
limited, may be a subject of some surprise. In Germany they
ordinarily lasted four hours ; in Italy, often five.
* Organ, inscription, and all, are now gone. Several years ago
the organ was sold, for the use of some obscure church in the
country.
+ Chiefly names of musicians belonging to the chapel at Salz-
burg. As the common characteristic of childhood is readily to
forget the associations of home amid the excitement of strange
scenes, this unusual trait of affection will not escape notice.
C
26
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
sons of rank and distinction, we are treated with great
politeness and attention.
“ At Bonn we found no elector, but at Aix-la-Cha-
pelle there was the Princess Amelia, sister of the King
of Prussia. She has, however, no money. If the
kisses that she gave my children, especially to Master
Wolfgang, had been louis d'ors, we should have been
well off; but neither host nor postmaster will take
kisses for current coin."
He then describes the bad prospects for his ex-
penses to Paris :
1
“ My children have, indeed, had various costly pres-
ents, which I do not intend to turn into money. Wolf-
gang, for example, two magnificent swords; one from
the Archbishop of Mechlin, count Frankenburg, the
other from General Count Ferraris. The girl has re-
ceived a present of Flemish lace from the archbishop,
and all sorts of finery from others. Of snuff boxes,
etuis, and the like, we have enough to set up a shop.
I suppose that a box full of our Peruvian treasures has
reached Salzburg by this time. But in money I am
poor."
These frequent references to money difficulties
in the letters of the elder Mozart, in a correspond-
ence which, it must be borne in mind, was strictly
confidential, afford curious evidences of the state
of society, and the absolute poverty of the nobility.
So far as Leopold Mozart's own feeling was
concerned, his constant disappointments in this
way, perplexed as they were by overwhelming
personal kindnesses, had no other effect upon him
than as they threatened from day to day to impede
and embarrass his progress.
The family were favourably introduced at Paris,
through the lady of the Bavarian ambassador,
daughter of Count Arco, chamberlain to the Arch-
bishop of Salzburg. They were lodged in her ho-
tel. but it was a time of court mourning, which
'
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
27
formidably increased their expenses and obstructed
their receipts. In spite of the recurrence of these
details, they are essential to impress the nature of
the expedition, and the fortunes of the artists upon
the reader.
A letter in Grimm and Diderot's correspondence
enables us to follow our hero into the private soci-
ety of Paris. Details of facts already familiar are
omitted.
6. The other day a lady asked him if he could accom-
pany by ear an Italian cavatina which she knew by
heart. The child began a bass which was at first not
absolutely correct-it being impossible to accompany a
song, the melody of which is unknown beforehand;
however, no sooner was the performance at an end than
he requested the lady to begin again, and now he not
only played the melody with the right hand, but accom-
panied it with the bass without the least embarrass-
ment; and this he did ten times, at each repetition al-
tering the character of his accompaniment. He would
have continued it twenty times had he not been stop-
ped."
The account of the reception of the family by the
French court at Versailles is wanting in the corre-
spondence. This void has been partly supplied by
Mozart's sister, who remembered that Madame de
Pompadour had her brother placed upon a table,
and upon his advancing to salute her, she turned
away; upon which he said, rather angrily, “Who
is this, that will not kiss me? The empress kiss-
ed me."
The little boy played before the royal family at
Versailles, and gave an organ performance in the
chapel there, which was attended by the whole
court. His organ-playing was more highly esteem-
ed at this period than even his performance on the
clavier. Two grand concerts were also given be-
fore the public at large, and the Mozarts became
.
28
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
66 The
37
much in fashion; their portraits were elegantly
engraved, poems were written upon them, and they
were everywhere treated with distinction. Here,
too, Wolfgang published his first works : two sets
of sonatas for the clavier, with an accompaniment
for the violin--the one dedicated to Madame Vic-
toire, the king's second daughter, the other to the
Countess Tessé.
Wolfgang received in acknowledgment a gold
snuffbox from the countess, while the Princess Ca-
rignan, with Oriental gusto and elegance, presented
him with a silver standish and silver pens.
people are all crazy about my children, writes the
father. The satirical humour of Leopold Mozart
is well displayed in a letter addressed to Madame
Hagenauer, dated Paris, February 1, 1764. He re-
grets the odious, ugly embellishments and excess-
ive painting of the French ladies, and continues :
" As for their religion--the miracles of the French
female saints, I assure you, are not scarce; the greatest
are performed by those who are neither maids, wives,
nor widows, and are all worked by the living body.
Suffice it to say, that it costs some trouble here to dis-
cover who is the mistress of the house ; every one lives
according to his or her fancy, and if there is not a special
mercy of God, it will one day fare with the State of
France as of old with the Kingdom of Persia.”
A picture of the etiquette of the court of Ver-
sailles, with the triumph of natural emotion over
lifeless forms and ceremonies, is introduced:
"I may observe, that it is not the custom here to kiss
the hands of the royal family, or to molest them when
they are au passage, as they call it (that is, when they
traverse the royal apartments and gallery in their way
to church), by presenting any petition or speaking to
them; nor when the king or any of the royal family
passes is there any bowing, or kneeling, or other testi-
mony of respect than that of standing perfectly erect
I
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
29
4
and motionless. In this posture the king and his family
pass close before one, and you may imagine what sort
of impression must have been made upon a people so
wedded to the formalities of their court as the French,
when I tell you that the king's daughter, both in the
apartments and in the public passage, as soon as she
saw my children stopped, drew near them, and not only
gave them her hand to kiss, but kissed them and re-
ceived numberless kisses in return. The same may be
said of Madame the Dauphiness.
“But what most astonished the spectators was, that
at the public dinner, au grand couvert, on New-Year's
evening, we alone had the way cleared for us to the royal
table,* where Master Wolfgangus had the honour to
stand near the queen, to converse with and amuse her
constantly—now and then eating something which she
gave him from the table, or kissing her hand. The
queen speaks as good German as we do; but as the
king knows nothing of it, the queen interprets all that
our heroic Wolfgang says.”
On Christmas day they went to the chapel of
Versailles, and attended matins and three masses.
The music is thus described :
" I heard there music that was both bad and good.
Everything performed by single voices, which was in-
tended to pass as an air, was vapid, cold, and miserable;
in a word, French; the choruses, however, were all
good, indeed excellent. I went daily with my little
man into the royal gallery, at the king's mass, to hear
the choir in motets, which are always executed. The
king's mass is at one o'clock, except he goes hunting,
and then it takes place at ten, o'clock, and the queen's
at half past twelve."
The next topic is the difficulty of their move-
ments in Paris, often made in three sedan chairs
when the weather was bad, and the expense of
which, combined with a court mourning, was seri-
* The Swiss guard marched before them. How astounding
to the faculties of poor Madame Hagenauer must have been this
grandeur; but, in reality, in the history of events, what a trifle !
C2
30
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
Ous. .
As usual, the court delayed to pay them, and
their affairs, in German phrase, travelled “ by the
snail post.” Leopold Mozart is now discursive on
French manners :
Pomp and splendour are still extravagantly admired
and pursued by the French, consequently no one is
rich but the farmers; the gentry are overwhelmed with
debts. The greatest riches are possessed by some hun-
dred persons, among whom are several bankers and
fermiers généraux, and their money is chiefly spent on
Lucretias, who, however, do not stab themselves."
Now for the fashions of the day:
66 The ladies wear their clothes trimmed with fur in
summer as well as winter; they wear fur round their
necks, fur in their hair instead of flowers, and on their
arms instead of bands, &c., &c. The most laughable
hing is to see a sword-band (which is here the fashion)
ornamented with a fur border. That must be a capital
method to prevent the sword from freezing."
He then comments on the selfish and unnatural
practice of deserting their newborn children, which
prevailed among the Parisians, and gives a dread-
ful picture of its effects :
6. But observe the wretched consequences (of com-
mitting children to the nursing of peasants). You will
scarcely find any place so abounding in miserable and
mutilated objects. Scarcely have you been two minutes
in a church, or walked through a couple of streets, than
you are beset by some blind, lame, deformed, or half-
putrefying beggar; or you .see some one lying in the
street, whose hand, when he was a child, was devoured
by a pig; or another, who, at the same time of life, fell
into the fire while his nurse and her husband were at
work in the fields, and had half his arm burned off; be-
sides a crowd of others whom I could not, from disgust,
ever look at in passing.
"Now to turn from the horrible to the charming, and
first to that which has charmed a king. You would
like, would you not, to know what sort of looking per
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
31
son Madame de Pompadour is? She must have been
very handsome, for she is still an elegant person. Her
figure is imposing; she is large and plump, but well
proportioned; her complexion fair, with some resem-
blance in her eyes to the empress. Her apartments
towards the garden at Versailles are like a paradise, and
she has a magnificent hotel just built in the Faubourg
St. Honoré at Paris. In the room where the harpsi-
chord was, which was gilt, and beautifully ornamented
and painted, we observed her portrait and the king's,
both of the size of life.
6. There is constant war here on the subject of French
and Italian music. French music, the whole of it put
together, is not worth a straw; but desperate attempts
are now making to introduce something better, and as
the French are beginning to give way, I hope that in
ten or fifteen years there will be no such thing as
French taste. The engraver has now in hand four so-
natas by Mr. Wolfgang Mozart. Imagine the noise
these sonatas will make in the world, when people read
on the title-page that they are the work of a child seven
years old, and one who, if unbelievers demand a proof,
which has happened ere now, is in condition to set the
bass, or the second violin part, to any minuet that may
be laid before him, without troubling the clavier. You
will in time hear how excellent these sonatas are; an
Andante in one of them is of especial taste. I may tell
you that God daily works new wonders in this child.
On our return he will, please God, be able to do good
service in the court music. He now accompanies at all
public concerts. He transposes, prima vista, the airs
he accompanies, and everywhere plays off at sight
whatever pieces may be placed before him, whether
Italian or French. My girl plays the most difficult
pieces by Schoberth and Eckard that are yet known;
among these the most difficult are by Eckard, which
she executes with incredible clearness; indeed, in such
a manner that the envious Schoberth cannot conceal
his jealousy, which has occasioned much merriment."
The concerts of the children were given at the
theatre de M. Felix, Rue et Porte St. Honoré. This
32
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
a
ances.
was a little theatre in the house of a man of fortune,
where the nobility got up private amateur perform-
Madame de Clermont, who resided there,
procured them the favour; she was, however, as-
sisted by the Duke de Chartres, &c., leave for two
concerts being directly opposed to the privileges
>
of the opera.
a
Here we have a character of Grimm, very differ-
ent from that drawn by Rousseau in the “Confes-
sions,” yet not altogether inconsistent with its ve-
racity :
“ This Mr. Grimm, the most particular friend that I
have here, a man of learning and of great benevolence,
is secretary to the Duke of Orleans. My letters were
all useless, whether of the French ambassador at Vi-
enna, or the Austrian ambassador at Paris, or the rec-
ommendation from the minister at Brussels; even
from Prince Conti, the Duchess d'Aguillon, and others,
of whom I could compose a litany. The single Mr.
Grimm, to whom I had a letter from a merchant's wife
at Frankfort, did everything. He mentioned us at
court, and provided for our first concert, towards which
he sold 320 tickets, and consequently paid me '80 louis
d'ors. He gave us also our wax-lights. .
"M. de Mechel, an engraver, is now hard at work on
our portraits, which have been very well painted by M.
von Carmontelle, an amateur. Wolfgang is playing the
clavier; I, behind his chair, the violin. Nannerl leans
with one arm on the clavier, and holds in the other
hand music, as if singing.”
Having succeeded well at Paris, the family set
out for England, by way of Calais, on the 10th of
April, 1764, and remained there till the middle
of the following year. They lodged in London at
the house of a Mr. Williamson, in Frith-street,
Soho. Both the children were heard by their maj-
esties on the 27th of the same month, and again
in the month following, when the boy played on
THE LIFE OF MOZART,
33
the king's organ with similar approbation to that
he had already received at Versailles.
The public performances of the young musicians
consisted principally of double concertos on two
claviers ; the boy also sang airs with the greatest
feeling. Both in Paris and London it was usual
to place before him various difficult pieces by Bach,
Handel, Paridies, &c., which he played off, not
only at sight and with perfect neatness, but in their
exact time and style. It is related of John Chris-
tian Bach, music-master to the queen, that he took
little Mozart between his knees and played a few
bars, which the boy continued; and that thus chan-
ging and playing by turns, they performed an entire
sonata admirably, and as if by one pair of hands.
Mozart ever retained the greatest regard for this
Bach and his works.
The account of their first appearance at the Eng-
lish court is dated London, May 28, 1764.
- On the 27th of April, five days after our arrival, we
were with their majesties from six to nine o'clock.
The present we received on leaving the royal apart-
ments was twenty-four guineas only, but the condescen-
sion of both the exalted personages is indescribable.
Such were their friendly manners that we could not
believe ourselves in the presence of the king and queen
of England. . . . What we have here experienced sur-
passes everything. A week afterward we were walk-
ing in St. James's Park, when the king and queen came
driving by, and, although we were all differently dress-
ed, they knew and saluted us; the king, in particular,
threw open the carriage window, put out his head, and,
laughing, greeted us with head and hands, particularly
our Master Wolfgang.
“On the 19th of May we were again with their maj-
esties from six o'clock to ten. Nobody was present but
the two princes, the brother of the king and the brother
of the queen. Twenty-four guineas again on going
away.
:
34
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
a
a
“We are going to take what they call a benefit on the
5th of June, though the usual concert season is now
over, and, as the expenses will be forty guineas, we
cannot hope to get much. Basta! We shall do well
enough if, through God's
blessing, we all keep well, and
particularly our intrepid Wolfgang.
- The king placed before him pieces by Wagenseil,
Bach, Abel, and Handel, all of which he played off.
He played on the king's organ in such a manner, that
his hearers preferred him on the organ to the clavier.
He then accompanied the queen in an air, and a per-
former on the flauto traverso in a solo. At last he took
up the bass part of one of Handel's airs that by chance
lay in the way, and upon the mere bass performed a
melody so beautiful that it astonished everybody. In
a word, what he was on leaving Salzburg is but the
shadow of what he is at present; he surpasses all that
you can imagine.
“He is now sitting at the clavier playing Bach's trio,
and desires to be remembered to you; and not a day
passes in which he does not speak of Salzburg, and of
our friends and companions, at least thirty times. His
head is at present full of an opera which he wishes to
have performed by his young Salzburg acquaintance,
and I am often obliged to reckon up the young people
who are to compose his orchestra."
The concert of the family on the 5th of June was
most fashionably patronized, and very profitable,
though the father was alarmed at the extraordinary
expense of an English orchestra. He records with
due honour to the profession that “ most of the musi-
cians would take nothing." Another concert was
given at Ranelagh, on behalf of a public charity.
“I have permitted Wolfgangerl," says the father,
" to play the British patriot, and perform an organ
concerto on this occasion. Observe, this is the way
to gain the love of the English.” Of the former of
"
these concerts he observes :
$' I can send you no more particulars than you will
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
35
find in the papers. It is sufficient to say that my girl is
esteemed the first female, performer in Europe, though
only twelve years old, and that the high and mighty
Wolfgang, though only eight, possesses the acquire-
ments of a man of forty. In short, those only who see
and hear can believe; and even you in Salzburg know
nothing about him, he is so changed."
The father was evidently not prepared for the
progress to which he bore testimony; his son had
left Salzburg a prodigy of address and feeling in
musical performance, but in the course of a few
months he had overrun a great part of the field of
high musical composition; he wrote for the orches-
tra with effect, and had intuitively acquired a pow-
er which, in others, is the result of long experience,
foresight, and calculation. He was now about to
commence symphonist, and we shall see how he
began. The cause was in a measure accidental. V
Returning from a concert at Lord Thanet's, Leo-
pold Mozart caught a severe cold, which termina-
ted in quinsy, and brought him to the brink of the
grave. As every instrument was silent while he lay
in this state, the boy, in order to employ himself
,
wrote a symphony, which was his first attempt of
that kind. His sister sat near him copying while
he was at work, and he said to her, “Remind me
that I give the horns something good to do.”
The symphony commences in this spirited man-
ner:
Molto Allegro.
B6 €
f
b
Jite
bb
36
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
bu
E
P
o
+
bbŁIFF
2
a
The score consists of two violins, tenor and bass,
two oboes, and two horns.
We detect the ardent nature of the boy, and his
decisive mode of workmanship, in a curious post-
script at the beginning of the next year. “The
symphonies at all concerts are by Wolfgang." He
must, therefore, have written others, which are lost.
The family now removed to Chelsea, and resi-
ded in the house of a Mr. Randall, Five Field Row.
The father being recovered, orders twenty-two
masses, and undertakes the conversion of "one Si-
pruntini, the son of a Dutch Jew," a great violin-
cello player. How he sped is not known, but he
desires to acquire the character of a missionary.
Towards the close of 1764 appeared a third set of
sonatas, dedicated to Queen Charlotte,* for which
she sent fifty guineas. The dedications of these
works, written for the composer with all the affec-
tation and exaggerated compliment that belong to
the vieille cour, would give a bad impression of the
artless child, had not the Hon. Daines Barrington
painted him to the life in a couple of sentences :
“ While playing to me,” he writes, “ a favourite
cat came in, on which he left his harpsichord, nor
could we bring him back for a considerable time.
He would also run about the room with a stick be-
tween his legs by way of horse." These are cer-
tainly not the diversions of a man, and yet, despite
"them, the infantine voice and childish countenance,
* Published b; Bremner, in the Strand.
a
*
с
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
37
it is curious that he suspected the father of impo-
sition with regard to his son's age. Mr. Barring-
ton made his visit to the Mozarts the subject of a
long paper in the “ Philosophical Transactions ;"
'
he went expressly to puzzle the boy, but found it
beyond his power. The child played his score of
a new duet, and sang'a part in it at sight; he also
sang two extemporary dramatic airs on words se-
lected by himself with the felicity of genius, Affetto
and Perfido, conjuring up those inspirations of ten-
derness and reproach on the mere mention of a
friend's name, the great singer, Manzuoli. Still,
the Hon. Mr. Barrington having fortified himself
by the opinions of sundry musicians, retained his
doubts, and applied, through the Bavarian envoy,
Count Haslang, for a certificate of the boy's birth,
which, when obtained, fully vindicated the honour
of the father, and left the son in full possession of
his reputation as a musical prodigy. Young as he
was, he even at this time exercised a permanent
influence on English music. The first introduction
of clavier duets (pieces for four hands) is ascribed
to him. Among the trophies of his achievements in
England, the father preserved an official letter from
the British Museum, acknowledging an anthem,
and other MS. compositions, the performances of
his" very ingenious son.” However, as time wore
"
on, the family began to feel the usual influences of
declining novelty. The receipts of their concerts
gradually diminished, while an outlay of £300,
which their first year in London had cost, did not
tempt them to try a second. The father conceals
the real causes of his dissatisfaction under a sudden
censoriousness on the subject of English manners,
to which it is surprising he did not earlier give
vent. He had rejected some proposal, and lost
money. He continues :
D
+
.
38
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
“But what does it signify to talk much of a matter
that I resolved upon, after deep consideration, and many
sleepless nights, especially as it is now over, and I am
determined not to bring up my children in so dangerous
a place as London, where people, for the most part,
have no religion, and there are scarcely any but bad ex-
amples before the eyes. You would be astonished to
see how children are brought up here, to say nothing
of religion.”
Their departure from England is announced in a
letter from the Hague, dated September 17, 1765:
6. The Dutch ambassador in London had several
times recommended us to go to the Prince of Orange at
the Hague, but preached to deaf ears. However, on
the very day of our departure, he visited our lodgings,
and, finding us gone, followed us post haste, conjuring
us to go to the Hague, as the Princess von Weilburg,
sister of the Prince of Orange, had a vehement desire
to see this child. I complied the more readily, as no-
thing must be refused to a lady in her delicate state."
This was probably an excuse for his going to Hol-
land, intended to be communicated to the authori-
ties at home. At Lille, Wolfgang performed on
the great new organ belonging to the Bernhardine
fathers, and at Antwerp on the organ in the Cathe-
dral. They had not been many weeks at the Hague
before the daughter was seized with so alarming
an illness, that it was thought necessary to admin-
ister to her, as a dying person, the last offices of
the Church. The good father prepared her to re-
sign herself to the divine will:
“ Had any one heard the discourses which I and my
wife and daughter had, and how we convinced her of
the vanity of the world, and of the blessed deaths of
children-Wolfgang in the mean time in another cham-
ber, amusing himself with his music-assuredly they
could not have listened with dry eyes."
The following varies the monotony of a sick
chamber by a truthful and characteristic touch :
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
39
6* At last the Princess von W. sent the celebrated old
Professor Schwenkel to us, who treated the disorder in
a new manner. My daughter, who lay in a state be-
tween sleeping and waking, and was a little delirious,
would sometimes in her doze begin to talk in one lan-
guage, sometimes in another, which, notwithstanding all
our trouble, made us now and then laugh a little. This
also somewhat counteracted Wolfgang's melancholy."
The continuation of this letter illustrates the
practical value of religion, and its heavenly influ-
ence in the hour of sickness. But now for the su-
perstition of this sensible man. He opens his
prayer-book at a lucky spot, and conceives it to be
a direct assurance from Heaven that his daughter
will recover, which she ultimately does. Of course,
this was owing to the masses and invocations which
he had ordered. He next expresses a kind wish
to gratify his daughter in a peculiar fancy :
My daughter,” he writes, “ has been thinking much
of the pious Crescentia, and would gladly have a mass
said in her honour. However, as we do not feel au-
thorized to do this until our Church has decided some-
thing in relation to that holy personage, I leave it to
your wife to discuss the matter with some of the Fran-
ciscan fathers in consistory, and to make such an ar-
rangement that my daughter may be satisfied, and the
ordinances of God and of our Church not violated."
Fresh misfortunes awaited the family in Hol-
land, where Wolfgang now fell ill, and with diffi-
culty struggled through an inflammatory fever,
which greatly reduced him for several weeks. The
kind sympathy of the court was not wanting on
this occasion; for the father speaks of friends who
shared their affliction, but whose names he would
not mention, lest it should be attributed to vanity.
It is curious to observe how his Catholic prejudi-
ces rub off upon the road. At Augsburg, when he
had just left home, he attributed the failure of his
.
i'
. i. .
40
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
1
:
concert to the coldness of the Lutherans ; but, jour-
neying to Paris, he made the acquaintance of two
Saxon advocates of that persuasion, whom he fur-
nished with letters to Salzburg, describing them as .
“the most delightful people, and though they were
Lutherans, different from any Lutherans that he
had ever known. Now in Holland he finds the re-
formers absolutely “wise and pious." It must be
told that, notwithstanding a general prohibition of
concerts in Lent, he was allowed to give two-be-
cause the miraculous gifts of the child redounded
" to the honour and glory of God.” Herein, per-
haps, we may find a key to his modified opinions.
On recovering from the severe illness just men-
tioned, the young musician wrote a symphony and
à Quodlibet* for the installation festival of the
Prince of Orange; he next composed a set of six
sonatas (the fourth during this journey) for
vier and violin, which he dedicated to the Princess
of Nassau-Weilberg, besides sundry airs and varia-
tions. What an evidence of application at a time
when study and practice were so often interrupted
by visits and performances ! But this was not all.
In March, 1776 (probably for some solemnity in
Lent), he produced an oratorio for two soprani and
a tenor.
The excitement of fancy in which he lived du-
ring the tour is well displayed in an anecdote pre-
served by his sister. He imagined himself a king,
and that the population of his dominions were good
* The title is “Galimathias Musicum.” It is composed for the
orchestra, with a part for the harpsichord obligato. All the in-
struments have solos in turn, and the whole is wound up by a
fugue on the national Dutch air, “Prince William,” which is de-
scribed by the father as "sung, whistled, and piped by everybody
in Holland."
+ The instrumental score is for four-stringed instruments, oboes,
bassoons, and horns. The date and superscription of the MS, are
in the handwriting of Leopold Mozart.
.
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
41
and happy children. The idea pleased him so
much, that the servant who travelled with them-
happening to draw a little-had to make a chart
of this Utopia, while the boy dictated to him the
names of its cities, towns, and villages.
While the young composer was thus revelling in
the visions of his own creation, the happiness of his
father was alloyed with many anxieties. He was
now returning home in considerable uncertainty
respecting his reception by the archbishop, his leave
of absence having long since expired. The tour
in which he had engaged, though not altogether
unprofitable in a pecuniary point of view, had still
been less so than the great patronage which the
family received, and the sensation they universally
created, might have led them to expect. The pro-
fusion of the age in dress, and the necessity of keep-
ing up a certain style, caused a formidable deduc-
tion from their means; while every now and then
illness not only made farther inroads on their re-
sources, but threatened in some fatal moment to
wreck all their hopes. At every step disquieting
apprehension went hand in hand with pleasure, and
the more the parents were convinced of the treas-
ure of genius contained in that mysterious casket
—the brain of their son—the more their fears for
him augmented. To the natural gifts and affec-
tionate docility of his children Leopold Mozart
was indebted for being no longer in the obscure
station of a music-master at Salzburg, but in a
sphere better adapted to his disposition and talents
--travelling and mixing in society which displayed
the world under its most interesting aspects of char-
acter and manners; and if we would accurately
picture to ourselves the state of his mind, it is only
necessary to consider how suddenly a death in the
little family might reduce him to his original con-
1
.
0
D 2
42
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
a
1
i
dition to retrace the old path, and to contrast amid
the miserable realities of age, solitude, and pover-
ty, the glorious achievements of the time present.
How far this was fulfilled the sequel will show.
Meanwhile, the children, unconscious of the cares
of which they were the object, were cheerful and
happy. Left much to themselves in their recrea-
tions and amusements, with nothing to divert them
from each other's society, they seem to have lived
in a little world of their own, with a strong mutual
necessity for each other, and souls as harmonious
as their own music. How happy must the girl have
been! What an enthusiastic admirer of her broth-
er, and how willing to have her smaller musical
capacity amplified and extended by the overflow
ings of his !
From the end of 1765 to May in the year follow-
ing, we have no particular account of their move-
ments. They are then discovered still in Holland,
in good health and flourishing condition. The fa-
ther is rejoiced at being able to transmit his « Vio-
lin School” to Salzburg, translated into Dutch, and
published in a handsome form.
" The publisher," he writes, “a bookseller in Haar-
lem, came to me and presented the book in a most re-
spectful manner. He was accompanied by the organ-
ist, who invited our Wolfgang to play on the celebrated
great organ at Haarlem, which he did on the following
morning. This organ is a magnificent work of sixty-
eight stops, all of metal, as wood could not withstand
the dampness of the climate."
Though urged to return direct to Salzburg, he
was in no hurry to comply. After revisiting their
old friend, the Archbishop of Mechlin, the family
returned to Paris, whither Fame went before them.
Even Leopold Mozart, so long second to his son,
began to show the love of distinction. We find
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
43
him positively charmed by receiving a visit from
the Crown-prince of Brunswick, "a most agreeable,
handsome, and friendly gentleman," who, on enter-
ing, says,
“ Are you the author of the · Violin
School?''. It was at this time, in Paris, that Wolf-
gang
made his first essay in Church music, the
Kyrie of a mass for four voices and four-stringed
instruments. The melody of this composition has
many traces of his peculiar suavity and grace.
The rest of the journey, though protracted to
the end of the year, was a mere holyday excur-
sion. We trace the travellers from Dijon to Ly-
ons, thence into Switzerland, taking Winterthurm,
Sthaffhausen, and Donauschingen on their return.
The principal events of the whole time consist in
joyful visits and invitations, and pathetic adieus.
But at length they are on the road home, and the
father revolves the plan of the future education of
his children, not without a certain misgiving of
events that may disconcert all his plans. Speaking
of their progress, he writes :
· Every moment that I lose is lost forever, and if I
formerly knew how valuable time is to youth, I know it
You are aware that my children'are used
to work; should they learn to make excuses that any
one in the house, for instance, hindered their occupa-
tion, and become accustomed to idle hours, my whole
building would fall to the ground. Custom is an iron
path. . But who knows what sort of reception we
shall get on our arrival ?' Perhaps such a one that we
shall be glad to pack up our knapsacks and set off again.”
He had, in fact, become so fascinated with the
pleasure of travelling, that we can scarcely consid-
er this alternative, even in the gipsying style pro-
posed, as very distressing.
more now.
44
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
PART SECOND.
HIS BOYHOOD.
The prophetic apprehensions of Leopold Mozart
had a partial accomplishment, and before we es-
tablish the family again in the quiet of Salzburg,
which was towards the close of the year 1766, it
may be necessary to explain the “misgivings" which
attended his return. These relate entirely to his
serf-like position at the court of his prince. He
feared that he had been educating musicians whose
services would be appropriated without any ac-
knowledgment; and though he escaped this du-
ring the life of the reigning archbishop, the course
of a few years showed that his prognostics were
not ill founded.
As no one better appreciated his son's genius
than Leopold Mozart, the silent gratitude and mod-
esty with which he witnessed its gradual expan-
sion marks his good taste and feeling. Indeed,
he was by this time so accustomed to his son's ex-
ploits, that, far from expressing exultation at them,
ħe only incidentally alluded to them in his corre-
spondence. To what severe trials the invention
and address of the boy were perpetually exposed,
must, therefore, be learned from other pens; and
when it is considered that any one failure would
have involved irretrievable disgrace, his laurels will
be deemed fairly and honourably won.
“I have seen him," says a writer from Paris, * "en-
gage in contests of an hour and a half's duration, with
musicians who exerted themselves to the utmost, and
even perspired great drops to acquit themselves with
credit in an affair that cost their opponent no fatigue.
He has routed and put to silence organists who were
thought very skilful in London. His playing with Bach
is known; he did the same thing here with M. Rau-
* Probably Grimm. The letter is dated 1766.
}
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
45
pach, a fine extempore player, formerly settled at St.
Petersburgh. He is in other respects one of the most
amiable creatures that can be conceived; in all that he
does or says, there is spirituality and feeling, adorned
by the peculiar grace and gentleness of childhood.”
It is remarkable that the most doughty opponent
with whom he engaged on this journey, and chiefly
in extemporaneous fugue-playing, was a boy of his
own age, named Bachmann, who afterward became
a monk, and was never known more. Though in-
accessible to flattery, a sensitiveness to anything
like disrespectful treatment was characteristic of
his boyhood, as is well shown in the following an-
ecdote preserved by his sister :
" The family were one day visited, on their return
from this tour, by a pompous gentleman, who was in
some difficulty how to address Wolfgang, whether in
the respectful or familiar style.* At last he thought fit
to steer a middle course. . And so we have been in
France and England, and have been at court, and have
done ourselves great honour.' The little hero, jealous
of his dignity, replied, " Yet I never remember to have
seen you anywhere but at Salzburg.'
There was now an interval of some months of
comparative repose, in which Mozart practised the
works of Emanuel Bach, Handel, and Eberlin, and
studied the scores of Hasse, Handel, and the old
Italian masters. He began, also, to receive some
honour in his own city; he was introduced to the
especial notice of the archbishop,t and employed
* In the third person plural, or the second person singular, by
which the Germans distinguish their more worshipful or familiar
acquaintance.
# The Hon. Daines Barrington, who made frequent inquiries
concerning him after he left England, was informed, in the sum-
mer of 1768, that the archbishop, not believing such masterly com-
positions could be genuine, had him confined for a week with
music paper and the words of an oratorio, which he set within
that time. The oratorio "La Betulia liberata," in two parts, is
of the date referred to, but whether or not produced in the man-
ner described, is doubtful.
»
46
THE LIFE OF MOZART. .
.
by the University to write music to a Latin comedy
there enacted, called "Apollo and Hyacinth." He
wrote, in addition, an Easter cantata on the sub-
ject of the Passion, a symphony, and four concertos
for the clavier. These last were probably com-
posed in the prospect of a journey to Vienna, which
was undertaken by the whole family on the 11th
of September, 1767.
One incident worth notice occurs on this jour-
ney. At the monastery of Mölk the party went
over the building without being known, but on
touching the organ, the organist immediately dis-
covered Wolfgang by his play. A royal marriage
was on the tapis at Vienna, but before a month had
elapsed the breaking out of the smallpox, which
carried off the bride of the King of Naples, discon-
certed all the plans of the travellers, and compelled
their instant Aight to Olmütz. There Wolfgang
sickened, and the father, in his distress, gratefully
commemorates the kind offices of a good Samaritan,
Count Podstatsky, who, from the mere impulse of
benevolence, took a whole family, with a child in
this condition, into his house !
The time at Olmütz passed somewhat heavily,
as the boy lay blind nine days, and during the
course of several weeks it was necessary to be care-
ful of his eyes. : One of the friends who visited him
daily was the archbishop's chaplain, Hay (afterward
Bishop of Königsgräz), an adept in all games with
,
cards, and under his instructions Wolfgang soon
became a skilful competitor in that art. A fencing-
master who came to the house was also laid under
contribution, and amused him by some lessons in
fencing. He entered with more than the usual vi-
vacity of his age upon any new exercise which de-
manded corporeal activity, quickness of eye, and
certainty of hand. If this exercise had any heroic
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
47
colouring, and were associated with ideas of man-
liness and courage, so much the more pleasing was
it to his youthful imagination. Thus fencing and
horsemanship were as much in the ascendant with
him now as billiards and dancing at a future day.
On the 29th of November the father writes from
Olmütz:
“ Iterum, iterumque Te Deum laudamus.
• My daughter has got safely through the smallpox.
I pray you let a mass to Loretto be said."
Early in this year the boy composed a German
operetta called “ Bastien und Bastienne," which
was performed in the private theatre in the garden
of Dr. Mesmer, a friend of the family, who resided
in the suburbs of Vienna.*
* It is in one act only, and has this pleasing introduction, which
reminds one of the “Sinfonia Eroica :"
Allegro.
3
a
P
3:3
4
&c.
op
fp
-- NI
Ꭿ;
1
48
.
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
.
Hitherto admiration and sympathy had attended
Mozart in his progress through Europe; but the
scene was now to change. The attention which
his genius for composition and his splendid clavier
playing excited among the great, alarmed the mu-
sicians of Vienna for the stability of their reputa-
tion, and united them against him as their common
enemy. This outbreak of envy towards a boy of
twelve years of age is an unparalleled tribute to
talent; but the testimony which is extorted at the
expense of evil passions is scarcely worth what it
costs. Truth and simplicity should be the basis of
character in all who make ideal beauty the object
of their lives, and the artist who wants these is no
better than a money-changer in the Temple.
The favour which the Mozarts enjoyed at the
court of Vienna, of which the following is a pic-
ture, may account for the irritation that existed:
6. You cannot possibly imagine," writes the father,
“ with what affability and goodness the empress con-
versed with my wife, partly respecting the children's
smallpox, and partly upon our arduous journey, now
and then patting her cheek or pressing her hands; the
emperor, meanwhile, talking with Wolfgang upon mu-
sic and other matters, or saying something that called
up inany a blush upon the face of Nannerl.”
A boy of twelve, armed with four new concertos,
and who demolished every difficulty that could be
placed before him, was to be suppressed by strata-
gem. It were desirable that the crooked policy of
the Viennese musicians, as described by the father,
belonged only to history:
- The plan of operation adopted by these gentry
(clavier players and composers) is to avoid every oppor-
tunity of seeing us, and of inquiring into the scientific
attainments of Wolfgang. For why? In order that in
the many instances in which they are asked whether
they have heard the boy, and what they think of him,
2
TAL LIFE OF MOZART.
49
;
;
they may answer that they have not heard him; that
it is impossible; that it is all quackery and harlequinade;
that it is got up beforehand; that he has already learned
the things put before him; that it is ridiculous to be-
lieve he composes.
“Now you understand why they shun us; for who-
ever has seen and heard cannot thus speak without the
risk of losing his character.
“I laid a tiap for one of this sort of people. I had
persuaded some one quietly to give us intelligence when
he would be present, and our friend was to bring this
person an extraordinary difficult concerto, which could
be placed before Wolfgangerl. We came together, and
he had the opportunity of hearing his concerto played
by Wolfgang as if he knew it by heart. The astonish-
ment of this composer and clavier player, and the ex-
pressions of admiration he used, confirmed all that I
have stated above. He ended by saying, "I can say no
less, as an honest man, than that this boy is the greatest
man in the world; it could not have been believed.''
These cabals were not all: the family spent
much money without any prospect of regaining it;
accidents of various kinds prevented their giving
concerts; and some of their noble friends were shy
of the smallpox. In this state of affairs, it became
desirable to retrieve their fortunes at a stroke; and
the production of an opera, by enlisting the public
their side, offered the readiest means of putting
their professional enemies to silence. The enper-
or had given the first idea of this work, and Leo-
pold Mozart eagerly seized upon it, anxious to sub-
mit the genius of his son to the severest test. He
had, however, a very low opinion of the public taste
of Vienna, which has undergone little change du-
ring a century, and promised, at the time alluded
to, but small success for music dependant on its
own intrinsic merit. This is his character of it:
“That the Viennese in general have no taste for se-
rious and sensible things, indeed, have no notion of them,
on
:
4
E
50
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
*.
is well known; and their theatre, in which nothing pre-
vails but childish trash, such as dances, devils, ghosts,
witches, Jack-puddings, and harlequinades, proves it.
One may see a gentleman, even one decorated with an
order, clapping his hands and laughing himself out of
breath at some harlequin's trick or silly joke,* who,
during the most moving and beautiful situation, or the
most eloquent dialogue, will talk so loud with a lady that
his more sober neighbours can hardly catch a word.”
The title of the libretto selected by Mozart for
his opera was La finta semplice, and to the choice
of an opera buffa the composer was probably deter-
mined rather by the means of the company than his
own inclinations. There were no other singers at
that time in Vienna; and will it be believed that
with such a set they even attempted Gluck's “Al-
ceste !" The history of this boyish work is one
of managerial duplicity, which, though common
enough to those connected with theatres, has pecu-
liar interest in reference to Mozart, and a moral
for ill-used dramatic genius in general. Hardly
had the subject been proposed to him than the work
was completed; the next step seemed to be to bring
it out; but no-delays, excuses, evaded promises,
purposely confused rehearsals, and every other
stratagem that malice could suggest, were put in
operation to suppress it, till at length it was as
wholly ruined as if it had been committed to the
flames; for, being written with a view to a particu-
Iar company, it was unavailable for
was unavailable for any other. The
father, a man quite ignorant of the strategy of thea-
tres, was slow to conceive the extent of secret ani-
mosity of which his son was the object; but when
he saw this, and the utter shamelessness and ab-
sence of principle with which theatrical proceed-
ings were conducted, his indignation was unbound-
* The writer seems to be of opinion, with Dr. Johnson, that
the measure of a man's mind is to be taken from his mirth.
a
:
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
51
" The
a
ed, and the occasion certainly justified it.
whole hell of music," he writes, "has bestirred
itself to prevent the talent of a child from being
known.” It was not merely the expense of a long
stay in Vienna, undertaken on the strength of this
opera, which vexed him, but the plausibility which
its suppression would give to the voice of slander,
and the injury which might accrue therefrom both
abroad and at home. Once engaged in this odious
business, however, he sees with great acuteness the
drift of his enemies, whose object it was to suppress
the genius of his son till a few years had made it
“ fall into the ordinary course of events.” What
added to his vexation was, that his noble friends
would not believe in the existence of any cabal
against the boy. In the midst of this dispute, he
learns from Salzburg that his salary is suspended,
and even his situation is in some danger; he is re-
quested to return, but refuses, and is determined
to assert the honour of his son at all hazards. He
adroitly makes common cause with the archbishop:
" The honour of our gracious prince is also concern-
ed. His highness does not retain cheats, mountebanks,
and liars in his service, and give them his gracious per-
mission to travel into foreign parts, like conjurors
throwing dust into the eyes of people-n0; but like re-
spectable men, who travel for the credit of their prince
and fatherland, to acquaint the world what a miracle it
has pleased God to work in Salzburg."
He wished to conclude this opera successfully
and go to Italy, foreseeing what might happen, and
what, in fact, did happen, in spite of all the fame his
son had acquired in boyhood.
“Or should I, perhaps, set myself down at Salzburg,
sighing for better fortune until Wolfgang is grown up,
and see myself and children led by the nose till I am
an old man, and unable to undertake a journey, and
Wolfgang is of an age and growth that have diminished
52
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
the wonder at his performances. But if my boy makes
the first step in Vienna through his opera, ought he not
to pursue so fair and open a path with increased dili-
gence ?"
.
1
Wearied with promises, Leopold Mozart at
length obtained an audience of the emperor and
stated his grievances. An examination was insti-
tuted into the whole affair, and the manager Affi-
gio commanded to reply. The history of the entire
transaction is comprised in the following letter:
"After many of the nobility of this place had con-
vinced themselves of the extraordinary talent of my son
by the concurrence of foreign testimony, with personal
examination and proof, it was generally admitted that
it would be one of the most remarkable events of either
ancient or modern times, were a boy of twelve years
old to compose an opera, and direct its performance
himself. This opinion was confirmed by an article
written at Paris, in which the learned writer, after a
detailed examination of the genius of my son, affirms
that there is no doubt of this boy's competency to pro-
duce an opera at twelve years old. Every one thought
that in so famous a matter, a German ought to give his
own country the preference; such was the unanimous
opinion, and I followed it.
- The Dutch ambassador, Count von Degenfeld, to
whom the ability of the boy was long since known in
Holland, was the first who made the proposal to the
manager Affligio; the singer Carattoli was the second;
and the agreement with the manager was concluded at
the house of the court physician, Laugier, in the pres-
ence of the young Baron von Swieten and the two sing-
ers Carattoli and Caribaldi. The whole party thought,
the two singers especially expressing themselves with
vehemence, that even middling music, from so young a
boy, would be, from its rarity, wonderful; but that to
see the child at the clavier, directing the orchestra,
would draw the whole city to the theatre. My son ac-
cordingly began to write.
" As soon as the first act was ready, I requested Ca-
.........
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
53
Both ap-
rattoli himself, in order to make sure, to come and hear
it, and give his opinion upon it. He came, and his as-
.
tonishment was so great that he returned the next day,
bringing Caribaldi with him. Caribaldi, not less sur-
prised, in a day or two brought Poggi to me.
plauded so loudly, that upon my repeated question
whether they thought it good, whether he ought to pro-
ceed, they showed some anger at the want of confi-
dence, and exclaimed frequently with emotion, Cosa !
Come! Questo è un portento. Questa opera andrà alle
stelle. Cuna meraviglia. Non dubiti, che scrivi avan-
ti ! with a multitude of the like expressions. Carattoli
said the same things to me in his own chamber.
“ Encouraged by the applause of the singers, I per-
mitted my son to continue the work, taking care, how-
ever, to make an agreement for payment with the man-
ager, through the physician Laugier. This was done,
and Affligio promised 100 ducats; but, to shorten my ex-
pensive stay in Vienna, I stipulated that the opera should
be performed before the emperor's journey to Hungary.
Some alterations, however, which the poet had to make
in the text retarded the composition, and Affligio under-
took to perform the work on the return of his majesty.
"The opera had now been ready some weeks; the
copyists were at work; the first, and shortly afterward
the second act, were distributed. Meantime, my son,
on various occasions at the houses of the nobility, had
been obliged to perform airs, and even the whole finale
of the first act, on the clavier, of which, at the house of
Prince Kaunitz, Affligio was an eye and ear witness.
The rehearsals were now about to begin; when
who could have expected it? But from this time the
persecutions of my son commenced.
It is of rare occurrence, indeed, that an opera goes
well on the first rehearsal, and without requiring altera-
tion in any part. For this reason, it is usual to employ
the clavier alone at the commencement, and not to re-
hearse with the full orchestra till the singers have well
studied their parts, particularly the finales. Yet here
quite a different course was adopted. The parts had
not been sufficiently studied; the singers had no rehear-
sals at the clavier, and the finales had not been practised
E 2
54
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
a
ance.
ܪ
together; and yet they chose to rehearse the finale of
the first act with the full orchestra, in order to give the
work from the first a confused and unfavourable appear-
No one present could call it a rehearsal without
blushing. I will say no more of the unkind behaviour of
those whom their conscience accuses on this occasion.
May God forgive them!
When the rehearsal was over, Affligio said to me
that the music was good, but here and there a little too
high, which would render some alterations necessary;
I could talk them over with the singers; and as his maj-
esty would be back in twelve days, he would perform
the opera in four, or, at most, in six weeks, without de-
taining me a day longer--and then there would be time
to get everything in order; that he was a man of his
word, and would keep his promises strictly; that altera-
tions in operas were nothing new: other operas wanted
them continually.
" The alterations required by the singers were ac-
cordingly made, and two new airs inserted in the first
act; but during this time · La Caschina' was performed
at the theatre.
:-“The period appointed was now over, when I heard
that Affligio had distributed the parts of another opera.
A report was in circulation that Affligio would not per-
form the opera, and that he had even said the singers
could not sing it: these, who had just before not only
called it good, but extolled it to the skies.
“As a counterpoise to this scandal, I made my son
play his opera through at the young Baron von Swie-
ten's, in the presence of Count von Spork, the Duke of
Braganza, and other connoisseurs. The whole party
were astonished at the pretext of Affligio and the sing-
ers; and they all, with much emotion, unanimously de-
clared that so unchristian, false, and wicked an allega-
tion was incomprehensible ; that the opera surpassed
many Italian operas;* that, instead of encouraging so
heavenly a talent, there was a cabal in the background,
the object of which evidently was to prevent an innocent
boy from obtaining his deserved honour and success.
* The testimony of Hasse may be added to the above.
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
55
ܪ
“I went forthwith to the Impressario to learn the real
truth. He told me that he had never been adverse to
the performance of the opera, but he must be excused
for looking to his own interest; doubts of the success of
the opera had been hinted to him; he had therefore put
the Caschina and · Buona figliuola' in rehearsal, but
would immediately afterward perform the boy's opera;
and should it not succeed, he would at least be prepared
with two other operas. I reminded him of my long stay,
and of the inconvenience of a longer one.
He replied,
• What does it signify? A week more or less—we shall
then take you in hand. The matter rested thus. The
airs of Carattoli were altered, and everything was done
to satisfy Caribaldi, Poggi, and Laschi, each of whom as-
sured me in particular that he had nothing to object to.
Affligio was now solely responsible. The four weeks
flew by, and the copyist told me he had received no or-
ders to write out the altered airs; and as at the last re-
hearsal of the · Buona figliuola’ I perceived that Affligio
I
was about to give another opera the preference, I spoke
to him on the subject. Hereupon he directed the copy-
ist, in my presence and that of the poet Coltellini, to have
everything ready in twelve days, that the opera might
be rehearsed with the orchestra in a fortnight.
“But the enemies of the poor child, whoever they are,
have again prevented it. The same day the copyist was
ordered to cease writing, and two days afterward I
learned that Affligio had resolved not to bring the boy's
opera on the stage. To be certain, I went to him, and
received for answer that he had consulted the singers,
who allowed that the opera was an incomparable work,
but not dramatic, and, for that reason, could not be per-
formed by them.
“This was incomprehensible to me; for how could
the singers unblushingly depreciate what they had pre-
viously applauded with such enthusiasm-a work to
which they had themselves encouraged the boy, and rep-
resented as excellent to Affligio? I replied, that he
could not expect that the boy should have the great
trouble of writing an opera for nothing. I reminded him
of his contract, and gave him to understand that he had
detained us four months, and led us into an expense of
56
TIE LIFE OF MOZART.
more than 160 ducats. I told him of my lost time, and
assured him that I should expect not only the 100 du-
câts for which he had agreed with the physician Lau-
gier, but my expenses on his account. To this my just
demand he returned an unintelligible answer, which dis-
covered his embarrassment, and with which he, I scarce-
I
ly know how, endeavoured to break off the whole affair,
till at last he quitted me with the most scandalous ex-
pressions, that if I wished to caricature the boy, he
would not object to the opera's being piped, fiddled, and
laughed at. Coltellini heard the whole.
“Such was the reward of my son for his great trouble
in writing an opera, the original score of which contains
558 pages, to say nothing of lost time and expenses.
And what becomes of that which, after all, lies nearest
my heart, namely, the fame and honour of my son, since
I dare not venture to press for the performance of the
opera, having been given to understand, clearly enough,
that all possible pains would be taken to spoil it; that it
would be said the composition is not fit to sing, or that it
is not dramatic, or that it is not well composed to the
words, or, lastly, that he did not write it himself, with
a world of other absurd and contradictory stuff, which,
upon a close examination of the musical powers of my
child (for his own honour most ardently desired by me),
would vanish like smoke, to the shame of the envious and
detracting slanderers, and convince every one that its
sole object is to extinguish and render unfortunate an in-
nocent being to whom God has granted extraordinary
talent which other nations have applauded and encour-
aged, and this in the metropolis of his own German
fatherland."*
Nothing discouraged by his lost labour and the
falsehood to which he had been sacrificed, the young
composer, in little more than a month, was ready
with three works : a solemn mass, an offertorium,
* I will merely add to this account of “La Finta semplice,"
that, being at Offenbach in 1842 for the purpose of looking over
the MSS. of Mozart in the possession of M. André, I saw this
monument of youthful genius. The notation is bold, and differs
much from the delicate music-writing of the composer's maturity.
It would befit our idea of Handel.
-
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
57
.
+
and a" Trumpet concerto for a Boy." These pie-
ces were so much applauded as to compensate, in
some measure, for his previous ill fortune.
* The · Mass,' &c., by Wolfgang, which was per-
formed on the feast of the Conception, in the presence
of the court, himself beating time (writes his father),
has in some measure recovered for us that ground which
we had lost through the wickedness of our enemies and
opponents."
The commencement of this mass, which is here
inserted, will be esteemed an interesting record of
the occasion, and of Mozart's style of counterpoint
at twelve years of age.
Ky - ri-e
lei
-e
e
t
#
€
*
Ky
-
- e
ri - e e- lei
#
#
ܠܐ
€
Ky
ri
e
e
lei
son, e - lei
son, e-lei-son, e - lei - son. .
TESO
我
​son,
e. lei
son, e - lei-son, e - lei
son.
,
son,
e . lei
son, e-lei-son, e - lei
son
-
58
!
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
>
On the return of the family to Salzburg, Wolf-
gang pursued his studies in the higher departments
of composition, and improved his acquaintance with
the Italian language. Nearly the whole of the
year 1769 was passed in this quiet manner. It ap-
pears from the court calendar of his native city
that he was now appointed concert-master in the
musical establishment of the archbishop, a place of
little honour and less profit, but which, neverthe-
less, he would not hold as a mere sinecure. He
began, therefore, to produce frequent masses, and
the principal era of his numerous compositions of
that class extends from this time to the year 1778,
when he was twenty-two years of age. The dis-
advantages under which he wrote his masses will
be hereafter seen in a letter addressed by him to
the Padre Martini, in which he explains the causes
of the inequalities apparent in those pieces.
The father, who was ill at ease in Salzburg, and
hoped to settle elsewhere, the more willingly with-
drew himself from the duties of composition, in the
hope that his son, benefiting by the opportunities
of practice thus thrown in his way, might the bet-
ter enable him to accomplish his design. The at-
tainment of this, however, was remote and uncer-
tain.
In December, 1769, the father and son set off
for Italy, and remained from home till March, 1771.
This was a complete holyday tour, and was enter-
ed upon in the most congenial spirit by both the
travellers. Leopold Mozart, now freed from the
.
carking cares of money, appears in his true char-
acter as a man of tasté, charmed with the attract-
ive objects which presented themselves on all sides;
and Wolfgang, delighted with the novelty of the
scene, and the general sympathy with his art, is
the most mercurial of companions. We have an
.
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
59
.
interesting picture of Italian enthusiasm in a letter
from Verona :
“Next day we went to the organ in the principal
church, and though only six or eight persons knew our
intention, we found the whole city in the church, and
some stout fellows were obliged to precede us to clear
the
way to the choir, and we had then to wait more than
half a quarter of an hour to reach the organ, as every
one was anxious to be the next."
On another occasion of this kind, at a monastery,
the crowd was so great that the monks were obli-
ged to conduct them to the organ by a private pas-
sage. Their first concert over, the nobility vied
with each other in showing them attentions, and
they were fêted in turn by the Marchese Carlotti,
Conti Carlo Emily, Marchese Spolverini, Marchese
Dionysis S. Fermo, &c. A private gentleman,
Signor Luggiati, also employed a painter on the
portrait of Wolfgang. The kindness of this recep-
tion had probably its influence on the following
light-hearted communication of the boy with his
sister, the historical interest of which is agreeably
heightened by the playful mixture of languages,
and the characteristic drollery of the manner :
“ Verona, 7 Gennajo, 1770.
" Dearest Sister-A letter of a span's length I have
received, after long waiting for an answer in vain.
** The German clown now ceases, and the Italian be-
gins. Lei è piu franca nella lingua Italiana di quel
che mi ho imaginato. Lei mi dica la cagione, perchè
,
Lei non fà nella commedia che anno giocato i Cavalieri.
Adesso sentiamo sempre una opera titolata : Il Rug-
giero. Oronte, il padre di Bradamante, è un principe
(fù il Signor Afferi) bravo cantante, un baritono, ma*
*“ You are more at home in the Italian language than I had
imagined. You must tell me the reason why you did not play in
the comedy which the Cavalieri acted. Now we hear nothing but
an opera entitled 'Il Ruggiero.'. Oronte, the father of Brada-
mante, is a prince (played by Signor Afferi), a clever singer, a
baritone, but forced," &c.
7
60
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
..
.
ed
forced when he pipes up into his falsetto, yet not so
much so as Tibaldi at Vienna. Bradamante, innamo-
rata di Ruggiero (ma intended to be the wife of Leone,
but won't have him) fà una povera Baronessa, che ho
avuto una gran disgrazia, ma non sò la quale recita*
under a feigned name, but the name I don't know; há
una voce passabile e la statura non sarrebbe male, ma
distuono come il diavolo. Ruggiero, un ricco principe
innamorato di Bradamante, è un Musico; canta un poco
Manzuolisch ed a una bellissima voce forte ed è già vec-
chio ; ha 55 anni ed a unat voluble throat. Leone, who
;
is to marry Bradamante ricchississimo è, I but whether
rich or not off the theatre, I cannot say. La moglie di
Afferi che ha una bellissima voce, ma è tanto sussuro nel
teatro che non si sente niente. Irene fa una sorella di
Lolli del gran Violinista che habbiamo sentito a Vienna,
a una rugged voce e canta sempre, about a quarter of a
note too hardi o troppo a buon ora. Ganno fa un sig.
nore che non so come si chiama; è la prima volta che lui
recita. Between each act there is a ballet. There is
a capital dancer who calls himself Monsieur Roessler.
He is a German, and dances admirably. When we
were the last time (but not quite the last time) at the op-
era, M. Roessler came to us in our Palco (as we have
the box of M. Carlotti free, having the key thereto) and
talked with us. Apropos, everybody is in the Maschera
at present, and it is extremely convenient that any one
* “ Bradamante, in love with Ruggiero, &c., is played by a
poor baroness, who has had a great misfortune, but I don't know
what"
+ " She has a tolerable voice, and not a bad figure, but sings
horribly out of tune. Ruggiero, a rich prince, in love with Brad.
amante, is a Musico,* sings a little in the style of Manzuoli, and
has a beautiful and powerful voice, but is already old : he is fifty-
five, and possesses a.-
| Is very rich.
“Afferi's wife has a most beautiful voice, but it is such a whis-
per in the theatre that one hears nothing. Irene is played by :
sister of Lolli, the great violin-player we heard at Vienna ; she
has a rugged voice, and always sings about a quarter of a note too
sharp. Ganno is played by a gentleman whose name I don't
know-it is the first time he has performed.”
* The singers alluded to in these letters under the name of Musico,
Uomo, &c., are of the race of male soprani, now fortunately extinci.
1
а
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
61
米
​who wears a mask is privileged from taking it off if
any one salutes him; and the name is never mentioned,
but it is always Servitore umilissimo, Signora Maschera.
Cospetto di Bacco! there's for you. The strangest is
that we go to bed at half past seven o'clock. Se Lei in-
dovinasse questo, io dirò certamente che Lei sia la madre
di tutti gli indovini.*
indovini.* Kiss mamma's hand for me, and
thee I kiss a thousand times, assuring thee that I will
ever remain
Thy faithful brother,
“ Portez vous bien et aimez moi toujours.”
The winter was very cold, and the journey ex-
pensive, and as the receipts of their concerts con-
sisted "chiefly in admiration and bravos,"'* they
might have found some difficulty in proceeding,
had they not been aided from time to time by the
hospitality of the monasteries. There Wolfgang
generally rejoiced at night in a well-warmed bed.
The fresh air in travelling, and the open fires of
Italy, produced a visible effect upon his health.
His complexion is described as being of a reddish-
brown about the nose and mouth, " like the emper-
or's." In this favourable condition he absolute-
ly intoxicated his Italian hearers; the poets, we
are told, made verses upon him, “ as if for a wa-
ger," and the father excused himself for not send-
ing the journals containing accounts of his perform-
ances to Salzburg with the words, “ You know what
takes place on such occasions: you have seen it often
enough.” On arriving at Mantua a concert was
given by the Philharmonic Society, which was, in
reality, a public trial of his powers. The programme
containing the particulars merits preservation as a
musical curiosity.*
* “If you should guess this, I shall certainly say that you are
the queen of all guessers."
+ This was the general answer to all inquiries from home re-
specting their gams.
# Series of compositions performed at a public concert of the
Philharmonic Society of Mantua, on the evening of January 16,
F
a
62
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
At Milan, the people crowded to the concerts of
the “giovenetto ammirabile," and the same shout-
ing, clapping, and noise of bravo upon bravo pre-
vailed. How little these applauses spoiled the
.
natural character of the boy, may be observed in a
letter to his sister, dated January 26, 1770 :
"I am exceedingly pleased that you so much enjoyed
the sledge drive of which you write to me, and wish you
a thousand opportunities for such pleasure, that you may
lead a right happy and cheerful life. But one thing
troubles me, which is, that you permit poor Herr von
Mölk to be so eternally sighing and grieving, and would
not go out with him in the sledge, that he might have
the pleasure of upsetting you.* How many clean pock-
et-handkerchiefs will your cruelty have cost him ?
“Of news I know nothing, except that Gellert, the
Leipsic poet, is dead, and, since his death, has written
no more poetry. Before I began this letter I had just
finished an air from Demetrio, which begins thus, Misera
tu non sei, &c."f
1770, on occasion of the presence of the extraordinary young mu-
sician, Signor Amadeo Mozart.-1. Symphony of the Composition
of Signor Amadeo. 2. A Concerto for the Harpsichord, presented
to him, and executed by him at sight. 3. Air by a Professor..
4. Sonata for the Harpsichord, performed at sight, introducing
variations of his own invention; and, lastly, the whole repeated
in a different key to that in which it was written. 5. Violin Con-
certo by a Professor. 6. Air sung and composed extempore by
the said Signor Amadeo, on words not previously seen by him,
accompanied by himself on the Harpsichord. 7. A second Sonata
for the Harpsichord, performed extempore by
the same, on a sub-
ject proposed by the leader. 8. Air by a Professor. 9. Concerto
for the Oboe, by a Professor. 10. Fugue for the Harpsichord,
a given theme, executed extempore by Signor Ainadeo, and
brought to a perfect termination, according to the rules of coun-
terpoint. 11. Symphony, in which he will improvise a part for
the Harpsichord from a single violin part placed before him. 12
Duet by Professors. 13. Trio, in which Signor Amadeo will
form a part extempore on the Violin. 14. Final Symphony, the
composition of the above.
* The gallantries of the sledge are well known. The lady site
wrapped in furs, while her inamorato drives her with speed equal
to the wings of love himself, though sometimes a little at the
risk of both her neck and his own.
† Hence the flurry and animal spirits of these volatile letters
on
per-
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
63
He next gives an account of the operas at Man-
tua and Verona :
- The opera at Mantua was beautiful: it was · Deme-
trio. The prima donna sings well, but quietly; and if
'
you did not see her acting, but merely singing, you
would fancy that she did not sing, for she cannot get her
mouth open, and moans out everything, which is, how-
ever, no new thing to hear. The seconda donna has a
presence like a grenadier, and a strong voice: she really
does not sing amiss, considering that it is her first appear.
ance on the stage. Il primo uomo, il musico, is named
Caselli : he sings beautifully, but has an uneven voice.
Il secondo uomo is old, and me he pleases not. The
tenor's name is Ottini: he does not sing badly.
"I forget the name of the second tenor, who is still
young, but not remarkable. Primo ballerino, good;
prima ballerina, good, and, it is said, not ugly, but I
have not seen her near. A grotesco is there, who leaps
well, but does not compose as I do—that is, as the pigs
grunt. The orchestra is not bad.
“ There is a good orchestra at Cremona, and the first
violin is named Spagnoletta. The prima donna toler-
able, but old, I believe, as the hills : sings not so well as
she acts, and is wife to a violin-player in the orchestra,
named Maschi. The opera is · La Clemenza di Tito.'*
Seconda donna, young and pretty on the stage, but no-
thing out of the way. Primo uomo, musico, Cicognani, ,
pretty voice, and beautiful cantabile. The other two
musici, young and passable. The tenor's name is Non
lo so: he has an agreeable appearance, and is much like
the king at Vienna. Ballerino primo, good, and a most
horrid dog. A girl-dancer was there, who did not dance
badly, and who is not ugly either on or off the stage,
which is saying much for a capo d'opera. The rest as
usual.
“I cannot write you much about the opera at Milan,
as we did not go; we were told that the piece was not
successful. Primo uomo, Aprile, sings well-has a beau-
and postscripts, which were mostly written as recreations in the
intervals of serious composition.
* The same subject was afterward selected by himself.
$
64.
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
a
mas.
tiful even voice. We heard him in a church at a festi-
val. Madame Piccinelli, of Paris,
who sang at our con-
cert, plays at the opera. Herr Pick, who danced at
.
Vienna, is now dancing here. The opera is called • Di-
done abbandonata,' and will not run long. Signor Pic-
cini, who is to write the next opera, is here. I have
heard that it is to be called • Cesare in Egitto.'
6 WOLFGANG DE MOZART,
“Edler von Hochenthal, Freund des Zahlhausens."
The influence of Count Firmian, a constant friend
of the Mozarts, procured Wolfgang the engage-
ment to compose an opera for the ensuing Christ-
As no dramatic work of his was known at
Milan, he was obliged to produce several airs and
recitatives on the spot, in proof of his competency,
which were sung at the house of Count Firmian.
His engagements made him extremely careful of
his health.
"Wolfgang," writes the father, “will never injure
himself by eating or drinking. He will not touch any.
thing which he thinks unwholesome, and eats many days
little or nothing. He is still plump and well, and in ex-
cellent spirits the whole day.”
Both the travellers delighted in the noble church
music of Italy: they were frequently in the Cathe-
drals, and noticed, at a requiem performed on the
old Marquis Litta, that the Dies ire was three
quarters of an hour long! Their evening amuse-
ments were more lively, and they engaged with
great alacrity in the festivities of the Carnival. The
father writes :
"The tailor was here just now with the cloaks, &c.,
that we have been obliged to have made. As I looked
in the glass when we were trying them on, methought
• here am I, going to play the fool in my old age.'*
They become Wolfgang incomparably, and my comfort
in the midst of such silly expenses is, that the things
* He was now fifty-one years of age, and evidently well pleas.
ed with the folly.
1
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
65
....
will serve for other purposes, and may be, at least, used
as foot-cloths,” &c.
The young composer responded heartily to his
sister's account of the Carnival at Salzburg:
6. Cara sorella mia : I am quite pleased to hear that
you have so much enjoyed yourself. You may, perhaps,
think that I have not enjoyed myself, but, indeed, the
number of times is not to be told. We have been, I be-
lieve, at least six or seven times to the opera, and then af-
terward to the feste di ballo, which begin, as at Vienna,
after the opera, with this difference, that there is more
order in the dancing at Vienna. We have also seen the
facchinata and chiccherata. The former is a masquerade,
which is amusing to see: the people dress as facchini,
or domestic servants. There was a barca full of people,
and many went on foot. There were four or six sets of
trumpets and drums, and some bands of fiddles and other
instruments. The chiccherata is likewise a masquerade.
The Milanese call chiccherata such as we term petits
maîtres, or coxcombs, and all takes place on horseback,
which is amusing. I am as much rejoiced to hear that
Herr von Aman is now going on better, as I was con-
cerned to hear of his misfortune. What masque had
Madame Rosa ? What Herr von Mölk and Herr Schi.
denofen? Pray write me word, if you know, and it will
give me great pleasure.*
" Kiss mamma's hand for me 1000000000000 times.
Compliments to all good friends.”
Between Milan and Bologna the boy was inspi-
red by a beautiful adagio, and, on arriving at his
* These recollections of home, amid the dissipation of the life
he was now leading, afford touching proofs of the sincerity of
his attachments. His postscripts are full of suggestions, even
where despatched in a line. "I am distracted with business, and
cannot possibly write more to-day." Or when he sends a mes-
sage to a friend : “ Tell the child-man, Urserl, that I thought I had
returned all the songs; should I, however, absorbed in high and
weighty considerations, have brought them with me to Italy, I
will not fail, if I find them, to say so in a letter. Addio, children,
farewell. I kiss mamma's hand a thousand times, and send thee
a hundred busses or smacks on thy wondrous little horse-face.
Per fare il fine, I am thine," &c.
.
a
5
F 2
66
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
inn, he committed to paper an entire composition.
This, his first quartett for stringed instruments, is
dated “Lodi, seven in the evening.” At Parma
they fell in with Signora Guari, the celebrated Bas-
tardella, who sang three airs to them.
“I could not," writes the father, “have conceived it
possible to sing to C in altissimo, if my ears had not.con-
vinced me of the fact. The passages which Wolfgang
has written were in her air, and these she sang some-
what softer than the deeper notes, but as beautifully as
an octave pipe in an organ. In short, the trills and all
were just made as Wolfgang has written them; they
are note for note the same. Besides this, she has good
alto notes as low as G. She is not handsome, nor yet
ugly, but has at times a wild look in the eyes, like peo-
ple who are subject to convulsions, and she is lame in
one foot. Her conduct formerly was good; she has,
consequently, a good name and reputation.”
Wolfgang also notices this extraordinary singer:
- We heard her delightfully at her own house. She
has a beautiful voice, a rapid execution, and an incon-
ceivable compass upward. She sang the following notes
and passages in my presence :"
I
fr
#
#
tro
tr
a
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
67
.ف۔
益
​泰
​Le
dll
---
At Bologna he visited Farinelli,* and astonished
Padre Martini, “the idol of the Italians,” by his
skill in extempore fugue. He came off with the
same honours at Florence, where the Marquis of
Ligneville, the most rigorous contrapuntist in all
Italy, gave him various abstruse subjects for
fugues, and heard them scientifically treated and
played off " as one swallows a morsel of bread.”
The father was delighted, and the correspondence
displays his excellent spirits. Here is an escapade
at the end of one of his letters :
· My friends must excuse my not writing to them.
* This celebrated singer now lived retired in the vicinity of
Bologna, in the possession of a princely revenue, from which it
is thought he afforded Padre Martini the means of forming his
magnificent library.
68
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
Kommabit aliquando Zeitus bequemus schreibendi. Nunc
Kopffus meus semper vollus est multis gedankibus."'*
In the midst of the most constant activity and ex-
ərtion, the boy attempts to persuade his sister that
he is utterly abandoned to indolence:
,- thou pattern of diligence—I have been such an
idle fellow myself for a long time, that I thought there
would be no harm in my setting to work for a little while.
Every postday, when the German letters come, the din-
ner tastes much better. Pray write to me who sings at
the oratorio; also what the oratorio is called; also,
whether you like the minuets of Haydn, and whether
they are better than the first.fThat Herr von Aman is
again well delights me from the bottom of my heart;
tell him to take care of himself, and to keep quiet. Pray
tell him so."
Arriving at Rome in the Holy Week, they hur-
ried to the Sistine Chapel to hear the "Miserere"
at matins, and approached the pope, who was wait-
ing on the poor at table, so nearly as to be quite
close to him. The scene is graphically described
by the father, and represents the young musician
in a situation of some difficulty, but rescuing him-
self with the happiest self-possession.
"Our handsome dress, the German language, and the
freedom with which I desired my servant to tell the
Swiss Guard to make way, soon helped us through ev-
ery difficulty. Some took Wolfgang for a German no-
bleman, others for, a prince, and the servant did not
undeceive them. I was taken for his tutor. In this
manner we proceeded to the table of the cardinals.
There it happened that Wolfgang placed himself be-
tween the chairs of two cardinals, one of whom, Car-
dinal Pallavicini, beckoned to him and said, “Will you,
have the goodness to tell me in confidence who you
are ?' Wolfgang told him. The cardinal replied, with
* "A convenient time for writing will come ; but at present
my head is fully occupied.”
† This probably refers to Michael Haydn, brother of the great
composer.
4
1
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
60
6
the greatest astonishment, “What, are you that fa-
mous boy of whom so much has been written to me?'
Upon this Wolfgang rejoined, · Are you not Cardinal
Pallavicini ?' The cardinal said “Yes; why do you
ask ? Wolfgang then observed that we had letters to
his eminence, and desired to wait upon him.' Upon
hearing this, the cardinal expressed the greatest pleasure,
complimented Wolfgang on his Italian, and added, · Ick
kan auk ein benig deutsch sprekken.' At our departure
Wolfgang kissed his hand, and the cardinal, taking his
baret from his head, made him a very polite compliment.
“You are aware that the celebrated Miserere' of this
place is in such high esteem, that the musicians of the
chapel are forbidden, under pain of excommunication, to
take any part of it away; to copy it themselves, or through
another person. However, we have it already. .
Meantime, we will not intrust this mystery to strange
hands ; ut non incurremus mediate vel immediate in cen-
suram ecclesiæ."*
The difficulty of putting down in notes the mu-
sic performed by a double choir, abounding in im-
itation and traditional effects, of which one of the
chief is characterized by the absence of a percep-
tible rhythm, is scarcely conceivable. Hence the
wonder at the unexampled theft of the “ Miserere"
of Allegri. Mozart accomplished his task in two
visits to the Sistine Chapel. He drew out a sketch
on the first hearing, and attended the performance
a second time on Good Friday, having his MS. in
his hat for correction and completion. It was soon
known at Rome that the “Miserere" had been ta-
ken down, and he was obliged to produce what he
had written at a large musical party, where the
Musico Christoferi, who had sung in it, confirmed its
correctness. The generous Italians were so much
* The same letter which contains the news of this scientific
exploit encloses also a country dance (!) by Wolfgang, with his
directions as to the manner of performance. It was, probably, a
little offering to the court during his absence.
70
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
delighted that they forgot to call upon the pope to
excommunicate the culprit.
From Rome the father sends this anecdote :
“At Florence we found a young Englishman, à pupil
of the celebrated Nardini. This boy, who plays exquis-
itely, and who is just of Wolfgang's size and age, met
us at the house of the poetess Signora Corilla. The
two boys performed by turns the whole evening, amid
continual embracings. The other day the little English-
man, a most charming boy, brought his violin to us and
played the whole afternoon. Wolfgang accompanied
him also on the violin. The following day we dined with
Mr. Gavard, treasurer to the grand-duke, and the two
boys played the whole afternoon, not, however, as boys,
but as men. Little Thomas accompanied us home, and
cried bitterly on learning that we were going to set off
the next day; but, perceiving that our journey was fixed
for noon, he came to us by nine in the morning, and pre-
sented Wolfgang, among many embraces, with a poem
which he had got Signora Corilla to write for him the
night before. He then accompanied our coach to the
city gates. I wish you could have witnessed this scene."'*
In the comparative solitude of Rome, the young
composer recurs to his home recreations in a char-
acteristic manner. He thus writes to his sister :
Pray look for the art of arithmetic which you
copied out for me, and which I have lost. Copy
it again, with other examples of sums, and send it
to me here.". He then alludes to his opera, and
hopes that Manzuoli and De Amicis (prima donna)
may be engaged in it, adding, "We should then
.
")
* This boy was the unfortunate, but highly gifted Thomas
Linley, who was drowned about his 21st year, while amusing him.
,
self with some companions on the water in the park of the Duke
of Ancaster. Mozart never forgot him; and when in after life
he met English society at Vienna, the first person he mentioned
was Linley. The late Rev. Ozias Linley, of Dulwich College,
possessed a letter written by Mozart to his brother Thomas, in
Italian, and esteemed this document, in the handwriting of the
composer of “Don Giovanni," beyond all price.
!
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
71
we
have two good friends and acquaintances before
us." He was disappointed, however, in both.
The Mozarts found a charming hostess at Rome,
the wife of one of the pope's couriers, who would
receive nothing for their entertainment, and pro-
vided amusement for her guests into the bargain.
Immediately after dinner,” writes Wolfgang,
play at potch,* a game I have learned here; when I
come I will teach it to you."
On the 8th of May they set out for Naples, in
the company of four Augustine monks, and enjoy-
ed the hospitality of several convents.
At Capua
they stopped to see a lady take the veil, and to
hear a " Salve Regina" and symphonies performed
by four coach-loads of musicians, whom they met
coming thither for that purpose. On the day of
their arrival at Naples they visited their London
acquaintance, the English ambassador, Hamilton.
Lady Hamiltont is described by the father as a
very agreeable person, " who performs on the cla-
vier with unusual expression. She was much
alarmed at having to play before Wolfgang."
Shortly afterward we find the young composer
getting a headache over his book of arithmetic.
He praises the bass which his sister has put to a
minuet of Haydn, and suddenly inquires after a
bird he left at home :
Pray write to me, how is Mr. Canary? Does he
sing still ? does he pipe still? Do you know why I
think of the canary? Because there is one in the front
room here, which makes a G : like ours.
like ours. Apropos,
Herr Johannes will have received the letter of congrat-
ulation we sent him; but if not, I must have already
communicated the contents to him at Salzburg. Our
* Mozart's ear was readily caught by the sound of ludicrous
words. Hence a cleverness in comical rhymes, which he after-
ward exhibited in long letters to his friends.
+ The famous Lady Hamilton.
72
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
2
new clothes came home yesterday, and we were beau-
tiful as angels. Remember me to Nandl, and tell her to
pray for me lustily.”
The letter concludes with this message, turbu-
lent in high spirits, to his sister :
“Go constantly to the Mirabella* in the Litanies, and
listen to the “Regina Cæli’ or the • Salve Regina,' and
then sleep soundly without bad dreams. Make my elab-
orate compliments to Herr von Schidenhofen tralaliera
tralaliera, and tell him to learn the Repeat Minuet on
the clavier in such a manner that he do not forget it.
And tell him to do it soon, that he may do me the pleas-
ure of doing him an accompaniment. And do make my
compliments to all other good friends, male and female,
and do take care of yourself, and do not die, that you
may do me another letter, and I do one to you, and so
we continue to do till we are done for; still I am he that
will do till there is nothing more to be done. Meantime
I do remain,
W. M."
Their concert at Naples was highly successful.
Jomelli invited them to his house, and Ciccio di
Majo, whose church music is praised by the young
composer as most beautiful,
was extremely po-
lite."'t In the midst of a sonata which he played
at the Conservatorio alla pietà there arose a disturb-
ance among the audience, from a notion that the
brilliancy and rapidity of his left hand were owing
to some magical properties in a ring he wore. On
the cause being explained to him, he laid aside the
enchanted circle, but the music was not found less
extraordinary. The Mozarts were in the highest
fashion, as will now be seen:
" All the carriages on the public drive of an evening
* A summer palace of the Archbishop of Salzburg's, celebrated
for its magnificent orangery.
+ On their way home, after this journey, intelligerce reached
them of the deaths of Ciccio di Majo and of Carattoli, the singer,
who had treated them with such duplicity at Vienna. Jomelli
died about the same time.
1
1
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
73
a
a
a
carry flambeaux, which make a kind of illumination. Ais
we go daily, having the carriage of a nobleman always at
our service, we have also our two flambeaux; the noble-
man's servant carries one, and our servant the other.
Her majesty the queen always salutes us on the prom-
enade in a particularly kind manner. We were present
at the great ball given on Easter Sunday by the French
ambassador in honour of the marriage of the Dauphin.”
Their mornings were spent in a more intellectual
manner: they visited all the curiosities of the neigh-
bourhood, the Baths of Nero, the Grotto of the Ču-
mean Sibyl, Lago d'Averno, &c.; and the boy con-
cludes one of the letters in triumph, "I have now
6
had a sail on the Mediterranean Sea." The ama-
zing exaltation of his spirits is shown in a whimsi-
cal letter to his sister, expressed as usual in a mix-
ture of languages—but the German on this occasion
is an extraordinary patois.
"C.S.M. Vesuvius is smoking furiously to-day.
Potz Blitz und ka nent aini. Haid homa gfresa beym
Herr Doll. Dos is a deutscha compositör und a brawa
mo.* I shall now begin to write my life. Alle 9 ore,
qualche volta anche alle diece mi sveglio, e poi andiamo
fuor di casa, e poi pranziamo da un trattore, e dopo pranzo
scriviamo, e poi sortiamo, e indi ceniamo, ma che cosa ?
Al giorno di grasso un mezzo pollo ovvero un piccolo boc-
cone d'arrosto; al giorno di magro, un piccolo pesce;
di poi andiamo a dormire.f Est-ce que vous avez com-
pris ?
** Redma dafir soisburgarisch, don as is gschaida,
Wir sand Gottlob gesund da Voda und i.f I hope that
* A piece of fun; if it means anything, it may be translated,
“ Dined to-day with Mr. Doll, a German composer and a worthy
+ “At nine o'clock, sometimes even at ten, I awake, and then
we go out, and then we dine at an ordinary; and after dinner we
write, and then we walk out, and afterward sup. On a flesh day,
half a chicken or a little morsel of roast meat; on a fast day, a
little fish, and then we go to sleep."
# " You may call this vulgar, but it is witty. We are well,
thank God, both my father and I."
G
;
man."
74
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
.
you and mamma are also well. Naples and Rome are
the realms of sleep. A scheni Schrift! Net wor?
Write to me, and don't be so idle. Altrimente avrete
qualche bastonate da me. Quel plaisir ! Je te casserai
la tête. I am so rejoiced at the portraits, and i bi korios,
wias da gleich sieht; wons ma gfoin, so los i mi un den
Vodan a so macha. Mädli, las Da saga wo bist dan
gwesa he? | The opera here is by Jomelli : it is beau-
tiful; but the style is too elevated, as well as too antique,
for the theatre. De Amicis sings incomparably, as like-
wise Aprile, who sang at Milan. The dances are mis-
erably pompous. The theatre is beautiful. The king
has the coarse Neapolitan manners, and when he is at
the opera always stands on a stool, in order to look a lit-
tle taller than the queen. The queen is handsome and
affable, for she has greeted me at least six times on the
Mole (that is a public drive) in the friendliest manner.
"P.S.—I kiss mamma's hand."
The father describes their return to Rome after
a journey, in which they had been twenty-five hours
without sleep:
" As soon as we had eaten a little rice and a couple of
eggs, I placed Wolfgang on a chair. He began immedi-
ately to snore, and slept so soundly that I undressed him
completely, and put him to bed, without his giving the
least symptom of waking. Although sometimes lifted
from the chair and set down again, he kept snoring on,
and at last finished by being laid in bed fast asleep.
When he awoke at nine in the morning he could not
imagine how he had got to bed.”
In answer to an inquiry from home as to their
proceedings and receipts at Naples, the father re-
plies :
“ Have we played to the King of Naples ? Nothing
less, I assure you; and received for it the bows which
* “Beautiful writing, is it not ?"
{"I am curious whether it is like. (The mother and daughter
had been painted in miniature.). If it please me, I will have my.
self and my father done too. The girl wants to know where you
have been, eh ?"
1
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
75
the queen made us in every place in which she saw us.
The queen is unable to do anything of herself; and what
sort of a person the king is, it will be better to tell you
than to write."*
At Rome, Leopold Mozart was surprised to hear
his son addressed as Signore Cavaliere, and thought
it a joke. However, he soon writes :
“What I told you about the cross of an order in my
last is perfectly true. It is the same that Gluck has,
and the precept runs thus: te creamus auratæ militiæ
equitem. He will have to wear a beautiful gold cross.
We are to have an audience of the pope to-morrow on
this business."
Whatever the occupation during their tour, how-
ever much pressed for time they might be, letters
were always interchanged on the fête days of any
of the separated members of the family. On the
day after the postscript above, while they were at
Bologna, came the libretto of the opera for Milan,
not selected from Metastasio, as the boy had rec-
ommended, but the work of a Turin poet. It was
called “Mitridate, Re di Ponto," and had been pro-
duced at Turin by some other composer three years
before. The prima donna was to be Antonia Ber-
nasconi. Mozart's manner of bringing out the op-
eras which he wrote for theatres at a distance was
to send the recitative first, and postpone the airs
* Let Mrs. Piozzi's account of the manners of this eccentric
monarch supply the omission: “He shoots at the birds, dances
with the girls, eats macaroni, and helps himself to it with his
fingers, and rows against the watermen in the bay, till one of
them burst out bleeding at the nose last week, with his uncourtly
efforts to outdo the king...." He sometimes, also, sold fish in
the market.---Journey through Italy, vol. ii
.
† Here is a pleasant specimen : “I wish that God may always
give you good health, and let you live a hundred years to come, and
not die till you are a thousand. I hope that you will learn to know
me better in future, and then you may judge of me as you please.
Tine does not allow me to write much. The pen, too, is not
worth a pin, nor more is he who guides it. The name of the op-
era which I have to compose at Milan is not as yet known.
a
>
76
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
over.
until acquainted with the powers of the s ngers,
disliking the chance of having to do his work twice
It was a saying of his, that he prided him-
self on suiting a singer with an air, as a tailor would
fit him with a coat. The libretto was received in
July, and the opera was to be brought out at Christ-
mas--a long interval for so rapid a composer; for
the present, therefore, the work may be considered
as almost dismissed from his mind, though we shall
notice its influence on him as the time approaches.
During the earlier part of their stay at Bologna,
the father was confined at an inn from the effects
of an accident on the road, and this procured for
the son a certain freedom in his movements which
seems to have been welcome.
" I have had the honour," he writes, “of going alone
to the churches about six times, and of viewing the mag-
nificent ceremonies. Meanwhile I have already com-
posed four Italian symphonies, besides airs, of which five
or six are ready, and likewise a motet.
· Does Herr Tölpel come often? Does he still honour
you with his entertaining discourse? And Herr Karl
von Vogt, does he still do himself the pleasure of listen-
ing to your intolerable voice? Herr von Schidenhofen
must assist you diligently in writing minuets, or he shall
not have a single bit of sugar.”
Wolfgang is described as having grown taller
and stronger in every limb on this journey; but his
singing voice, with which he used to recall the
pa
thetic style of Manzuoli, was utterly gone. “He
can neither get high nor low," writes his father,
“and has not five pure notes, which much annoys
him, as he cannot sing his own airs, though often
desirous of doing so." Both the travellers enjoyed
themselves at the country seat of Field-marshal
Palavicini. Here Wolfgang amused himself with
rural diversions, and met a Dominican friar, a re-
.
.
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
77
i
puted saint, who excited his wonder by uniting
with that character an enormous capacity for eat-
ing. But music was not forgotten, nor the Padre
Martini, who lived in the town. While the father
daily visited the padre to discourse on the history
of the art,* the boy's thoughts were occupied with
the ancient church music of Italy, and he produced
a “Miserere" for men's voices in that severe style
for which Bologna had long been famous. His
election as member of the Philharmonic Society
occasions a graphic letter.
“ The Philharmonic Society of Bologna have unan-
imously elected Wolfgang one of their body, and pre-
sented him with the patent of Accademico. The usual
preliminaries and trial of skill, however, took place. He
was obliged to present himself at four o'clock in the af-
ternoon, on the 9th of October, in the hall of the acad-
emy. There the Princeps Academiæ, and the two cen-
sors, who are experienced Kapellmeisters, gave him, in
the presence of all the members, an Antiphona from the
Antiphonarium, which he was to set in four parts in a
chamber adjoining, into which he was conducted by the
beadle, and the door locked. As soon as he was ready,
his composition was examined by the censors, the Ka-
pellmeisters, and composers, who then voted with black
and white balls. The balls being all white, he was called
in. On his entrance he was welcomed by a general con-
gratulation and clapping of hands, the princeps having
acquainted him, in the name of the society, with his
election. Meantime I and a companion were locked up
* The good friar was engaged on his “Storia della Musica,"
the preliminary chapters of which exhibit a curious arrangement.
His work proceeds in this order: 1. Of music from the creation
of Adam to the deluge. 2. From the deluge to the time of Moses.
3. From the birth of that Hebrew lawgiver to his death. 4. From
the death of Moses to the reign of David, &c. He enters upon a
plan of this sort, after owning that sufficient monuments and de-
scriptions are wanting to exhibit the state of music in the early
ages of the world. Great disorder reigned in his apartments,
where, according to Dr, Burney, he had collected 17,000 books
and MSS., but seats were not easily to be found.
G 2
78
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
There are,
in a room on the other side of the hall of the academical
library. Every one wondered at the rapidity with which
he was ready, for many consume three hours over an
Antiphona of three lines. You must know that the task
is not an easy one, many things being inadmissible into
this kind of composition, as he had been forewarned.
He had finished in little more than half an hour. The
beadle brought the patent home to us.*
among other words, Testamur Dominum W. A. M. in-
ter academiæ nostre magistros compositores adscriptum
fuisse," &c.
Towards the beginning of November Wolfgang
was at Milan, working upon his opera, and, during
the intervals of composition, he amused himself by
acquiring the finger language, to converse with a
dumb lad who lived in the same house. In one of
his letters home he calls himself as great a gossip
as ever; but we will take the father's account of
him, and contrast it with the levity of his own self-
description. The woes of Mitridate affected his
spirits.
" If our kind friends would, as they did the other day,
put a little merriment into their letters, they would do a
good work, for Wolfgang is now busy with serious mat-
ters, and is become so grave, that I am quite pleased
when at times anything cheerful and pleasant falls in his
way."
As the opera proceeded, there were, however,
real causes of vexation. Bernasconi, the prima
donna, distrusting the powers of the boy to com-
pose the airs for her, requested to see what she
was to sing, which was instantly acceded to. The
cantatrice made trial of a piece, and was charmed
with it. Mozart then, piqued at the want of confi-
dence in his youth which she had exhibited, pre-
sented to her another, and then a third, leaving
* This document has been preserved, together with the exer.
cise performed, and both will be found in an Appendix,
1
TIIE LIFE OF MOZART.
79
HP
Bernasconi quite confounded at the sight of so rare
a talent and so rich an imagination at years so
tender. Shortly afterward some enemy called on
her with the words of the libretto set to different
music, and endeavoured to persuade her not to sing
any of the airs composed by Wolfgang.
“She absolutely refused this wicked person, being
quite overjoyed at the airs the young maestro had writ-
ten for her, in which he consulted her own wish and in-
clination, and so is Maestro Lampugnani, who rehearses
with her, and hardly, knows how to extol Wolfgang's
genius sufficiently.'
These storms over, the opera was put into rehear-
sal:
". The first instrumental rehearsal took place on the
12th, but with sixteen performers only, in order to see
that everything is correctly written. On the 17th, the
first rehearsal with the full orchestra will take place.
This orchestra* consists of fourteen first, and as many
second violins, two claviers, six double basses, two violon-
cellos, two bassoons, six violas, two oboes, and two flaute
traversi, which, when there are no flutes, play with four
oboes, four corni di caccia, and two trumpets; in all
, sixty
performers. . . Previously to the rehearsal with the little
orchestra, there were not wanting persons who endeav-
oured, by satirical speeches, to prejudice the composition
as something juvenile and miserable, and who prophesied,
so to speak, the utter impossibility that so young a boy,
and a German, could write an Italian opera; and, al-
though they acknowledged him to be a great performer,
they could not believe that he had the necessary insight
into the chiaro ed oscuro of the theatre. From the
evening of the first little rehearsal, all these people are
struck dumb, and have not a syllable more to say: : :
On St. Stephen's day, about an hour after Ave Maria,
you may picture to yourself Maestro Don Amadeo at
the clavier in the orchestra, and myself in a box as a
* In the enumeration of this band, we revert so far to the anti-
quity of the art, and see the point at which Mozart commenced
reformer of the dramatic orchestra,
80
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
spectator and listener. Imagine him, and wish him suc-
cess, and pray a couple of paternosters for that purpose."
The first night went off triumphantly; there was
a hugricane of applause, with cries of Evviva il
Maestro, Evviva il Maestrino. " Mithridates' was
performed twenty times consecutively; an extraor-
dinary thing, as the first opera of the season rarely
attracted; and this success so well satisfied the
manager, that he immediately entered ito an agree
ment with the boy to compose the first opera for
the year 1773. The Italians, who called Hasse Il
Sassone, and Galuppi Buranello, named young Mo-
zart Il Cavalieri filarmonico. It was shortly dis-
covered that the airs surreptitiously carried to Ber-
nasconi were composed by the Abbé Gasparini, of
Turin, and, conscious that envy was still at work,
the father took care to have the attestation of the
orchestra that his son's music was clear, intelligi.
ble, and easy to play.
Before they left Milan in February, 1771, Wolf-
gang was elected member of the Philharmonic
Academy of Verona, the diploma of which was
transmitted to them. They pursued their road
homeward, by way of Venice, in great spirits, stop-
ping at Brescia to hear the opera buffa, where they
remembered to have seen the former manager,
Crosa, wandering about the streets of Milan in
rags, and with a long beard, begging. “Such,"
exclaims the father," is the reward of dishonesty."
On the way to Venice they heard something which
appeared to them incredible in Italy, above all pla-
ces in the world, a duet in pure fifths, sung by a
poor man and woman in the street, without missing
a note. They had never heard anything like this
in Germany. At Venice they received perpetual
invitations, and Leopold Mozart thus describes
their
gay
.
life :
THE LIFE OF MOZART,
81
* Not only does the secretary of a nobleman fetch us
in a gondola and attend us back, but the nobleman him-
self, and of the highest rank, too (such as Cornaro, Gri-
mani, Moncenigo, Dolfin, and Valier), frequently accom-
panies us home.”
a
9
At Padua they paid a visit to Padre Valotti, and
Wolfgang played on the fine organ in the incom-
parable church San Giustino. Thus closed their
adventures in Italy for the present.
On their arrival at home towards the end of
March, 1771, they found a letter from their friend,
Count Firmian, inviting young Mozart, in the name
of the Empress Maria Theresa, to compose a grand
dramatic serenata in honour of the nuptials of the
Archduke Ferdinand, which were to be celebrated
at Milan in the autumn. The Nestor of musicians,
Hasse, was to write an opera for the same occa-
sion; youth and age would thus meet in competi-
tion, but it was a generous and friendly one. Mo-
zart's work was an azione teatrale, with airs and
choruses, and entitled “ Ascanio in Alba.' In the
interim, the composer had some months at his dis-
posal, which he occupied by writing a litany, a
regina cæli, several symphonies, &c.
The tour in Italy had opened great prospects to
Mozart; for in a country which was pre-eminently
the seat of excellence in the fine arts, and where
to excite admiration was proportionably difficult,
his progress had been a perpetual ovation. Under
these circumstances, his genius was in a state of
peculiar exaltation; for sympathy, it is to be ob-
served, was the atmosphere of his artistic existence,
and he could neither play nor compose to his own
satisfaction without the consciousness of being en-
joyed and appreciated. But the stamp of his great
individuality as a dramatic musician was not as yet
visible.
រ
6
82
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
The superiority of his church to his opera music
at this age shows of what he was capable when
able to pursue without restraint the dictates of his
feeling and science. To this cause we owe many
noble works of the former class, which are still
sought out and enjoyed. But in the theatre he
wrote for success; and success, which depends upon
the multifarious tastes of such an audience, can only
be ensured by very gradual deviations from tradi-
tion, especially during the youth of the composer.
On arriving at Milan in August, the father and
son were graciously received by the royal bride.
She no sooner saw them than she hastened towards
them, drew off her glove, and with extended hand,
began speaking to them at a distance before they
could address her. The work, however, for which
they came, was in suspense; the poetry did not
arrive till the beginning of September, and even
then had to be returned for alterations, so that the
young maestro had to despatch the two parts of
this performance, together with the ballet connect-
ing them, in little more than a fortnight, On the
25th of the month Wolfgang writes : “There are
two more airs to compose, and then I am ready."
We may see him at work in the following extract
from one of his father's letters :
- Manzuoli often visits us, and Tibaldi comes almost
every day about eleven o'clock, and remains sitting at the
table where Wolfgang is composing till near one.*
" Everybody is exceedingly polite and full of respect
for Wolfgang. We have no trouble, the singers not
only being celebrated in their profession, but good-hearted
and sensible people. The serenata is, in fact, a little
opera; and even an opera itself is not longer as it regards
tho music."
-
* A habit of composing among visiters and friends grew much
upon him; and in writing" Don Giovanni" and the “ Zauberflöte,"
we see him not in the least distracted by the bu177 and talking of a
crowd,
+
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
83
Everything proceeded fortunately during the re-
hearsals, at which Hasse and the Mozarts met with
the greatest 'cordiality. The opera and serenata
were produced on the 17th of October, and of the
effect of the two the father gives the news :
“The serenata pleases wonderfully. Cavaliers and
other people continually stop us in the street to offer
their congratulations. In short, I am sorry, for Wolf-
gang's serenata has so knocked Hasse's opera on the
head, that it is indescribable."
The archduke and his bride were not among the
least gratified ; they not only frequently, inclined
their heads from their box and applauded the maes-
tro, but encored two airs sung by Manzuoli and
Gerelli,
While the serenata was running its successful
career, Wolfgang produced a piece of instrument-
al harmony in eight parts, which must have been
a curiosity to the Italians.
The history of his compositions shows that, far
from being exhausted, he was rather stimulated by
production; and it is remarkable that minor work's
never fell from his pen in such profusion as when
he had just been engaged in some great underta-
king. Amid these occupations, their holydays com-
menced. They went to dine with Hasse at Count
Firmian's, and visited the celebrated soprano Ga-
brielli, in order to make the acquaintance of all the
famous singers. The composer Misliwetschek, *
* This composer, surnamed by the Italians Il Boemo, wrote about
thirty operas and several oratorios, and was much patronized by the
celebrated Gabrielli, who liked to sing in them. Despite her pat-
ronage, however, he is said to have been found by the Mozarts in
an indigent condition, the profits of dramatic composition being at
this time chiefly engrossed by the copyist. He died at Rome in
his forty-fourth year, and was buried with magnificent obsequies
by a young Englishman, his pupil. How little pecuniary advan-
tage attended success in operatic composition may be seen in his
Italian career as well as in Mozart's,
84
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
a favourite with both the Mozarts on account of his
talents and honourable character, also visited them.
It was on the occasion of hearing the rehearsal
of “ Ascanio in Alba” that Hasse said publicly, and
with truth, “ This boy will throw us all into the
shade.” Such a testimony from the rival of Han-
”
del and Porpora, and from one who had long been
surnamed “the divine,” is too remarkable to be
forgotten. It was the last memorial of the ac-
quaintance of Hasse and Mozart.*
In the spring of the year 1772, a new archbish-
op, Hieronymus, of the princely family Colloredo,
, was elected to the government of Salzburg; and
this event, which took place on the 14th of March
in that year, was celebrated by the serenata « Il
Sogno di Scipione,” the poetry by Metastasio, the
music by Mozart. Some description of this ty-
rant of the family, who had the greatest influence
on the future fortunes of the composer, cannot be
avoided. In figure he was tall and commanding;
mur!: 12voted to horses and field sports, and fond
I
* Young Mozart's postscripts to his father's letters during this
absence are characterized as usual by irrepressible vivacity and
boyish drollery. In one he says, with something of the grotesque-
ness of Rabelais, “You may hope, think, believe, be of opinion,
fortify yourself in the notion, imagine, picture to yourself, and live
in confidence that we are well; but I can tell you so for certain."
In another he gives us a glimpse of what was probably his first
love fancy; thus, writing to his sister: "What you have prornis-
ed me (you know beforehand what that is-0 dear love!) be faith-
ful to—I pray thee." His sister was his confidante, and the sub-
ject is frequently alluded to in mysterious passages and broken
hints of the correspondence. In a subsequent note he transmits
a message in which the lady's name is probably revealed : “ Tell
Mademoiselle von Mölk that I look forward with pleasure to my
return to Salzburg, hoping to receive just such another present for
the minuets as I had at the last concert. She will know what that
is." In the midst of all this flutter of sensations and hard work,
he continued to practice the language of signs until he completely
mastered it, for the sake of holding intercourse with the dumb boy.
My chief amusement,” he says, "is to make signs with the dumb
Jad, which I do to perfection."
}
6
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
85
*
of being surrounded by a brilliant assemblage of
ladies. He had not the least taste for music, and
was long before he could be brought to perceive
that there was anything extraordinary in his young
concert-master. When it is added that, with his
singular qualifications as an ecclesiastic, he com-
bined hauteur and moroseness of manner, the re-
lation of the parties may easily be conceived; and
although their acquaintance seems to have begun
favourably, their good understanding was of short
duration.
The composer evidently took some pains to make
a good impression on his new lord, for he now pro-
duced in succession seven symphonies for the or-
chestra,* several divertimentos for instruments, &c.
The intercourse of the princes of Germany with
the musicians of their household appears to have
been at this time remarkable for anything rather
than the suaviter in modo. When old Prince An-
tony Esterhazy recognised the genius of "the
Moor," as he used to call Haydn, on account of his
swarthy complexion, he is said to have received
him into his establishment with these words : “Go
and dress yourself like a professor; do not let me
see you any more in this trim; you cut a pitiful
figure.” Such was somewhat the style of the new
archbishop.
But this subject may be dismissed for the present.
Among the numerous compositions of the produc-
tive year 1772, his church music exhibits a litany,
which, being well known, may be instantly referred
* These passing notices of the labours of Mozart's youth in par-
ticular years are not to be understood as embracing all that he
wrote. For certainty's sake, I have confined myself to the men-
tion of those compositions which are dated by himself, omitting to
reckon a great number, of which the date, though probable, is un-
decided. The wind instruinents of these symphonies are oboes and
horns only.
H
86
THF LIFE OF MOZART:.
to in proof of Mozart's powers at sixteen. The
grand fugue" Pignus futuræ gloriæ," still one of
”
the most celebrated pieces at our musical festivals,
forms part of this composition, which was written
during the same month as “ Il Sogno di Scipione,”
for some solemnity at which the prince-bishop pre-
sided in his ecclesiastical capacity.
In October, Mozart, accompanied by his father,
set off for Milan, to fulfil his engagement for the
Carnival opera of the new year, “ Lucio Silla.” He
was to receive for his labour 130 gigliati, and was
provided with furnished apartments during his stay,
In bringing out this work, the mismanagement" of
the blessed theatrical people, who," as the father
writes, “ delay everything to the last,” was emi-
nently conspicuous. After the recitative had been,
as usual, forwarded from Salzburg, the author of
the libretto sent it to Vienna to be revised by Me-
tastasio, who not only made great alterations and
improvements, but added an entire scene in the
second act. This obliged Wolfgang to rewrite a
considerable portion of the recitative. The non-
arrival of principal singers occasioned other delays,
and at the end of the first week in December there
were still fourteen pieces to write. The
The composer
found correspondence difficult, and observes, “My
thoughts are now so intent upon my opera that I
am in danger of writing you an entire air instead
of a letter."*
Another accident was the illness of the tenor,
Cardoni, which obliged them to seek a substitute
at Turin and Bologna, who should have been a good
singer, a good actor, and a person of some consid-
a
а.
* He expresses nearly the same image of absorption when he
is composing the third act of “ Idomeneo." He writes to his fa-
ther: "I am now so busy with the third act, that it would be no
great wonder if I were to turu into a third act myself.”
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
87
.
eration, to represent “ Lucio Silla” with a chance
of success. Signora de Amicis, the prima donna,
was their kind friend, and exerted herself much in
their behalf; young Mozart having taken great
pains to please her, and embellished her principal
air with new and peculiar passages of extraordinary
difficulty. In the midst of the last rehearsals, which
were laborious, the music, without ballet, occupying
four hours, they were present for three successive
evenings at grand parties given by Count Firmian,
at which music went forward from five o'clock till
eleven.
Wolfgang," writes the father, “played every even-
ing; but on the third day he had to play immediately
on the entrance of their royal highnesses, and by their
own desire. Both of their royal highnesses conversed
with us for a long while."
It is a somewhat touching incident, that in the
midst of all this hurry and occupation, the two mu-
sicians found time to attend the Cathedral to say
prayers for the recovery of a sick friend, their land-
lord Hagenauer. At'length the opera was per-
formed, though not without troublesome and disa-
greeable accidents at the outset. The first was
the delay of three hours in commencing. Instead of
beginning at the usual time, the curtain' rose at
eight, and did not descend till two in the morning.
The composition which survived this ordeal must
have possessed extraordinary fascination.
The scene in the theatre was one of unparalleled
excitement.
" The archduke having five letters of compliments and
good wishes on the new year to write after dinner, with
his own hand, to the emperor, empress, &c., came late;
for you are to know that he writes very slowly. Picture
to yourself the whole theatre crammed full at half past
five o'clock, and the singers, both men and women, on
88
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
3
e
.
this the first evening, full of alarm at having to exhibit be-
fore so exalted an audience; and then think of these
frightened singers remaining in their terror, and the or-
chestra and the whole audience, of whom many were
compelled to stand, waiting in the hot theatre for three
mortal hours before the piece began. Secondly, you
are to be informed that the tenor, who is a Cathedral
singer at Lodi, who was engaged one week only before
the performance, for want of a better, had never played
in so large a theatre, and had even only twice in his life
been a primo tenore at Lodi. This person being re-
quired, during the first air of the prima donna, to make
some demonstration of anger towards her, so exaggera-
ted the demands of the situation, that it seemed as if he
were about to give her a box on the ear, or to knock her
nose off with his fist, and at this the audience began to
laugh. Signora de Amicis, in the heat of her singing;
not knowing why the public laughed, was surprised, and,
being unaware of the ridiculous cause, did not sing well
the first evening, and an additional reason for this may be
found in a feeling of jealousy that the primo uomo, im-
mediately on his appearance on the scene, should be ap-
plauded by the archduchess. This, however, was only
the trick of a musico; for he had contrived to have it rep-
resented to the archduchess that he would be unable to
sing from fear, in order to secure immediate applause
and encouragement from the court. But, to console De
Amicis, she was sent for the next day to court, and had
an audience of both their royal highnesses for an hour.
The opera ran altogether between twenty and
thirty nights, at the end of which the composer, by
his father's account, appears in very high spirits.
“ Wolfgang is well, and while I am writing this, is
making caprioles about the room."
father to the man;" such was Mozart in the inter-
vals of excessive application even to the last months
of his life.*
“ The boy is
* Postscripts, as usual, garnished the letters of the father, of
which take a specimen, showing how Wolfgang, with that won-
derful universality which distinguished him, was making playfal
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
89
.
“ Lucio Silla” is the third Italian opera in three
acts that bears witness to the unexampled diligence
of his boyhood. With this composition, which
shows him to have been still so submissive to the
classical authorities of the age and country as to
venture no innovations on the usual design or in-
strumentation of the operas in fashion, his connex-
ion with Italy ceased. Germany was in future to
be the theatre of his exertions; but could either
the father or his son have glanced on this page in
their destiny, and have foreseen that they would
never revisit Italy, their home-journey to Salzburg
would have been as full of anxious forebodings as
it was at present rich in hope. Nothing would
have given more pleasure to Leopold Mozart than
to have established himself, or at least his son, at
Florence; and during his present absence he even
feigns a slight illness to stay a little longer, in the
hope of effecting his purpose.
Meantime, as the fame of the son increased, the
pecuniary resources of the family had become grad-
ually impaired, for the late tours of Mozart and his
father had been far from productive. Several in-
dications of their straitened means are found in
the letters of the Italian tour, and in some which
they afterward wrote from Vienna; but they suffer-
ed these inconveniences without repining, thinking
that a day might change the whole aspect of their
affairs, and that such a genius as Wolfgang possessed
could never, in commercial phrase, “ be brought
into the market" without commanding the means
of ample subsistence and comfort for the family.
acquisitions in other directions, during the eventful crisis of
“"
Lucio Silla.” “I have learned a new game here,” he informs
his sister, “which is called · Mercante in fiera. As soon as I get
home we will play it. I have also learned from a lady a new
language, which is easy to speak, and troublesome to write, but
useful."
H 2
90
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
PART THIRD.
HIS YOUTH.
It was with a design, of which the immediate
object is unknown, that Leopold Mozart carried
his son to Vienna in the month of July, 1773.
During their stay of somewhat more than two
months, Wolfgang composed, among other music,
six quartetts for violins, tenor and bass; but the ex-
pedition itself seems to have been uninfluential on
their future course of life, and merely to have af-
forded a temporary suspense to the monotony of
existence at Salzburg, for which the elder Mozart
had now acquired a great distaste; finding even in
that isolated spot, where primitive manners and
good morals might easily have been expected,
plenty of room for the workings of envy and other
evil passions. In reviewing the numerous instru-
mental compositions of Mozart's youth, we are
struck with the effort he made to master his ideas.
The quartett and symphony productions of this pe-
riod show many beautiful thoughts not yet turned
to due account, but which he resumed and more
fully developed in subsequent compositions. Thus
his memory in after. life became a perfect store-
house of melodies and subjects that had long been
floating in his imagination, and which exquisite
tact and judgment enabled him instantly to apply.
We find this particularly in his operas and sym-
phonies. With his quartett compositions of this pe-
riod he was afterward far from satisfied; and when,
about 1781, he made the acquaintance of Joseph
Hadyn at Vienna, he meekly acknowledged his
own inferiority in that department, and rejoiced to
!
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
91
declare this publicly in behalf of his friend. Sure-
ly there is no more beautiful aspect of the soul of
Mozart than his passion for truth and his entire
unselfishness.
In travelling with his father, each seemed, as a
matter of course, to fall into a regular train of ac-
tion; while one was engrossed with the mechanical
operations and plans of the journey, the other was
wholly immersed in composition or recreations.
Such a spiritual existence as this, from which he
was afterward cruelly awakened to the practical
hardships of life, at least ushered in his manhood.
At Vienna we find him at a concert in Mesmer's
garden, playing on a new instrument, the harmon-
ica. The rapidity with which he masters it is
unnoticed by his father, who longs to possess one;
but fears the expense. His principal diversion at
this time seems to have been in exchanging pages of
doggerel rhyme with a certain M. Heffner, who held
an appointment in the Cathedral of Salzburg.f
of the various compositions on which he employed
himself during the remainder of the year in Salz-
burg, the most interesting is his first quintett for two
violins, 'two tenors, and violoncello, a species of
combination peculiar to himself, in which he after-
ward carried the richness of chamber-music to per-
fection. That his thoughts were continually bent
upon extending the effects of instrumental harmony,
*
a
* The sister of the celebrated Cecilia Davis had brought this
instrument into notice at Vienna. Mozart wrote a quintett, in
which he combined it with stringed instruments in the last year
of his life.
† These nonsense-verses may remind the reader of Canning's
song'onen
" “University of Göttingen.” He advises his corre-
spondent to write better verses, and continues:
“ Sonst komm'
ich meiner Lebtag zu Salzburg nicht mehr in Dom ;
denn ich bin gar capax zu gehen nach Constant-
inople, die doch allen Leuten ist bekannt."
92
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
and that he had prepared himself for the revolution
which he accomplished in the orchestra by such
exercises in combination as no other musician ever
made, will satisfactorily appear on consulting the
MSS., which are the record of his life from this
time till his journey to Paris in 1777. These
works will be noticed in their place, as they are
blended with circumstances of the composer's per-
sonal history, which cannot be anticipated.
In December, 1774, he went to Munich to write
the opera buffa for the Carnival. This work, “ La
finta Giardiniera,” first manifested some of his most
remarkable peculiarities as a dramatic musician,
and it is of great interest on that account. Its mel-
odies are imbued with elegance and tenderness,
and the whole may be considered as demonstra-
ting an immense advance in his art. His father
was again his companion on this expedition, which
was the last they ever made together. The com-
poser describes the effect of his opera in a letter
to his mother, January 14, 1775: :
My opera was brought out yesterday, and had, thank
God! such success, that I cannot possibly describe to
mamma the noise and commotion. In the first place, the
theatre was crammed so full
, that many persons were
obliged to return home. At the close of every air there
was a terrible noise, with clapping and shouting • Viva
Maestro.' The electoress and the widowed lady, who
were close to me, said Bravo.' The interval between
the opera and the commencement of the ballet was en-
tirely filled up with clapping and crying · Bravo'—now
ceasing, and now commencing again, and so on.
I and
my father afterward went into a room through which
the whole court pass, and where I kissed the
hands of
the elector, the electoress, and others of the nobility,
who were all very gracious. His highness the Bishop
of Chiemsee sent to me early this morning with con-
gratulations on my success.
“With regard to our return, it will not be immediate
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
93
1
.
on.
1
mand mainma must not desire it, for she knows that we
must have breathing time. We shall get home soon
enough for (here something is erased). But one true
and necessary cause is that the opera will be performed
again on Friday, and I must be present, or nobody would
know it again, for they manage quite cuciously here. A
thousand little kisses to Bimberl."
The archbishop was at Munich, and though he
did not hear the opera, its praises resounded in his
ears on all sides. We see him in the following
extract:
“Picture to yourself the embarrassment of his high-
ness, our lord and master, on hearing the praises of the
opera from the electoral family and all the nobility of the
court and receiving their solemn congratulations there-
He was, indeed, so embarrassed as to be unable to
make any reply except by shaking his head and shrug-
ging his shoulders.''
Mozart was well pleased, on this occasion, to en-
joy the companionship and sympathy of his sister,
who was specially sent for from Salzburg to hear
the opera. Her brother recommends her to be
careful of taking cold on the journey, in a clatter
of ludicrous rhymes on one word ; and seems al-
together in the highest spirits, though again in the
state of an “ingenious inamorato." Her father's
chief care is to place her in a suitable house, where
there is a staid mistress and a pianoforte. At all
times the musician and the most circumspect of
men, he provides against her losing anything even
by this holyday excursion. She is to practise the
* Mademoiselle Mölk is not now in his thoughts, but Made-
moiselle Mizerl, concerning whom we have the following: “My
compliments to Roxalana, who is to drink tea with the Sultan
this evening. Say to Mademoiselle Mizerl everything you can
think of-she is not to doubt my love I have her constantly be-
fore my eyes in that charming déshabille.” These Oriental rap-
tures commonly evaporate in a joke. In a postscript to his moth,
er, written during the journey, he signs himself athy attached
Franz Nazenblut," and dates Milan, May 5, 1756.
а
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THE LIFE OF MOZART.
66
sonatas of Paradies and Bach, and the concerto of
Lucchesi. As a parting testimony to the excel-
lence of “ La finta Giardiniera” may be added that
of the orchestra, who declared that they had never
heard a more attractive composition, the airs be-
ing all beautiful without exception.
The present journey, likewise, gave occasion to
two grand masses, an offertorium and a vespers de
Dominica for the chapel of the elector. Some of
the finest of Mozart's church music originated at
Munich, which assumed to be the seat of supreme
authority in this branch of the art, for here Orlan-
do di Lasso, the great Kapellmeister of St. John
de Lateran at Rome, passed the last twenty years
of his life at the head of an unrivalled choir, and
here his motets were magnificently preserved on
vellum. At Munich also lived Steffani, the admi-
red of Handel, who had relinquished the musical
direction of St. Mark's at Venice for appointments
at that place. Surrounded by the traditions of
such great masters, and writing for an excellent
band and choir, it is not surprising that he was ex-
cited to unusual excellence.
On the 7th of March, 1775, the father and son
returned to Salzburg, where the court was soon
enlivened by a visit from the Archduke Maximil-
ian; and Mozart, being desired to celebrate the oc-
casion by a serenata, produced “Il Re Pastore,"
,
in two acts, a work which was much admired.
He was now domesticated at Salzburg for near-
* The original scores of the eight extensive dramatic works,
which we have noticed in their order, beginning with "Apollo
and Hyacinth," and ending with “ La finta Giardiniera" (of which
the first act is lost), are still in the collection of M. André.
these records of Mozart's youth not a note is known in England,
though they are full of curiosity and interest. A multitude of
his instrumental compositions, alike unknown, would certainly
be well received in the present dearth of natural and spontaneous
musical invention,
а.
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THE LIFE OF MOZART.
95
66
ly three years, an epoch of great interest in his
personal history, as the misfortunes and disappoint-
ments of his future career, which form an almost in-
credible romance of real life, were chiefly prepa-
red by circumstances evolved during this period.
It had been foretold by Grimm that monarchs
would dispute the possession of Mozart, and after
the composition of Don Giovanni," Hadyn said
that they would do so were they of his mind. But
the public could not wonder at Mozart the man, as
they had done at Mozart the child; and thus the
general anticipations of his future success, found-
ed on the miracles of his infancy, were doomed,
like Grimm's more glowing prediction, to be falsi-
fied by the event; for this great genius, whom all
the world now acknowledges, neither achieved
prosperity for himself, nor became an object for the
generous strife of kings.
Salzburg was the first place in which he found
his labours treated as of slight importance. His
ready pen, at nineteen years of age, tested in nu-
merous compositions for the Church, the theatre,
and the chamber; his brilliant performance on the
clavier, organ-playing on festivals of the Church,
and most expressive violin-playing, may be thought
to have been of some value to the archbishop, as
he did not scruple to avail himself freely of the
young man's services; but his munificence will ex-
cite surprise-all that Mozart received from him
at this time being a nominal salary of about £1 1s.
English per annum !
This trifling acknowledgment (spott-geld) was
what he had at first received when entered as a
child on the establishment of the former prince;
but, now that he was fulfilling the double services
of a most efficient composer and performer, it seem-
ed high time to place him on a new footing; nev-
a
a
:96
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
ertheless, it was overlooked. Still he wrote on,
determined to deserve, whether he obtained or not. ·
Among a multitude of compositions that he wrote
for the archbishop's concerts in 1775, are five con-
certos for the violin, which he probably performed
himself.* His gentle disposition made him easily
*
comply with any proposal to augment pleasure,
however out of his usual course. During the fol-
lowing year, 1776, he seems to have made his last
great effort to awaken the archbishop to some sense
of his desert, and a due generosity of acknowledg-
ment, by producing masses, litanies, serenades, di-
vertimentos for instruments, clavier concertos, &c.,
too numerous for detail; but in vain; and what
aggravated the injury of this monstrous appropria-
tion of labour was, that the father, whose house-
hold economy was now somewhat pinched, on ap-
plying for permission to remedy these circumstan-
ces by a tour, was refused. From that hour Wolf-
gang threw by his
pen in disgust-at least as far
as it concerned voluntary labour.
Whatever the heart-burnings that such tyranny
created, the father, not wishing to proceed to ex-
tremes with his prince, or thinking it safe for the
whole family to seek their fortunes elsewhere, con-
cealed his feelings, while he matured such a plan
as, in the present posture of their affairs, seemed
most prudent. It was determined that Wolfgang
should resign his situation in the household of the
archbishop, and, accompanied by his mother, pro-
ceed on a tour in quest of an appointment in the
service of some foreign prince, on obtaining which,
his father and sister could easily quit Salzburg and
* An act of complaisance, for violin-playing formed no part of
his duty as concert-master. It will be observed, that his father,
on recalling him from Paris to Salzburg in 1778, states express-
ly that he will not be expected to play the violin at court.
1
.
7
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
97
establish themselves with him. So feasible did this
project seem, that Leopold Mozart did not hesitate
to incur some debts for the sake of carrying it into
execution.
But it is worth while to notice in this place the
peculiar direction of Mozart's studies in composi-
tion during the interval now spent at Salzburg,
where even the imperfection of the orchestras
seems to have exercised his invention, insomuch
that it is difficult to conceive any instruments, how-
ever heterogeneous, from which he would not have
drawn effects. Here he sometimes wrote masses
without any viola part, and mostly with incomplete
wind instruments. The church service at Salzburg
requiring an instrumental piece called the "Epis-
tle sonata,” he produced for that purpose many
compositions of which no model existed. Of this
kind are many sonatas for the organ and two vio-
lins; for the organ, two violins, and two trumpets,
or for the same instruments with the addition of
violoncello and bass, oboes and drums.*
Meanwhile, his pen was always at the disposal
of his friends. Mademoiselle Elizabeth Heffner,
the sister of his rhyming correspondent, was mar-
ried in July, 1776, and Mozart honoured the occa-
sion by a nuptial march for the full orchestra.
The Countess Lodron and her two daughters, who
are said to have possessed incomparable talents on
the clavier, received from him, during the same
:
* His divertimentos for wind-instruments display combinations,
at that day quite as uncommon. Among them we find ten pieces
for two flutes, three trumpets in C, two trumpets in D, and four
drums; a divertimento for the same instruments; several sestets
for two oboes, two horns, and two bassoons; pieces for the same
instruments, with the addition of clarinets and corni inglesi (ten-
or oboes); and last, though not least, an adagio for two clarinets
and three corni di bassetti (tenor clarinets). These were the
dations by which Mozart's scores became eventually so distin-
guished for the management and effect of the wind-instruments.
7
I
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THE LIFE OF MOZART.
year, a triple concerto* for their favourite instru-
ment. There was no style of music, however un-
usual the design or combination, in which he could
not succeed, nor was there any sort of performer
whom he could not please, so that never were the
prospects of a young musician of such hopeful au-
gury
In September, 1776, he transmitted a motet of
his composition to the Padre Martini. This work
was written at Munich immediately after “ La finta
Giardiniera,” the elector having desired to hear
some contrapuntal scientifically-treated composi-
tion by young Mozart. He was, therefore, obliged
to prepare it in haste, for performance at the offer
tory on the following Sunday. The interesting
facts narrated in this letter have been before allu-
ded to; we have now only to invite attention to its
modesty, earnestness, and just view of the artist's
mission. Having described the origin of the work,
he exclaims :
- Dear Padre-I earnestly entreat you to give me
your unreserved opinion thereupon. We live in this
world to be continually advancing, and in science and the
fine arts more especially, by interchanging views and
communicating sentiments one to another, to be always
learning something fresh.
• How often do I wish that I lived nearer to you,
have the advantage of your conversation and sympathy.
I live in a country in which music has as yet had but
little success. We still possess many fine players, and
more especially scientific and tasteful composers, not-
withstanding those who have already left us.
“With regard to the theatre, it is badly off in point of
singers. We have no musici, and are not likely to have
any, because they insist on being well paid, and liberal-
* Sebastian Bach had already written concertos for three cla.
viers; but that species of composition, which required the hande
ling of a great master, had not penetrated into southern Germany
until the same idea struck. Mozart,
to
་་་ -
:
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
99
ity is not one of our failings. Meantime, l occupy my-
1
self in writing for the chamber and the Church. There
are two other contrapuntists here, namely, Michael
Hadyn and Cajetan Adlgasser. My father is Kapell-
meister at the Metropolitan Church, and therefore ]
have the opportunity of writing for it as often as I like.
But as he has already passed thirty-six years of his life
in the service of this court, and knows that the arch-
bishop has an antipathy to the sight of old people, he at
present troubles himself but little with musical perform-
ances, and devotes himself to the literature of the art as
his favourite pursuit.
“Our church music differs exceedingly from that of
Italy, the more so as a mass with Kyrie, Gloria, Credo,
the epistle sonata, the offertorium or motetto, Sanctus,
and Agnus Dei, must not last longer than three quarters
of an hour at most, even on the greatest festivals, when
the prince himself officiates at the mass. A particular
study is necessary for this kind of composition, a mass
having to be scored with all the instruments of the or-
chestra, and even with military trumpets! Indeed?
Yes, dear padre. Oh, how glad I should be to tell you
many things which I have to say."
In his reply, the Padre Martini approves the
composition, re-echoes all that Mozart has said re-
specting music, and begs him to persevere! The
benevolence of the good father had made such a
strong impression on the minds of the family, that,
in commencing any new step in life, their first
thought was to turn to him as to their friend and
counsellor. Some notion of the extent of his mu-
sical influence throughout Italy and Catholic Ger-
many may be gathered from the fact that the father,
who had procured from him a written recommen-
dation of his son, prized it more highly than the
diplomas of the academies of either Bologna or
Verona. The padre, however, does not appear to
have realized the hopes his friendship inspired.
From the excessive industry which characterized
m
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THE LIFE OF MOZART.
a
9
the twenty-first year of Mozart's life, there is little
doubt but that he was often meditating on the ad-
vances of the "subtle thief of youth," though now
less anxious to convince himself that he deserved
than to have his deserts handsomely acknowledged.
In the autumn of 1776 he made several dramatic
sketches. One of them, composed for Signor Pal-
mini, a buffo singer, shows somewhat of the happy
comic style which he afterward developed in "Fi-
garo." He describes this air as in tempo commodo
d' un gran ciarlone ; and gives the great chatterer,
who is a military man, a capitano, such a ludicrous
clatter of triplets on one note, with a syllable to
each, as must have overpowered even the wife
whom he addresses. In such varied styles did he
entertain the court of Salzburg, where his talents
were never undervalued till he sought to be remu
nerated for them. Then, however, he was told,
in no measured terms, that his productions were
worthless, and that he ought to go to a conservato-
rio in Italy to learn how to compose !
In September, 1777, Mozart was prepared to
accompany his mother on the projected tour, to
offer his services to the first prince who would ac-
cept them. The correspondence of this period pre-
sents a kind of autobiography, in which there is
much of that kind of truth which is said to be
stranger than fiction," and which, in some of its
phases, can with difficulty be associated with so
fascinating a talent. But if the history of the great
musician's first practical acquaintance with life
raise indignation at the dulness of the age that
could refuse shelter and patronage to one as mod.
est in his demands as he was rare in his powers, it
is at least consoling to see the triumph of genius
over circumstances. '' Mozart may be seen unwor-
thily treated; he may occasionally appear in a pa-
1
1
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
101
thetic aspect; but he is never humiliated, nor dis-
possessed of the bright reward of his own conscious
superiority. And it may be here remarked, that
even the vulgar distresses, which form but too
prominent a part in the adventures of genius, ac-
quire, through the softening influences of time,
somewhat of the colouring of romance.
The mother and son left Salzburg on the 23d of
September, 1777. The correspondence of this tour
occupies a period of about sixteen months, and
they had scarcely left home when it began. The
following letter from the father, dated only two
days after their departure, in reply to one he had
already received, found them at Munich, the first
place at which they stayed. It will remind the
reader of a striking observation : “ When I am
reading a book, whether bad or good, it seems to
be alive and talking to me;"'* and, certainly, the
nearest approach to this vitality is found in letters
that are the genuine product of passion and situa-
tion.
I received my dear Wolfgang's letter to-day, at
noon, with the greatest joy; and M. Bullinger, who is
now with me, and desires to be remembered, has also
read it and laughed heartily over it. I am quite pleased
to find that you are well; I am myself, thank God!
much better. When you were
When you were gone, I went up stai
exceedingly faint and depressed, and threw myself upon
á a chair. I had taken some pains to keep out of the way
I
at our separation, not to imbitter the farewell ; and in
this hurry of mind I forgot to give my son the paternal
blessing. I ran to the window and sent it after both of
you, but did not see you go out of the city gate; and
you must have already passed, as I had been sitting a
long time unconscious of anything. Nannerl wept so
passionately that I was obliged to do everything in my
power to console her.
* In the commonplaces of Swift and Pope.
I 2
102
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
*.
“So passed such a melancholy day as I never thought
in all my life to have experienced.
" I requested M. Glatz, of Augsburg, to call upon me
early to-day, and we were both of opinion that you ought
to put up at the Lamb, at Augsburg, in the street of
the Holy Cross. The chambers there are neat and
pretty, the dinners cost only thirty kreutzers a head, and
it is an inn much frequented by people of the first con-
sequence, English, French, &c. You will be quite
close there to the Church of the Holy Cross, and also
to my brother, Francis Aloys, who lives in the Jesuits'-
street. You must have nothing to say to M. Albert,
for it is very dear at the Three Moors; they charge very
high for rooms, and every meal costs from forty-five to
forty-eight kreutzers.
“ In case you go to Augsburg, Wolfgang must imme-
diately visit Stein, the organ-builder. - M. Stein, who
has not seen him since he was seven years old, will
hardly know him again. He might say that he was from
Innsprück, and had commissions to look over instruments.
M. Glatz tells me that M. Stein, M. Bioley, and M.
Fingerl will be able together to get up an excellent con-
cert. You must also visit M. Christoph von Zabuesnig,
who wrote the beautiful German poem on you at Salz-
burg; he is a merchant and a literary man, and through
him something handsome and serviceable may, perhaps,
be got into the Augsburg Journal. The merchant
Gasser is he who packed and sent my books, free of ex-
pense, to Frankfort, and returned me the money. You
must call on him, and thank him in my name; it is a fa-
vour which he has it in his power to show me at any
time. My brother, or his daughter, can easily introduce
you to his grace M. von Langenmantel, the chief magis-
trate, to whom you are to make my very respectful
compliments. Mamma knows how intimately we have
been acquainted. We travelled to Salzburg together,
and M. von Heffner's father was with us.
When you go to any court, you must not wear your
cross; but you may wear it every day at Augsburg; it
will create observation and respect there, and, in fact, in
any place where there is no governing prince. If you
choose to visit the convents of the Holy Cross and St.
.
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THE LIFE OF MOZART.
103
name.
6
Ulrich, you can do so, and try their organs. "M. Stein
will probably take you to his organ at the Barefooted
Friars'. M. Hilber's son is in the convent at St. Ulrich.
There is some organist and composer at Augsburg that
they make a great noise about, but I have forgotten his
“ You will do well, when you are staying anywhere,
to get the servant always to put the boot-tree into the
boots. The package of music can always be sent before-
hand, and remain in the luggage warehouse; but you
ought to buy a great oilcloth, and have it well wrapped
round the old one, to make all secure.
“Should you leave Munich without being able to give
me intelligence of it, you must put up a bill at the post-
office with the following directions : If letters should
arrive' addressed à Mr. Wolfgang Amadé Mozart, Maî-
tre de Musique, the same are to be forwarded to the
host of the Lamb, in the street of the Holy Cross.'
“ The breeches belonging to the iron-gray coat have
been left behind. If I find no other opportunity of send-
ing them, I shall give them, together with the Andret-
terinn music, some country dances, and the adagio and
rondos composed by Brunetti,* and anything else that
may come to hand, to the messenger, who, if he should
not find you, as he will probably not arrive before noon
on Monday, can leave them with my brother at Augsburg.
“ The service lasted till a quarter to eleven, and an
Agnus Dei of Haydn's was again performed, as Rust
was not ready. The sonata was by Wolfgang. Don't
forget to ask for letters at Munich, from the Prince von
Chiemsee, for example. Count Seinsheim can also fur-
nish you with recommendations to Wurzburg; the bish-
op is his father's brother."
This letter is promptly acknowledged by an ac-
count of their safe arrival, on the afternoon of the
* Brunetti was a solo violin-player attached to the household
of the archbishop. Several of Mozart's sonatas for piano and vi-
olin were written for performance with him.
+ This characteristic incident must not be overlooked. On the
very first Sunday of Mozart's absence, a composer for the Cathe-
dral is not ready with his work. That, we may be sure, had never
,
been a complaint against him.
104
THE LIFE OF MOZART:
7
a
ter.
24th, and their going to the custom-house, accom-
panied by a grenadier with a fixed bayonet. They
meet two old acquaintances, Signor Consoli and
M. Albert, and after a long spell at the clavier they
all go to supper. The next day Wolfgang calls
on Count Seau, but he is gone out into the country
to hunt, and has taken Bernard, the master of the
chorus, with him. Patience!
" There is a certain Professor Huber here-perhaps
you may remember him better than I do. He tells me
that he both saw and heard me at the young M., van
Mesmer's the last time that we were at Vienna. He
is of about the middle size, pale, with whitish gray hair,
and in features not much unlike the under riding-mas-
His situation is that of vice-intendant of the thea-
tre, and it obliges him to read through every play pre-
sented for performance; to improve, to add to, to alter,
or to refuse it. He comes to Albert's every evening,
and often talks with me.
* To-day is the 26th. On Friday I again called on
Count Seau, at half past eight in the morning. It hap-
pened that as I entered the house, Madame N., the
actress, was just coming out, and she asked me, • Do
you wish to see the count?' · Yes. He is at present
in his garden, and there is no knowing when he will
come out of it. I asked where his garden was. Oh,
said she, “I want to speak to him too, and we will go
together.' We had scarcely reached the gate before
we met the count, at some twelve paces distant. He
knew me instantly, and addressed me by name; he was
very courteous, and seemed well acquainted with every-
thing that had happened to me. We ascended the gar-
den steps slowly and quite alone, during which time I
briefly explained my business. He told me that I ought
to go directly to the elector, and request an audience of
his highness; but, should I not be able to obtain that, I
ought to put the matter into writing. I begged him to
keep what I had told him secret, which he promised
On my saying to him that a real composer might
here bę lost, he replied, “That I am well aware of. v*
* That a pretender might succeed and prosper, is illustrated by
me.
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THE LIFE OF MOZART.
105
He next goes to the Bishop of Chiemsee, who
promises to speak to the electoress on his behalf.
His friend Herr Albert also speaks to Count
Schönborn and his wife (sister to the archbishop),
who are passing through the town; and they are
incredulous on hearing of his paltry allowance at
Salzburg.* In reply to all these minute particu-
lars of " hope deferred,” his father writes to exhort
him to persevere, telling him how to proceed, to
write a few things gratis for the theatre, and to as-
certain the elector's taste, and adapt himself to it.
He encloses his two diplomata, and an attestation
from Padre Martini,t and adds, “It will create
great astonishment when it is known that you have
been a maestro di capella in these academies for
seven years."
But the difficulties still increase, although the
son, in the following letter, evidently prefers all
this disappointment, with its dim prospect of suc-
cess in the distance, to the drudgery and obscurity
of Salzburg
6. I was with Prince Zeil to-day, who said to me very
politely, I fear that we shall not be able to accomplish
much here. I spoke privately to the elector when I
dined with him at Nymphenburg. He replied that it
an anecdote which he gives us in this very letter: "M. Johannes
Krönner has been appointed vice-concert-master, and that through
a rude speech. Two symphonies of his composition (Dio mené
liberi) had been performed; the elector said to him, 'Did you re-
ally compose that?' Yes, your highness.' · Who taught you?'
A schoolmaster in Switzerland. People think a great deal of
composition; but this schoolmaster taught me more than all our
composers here put together could have done.?"
;
* He ends with an expression of disgust at the mode of life in
Salzburg. “I am always,” he says, “in my best humour, and
feel as light as a feather, since I have left all that chicanery behind
† In this document the padre testifies to Mozart's compositions
in various styles, and says that, at fourteen years of age, he tried
him with a multitude of subjects extempore on the harpsichord, and
that he executed them all with great skill and perfect art.
me.
106
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
a
66
was too early as yet; he ought to travel in Italy and get
fame. I deny him nothing; but at present it is too
early.' There we are ! Most of these great gentlemen
have such a horrible mania for Italy.
" The Bishop of Chiemsee also conversed privately
with the electoress on the subject. She shrugged her
shoulders, and said that she would do all that she co
but was very doubtful. Count Seau inquired of the bish-
op, who related to him everything that had passed. Are
•
you not aware that Mozart has not so much at home, but
that he might remain here with a little assistance ? The
bishop replied that he did not know it, but was doubtful.
However, Mozart could be spoken with on the subject.
This was the reason why Count Seau was so absorbed
and thoughtful on the following day. I like to be here;
and I and many of my friends are of opinion that if I
could stay here a year or two, and earn a reputation by
my compositions, that I should rather be solicited by the
court than have to solicit.
To-day, the 30th, after talking with Wotschika, I
I
went to court by nine o'clock.. I found everybody in
hunting uniform. When the elector approached me, I
said, “Will your highness be pleased to permit me to lay
myself and my services humbly at your feet? The
elector answered more than once, · Yes, my dear child;
but there is no vacancy at present.'
“ M. Wotschika advises me to let the elector see me
frequently.
The father now begins to suspect that secret
enemies are at work, and to distrust Munich. He
advises him to continue his journey, pointing out
places, such as Mannheim, Trier, Mayence, where
the mania for Italy does not extend. He tells him
that there are no Italians at all in the service of
the little Protestant princes, and concludes with a
hint that he is beginning to be missed at Salzburg.
* The steward of the household was a great friend of Mozart's,
and had just bought four horses, and was longing for Wolfgang's
return, that he might see them, for he had acquired the taste for
horses, which prevailed at Salzburg, from the example of the
1
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
107
The next letter from the son, in which he makes
a proposal for his future life, his art uppermost in
his thoughts, is full of interest. How characteris-
tic the touch about people who sneeze, talk, or take
snuff, while music is going on.
Munich, Oct. 2, 1777.
“ I played to Count Salern and the countess, for two
days together, a great many things out of my head.
You cannot imagine how delighted the .count was; and
he understands music, for he always says bravo in those
places where other cavaliers take a pinch of snuff, or
begin to sneeze, or to hem, or commence a conversa-
tion. I told him that I only wished the elector had been
present, that he might häve heard: he knows nothing
about me; he does not know what I can do. I would
put it to the proof: he might collect all the composers
in Munich, and add to them others from Italy, France,
Germany, England, or Spain. I would write with any
of them. I told him my Italian adventures, and re-
quested that, if I happened at any time to be the sub-
ject of discourse, he would alludo to them. He said,
My power is but small, but what I can do I will with
all my heart."
“ It is his opinion that, if I could manage to remain
here, the business would be accomplished as a thing of
course; and, were I entirely alone, it would not be so
absolutely impossible ; for I should get 300 florins, at
least, from Count Seau, and my board would be of little
consequence, as I am perpetually invited out, and if not,
Albert is delighted to have me to dinner. I eat but lit-
tle, drink water, and finish with some fruit and a small
glass of wine. I would, provided my friends saw no
objection, make an engagement with Count Seau to pro-
duce four German operas every year, partly buffe, part-
ly serie. I should then have a night or benefit for my-
self, which is at present the custom, and this would
produce me at least 500 florins, which, with my salary,
archbishop, who kept no less than two hundred in his stables.
This archbishop, who was too haughty to do justice to Mozart's
genius, nevertheless felt the void which his the
absence led
concerts,
108
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
;
would be 800, if not more, for Reiner, an actor and
singer, took on his night 200 florins; and I am a great
favourite here, and how much more so should I become
if it were in my power to elevate the national lyric
stage of Germany? And that I should certainly do, for
on hearing the German melodrama I felt a violent incli-
nation to write. *
“ The prima donna here is a native of this place,
named Keiserin. She is the daughter of the cook of a
certain Bavarian nobleman, and a very pleasant girl on
the stage, but I have never seen her nearer. When I
heard her it was her third appearance. She has a
beautiful voice-neither strong nor weak, but very pure,
and good in the intonation. Her singing-master is Va-
lesi, and you soon discover by her performance that he
knows both how to sing and how to teach singing.
When she sustains a note for a couple of bars, I have
been delighted to observe how beautifully she makes the
crescendo and decrescendo. Her shake is at present but
slow, but that I like, for it will be so much the purer
and clearer when she quickens it; besides, it is easier
to do, fast. The people are exceedingly pleased with
her, and I with them. Mamma was in the parterre ;
she went at half past four to get a place, but I not till
half past six, as I am well known and free of the house,
and can go into the boxes when I will. I was in the
box of the Brancas. As I looked at the Keiserin through
my glass, she sometimes drew a tear from me; and I
often called brava! bravissima! when I remembered
that it was but her third attempt on the stage.
- The piece is called Das Fischermädchen,' and is a
very good adaptation, with music by Piccini. They
have no original pieces as yet; but they now wish to
give a German opera seria, and it is suggested that I
compose it. Professor Huber, whom I before mention-
ed to you, is one of the persons who express this desire.
“ Baron Rumling said to me a short time ago, The
* True self-appreciation. It was only for him to compose, and
the German lyric stage must be elevated. How the “Don Gio-
vanni,"
" " Zauberflöte," "Figaro," &c., rise up to confirm the
truth of this prediction, and to heighten the interest of a moment
at which it was unaccomplished !
>
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THE LIFE OF MOZART.
109
theatre is my delight; good actors and actresses, a good
company of singers, and such a capital composer as
yourself. That is, indeed, but talk, and people some-
times say more than they mean, but he certainly never
spoke to me so before.
“At eight o'clock this morning I went to Count Seau.
I explained myself briefly, and said, “I merely call to
give your excellency a clear view of myself and my af-
fairs. I have been reproachfully told to travel in Italy.
It is well known that I have spent sixteen months in
Italy, and have written three operas. What happened
to me there besides you will see by these papers. I
then put the diplomata into his hands, and observed, 'I
only show these to your excellency in order that, if you
hear any unjust observations on me, you may be able to
take my part with confidence.' He asked me, if I
intended to go to France. I said that I intended to
remain in Germany. He, however, understood at Mu-
nich, and, laughing with pleasure, replied,
intend to stay here. “No, I returned; I should have
been very glad, and, to confess the truth, if I had only
had for that purpose some small allowance from the
elector, it would have been a pleasure to me to devote
my pen to the service of your. excellency, and without
the least motive of interest. At these words he pulled
off his nightcap to me.”
To all this the father, desirous for his fame as
well as his profit, answers that he must not throw
• So you
himself away.
+
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“That you could support yourself alone at Munich is
no doubt true; but what honour would there be in that?
How the archbishop would laugh! You can do that in
any place—not at Munich only. But one must not
make one's self so little, or throw one's self away at that
rate. There is no need as yet."
This advice appears to have awakened the pride
or the reason of the young composer, who soon
afterward sets out for Augsburg, where he meets
some pleasant adventures, which he relates with
K
110
TIIE LIFE OF MOZART.
а.
wonderful dramatic gusto, but is still as far from
attaining the object of his journey as ever. He
writes from Augsburg on the 14th of October, 1777:
"We left Munich on the 11th, at noon, and reached
this place safely by nine o'clock in the evening. We
propose, at present, to continue our journey on Friday,
that is, the day after to-morrow; for, to convince you
of the generosity of Messieurs the Augsburgers, I as-
sure you I never visited a place in which I was so over-
whelmed with compliments. My first visit was to his
worship the magistrate. I was conducted thither by
M. Vetter, an excellent and amiable man, and a citizen
of the highest respectability, who had, however, the
honour to sit cooling his heels in the hall like a footman,
until the arch-magistrate released me. I did not forget,
at the commencement of our interview, to present the
respectful compliments of my father. He remembered
everything very graciously, and inquired of me, "How
has the gentleman been ?' in
* Exceedingly well, thank
God,' I replied, and you—I trust that you have been
in good health. His politeness increased upon this,
and he said they,' and I said your grace,' as, indeed, I
had done from the beginning. I had then to mount up
with him to his son-in-law, who lives on the second
floor, and meanwhile M. Vetter had the honour to sit
waiting on a stair in the hall
. I was obliged forcibly to
restrain myself, or I should have taken the liberty to
allude to this. In these apartments I was detained for
three quarters of an hour, playing on a good clavicord
of Stein's, in the presence of the son, his young wife,
and an old lady. I played fantasias, and afterward
whatever music they had, prima vista ; among the rest,
some very pretty pieces by one Edelmann. They were
all excessively polite, and so was I, it being a rule of
mine to use people in their own way. Happening to
mention that I should call on Stein after dinner, the
young gentleman immediately volunteered to conduct
me thither. I thanked him for his kindness, and prom-
ised to call at two o'clock in the afternoon. I went,
and we set off together in company with the brother-in-
law, who, in appearance, perfectly resembles a student.
6
$
9
&
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
111
Although I had requested them not to let it be known
who I was, M. von Langenmantel was still so impru-
dent as to say to Stein, I have here the honour of pre-
senting to you a virtuoso on the clavier,' and he smiled.
I immediately protested against this, declaring that I
was nothing more than an unworthy pupil of M. Sigl,
at Munich, from whom I was charged with many thou-
sand compliments. Stein shook his head doubtfully, and
.
at length said, Perhaps I have the honour of seeing
Mr. Mozart?' Oh, no,' said I, my name is Trazom.
•
I have brought a letter for you. He took the letter,
and was about to open it instantly, but I did not leave
him time. • What will you stay to read the letter
now?' said I. Pray, open the door of your ware-
house, and let us see your pianofortes, for I am most
anxious to try them. He opened the door, saying,
"Well, let it be as it may, I cannot think that I am de-
ceived.'
" I ran immediately to one of the three pianofortes
that stood in the room, and while I was playing he could
scarcely get the letter open, from his anxiety to ascer-
tain the truth. He read the signature only,
.
Oh!'
cried he, and embraced me, overjoyed. I shall shortly
give you some account of his instruments."
In this scene, so graphically depicted, and in
that frequent recurrence of dialogue and situation
which, in all his letters, makes such a striking con-
trast to the narrative style of general correspond-
ence, Mozart's destination for the theatre is clear-
ly indicated.
His next letter from Augsburg enters into a mi-
nute criticism upon Stein's pianofortes, showing
how thoroughly he understood the secrets of their
workmanship. Pianofortes were just at that time
coming into use, and those of Stein, one of the
chief musical mechanics and improvers of keyed
instruments in the last century, were among the
earliest and best specimens. He charged 300
* An anagram formed by the inversion of the letters of his
name, What ready whim there was in this !
1
112
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
1
florins for his best instruments. Mozart was not
satisfied with playing on the pianos; he resolved
to try the organ, to the infinite surprise of the ma-
ker
6 When I told Herr Stein that I should like to play
upon his organ, for that the organ was my passion, he
was much surprised, and said, "What! can such a man
as you—such a pianist-like to play on an instrument
that has no softness, no expression, no piano or forte,
but where everything goes on alike?' That is all of
no consequence; the organ is still, in my eyes and
ears, the king of instruments.' · Well, at any rate"
and so we set off together. I soon found by his talk
that he did not expect me to do much upon the organ; he
thought that I should merely play it like the clavier. He
told me that he had taken Chobert, on his own request,
to the organ, and added, “I began to regret it, as Cho-
bert told everybody, and the church was tolerably full;
for though I knew that the man possessed spirit, fire,
and rapidity of finger, I also knew that such qualities
were of no great use on the organ. However, when
he commenced, I soon altered my opinion.' I made no
other reply than, What! do you think, Herr Stein,
that I shall run about upon your organ? Ah, that must
be treated in an entirely different manner.' When we
reached the choir, I began to prelude; he smiled; then
came a fugue: “I can now believe,' said he, that you
like to play the organ, since you play in that manner.”
His “name-day" being now arrived, his father
writes to him, exhorting him to fulfil all the duties
of a good Christian. The passage is illustrative of
the kind of letters which used to pass on such oc-
casions between the members of a family; a pious
custom, but liable to degenerate at last, from sys-
tematic repetition, into mere formality.
6. You know me. I am no pedant, no monk, or sham
saint; but one request you cannot refuse me, and this
is, that you will take such care of your soul as not to
let the dying hour of your father be impittered by the
a
1
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
113
heavy, self-reproach that he had neglected anything ne-
cessary to your eternal salvation. Farewell! Be pru-
dent—be happy! Cherish and respect your mother,
-
who has now but too much trouble in her old age; and
love me as I do you, that is, as your truly anxious and
careful father."
During Mozart's stay at Augsburg he visited the
convent of the Holy Cross. This introduces us to
new characters, and fresh scenes and criticisms.
The sketch of Stein's daughter is a perfect bit of
caricatnre.
“The dean, a pleasant, cheerful man, is named
Zeschinger; he is a relation of Eberlin's, and knows
you quite well. At night, at supper-time, I' played the
Strasburg violin concerto. "It went like oil. Every one
praised the pure round tone. They then brought a lit-
tle clavichord, on which I preluded and played variations
by Fischer. Then some one whispered the dean to get
me to play in the organ style. I requested him to give
me a subject; but, as he did not comply, one of the
monks gave me one. I played upon it in a jocose style,
and in the middle (the fugue was in G minor) I began
in the major, but still playfully and in the same tempo;
then came the subject reversed; and at last the thought
struck me of giving a sportive character to the theme of
the fugue.. I did not stop long considering, but did it at
once, and it went as accurately as if cut out with a
razor.
“The dean was quite beside himself with pleasure.
• Well,' said he, I could never have believed what I
have just heard; though the bishop, indeed, told me
that he had never in his life heard any one touch the
organ in such a connected, solemn style.' The bishop
had heard me some days before, when the dean was
not present. At length some one produced a fugued
sonata for me to play. Gentlemen,' said I, this is too
much; I must confess that this sonata is not to be play-
ed so very easily.' · * Yes, that I will believe,' cried my
great friend the dean, “ as if that were possible ! there
is and there can be nothing too difficult. · However,
ܪ
8
K 2
114
THE LIFE OF MOZART. .
said I, I will just try it.' Then I heard the dean be-
hind my back calling me names—0
'O you Erzschufte !!
O you Spitzbube !** I played till eleven o'clock, and
was at last absolutely bombarded with subjects for
fugues, and Stein has just put before me a new sonata
by Becché.
Apropos of Stein's little girl: whoever can see and
hear her play without laughing, must be like her father
--of stone. She does not place herself in the middle of
the instrument, but towards the treble notes, for more
convenience in moving about and making grimaces. The
eyes are distorted; when a passage comes twice over,
it is played twice as slowly the second time; if three
times, still slower. When she has a passage to exe-
cute, she lifts her arm into the air, and if it requires any
particular emphasis, it is done with the arm, and not
with the finger, and that in the heaviest and worst pos-
sible manner. The most delightful of all, however, is
that when a passage occurs which ought to flow on as
smoothly as oil, and of course requires that the fingers
should be changed, she gives herself no concern on that
point, but at the proper time lifts up her hand, and be-
gins again quite at her ease, through which one is in
frequent expectation of a false note, and a very curious
effect is produced. I merely write this to give my
I
fa-
ther some notion of clavier playing and teaching, which
he may at some future time turn to account.
* Appellations that, like “conjuror" and "rogue,” portray the
intoxicating effect of the performance, and the interest and affec-
tion which the artist excited personally. Whoever has witness-
ed the enthusiasm which even minor musical genius sometimes
creates in the social circle, will easily feel the vivacity and truth
of this description.
+ A pun upon the name of Stein, which means stone.
# The little girl, whose playing is here so ludicrously descri-
bed by Mozart, was afterward married to the celebrated pianoforte
maker, Streicher, of Vienna, and became the protecting friend
and kind monitress of Beethoven.
$ These criticisms upon the mechanism of performance are in-
valuable, and show Mozart's great mastery of the subject. In &
subsequent letter from Mannheim, he exposes, with like minute.
ness, the vile performance of the Abbé Vogler. “His mechanism,"
he says, " is wretched; the left thumb is just like the late Adl.
gasser's, and he plays all the runs of the right hand downward
with his first finger and thumb."
а.
و
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
115
-
“M. Stein is absolutely besotted in his daughter.
She is at present eight years and a half old, and learns
everything by memory. She might become clever;
she possesses talent; but on this plan she will never
acquire rapidity, because she pursues the very best
method to make the hand heavy. The most necessary,
the most difficult, and principal thing in music, namely,
the time, she will never acquire, if she is accustomed
from infancy to play out of time. I have talked with
Stein for two hours together on this subject, and have
already made a convert of him. He now asks my ad-
vice in everything. He has been besotted with Bec-
ché,* but he now sees and hears that I play more than
Becché; that I make no grimaces, and yet play so ex-
pressively that no one has yet used his pianofortes so
well, and that I am always accurate in the time. They
all wonder at that. They cannot comprehend the man-
ner of keeping the left hand independent in the tempo
rubato of an adagio, for they are accustomed to let the
left hand follow the right. Count Wolfegg, and others
who are great admirers of Becché, have just said pub-
licly at the concert that I put Becché on the shelf.
The count walked up and down the concert-room, de-
claring that he had never heard anything like it in his
life. He said to me, “I must tell you that I never heard
you play as you have done to-day, and I shall say the
same thing to your father when I see him at Salzburg.
** What do you think came next after the symphony?
The concerto for three claviers.f M. Demler plays the
* A celebrated claverist of the day settled at Mannheim.
† Dedicated to the Countess Lodron and her daughters. It
commences in this manner, and may carry the reader back to the
Augsburg concert :
Allegro.
be
Ꭿ;
BE
116
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
first, I the second, and M. Stein the third. Then I
played alone the last sonata in D for Durnitz, then my
concerto in B, then again, alone, a strict fugue in C mi-
nor, then a magnificent sonata in C major, and with a
rondo out of my head made an end. There was a pro-
digious hubbub and noise. Stein did nothing but make
faces and grimaces of astonishment, and Demler laughed
continually. This last is quite a curious man; when
anything pleases him he laughs immoderately. He al-
most began to swear at me.
" The concert brought ninety florins, without deduct-
ing expenses. Including two ducats that we took in
the room, we have altogether made 100 forins. The
expenses are not more than sixteen florins thirty kreut-
zers, as I had the room free of cost; and the greatest
part of those who assisted have, I believe, given their
services.
"I kiss your hand, and thank you dutifully for the
wish on my name-day. Be under no apprehensions for
me; I have God always before my eyes; I know his
power; I: fear his anger; but I also know his love, his
compassion, and mercy to his creatures, and that he
never forsakes those who serve him. I have entirely
resigned myself to his will, and in the consciousness of
doing so, live contented and happy. I shall certainly do
my best to live carefully according to the advice and in-
struction that you have had the goodness to give me.”
The travellers quitted Augsburg, and went
through Donauwörth and Nördlingen as far as
Hochenaltheim, the residence of the Prince of
Wallerstein. After staying there for a couple of
days, they pursued their journey to Mannheim,
which they reached on the 30th of October. On
the following day Mozart went to a rehearsal, and
could hardly preserve his gravity, the people stared
at him in such a fashion. Some who knew him
by reputation were civil and respectful; but for
the rest, “they think," says he, “because I am lit-
tle and young, that nothing great or old can be in
me; but they shall soon see.
* In Bayle's anecdotes of men of learning, we find the same
7*
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THE LIFE OF MOZART.
117
.
were
He had now reached the residence of another
German elector, which was the seat of no small
pretension in musical matters. The orchestra of
the prince's chapel at Mannheim, formed by the
elder Stamitz, had the reputation of being the best
in Germany; and the musicians who pass in re-
view, in the course of the following letters,
mostly more or less celebrated. By some of them,
who admired, without fearing, the genius of young
Mozart, he was received with open arms, but by
others secretly intrigued against; and after being
kept in suspense by specious behaviour and delu-
sive hopes for more than four months, he finally
lost his expectations of an engagement, principally,
as it is believed, through the machinations of the
Abbé Vogler, the second Kapellmeister, a man
whose high admiration of Mozart was accompanied
by envy as profound, and who felt the instability
of his footing in the presence of such a rival. De-
testing the unworthy arts by which charlatans im-
pose upon the favour of the great, it is to be fear-
ed that the composer was not sufficiently cautious
in his relations with the party who disliked Vo-
gler, and that some of his shrewd and sarcastic crit-
icisms may have taken wind and reached the ears
of the favourite. But of this the correspondence
will afford an opportunity to judge.
“This is my second letter from Mannheim. I go
every day to Cannabich's, and my mother accompanied
me to-day. Cannabich* is quite a different man from
what he used to be; the whole orchestra agree in this
sentiment expressed in a repartee. On Baldus (another little
man) entering an assembly, they exclaimed “Minuit
“Minuit presentia
famam," to which he instantly replied, “ Augebit cætera virtus."
The promptness of this was much applauded.
* Cannabich was a violin-player, educated by the elder Stamitz,
and leader of the Mannheim orchestra. It was afterward his good
fortune to lead the opera of " Idomeneo" on its first production.
He was a dabbler in composition, having studied under Jomelli.
а
118
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
.
opinion. He is exceedingly partial to me.
He has a
daughter who plays the clavier very prettily, and, in
order to win his friendship entirely, I am now at work
on a sonata for her. When I had completed the first
allegro and the andante, I took it to the house and play-
ed it. You cannot imagine how pleased they are with
it. Some of the orchestra were present, namely,
young Danner the horn-player, Lang, and the oboist
Ramm, who plays excellently, and has a fine, pure tone.
I have made him a present of a concerto for the oboe,
which was copied in a room at Cannabich's. The man
is out of his wits with pleasure. I played the concerto
to him to-day on the pianoforte at Cannabich's; and
though it was known to be mine, it pleased very much.
Nobody says that it is a bad composition, because the
people don't happen to understand it. They should
inquire of the archbishop, and he would be sure to put
them in the right way.*
"I played all my six sonatas at Cannabich's to-day.
Kapellmeister Holzbauer afterward took me to Count
Savioli, the superintendent of the music, with whom I
found Cannabich. Holzbauer told the count in Italian
that I was very desirous of the favour of playing before
the elector, as I had been here fifteen years ago at
seven years of age; but now I was grown older and
bigger, and in my art likewise. Yes, indeed,' said the
count, that is the-
•
What do I know whom he takes
me for? Cannabich then began to speak. I appeared
as if I heard nothing, and entered into conversation with
those about me. I observed, however, that he spoke
of me in a very serious and earnest manner. The
count then said to me, I hear that you play tolerably
well on the clavier;' to which I replied by a bow."
He gives an account of the orchestra, which was
powerful and good; but adds, that he would hardly
trust a mass of his to be produced here:
Merely because, under present circumstances, it is
necessary to write principally for the instruments, it
being utterly impossible to conceive anything
* A sneer at the court of Salzburg.
more
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
119.
wretched than the vocal department. Six soprani, six
alti, six tenori, and six bassi to twenty violins and twelve
basses, stand just in the proportion of 0 to 1."
Of Vogler, who had just then been appointed,
he says that he was a musical jester, a fellow who
imagines great things and executes little, and that
he was detested by the whole orchestra. He is
pleased, however, with a mass by Holzbauer:
“On Sunday I heard a mass by Holzbauer,* which,
though written six-and-twenty years ago, is still exceed-
ingly good. He writes very well, has a good church
style, makes an effective disposition of the voices and in-
struments, and his fugues are excellent.”
Sensible as he was that the brevity of the move-
ments, and that the style which he had adopted in
his own masses,t in deference to the taste of the
archbishop, might unfit those works for general use,
he refrained only from exhibiting himself as a
church composer at Mannheim, through apprehen-
sion of the impotence of the choir. This appears
à sufficient refutation of the charge reiterated
against him by the Italians of a preference of in-
struments to the human voice.
In contemplating the splendid fragments con-
tained in the masses-which, after all, afford at once
the truest and most accessible evidence of the char-
acter of Mozart's powers before the composition
of “Idomeneo"-events, in their day apparently the
most perverse, may be seen to have conspired in
* Holzbauer, here commended by Mozart, was a native of Vi-
enna, and one of many successful musicians who in youth prose-
cuted the art under difficulties. He learned the elements of music
of the choir-boys at St. Stephen's, and composition by the peruşal.
of the" Gradus ad Parnassum" of Fux. He married a singer, and
made the tour of Italy with success. His compositions are volu-
minous; he wrote more than 180 symphonies for the orchestra.
He was now sixty-six years old.
† Among the last things he composed before he left Salzburg
were the masses known in the English editions as Nos. 2 and 4.
120
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
.
favour of the musician. Had the Prince of Salz-
burg patronized the ancient ecclesiastical style,
which in Mozart's time, and probably by the com-
poser himself, was thought to be the only proper
method of writing for the Church, what could have
accrued from his labours but fresh reams of coun-
terpoint? an art which, however tastefully managed,
could develop no new principle, having been thor-
oughly understood and exemplified by Italians and
Germans from the commencement of the century.
But, thrown upon his own resources for the style
and form of his masses, he seized upon every oc-
casion that could be gained for the general advan-
tage of the art.
Thus accompaniment and modu-
lation proceeded to the great improvement of dra-
matic music, towards which many of the masses
may be considered as preliminary studies. The
“ Crucifixus," which is generally treated dramati-
cally, often displays chromatic harmony, wrought
up to the highest pitch of the awful and sublime,
while the “ Benedictus" exhibits those sweet ca-
dences and“ dying falls” which afterward became
so conspicuous in Mozart's operas. Nor were the
interesting problems of counterpoint disregarded,
as the frequent canons and brief fugues of those
works evince.
They had been now upward of a month at Mann-
heim, and the young composer has at last an audi-
ence, by appointment, with the electoress, to whom
he is introduced by Count Savioli. She remem-
bers his former visit, fourteen years before, but no
longer recognises his person. His reception puts
him into high spirits.
The son continues :
• The whole court are highly pleased with me. Du-
ring both the times in which I played at the concert,
the prince and princess came and placed themselves
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
121
close to me at the clavier. After the concert Cannabich
contrived that I could speak to the nobility. As I kissed
the elector's hand, he said, “I believe it is now fifteen
years since you were here. Yes, your highness, it is
' ·
fifteen years since I had that honour.' • You play in-
comparably. When I kissed the hand of the princess,
she said, " Monsieur, je vous assure, on ne peut pas jouer
mieux.'"
Great hopes grow out of the affability of the
elector, who converses with him in the friendliest
6
manner:
$
.
" He said, • I hear that you have written an opera for
Munich.'..Yes, your highness. I commend myself to
your gracious protection; it is my great desire to write
an opera here, and I beg that you will not quite forget
me.
I can do something German, too, thank God.'
• That may be easily managed,' he replied.
-6 The elector has one son and three daughters, the
eldest of whom and the young count play the clavier.
He inquired my opinion confidentially respecting his chil-
dren, and I answered with sincerity, but without preju-
dice to the master. Cannabich agreed with me. The
elector, in leaving us, thanked me very politely."
In the evening he goes to the flute-player Weld-
ling, and is in such an admirable humour that he
does nothing but play out of his head. Everybody
about him is thrown into ecstasies. Afterward to
the children of the elector, “where,” says he,"my
heart was in my playing." He tells us, too, that
the elector sat close to him all the time, and “
mained perfectly still." He is overwhelmed with
caresses and marks of favour on all sides.
“I had to go yesterday with Cannabich to Count Sa-
violi to fetch my present, which was, as I had imagined it
would be, nothing in money, but a handsome gold watch.
I would rather have had ten carolins than the watch,
although, with its chain and devices, estimated at
twenty carolins, for on a journey money is necessary.
have now, with your permission, five watches; and I
L
re-
.
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à
have a great mind to have another watch-pocket made
in all my clothes, in order that, when I visit noblemen,
I may wear two watches (as is now the fashion), and at
least prevent any of them from presenting me with an-
other watch."*
Let us now turn from these pleasant incidents to
a sketch of the Abbé Vogler, in the best manner of
this admirable painter of character:
Vogler's history is short. He came here in miser-
able plight, exhibited on the clavier, and composed a bal-
let. His condition excited pity, and the elector sent him
to Italy. Afterward, on visiting Bologna, the elector in-
quired of the Padre Valotti respecting Vogler-O al-
terra, questo è un grand uomo,' &c. He then asked
Padre Martini-Alterra, è buono, ma à poco росо,
quando sarà un poco più vecchio, più sodo, si farà, si
farà. Ma bisogna che si lengi molto.'
- Vogler, on his return, became a priest, and was im-
mediately appointed court chaplain. He has composed
a • Miserere,' which every one tells me is perfectly in-
tolerable to listen to, the harmony being all wrong. He
found that it was not much relished, and went to the
elector to complain that the orchestra, from spite to him,
played badly on purpose ; in short, he so managed mat-
ters (engaging also in some serviceable intrigues with
women) that he has been appointed vice-kapellmeister.
He is a fool, who fancies that there can exist nothing
better or more perfect than himself. He is hated by
the whole orchestra. He has often brought Holzbauer
into trouble. His book will better teach arithmetic than
composition. He gives out that he will make a com-
poser in three weeks, and a singer in six months ; but
the products of his system have not yet made their ap-
pearance. He contemns the great masters, and spoke
to me himself of Bach with great disrespect. Bach com-
posed two operas here, of which the first pleased me
more than the second. As the title of the last men-
tioned was · Lucio Silla,' the same which I had com-
#
m
* Notwithstanding this, he was presented with another watch,
to his inortification, a few days afterward.
a
1
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
128
it me.
ܪ
1
posed at Milan, I felt curious to see it. Holzbauer had
told me that Vogler possessed it, and I asked him to lend
• Willingly,' said he ; . I will send it you to-mor-
-
row; but you will not find any master-strokes of genius
in it.' A few days afterward, on our meeting, he said
to me, very satirically, 'Well, you have now seen some-
thing beautiful. Have you gained any ideas from it?
One air is very pretty—how do the words go ?' he in-
quired of somebody near him. Of which air ?
'
· Why,
of that abominable air of Bach's : let me see-oh, yes,
“Pupille Amate,” which he was certainly drunk when
he wrote ** I really thought that I must have taken
him by the nose. I, however, made as though I had
heard nothing, and went away without saying a word.
He has already outlived his favour at court."
Dismissing Vogler to oblivion, he gives us a little
adventure in the chapel," where,” says he, “I play-
ed the
organ
för amusement." He came in during
the Kyrie, waited till it was over, and when the
priest gave out the Gloria, made a cadence. It
was so different from anything they had ever heard,
that every body stared, and even Holzbauer broke
out into an exclamation."
- The people laughed a good deal when they heard
me always accompany the Pizzicato on the keys. I
was in my best humour. There is always a voluntary
here in the place of the Benedictus, so I took a phrase
from the Sanctus and fugued upon it. There they all
stood making faces. After the Ite missa est, I played a
I
fugue."
How fertile in the "smiles and tears" which make
up the sum of human life are these youthful adven-
tures! When he speaks of playing and being in
his “best humour," the imagination is excited to
* The Bach for whom Mozart on several occasions in the cor-
respondence expresses great affection, was John Christian, the
eleventh son of Sebastian Bach. He composed many beautiful
opera airs; but his instrumental music, which enjoyed reputation
in its owo day, from being easy to execute, is now forgotten.
124
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
.
the utmost to conceive the beautiful things he did;
while he, in the midst of all the mental concentra-
tion and abstraction of a fugue, was still sufficiently
master of himself to observe the grotesque admira-
tion that prevailed around him.
The.conceited Mannheim musicians, who, as he
writes, stared at him “so absurdly” on account of
his insignificant figure, now stared more than ever;
and we may well picture to ourselves the commo-
tion in the orchestra of the electoral chapel, when,
after mass had begun, the slight form of this extra-
ordinary youth was discovered proceeding among
the desks of the musicians to a place at the organ.
How far the wonders there executed surpassed
expectation, this record of the looks and grimaces
of his auditory sufficiently avouches.
The next noticeable incident is a mass of Vogler,
upon
which we have a valuable criticism:
Yesterday, that is, Wednesday, the 19th, was again
a gala day. I attended the service, at which was pro-
duced a bran new mass by Vogler, which had been re-
hearsed only the day before yesterday in the afternoon.
I stayed, however, no longer than the end of the Kyrie.
Such music I never before heard in my life ; for not only
is the harmony frequently wrong, but he goes into keys
as if he would tear one in by the hair of the head- not
in an artist-like manner, or in any way that would repay
the trouble, but plump and without preparation. Upon
the conduct of the ideas I will not attempt to speak ; I
will merely say that it is quite impossible that any mass
by Vogler can satisfy a composer worthy of the name;
for though one should discover an idea that is not bad,
that idea does not remain long in a negative condition,
but soon becomes-beautiful? Heaven save the mark!
it becomes bad-exceeding bad, and this in two or three
different ways. The thought has scarcely had time to
appear before something else comes and destroys it; or
it does not close so naturally as to remain good; or it is
not brought in in the right place; or it is spoiled by the
1
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
125
injudicious employment of the accompanying instru-
ments. Such is Vogler's composition."
This summary of the principal methods by which
the effect of good ideas in a composition may
be
destroyed is to be recommended to the thoughtful
student as matter for deep consideration. The les
son is Mozart's.
There is another happy morsel of criticism upon
the performance of M. Fränzl, who is well known
to the classical players of the present day:
" I like his playing much. You know that I am no
great amateur of difficulties.* He, indeed, plays diffi-
culties, but in such a manner that nobody is aware of
them; it seems as if one could immediately do the same
thing, which is the highest merit of execution. He
possesses a very beautiful round tone, and not a note is
missed in his performance ; you hear everything, and
nicely marked, too. He has also a beautiful staccato in
a bow both up and down, and such double shakes as his
I never before heard. In a word, if no absolute sorcer-
er, he is certainly a very solid fiddler.”
This passage shows what progress had been made
in the bravura style of violin-playing in the latter
half of the last century, and raises a natural sur-
prise that “ double shakes, and a beautiful. staccato
in a bow"—the most striking acquirements of great
players in our own time-should be found in a
violinist of that early date.
It is now evident that the young Mozart was
anxious to remain at Mannheim, his reason for
which will presently peep out; and he tries to
show in his letters to his father that there are proj-
.
* Upon this point I venture to quote here a passage from an ar-
ticle on Mozart which I wrote many years ago: “The great mas-
ters, however they might differ in their mode, were unanimous in
making expression the perfection of their art; and if we could have
a manual of their sentiments, we should certainly find an accordant
opinion upon the uses of execution both in singing and playing.”
Foreign Quarterly Review, vol. iv.
L2
126
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
a
a
or.
ects worth cultivating before him. He has already
two pupils who pay him a louis d'or a month, and
he hopes and strains through all channels of inter-
est for the children of the elector, his "arch-pupils"
that are to be. The Count Savioli promises to
speak for him from day to day, but one day there
is hunting, and another is a gala; and at length he
determines to take a bold step in the matter him-
self:
" To confess the truth, on going away I felt a little
suspicious, and resolved, therefore, to take my six easiest
variations on Fischer's minuet, which I had already
written for the purpose, to the young count, in order to
have the opportunity of speaking personally to the elect-
You can scarcely imagine the delight of the govern-
ess on my going in. I was very politely received, and
on my taking out the variations, and saying that they
were for the count, . Oh, that is excellent,' she replied;
and have you not something also for the countess ?'
• Not yet,' said I, but if I remain here long enough to
write anything, it will give me great pleasure. By
the-by, I am delighted to hear that you remain here for
the winter.' 'I-I know nothing at all about it. 61
am astonished. That is very curious; for the elector
just said to me, Apropos, Mozart stays here for the
winter. • If he said so, he has said it who can com-
mand it; for certainly it would be impossible for me to
stop without the assistance of the elector.' I then re-
lated the whole story to her. We agreed that I had
better come on the morrow (that is to-day) at four o'clock,
and bring something for the countess ; she undertook to
speak to the elector before I should arrive, and I should
then see him myself. I went to-day, but he was not to
be seen."
He now begins to think that he shall stay the whole
winter, as he is a favourite with the elector, and
something must turn up; and so, hoping for better
news, he sends his sister the sonata he had com-
posed for Mademoiselle Cannabich.
* Concerning this sonata, the following criticism by the fathe:
*
4
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
127
.
6
$
At last, after many disappointments, he is so for-
tunate as to find himself in the actual presence of
the elector:
On Monday I had the good fortune, after attending
the children morning and afternoon for three days, to
find the elector. It was, indeed, so late, that we had
given him up, and expected to have had our trouble for
nothing, when we saw him coming. The governess
immediately placed the countess at the clavier, and I sat
by giving her a lesson; and in this position the elector
found us on entering. We rose up, but he desired us
to continue our employment. When she had done play-
ing, the governess observed that I had written a beauti-
ful rondo. I played it, and he was very much pleased.
• But,' said he, do you think she will be able to learn
it?' "Oh yes, I only wish that I were so fortunate as
to teach it to her.' He smiled and said, • I should like it
very much, but would it not spoil her to have a second
master ? • Oh, no; that depends merely upon whether
he is a bad or a good one. I hope that your highness
has confidence in me, that you will rely upon my-
Oh, certainly,' he replied. Upon this, the governess
said, “Mr. Mozart here has composed some variations
on Fischer's minuet for the young count. I played
these also, and they pleased much. He now began to
play with the countess, and I to make my acknowledg-
ments for the present. At last he said, I must con-
sider of it; how long can you stay ?'As long as it may
please your highness to command. I have no engagement
at all, and am entirely at the disposal of your highness.'
This was all that passed. I went again this morning,
and heard that the elector again said, “Mozart stays
here for the winter.'. We have now proceeded so far
that I must wait.!
Next day Savioli tells him that he had spoken to
is contained in a letter of December 11, 1777: "The sonata is dis-
tinguished. It has somewhat of the mannered and peculiar taste
of Mannheim, but not sufficient to injure your own good style."
The power of assimilating all music to himself was wonderful;
here he wrote in the Mannheim taste, and at Paris in the French
taste, but still he was always Mozart.
128
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
6
the elector, but could bring him to no determina-
tion. Upon this Mozart complains of his inde-
cision, that it had entailed great expenses on him,
and hoped the elector would give him some work.
Work,” says the ardent composer,"is my pleas-
ure."
The count promises to speak again next
day, and he does speak, and gets an answer at last
--and such an answer! Mozart meets him :
" I went up to him, and on seeing me he shrugged
his shoulders. * What,' said I, 'no answer still ?: I
am very sorry,' said he, but, alas ! it is all in vain.
• Eh bien!' replied I; "the elector, however, might have
told me so a little sooner.' “Yes,' he returned, and he
'
would not have made up his mind now, if I had not rep-
resented to him how long you had been detained here,
and how your money was being swallowed up at an ho-
tel.' That is what most annoys me,' said I, for it is
not handsome. But for the rest, I am exceedingly obli-
ged to you, Herr Count, and I request that you will
thank the elector in my name for his gracious, though
rather tardy intelligence, and assure him that he would
have had no cause to repent if he had engaged me.'
Oh,' returned he, of that I am more convinced than
you perhaps imagine. When I told Wendling of this
'
decision, he turned quite red, and said with passion,
• We must find a way; you must stay here at least two
months, till we can go to Paris together.'
“The other day, on going, as usual, to dine with Wend-
ling, he said to me, Our Indian (so he calls a Dutch
gentleman who lives here upon his fortune, an amateur
of the fine arts in general, and a great friend and ad-
mirer of mine), our Indian is a capital fellow. He will
give you 200 florins if you will write for him three little
short and easy concertos, and a couple of quartetts for
the flute. You will get two pupils, at least, through
Cannabich, who will pay well. You can write a set of
duets for the clavier and violin, and engrave them by
subscription. You can always eat here morning and
evening, and lodge with the advocate Seravius ; so all
that will cost you nothing.'
$
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
129
“I shall haye enough to do in two months with three
concertos, two quartetts, and four or six duets for clavier
and violin, besides a new grand mass which I intend to
compose and present to the elector."*
This terrible frustration of his hopes, in spite of
the energy of resolution with which it is borne,
and the generous offers of the musicians to atone
for the neglect of the court, makes a deep impres-
sion on the mind of the father, who now writes to
his son a letter, no less remarkable for tenderness
and affection than for sagacity and good sense :
" I must now.address you very seriously. You know
for how many years together they have been trying our
patience at Salzburg; and how frequently both you and
I have desired to get away.
get away. You will remember, too,
the arguments which I used, and which prevented our
all giving up Salzburg at once. They are now put to
the test; great expenses on a journey, and few, or at
least very slow, receipts to meet them; what would
this be to encounter with a whole family? To have
suffered you to go by yourself, and to leave the thousand
things that are necessary to be looked after on a journey
to your care-you, who are unaccustomed to do without
assistance, little acquainted with the various kinds of
money, and totally ignorant of that of foreign parts ;
without the least notion of packing, &c.--for you to have
travelled under such circumstances was at that time im-
possible. I often represented to you that, even if you
should stay at Salzburg for a couple of years over your
twentieth, you would lose nothing, for in that time you
would have an opportunity of looking into some other
branches of useful science, and of enlarging your mind
by the perusal of good books in different languages, as
well as of practising the languages themselves. I farther
represented to you that a young man, though he should
have fallen from heaven, and was enabled to see far, far
* The twelfth mass of Mozart is a work of which the origin is
obscure; but I am inclined to think, from the extensiveness of its
plan, and the fulness of its instrumentation, that it was composed
at this time.
130
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
.
а.
beyond all living masters, would still never get the repu-
tation he deserved, age being essential to that; and
while a man is under twenty, the envious, the malicious,
and the persecuting find the materials of their trade in
youth itself, and an easy argument to prove out of few
years small experience. Can you doubt that some-
thing of this sort has been at work with the elector
respecting the teaching of his children? Moreover, I
am as little a friend to servility of conduct as yourself,
and you may remember what I wrote about Munich,
that you were not to throw yourself away; and all
these endeavours to be able to stay by the aid of a little
society of ten persons are, in my opinion, too crawling.
You have, however, been thus induced, through the
persuasions of good-hearted and well-meaning friends,
but these are straw fires that quickly burn out, and end
in smoke. That I now wish you an appointment is
true, but such an appointment only as you might get
at Mannheim, or Munich, or some other place, where
you would not be refused an occasional tour; but on
my account, no appointment per decretum for life. If
you had şuch a place for a couple of years only, it would
not prevent your travelling into France and Italy. You
yourself know well enough that it is through years, and
through titles, such as composer to an elector, that con-
séquence and respect are obtained. And it was my
opinion with respect to Munich, that there was no
meanness or serility in seeking a temporary engage-
ment there, because thạt alone would afford the oppor
tunity of displaying the extent of your knowledge and
ability, there being so many people about courts who
are always ready to prevent this, and time and oppor-
tunity being essential to it.
“ No one has worked more against Wolfgang than
Vogler. I said this long ago to M. Bullinger and Nan-
nerl.”
Distressing as all these unrealized expectations
must have been, under ordinary circumstances, to
one so conscious of his genius and so impatient for
opportunity as Mozart, he appears to have borne
them with wonderful equanimity. He every now
....
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
131
.
It was
and then even breaks out into a fit of mirth and
exultation. Once he tells us that he went into the
Lutheran church and played for an hour and a
half in such a way on the organ," it came right
from the heart.” Here, in truth, lay the secret that
fascinated him all the time to Mannheim, and which
sustained him in the midst of all reverses.
during this visit to Mannheim that he first fell se-
riously in love. The lady was a Mademoiselle
Weber, fifteen years of age, and a great singer.
But I must let him prepare the way for the avowal
of this passion to his father in his own manner,
full
of that lover-like évasion and ingenuity which un-
consciously betrays itself.
"On Wednesday next I go for a few days to the
Princess of Orange, at Kirchheim-Poland; they gave
me so good an account of her here that I at last re-
solved to go. A Dutch officer, with whom I am inti-
mate, was terribly scolded by her for not bringing me
with him when he went to pay his congratulations to
her on the new year. I shall get at least eight louis
d'or by this journey ; for the princess, being an extra-
ordinary amateur of singing, I have had four airs copied
for her; and as she possesses an elegant orchestra, and
gives concerts daily, I intend also to present her with a
symphony. The copying of the airs will be no great
expense, as a certain M. Weber, who will accompany
me, has written them.
“This Weber has a daughter who possesses a pure
and beautiful voice, sings admirably, and is just fifteen
years of age. She has nothing to study but the action
to be the prima donna on any stage. The father is a
thoroughly honest German, who has brought up his
children well, and this is the cause why the girl is pur-
sued here. He has six children (five girls and a boy),
and has been obliged to support a wife and family for
fourteen years on an income of 200 florins, which, now
that he has provided the elector with a very accom-
plished singer, is doubled. She sings my air for De
132
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
Amicis,* with its terrible passages, admirably, and will
also sing this at Kirchheim-Poland.
“ Now for something else."
And so he runs off, to divert attention from the
grand secret, to an account of a dinner-party at
the house where he lives, where there were fifteen
guests, the young lady of the house undertaking to
play, in the evening, a concerto he had taught her.
Vogler, who was determined to make his acquaint-
ance, calls upon him, and is one of the party. The
description of the evening is highly amusing. Vo-
gler sends home for his two claviers that were tuned
to one another, and his “tedious” engraved sona-
tas, which poor Mozart had to play through.
"You are to know that, before dinner, he had scram-
bled through my concerto (the same which the young
lady of the house plays) prima vista. The first move-
ment went prestissimo, the andante allegro, and the
rondo again prestissimo. He played the bass, for the
most part, differently from that written, and often
changed both harmony and melody entirely. As for
his rapidity, it surpasses everything; neither eyes or
hands can follow it. But what kind of sight-playing is
that? Hearers—I mean those who are worthy of the
name-can only say that they have seen music and
clavier-playing; they hear, think, and feel as little
during it as the performer himself
. You may easily
suppose how insupportable it was, as I was in no con-
dition to say “Much too fast.' Besides, it is much
easier to play a thing quickly than slowly, because, in
the former case, many notes may be dropped out of a
passage, and not missed; but is that desirable? In
rapid execution the performer may change the right
and the left hands without its being noticed; but is that
good? And in what does the art of playing at sight
consist ? Certainly in this : in playing a piece in the
exact time in which it should go, and in giving to all the
notes, passages, &c., their appropriate expression, so
* A celebrated bravura air in “Lucio Silla.”
1
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
133
a
.
a
that a listener might imagine that he who played it had
himself composed it."
While Mozart remained in this unsettled con-
dition at Mannheim, not absolutely neglecting the
object of his journey, but still, in the spirit of youth,
giving himself up to the adventures of the time,
and appearing less solicitous for success than might
have been expected, his father, whose entire
thoughts were bent upon the expedition, was in a
state of great anxiety. Recollecting that the good
offices of the Padre Martini might be valuable at
this juncture, he addressed a letter to him, in which
he carefully recapitulated all the circumstances,
and besought his intercession, but, it is to be fear-
ed, without producing any useful result.
Mozart's short excursion from Mannheim to the
Princess of Weilburg's, at Kirchheim-Poland, in
company with his young mistress and her father,
was one of the most delightful events of his youth.
He was now supremely happy, and not in the least
desirous of going farther in the pursuit of fortune.
The princess was a most unusual amateur of mu-
sic, and both played and sang admirably. During
a stay of eight days he played twelve times at
court, and once, by desire, performed before her
on the organ in the Lutheran church.
sented four symphonies of his composition to her,
and, on taking leave, received a gratuity of seven
louis d'or.
Meantime his father had been persuading him
to continue his journey to Paris; but, though the
streets of that capital had been paved with gold,
there was here “metal more attractive.” He was
dismayed at the prospect of the teaching in which
he expected to be employed at Paris, and, now that
he felt the stirrings of the divinity within, disliked
to sacrifice his genius to a mechanical occupation,
M
He pre-
0
134
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
me.
.
however well paid. His fears on this head were
groundless, but the evils thatawaited him at Paris
were, unfortunately, not imaginary. The views
which he entertained of his onward journey will
be gathered from a passage in one of his letters.
“I am a composer, and the son of a Kapellmeister,
and I cannot consent to bury in teaching the talent for
composition which God has so richly bestowed upon
I may say so without pride, for I feel it now more
than formerly. My head is full of projects in dramatic
composition : French operas rather than German, and
Italian rather than either."
To this gusty and passionate repudiation of the
drudgery of teaching, so natural in the circumstan-
ces, the cautious and thoughtful father transmits
the following answer, a letter so wise and precious
in its kind as to challenge universal admiration.
This letter is dated from Salzburg on the 16th of
February, 1778.
Your letter of the 7th, with the accompanying
French air, came safely to hand. To see something
again by my dear Wolfgang, so excellent in its kind,
made me breathe more freely. Every one is right in
conjecturing that your compositions will generally please
at Paris, and you know, as well as I, how well able you
are to imitate any kind of taste in composition. With
regard to lesson-giving in Paris, there is nothing to be
alarmed at. In the first place, people will not be so
ready to turn off their masters and send for you ; and,
secondly, no one will apply, nor will you accept of any
one, unless it may be a lady, who already plays well, de-
sirous to acquire style from you, and this work must be
well paid for. Such ladies as these will take infinite
pains to procure subscribers to your compositions. Be-
sides, the ladies command everything at Paris ; they are,
in general, great amateurs of the clavier, and there are
many who play excellently. These must be your mark,
together with composition; for, by publishing pieces for
the clavier, violin quartetts, symphonies, collections of
..
1
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
135
French songs with clavier accompaniment, such as you
sent me, and, lastly, by operas, you may make both
noney and fame. What impediment is there? But you
are for having everything succeed on the instant, before
people have had time to see you or to hear what you
can do. Peruse the great catalogue of our former ac-
quaintances at Paris ; they are all, or for the most part,
persons of the highest consequence in that city. They
will be all anxious to see you again, and if only half a
dozen of them patronize you-indeed, one of the chief
would be sufficient, you may have everything your own
way.
I enclose two unsealed letters of recommendation,
which you must be careful of, and present to M. Joseph
Felix Arbaur, the great jeweller at Paris. Mr. Mayer
is the first commissioner, with whom Count Wolfegg
lodged. The duplicate letters, in which everything is
put down circumstantially with respect to apartments,
&c., have been sent off to-day, and these are only to
show that you are the party for whom the application is
made.
“This being, in all probability, the last letter that you
will receive from me at Mannheim, I address it to you
alone. How deeply the wider separation which is about
to take place between us affects me, you may partly con-
ceive, though not feel it in the same degree with which
it oppresses my heart. If you reflect seriously on what
I have undergone with you two children in your tender
years, you will not accuse me of timidity, but, on the
contrary, do me the justice to own that I am, and ever
have been, a man with the heart to venture everything,
though, indeed, I always employed the greatest circum-
spection and precaution. Against accidents it is impos-
sible to provide, for God only sees into futurity. Up to
this time we cannot be said to have been either success-
ful or unsuccessful ; but, God be thanked, we have
steered between the two. Everything has been at-
tempted for your success, and through you for our own.
We have, at least, endeavoured to settle you in some
appointment on a secure footing, though fate has hith-
erto decreed that we should fail in our object. This last
step of ours, however, makes my spirit sink within me.
ܪ
136
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
n
You may see as clearly as the sun at noonday that,
through it, the future condition of your aged parents,
and of your affectionately attached sister, entirely de
pends upon you. From the time of your birth, and
indeed earlier, ever since my marriage, I have found it
a hard task to support a wife, and, by degrees, a family
of seven children, two relatives by marriage, and the
mother, on a certain income of twenty-five florins &
month ; out of this to pay for maintenance and the ex-
penses of childbed, deaths, and sicknesses, which ex-
penses, when you reflect upon them, will convince you
that I not only never devoted a kreutzer to my own
private pleasure, but that I could never, in spite of all
my contrivances and care, have managed to live free
from debt without the especial favour of God, and yet
I never was in debt till now. I devoted all my time to
you two, in the hope and, indeed, reliance upon your
care in return; that you would procure for me a peace-
ful old age, in which I might render account to God for
the education of my children, and, without any other
concern than the salvation of my soul, quietly await
death. But Providence has so ordered that I must
now afresh commence the ungrateful task of lesson-
giving, and in a place, too, where this dreary labour is
so ill paid that it will not support one from one end of
the year to the other; and yet it is to be thought a mat-
ter of rejoicing if, after talking one's self into a consump-
tion, something or other is got by it.
“I am far, my dear Wolfgang, from having the least
mistrust in you; on the contrary, on your filial love I
place all confidence and every hope. Everything now
depends upon fortunate circumstances, and the exercise
of that sound understanding which you certainly pos-
sess, if you will listen to it; the former are uncontrolla-
ble, but that you will always take counsel of your under-
standing I hope and pray. You are now going into a new
world, and must not think it prejudice in me to account
Paris so dangerous a place ; au contraire, my own ex-
perience gives me no cause to think it dangerous. But
my former and your present circumstances are as wide
asunder as heaven and earth. We were in the house
of an ambassador, and on the second occasion in a pri-
+
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
137
.
vate dwelling; I was a staid man, and you were chil-
dren; I avoided all acquaintance, and particularly shunned
familiarity with people of our profession. You may re-
member that I did the same in Italy. I formed the ac-
quaintance and sought the friendship of people of con-
dition only, and among these merely with people of a
certain age, and not with youths, however high their
rank. In order to preserve my liberty, I seldom invited
any one to visit me at home, but held it more prudent
to make visits abroad; for if I should not like a person,
or have work or engagements, I can stay away. But
if, on the other hand, people come to me, and prove dis-
agreeable, I know not how to get rid of them; and a
person not otherwise unpleasant may sometimes hinder
needful occupation.
“ You are now a young man of twenty-two years of
age ; here is none of that seriousness of years which
may dissuade a youth, let his condition be what it may
an adventurer, a libertine, a deceiver, be he old or
young.-- from courting your acquaintance, and drawing
you into his society and his plans. One may fall into
this danger unawares, and then not kñow how to recede.
Of the other sex I can hardly speak to you, for there
the greatest reserve and prudence are necessary, Na-
ture herself being our enemy; but whoever does not
employ all his prudence and reserve in his intercourse,
will with difficulty extricate himself from the labyrinth
a misfortune that usually ends in death. How blindly,
through inconsiderate jests, flattery, and play, one may
fall into errors at which the returning reason is ashamed,
you may, perhaps, have already a little experienced, and
it is not my intention to reproach you. I am persuaded
that you do not only consider me as your father, but as
your truest and most faithful friend, and that you know
and see that our happiness or unhappiness-nay, more,
my long life or speedy death is, under God, so to speak,
in your hands. If I know you aright, I have nothing
but pleasure to expect in you, which thought must con-
sole me in your absence for the paternal pleasure of see-
ing, hearing, and embracing you. Lead the life of a
good Catholic Christian, love and fear God, pray to him
with devotion and sincerity, and let your conduct be
M 2
138
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
such that, should I never see you more, the hour of my
death may be free from apprehension. From my heart
I bless you, and remain, till death, your faithful father
and most sincere friend, LEOPOLD MOZART."
This letter, enforced by the mortifying failure of
his hopes, determined the future course of the son.
Paris was now his great object, and he writes in
full anticipation of the successes that were to crown
his efforts there. The activity into which his mind
had been thrown during his visit to Mannheim
was a healthy preparation for greater labours ; for,
as the elector would not employ his pen,
he
the benefit of his prolific leisure to his friends and
their friends. The instrumental performers crowd-
ed around him, especially those on wind instru-
- ments; they attached themselves to him enthusi-
astically; and what with writing concertos, putting
accompaniments, composing sonatas, &c., his hands
were never idle.* It is worth noting, as an illus-
trative trait; that he preferred to associate with or-
chestral performers, and even with amateurs who
“played prettily on the clavier," rather than with
composers ; probably for this very sufficient rea-
son, that the former understood and acknowledged
his genius, while the latter treated him with sus-
picion and disingenuousness.
gave
* He composed, among other things, an air for the celebrated
tenor Raff, offering to alter it in any way to suit him, or to com-
pose a fresh one.
But Raff thought it beautiful, and only begged
him to shorten it; for Raff was advanced in life, and was not in
"condition to hold out so long." Mozart instantly complied, observ-
ing that“cutting away was easy at all times, but making additions
not so easy;" and with such completeness did he treat his sub-
jects, leaving nothing, at least, to be added, however he might re-
trench his luxuriance. On another occasion he selected, for prac-
tice, words which had already been set by Bach (John Christian-
the English Bach, as he was called), “because," says he,
61
know Bach's air so well, and like it so much, that it is always
running in my head, and I wished to see whether, in spite of this,
I could not compose an air upon the same words, which should
not in the least resemble that of Bach. You may see, in fact, that
there is not the least resemblance."
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
139
.no
1
One of the chief delights he looked forward to
at Paris was the prospect of writing something
for the concert spirituel, where the orchestra was
admirable, and where choruses (which he took
great pleasure in composing) could be ably per-
formed. He inferred that the French held the
chorus in high estimation, from having been accus-
tomed to Gluck's compositions in that way, and
from the only objection which the Parisians raised
against Piccini's opera of "Roland" being that the
“
choruses were too thin and weak, and the music of
too monotonous a character. Rely upon me,”
he writes to his father; "I shall strain every nerve
to do honour to the name of Mozart, and I have no
fears for the event."
As the opera of “Roland" is a work of some
historical interest, having been the cause of those
furious dissensions between the Gluckists and the
Piccinists, which threw the whole of Paris into a
state of agitation in 1777, the year before Mozart's
arrival in that capital, a glance at its origin, and the
feuds it produced, will be of interest in this place.
Gluck, who at sixty years of age had entered
upon a new career of the most brilliant order, and
had already produced at Paris four of those works
with which his fame is principally associated,* was
sojourning at Vienna, and just commencing "Ro-
land," when the news reached him that the direct-
ors of the opera had engaged Piccini to treat the
same subject. He immediately threw what he had
written into the fire, or so at least he informed his
friend, the bailli du Rollet, in a letter which was
published in l'Année Litteraire. This impetuous
and disdainful style of proceeding was quite char-
acteristic of Gluck, and its announcement served
as the signal for war. It will be seen by the letter
* “Iphigenia in Aulis," “ Orfeo," " Alceste," and " Armida."
140
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
itself, which has now become valuable to the his-
tory of the art, that the writer had profited by his
intimacy with the brilliant society collected at the
suppers then in fashion, and had learned to deal
out a sarcasm pretty handsomely.*
This letter served the double purpose of morti-
fying his enemy Marmontel, and of winning over
to his side the French musicians, who were taken
by an equivocal compliment to their national vanity
at the expense of Italy. That Gluck foresaw the
danger of a revulsion towards the Italian taste on
the theatre of his fame and fortune, where he had
hitherto enjoyed an absolute sway, and that he
looked upon Piccini as no contemptible rival, is
evident. Two formidable parties immediately
started up. Suard and the Abbé Arnaud headed
the Gluckists, while Marmontel, La Harpe, Gin-
guené, and even the cold D'Alembert himself, sided
with the Piccinists. The journals were crowded
daily with epigrams and bon-mots ; and all Paris,
including persons of the highest rank, and even
ladies of distinction, took part in the tumult. But
the dispute becoming tedious at last, was finally
settled by an appeal to Marie Antoinette, who, hav-
ing been the pupil of Gluck, declared herself res-
olutely in his favour.
The triumph of Gluck led to still higher success
than any he had yet achieved. The theatre could
not contain the crowds that came to the general
rehearsal of his operas, the first that were made
* In this letter, he says that he is not at all the man for rivalry;
that Piccini would have a great advantage over him, with novelty
at his side, and having nothing to do but to follow the route he
( (Gluck) had struck out. "I will not speak on the subject of pat-
ronage," he observes; “I am quite sure that a certain politician
of my acquaintance (Carraccioli) will give dinners and suppers to
three fourths of Paris for the sake of making proselytes, and that
Marmontel qui sait si bien faire des contes, contera throughout the
ingdorn the exclusive merit of M. Piccini.”
iny
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
141
.
public in France, and at which the spectators
were entertained not less by the eccentricities of
the composer, and his singular sallies of humour,
than by the composition. It was the custom of
Gluck, in superintending a rehearsal, to put off
his greatcoat and wig and indue a nightcap; but
when the music was concluded, and he was ready
to resume his apparel, noblemen of the first rank,
and even princes, thought themselves honoured in
assisting him. Still the music of this great master
had no very strong present influence in ameliora-
ting the taste of the French. The declamatory
and impassioned style of his operas led the uncul-
tivated performers' too frequently to mistake ear-
piercing shrieks and cries for expressive singing,
and the composer himself was honoured with the
soubriquet of Grand Hurleur. *
Such was vocal music at Paris when Mozart
and his mother arrived there, on the 23d of March,
1778; and the instrumental was not in a much more
favourable condition.
Mozart is scarcely settled in Paris when he is
deep in
“ Miserere" for Passion-week, to contain
three choruses, a fugue, and a duet, and to be in-
strumented for a large orchestra. He is afterward
engaged on two concertos, and an opera for the
French theatre, in two acts, the subject to be “Al-
exandre and Roxane." The first chorus of the
“Miserere,” he tells us, was pronounced to be
charming and effective by Gossec, the well-known
French composer.
Gossec,” says he," is a good
friend of mine, and a very dry person.”
* This style prevailed in Paris even so lately as 1797. "The
principal singers," says Kelly, speaking of the "Iphigenia," "made
a shriek louder than I thought any human beings capable of
ducing.” What the delicate organs of Mozart suffered from these
declamatory inflictions, will be best imagined from his own de-
scription of French singing.
a
а.
pro-
142
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
In the midst of these avocations he is beset with
invitations. He constantly dines at the house of
M. le Gros, the director of the concert, and is ask-
ed almost daily by Noverre and Madame d'Edi-
nay. But his great friend is Baron Grimm.*
“Baron Grimm and myself often vent our indignation
at the state of music here, that is to say, between our-
selves ; but in public it is always • bravo! bravissimo!'
and clapping till the fingers burn. What most dis-
pleases me is, that the French gentlemen have only so
far improved their taste as to be able to endure good
things; but as for any perception that their music is
bad-Heaven help them! and the singing-oime!"
Upon this question of French taste he received
much excellent advice from his father, who coun-
selled him to consult it in the opera, for the sake
of applause and good pay, as weil as notices in the
newspapers, “which," adds he, "at all times I could
wish, if only to vex the archbishop.” The vision of
this unsympathizing archbishop was always casting
its shadow upon them even in their brightest mo-
ments!
Through the influence of Baron Grimm, Mozart
has the honour of an interview with the Duchesse
de Bourbon. But he was not yet accustomed to
the elegant indifference of the fashionable salon,
* His father had strongly recommended him to the friendship
of Baron Grimm, advising him to cultivate his favour by a per-
fectly child-like confidence. “The mode of life in Paris," he goes
on, "is very different from that of Germany; and the manner of
expressing one's self politely in French-to recommend one's self-
to seek protection, &c., has a decided peculiarity, so much so that
Baron von Grimm formerly instructed me in it, and inquired of
me what I would say, and how express myself." But Paris had
undergone a woful change in the interval-(what changes have
passed over it since, the reader need not be reminded of)" Paris
is altogether a different place from what it was," writes Wolfgang
Mozart in reply; "the French have no longer the politesse which
distinguished them fifteen years since; their manners approach
rudeness, and their arrogance is abominable."
1
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
143
.
and he writes in the humour that may be anticipa-
ted from such a reception.
“On my arrival I was ushered into a great room with-
out any fire, and as cold as ice; and there I had to wait
for half an hour until the duchess came. At length she
appeared, and very politely requested me to excuse the
clavier, as not one in the house was in order, but said
she would be very glad to hear me play. I replied that
I should be most happy to play something, but that at
présent it was impossible, as I could not feel my fingers
from cold, and I requested that she would have the good-
ness to let me go into a room in which there was a fire.
• ( oui, monsieur, vous avez raison,' was the answer.
She then sat down and began to draw, in company with
several gentlemen, who all made a circle round a large
table. This lasted for an hour, during which time I had
the honour to be in attendance. The windows and
doors were open, and my hands were not merely as
cold as ice, but my feet and body too, and my head be-
gan to ache. There was altum silentium, and I really
could not tell what would become of all this cold, head-
ache, and tediousness. I frequently thought, “were it not
for Mr. Grimm, I would this instant go away ;' however,
to shorten my story, I at last played on the wretched,
miserable piano. What most annoyed me was, that
madame and all the gentlemen pursued their drawing
without a moment's cessation, and consequently I was
obliged to play to the walls, chairs, and tables. Such a
combination of vexatious circumstances quite overcame
my patience, and after going through one half of the
· Fischer' variations, I rose up.
There were a great
many eloges. I however said, and it was perfectly
true, that I could do myself no credit with this clavier,
and that I should prefer selecting another day when
there would be a better one, But the duchess would
not let me off, and I was obliged to wait another half
hour for the duke ; meantime she came and took her
place beside me, and listened to me very attentively,
and I soon forgot the cold and the headache, and, in
spite of the wretched clavier, played as I am accustomed
to play when in good humour. Put me down to the
144
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
best clavier in Europe, but with people for hearers who
either do not or will not understand, and I should lose all
pleasure in playing. I gave Mr. Grimm a full relation
of everything."
In Paris, as it had been everywhere else, some
crooked destiny was at work to render all his la-
bours fruitless. The hard work he bestowed on
his choruses was in vain. They performed only
two of them, and those not the best, so that he was
hardly recognised; but there was great applause,
and, although he thought nothing of Parisian ap-
plause, he was satisfied. He tries to extract hope
out of everything.
" With respect to the Sinfonia Concertante, he says,
there is again an imbroglio, and I am compelled to sus-
pect something behind the curtain--for I have my ene-
mies here also- and where, indeed, have I been with-
out them ? That is, however, a favourable sign.”
Le Gros hurried him grievously in the composi-
tion of the symphony, then let it lie for several
days without getting it copied, and finally set it
aside altogether, with one excuse or another about
time. The musicians were enraged at the disap-
pointment, which Mozart attributed to the machi-
nations of one Cambini, an Italian maestro, to whom
he had inadvertently given offence.*
His father had advised him to go out as much as
he could, and cultivate the acquaintance of influen-
* The circumstance is thus described by Mozart in one of his
letters: “It was at the house of Le Gros that I innocently dis-
pleased him. He has written quartetts, of which I heard some at
Mannheim that are very pretty, and I praised them to him, and
played him the commencement of one ; but Ritter, Ram, and
Punto, who were present, would not permit me to stop; they
compelled me to go on, and what I did not know I was obliged to
invent. I did so, and Cambini was quite beside himself, and could
not forbear saying, Questa é una gran testa!' But he did not like
it.”
1
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
145
6
6
tial people. But there was a difficulty in the way
which he had not calculated upon. Thus writes
the son upon these points :
“ You advise me to visit a great deal, in order to make
new acquaintances, or to revive the old ones.
That is,
however, impossible. The distance is too great and the
ways too miry to go on foot, the muddy state of Paris
being indescribable ; and to take a coach, one may soon
drive away four or five livres, and all in vain, for the
people merely pay you compliments, and then it is over.
They ask me to come on this or that day-I play, and
then they say, 'O c'est un prodige, c'est inconcevable,
c'est etonnant;' and then, à Dieu.'”
All this, however, might have been endured, so
far as mere superciliousness and hauteur to the
pro-
fessional musician were involved, if these people
had possessed any real feeling or love for music;
but it was their total want of all taste, their utter
viciousness, that rendered them hateful to Mozart.
He was ready to make any sacrifice for his family,
but longed to escape from the artificial and heart-
less Parisians,
“If I were in a place where people had ears to hear,
hearts to feel, and some small degree of perception and
taste, I should laugh heartily over all these things ; but,
really, as it regards music, I am living among mere
brute beasts. How can it be otherwise? It is the
same in all their passions, and, indeed, in every transac-
tion of life ; no place in the world is like Paris. Do not
think that I exaggerate when I speak thus of the state
of music here; ask any one except a native Frenchman,
and, if he be fit to answer the question, he will tell you
the same.
I must endure' out of love to you, but I shall
thank God Almighty if I leave this place with my health-
ful natural taste. It is my constant prayer that I may
be enabled to establish myself, that I may do honour to
the German nation, and make fame and money, and so
be the means of helping you out of your present narrow
-
10
N
146
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
circumstances, and of our all living together once more
cheerfully and happily."*
These objections, urged with so much earnest-
ness, produced another letter of sober admonition
from his father, who warns him again and again
of the danger of a precipitate judgment, and the
necessity of perseverance. He touches in detail
upon every point.
“ That one takes a hundred walks for nothing in Paris,
I know by experience, as I believe I have told you.
That the French pay in compliments is likewise not
unknown to me; and that you will find your enemies
wherever you go is quite undeniable, for such is the
case with every person of great talent. Al those who
are at present in repute at Paris, and seated in nests,
will not like to be driven from those nests; they must
be apprehensive of having that consequence lowered to
which their interest is attached. It is not merely the
jealousy of Cambini that you have awakened, but that
of Stamitz, Piccini, and others. Is Piccini at Paris still ?
Is not Gretry jealous ? Wendling told you that music
had altered, but I was incredulous. Instrumental music
had, indeed, improved some time ago, but vocal music
will not change in a great hurry. But, in any case, let
not envy discourage you, or put you out of countenance;
it is the same everywhere. Remember Italy—your
first opera, your third opera, · D’Ettore,' the intrigue
* His opinion of the French popular taste is expressed
ilar spirit all through. He had no objection to make an effort to
secure success in their own way, but he thought that way con-
temptible. In a letter of a later date, speaking of his new sym-
phony, he says he cannot tell whether it will please or not; and,
,
to confess the truth, that he does not much care: “For whom
will it displease? As for the discerning Frenchmen who may be
present, I should certainly desire to give them pleasure; but for
the jolterheads, I don't see that it will be any great misfortune not
to please them. Yet I still hope that the asses will find something
in it to like; and then I have not forgotten the premier coup d'archet,
which is sufficient. The cattle here make a very important mat-
ter of that, but, for my part, I see no great difference; they begin
here much in the same inanner as in other places. This, hower-
er, is for a laugh.....
-
6
1
a sim-
1
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
147
3
e
a
about . De Amicis,' &c.; but one must beat one's way
through everything. If you and your mother have suffi-
cient to live upon at present, we must await a favourable
turn of affairs in Germany. You tell me that you are
to write an opera ; take my advice, then, and recollect
that your reputation will entirely depend on your first
production."
To take infinite pains in studying the popular
taste--to make sketches and play them overto
consult friends to write things that should be easy
for amateurs--and never to write hastily, are the
items of the sage counsel which he receives from
his father. That Mozart would willingly have
adapted himself to any course likely to open a
channel for legitimate exertion, is evident from the
occupation to which he now applied himself. He
assures his father that he has work enough to carry
him through the winter, and no less than three pu-
pils; and that he might have more, but cannot take
them on account of the distance. One of these pu-
pils is a duke's daughter; and the picture of Mo-
zart trying to teach this lady composition--genius
drudging at no genius_will show how laboriously
and with what self-suppression he worked for the
bare means of existence.
Among these pupils one is daughter of the Duc
de Guines, with whom I am in high favour, and I give
her two hours' instruction in composition daily, for
which I am very liberally paid. He plays the flute in-
comparably, and she magnificently on the harp. She
possesses much talent and cleverness, and, in particular,
a very remarkable memory, which enables her to play
all her pieces, of which there are at least two hundred,
without a book. She is doubtful whether she has geni-
us for composition, particularly with respect to thoughts
or ideas ; her father (who, between ourselves, is a little
too much in love with her) affirms that she certainly has
ideas, and that nothing but modesty and a want of con-
fidence in herself prevent their appearing. We shall
a
ܪ
148
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
now see.
ܪ
If she really have no ideas, and I must say I
have as yet seen no indication of them, it will be all in
vain, for God knows I can give her none. It is not her
father's intention to make any very great composer of
her. • I do not wish her,' he says, “to write any op-
erås, airs, concertos, or symphonies, but merely grand
sonatas for her instrument, as I do for mine.'
· I gave her the fourth lesson to-day, and, as far as
the rules of composition go, am tolerably satisfied with
her; she put the bass to the first minuet which I placed
before her very correctly. We now commenced wri-
ting in three parts. She tried it, and fatigued herself
in attempts, but it was impossible to help her; nor can
we move on a step farther, for it is too early, and in
science one must advance by the proper gradations. If
she had genius-but, alas! there is none : she has no
thoughts—nothing comes.
I have tried her in every
imaginable way; among others, it occurred to me to place
a very simple minuet before her, to see whether she
could make a variation upon it. That was all' to no púr-
pose. Now, thought I, she does not know how to be-
gin, so I varied the first bar for her, and told her to con-
tinue the variation, pursuing that idea, and at length she
got through tolerably well. I next requested her to be-
gin something herself--the first part only—a melody;
but, after a quarter of an hour's cogitation, nothing came.
I then wrote four bars of a minuet, and said, "What a
stupid fellow I am! I have begun a minuet, and cannot
finish the first part of it. Have the goodness to do it
for me.' She distrusted her ability, but at last, with
much labour, something came to light. I rejoiced that
we got something at last. She had now to complete
the entire minuet, that is to say, the melody only.
On
going away I recommended her to alter my four bars
for something of her own; to make another beginning,
even if she retained the same harmony and only altered
the melody. I shall see to-morrow how she has suc-
ceeded."*
* Upon this account of the duke's daughter Leopold Mozart
makes some shrewd remarks. After advising his son to keep in
favour with the duke, because he has great power at court, where
festivities may shortly be expected on the approaching accouche-
6
;
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
149
How admirably all this is described-with what
freshness and gusto!
The opera is his solace through all this slavery.
“There is no doubt," he exclaims, "of its being
accepted, for Noverre wrote it.” Noverre is about
to compose a ballet too, for which he is to supply
the music, and of course there is no doubt about
that; but there is doubt about everything that de-
pends on the caprice of theatres, and neither opera
nor ballet were ever produced. *
Yet there are always friends about him—espe-
cially instrumentalists—under the worst circum-
stances. Rudolph, the horn-player, offers him the
place of organist at Versailles, with a salary of 2000
livres, and permission to go where he likes for six
months of the year. But he sets about calculating,
and discovers that these 2000 livres would make
only 333 dollars and two livres, which in Germany
would be something, but is nothing in Paris : a
dollar goes so frightfully in Paris! With his inva-
riable prudence, the father desires him to weigh all
circumstances carefully before he declines this offer.
“ Consider," he observes, " that you leave half a year
ment of the queen, he goes on : "You write that you have to-day
given mademoiselle, the duke's daughter, her fourth lesson, and
are for having her compose already. Do you suppose that every
one has a genius like yours? It will come by degrees: she has a
good memory. Eh bien! let her steal, or, more politely, appropri-
ate; but nothing can be done at first, till courage comes. You
have adopted a good method with variations-only pursue it. And
should Monsieur le Duc hear some little thing composed by his
daughter, he will be beside himself with pleasure."
* In reference to the subject of operatic composition, as it was
then cultivated in Paris-or rather, as it was neglected-he says
elsewhere: “With regard to the opera, the case stands thus : it is
exceedingly difficult to meet with a good poem. The old libretti,
which are the best, have not been adapted to the modern taste; ;
and the new are good for nothing; for the poetry, the only thing
in which it is possible that the French can have any pride, becomes
worse and worse daily; and that, at least, ought to be good, as
they do not understand music."
N2
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THE LIFE OF MOZART.
disengaged for another service; that it is probably an
engagement for life, sick or well; that you can resign
at any time; that you are at court, consequently daily
under the eye of the king and queen, and so much the
nearer to fortune; that on a vacancy you may become
one of the Kapellmeisters; that you may, in time, be-
come instructer on the clavier to the royal family, which
would be very lucrative ; that nothing would prevent
;
you from writing for the theatre or the concert spirituel,
or from pitblishing music, and dedicating it to your
patrons anong the great, Versailles being the summer
residence of many ministers; that Versailles is itself a
little city, or, at least, is inhabited by so many persons of
distinction that pupils can never be wanting; and, lastly,
that it would be the most certain way of obtaining the
patronage of the queen, and becoming popular. Read
this to Baron Grimm, and hear his opinion."
Notwithstanding all these arguments, however,
Mozart declined the offer, and was sustained in his
refusal by the sanction of Baron Grimm. In fact,
he never had any serious thoughts of accepting it
from the first. “Whoever enters the royal service,
he says, in a subsequent letter, “is forgotten at Paris,
and then organist! A good appointment would
be very acceptable to me, but nothing under Ka-
pellmeister, and well paid.”
During Mozart's absence at Paris, the Archbish-
op of Salzburg began to be sensible—though more
* The minuteness with which Leopold Mozart stores up
and
answers all the points in his son's letter, cannot fail to attract at-
tention. It was a matter that cost him some trouble and arrange-
ment, which he describes to his son in this way "I should forget
a hundred things that I wish to write to you abc it, if I were not to
make brief memoranda on a sheet of paper, which I especially re-
serve for that purpose. When anything strikes me which it is
desirable to cominunicate to you, I'note it down in a few words;
and when I write to you, I take this sheet of paper, and first ex-
tract the novelties, then read your last letter through and reply to
it. You might do the same. I strike my pen through such mem-
oranda as are the subject of my letter, and reserve those which
are left for the next occasion. And you, my dear wife, must put
the lines closer together in writing; you see how I do it."
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151
from the representations of foreigners who visited
his court than from his own judgment that he had
made a great mistake in losing Mozart. He felt
that he could not be replaced; and proceeded ac-
cordingly, with diplomatic artifice, to pave the way
for his return, which circumstances soon rendered
as desirable to Leopold Mozart as to the archbish-
op, though neither of them liked to confess as
much; both appeared to act from any motives rath-
er than the true ones. Towards the end of June,
the father gives an account to his son of the strata-
gem which was put into motion to entrap him:
“ On Trinity Sunday, at the conclusion of the Litany
in the afternoon, Count Starnberg asked me, at the
priest's house, whether I could not call upon him on
the following morning, as he had something to say to
me. I went, and found no one with him but his broth-
er, a major in the imperial service, who is staying with
him, and endeavouring to cure himself here of the alarm
which Prussian powder and ball have given him. He
told me that an organist had been recommended to him,
but that he did not like to enter into the business with-
out knowing whether he was a good one; he wished,
therefore, to inquire whether I knew him; his name,
he told me, was Mandl, or something like it, but he was
not quite certain. Oh, thou awkward devil! thought
I; here has a commission been sent to Vienna to look
out for and recommend some person, and the name,
&c., of the client is forgotten! It was not intended
that I should perceive this introduction to be a mere
decoy to lead me to talk about my son, but Im-not one
word. I said that I had not the honour of knowing this
person, and that I would never venture to recommend
anybody to the prince, for that it would be exceedingly
difficult to find such a one as would suit him in every
respect. Yes,' said he, and I shall myself decline
recommending any one, for it is much tou difficult a
task. Your son ought to be here now (“Bravo! well
said,' thought I); what a pity that such a man is not a
great minister of state and ambassador ! To this I re-
152
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
.
a
plied, that we would speak on the subject candidly and
without reserve; and I then asked him whether every
possible means had not been employed absolutely to
drive him from Salzburg ? I began from the beginning,
and suppressed nothing of all that had happened to us ;
at which his brother was quite astonished, and he him-
self totally unable to deny the truth of the statement.
We next proceeded to speak of the whole musical
establishment, on which I declared my candid opinion,
and he assented, acknowledged it perfectly true, and at
last told his brother that, of all the foreigners who
visited the court of Salzburg, young Mozart alone had
been the general object of admiration. He wanted to
persuade me to write to my son, but I told him that I
could not do so; that it would be a vain effort; that my
son would ridicule such a proposal; moreover, that I
must, in that case, inform him of the salary that he was
to expect; for, as to such a stipend as Adlgasser's, he
would most probably take no notice of it if offered. In-
deed, were his highness to resolve upon allowing him
fifty florins a month, it was doubtful whether he would
accept it. We then left the house altogether, and they
went to the riding-school, whither I accompanied them,
still conversing on the same subject, I adhering to what
I had at first advanced, and he assuring me that he was
entirely in the interest of my son.
" You are to know that the prince can get no good
organist who is at the same time a good performer on
the clavier. He now says, though merely in confi-
dential talk among his favourites, that Becché is a char-
latan and a mountebank, and that Mozart far surpasses
everybody; and he would much rather have some one
whom he knows, than pay a high price for another of
whom he knows nothing. He is unable to offer any
one a small stipend, by annexing the hope of an in-
creased income from teaching, the pupils being few;
and those that there are I have, with the reputation,
moreover, that no one is able to teach more judiciously.
Herein lies the difficulty. But I am not writing all this
with the idea of persuading you, my dear Wolfgang, to
return to Salzburg, for I do not place the slightest re-
liance on the word of the archbishop, and I have it
1
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
153
Sappi
spoken to the countess, but have rather avoided every
occasion of coming in contact with her, as she might
easily construe the least sentence from me into solicita-
tion and compliance. If anything comes of this, they
must propose very favourable and advantageous condi-
tions, which is scarcely probable. We will, however,
await them, and make a vow against nothing except
having our noses bit off.”
How this crafty negotiation might have termina-
ted it is needless to inquire, for the issue was un-
happily precipitated and determined by the most
melancholy event that had yet befallen the family
--the death of Mozart's mother, who expired at
Paris, July the 3d, 1778, after a fortnight's illness.
In these trying circumstances he acted with a ten-
derness, fortitude, and discretion highly honourable
to his character, and which prove that he could
summon all the qualities which become a man at
such a crisis, however helpless and abstracted in
the common concerns of life. On the night of her
decease, he wrote to his father's confidential friend,
the Abbé Bullinger, the following letter:
" Paris, July 3d, 1778.
6 MY DEAR FRIEND,
Sympathize with me on this the most wretched
and melancholy day of my life. I write at two o'clock
in the morning to inform you that my mother-my
dearest mother-is no more! God has called her to
himself. I saw clearly that nothing could save her, and
l'esigned myself entirely to the will of God; he gave,
and he can take away. | Picture to yourself the state
of alarm, care, and anxiety in which I have been kept
for the last fortnight. She died without being conscious
of anything-her life went out like a taper. Three
days ago she confessed, received the sacrament and ex-
treme unction, but since that time she has been con-
stantly delirious and rambling, until this afternoon at
twenty-one minutes after five, when she was seized
with convulsions, and immediately lost all perception
154
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
N444
and feeling. I pressed her hand and spoke to her, but
she neither saw me, heard me, nor seemed in the least
sensible ; and in this state she lay for five hours, namely,
;
till twenty-one minutes past ten, when she departed, no
one being present but myself, M. Haine, a good friend
of ours whom my father knows, and the nurse.
"I cannot at present write you the whole particulars
of the illness; but my belief is, that she was to die
that it was the will of God. Let me now beg the
friendly service of you to prepare my poor father by
gentle degrees for the melancholy tidings. I wrote to
him by the same post, but told him no more than that
she was very ill, and I now await his answer, by which
I shall be guided. May God support and strengthen
him! | Oh, my friend ! through the especial grace of
God I have been enabled to endure the whole with for-
titude and resignation, and have long since been consoled
under this great loss. In her extremity I prayed for
two things : a blessed dying hour for my mother, and
courage and strength for myself; and the gracious God
heard my prayer, and richly bestowed those blessings
upon me.
Pray therefore, dear friend, support my
father. Say what you can to him, in order that when
.
he knows the worst he may not feel it too bitterly. I
cominend my sister also to you from the bottom of my
heart. Call on both of them soon, but say no word of
the death-only prepare them. You can do and say
what you will; but let me be so far at ease as to have
no new misfortune to expect.
Comfort my dear father
and-my dear sister, and pray send me a speedy answer.
Adieu. I remain
" Your much obliged and grateful servant,
6 WOLFGANG AMADEUS MOZART.
" Rue du gros Chenet, vis-à-vis celle du croissant,
à l'Hôtel des Quatre fils Aimont.
(" For yourself alone.").
On the same day, with a fortitude far beyond
his years, he addressed his father, to prepare him
gradually for the terrible news he had commission-
ed his friend to break to him.
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
155
-
Paris, July 3d, 1778.
“ The cause of my having left your letter of the 11th
of June so long unanswered is, that I have very un-
pleasant and melancholy intelligence to communicate.
My dear mother is very ill. At the beginning of her
illness she was, as usual, bled, and this seemed to relieve
and do her good; but in a few days she began to com-
a
plain of sudden chills and heats, which were accom-
panied by headache and diarrhea. We began now to
use the remedy that we employ at home—the anti-
spasmodic powder. We wished that we had brought
the black, but had it not, and could not get it here,
where even its name, pulvis epilepticus, is unknown.
But as she got worse continually, spoke with difficulty,
and so far lost her hearing that it was necessary to call
out in speaking to her, Baron Grimm sent us his physi-
cian. She is still very weak, and is also feverish and
delirious. They want to give me hope, but I have not
much. I have been long already--for days and nights
together-between hope and fear, but I have now en-
tirely resigned myself to the will of God, and I hope
that
you
and
my
dear sister will do the like. What are
the means, then, to give us calm and peace, in a degree,
if not absolutely? I am resigned, let the end be what
it may, because I know that God—who, however mys-
teriously he may proceed to human eyes, ordains every-
thing for the best-so wills it; and I am not easily per-
suaded out of the belief that neither physician nor any
other man, neither misfortune nor accident, can either
take or give life, but God alone, though these are the
means which he mostly employs; but even these not
always. We see people constantly sinking and dying
around us; but I do not say, on that account, that my
mother must and will die, or that we have lost all hope.
She may recover if it be the will of God. I, however,
find consolation in these reflections, after praying to
God as earnestly as I am able for my dear mother's
health and life; they strengthen, encourage, and con-
solo me, and you must needs think I require them.
Let us now change the subject, and quit these melan-
choly thoughts. Let us hope, if not much, and put
our trust in God, consoling ourselves with the reflection
156
.
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
*
that everything is well ordered which the Almighty
orders, and that he best knows what is essential to our
temporal happiness and our eternal salvation."
He then, to divert attention from this distressing
subject, describes the reception of the symphony
he had written for the opening of the concert spirit-
uel, which was huddled through so disgracefully
at the rehearsals, that he declares he had deter-
mined, if it went so badly in public, he would
certainly go into the orchestra, take the violin out
of the hand of the leader, and direct it himself; an
ebullition of anger so unlike his habitual gentleness,
that it must be referred to the agony of mind he
was then suffering in consequence of the danger-
ous illness of his mother. *
To this letter Leopold Mozart, believing, when
he sat down to write it, that his beloved wife was
yet living, wrote the following profoundly pathetic
answer:
“ Salzburg, July 13, 1778.
- MY DEAR WIFE AND MY DEAR Son,
“ Not to be wanting on your name-day, my dear
* These forebodings were happily
disappointed in the sequel.
The symphony had great success. The audience were captiva.
ted, particularly by a passage in the middle of the first allegro;
and no less by the andante and the last allegro. The description
of the closing part is very curious: “As I had observed that all
“
the last allegros here, as well as the first, began with all the
instruments together, and generally unisono, I commenced this
with the two violins only, piano, for eight bars, which was imme,
diately succeeded by a forte ; the audience, consequently, as I had
anticipated, began to hush down every noise during the piano, and
then to hear the forte and to clap their hands were one and the
same thing. Immediately that the symphony was over, I went,
quite pleased, into the Palais Royal, took some refreshment, pray-
ed the Rosenkranz that I had vowed, and then went home.” He who
had only just before been in a mood to rush upon the leader and
dispossess him of his instrument before the public! This sym-
phony was the first ever produced for a grand orchestra, and is a
fine work, but scarcely at all known. Imagine a time when the
forte of a symphony was accompanied by clapping, and the instru-
mental art improving amid the chaotic noises of a Christmas pan.
tomime!
2
a
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
157
a
wife, I write under the present date, secure tat thhe
letter must reach its destination some days beforehand.
I wish you all manner of happiness, and pray Almighty
God to preserve you from this day, for many years,
not only in health, but in as much content as is possible
on the changeable theatre of this world. I am fully
convinced how necessary the society of your husband
and your daughter is to your real happiness. God will
dispose everything for the best, according to the conclu-
sions of his unsearchable wisdom and most holy provi-
dence. Could you have believed, a year ago, that you
would spend your next name-day in Paris ? But, im-
probable as it might have appeared to many at that
timè (if not to ourselves), it is just as possible that we
may, by God's help, find ourselves all together again
before we expect it; for this is what lies most at my
heart—the separation from you—to be at such a dis-
tance, and to live at such a distance. In other respects
we are all well, thank God! We kiss you and Wolf-
gang a thousand times, and beg you, of all things, to
be careful for the preservation of your health.
“ The foregoing was written yesterday, the 12th.
Today, the 13th, that is to say, just now, at a little
before ten o'clock in the morning, your melancholy let-
ter arrived. The impression it made upon us you may
imagine. We have so wept together as scarcely to be
able to read the letter and your sister! Great and
merciful God! thy most holy will be done! My dear
son, notwithstanding all possible submission to the divine
will, you will find it but human and natural that my
tears should almost prevent my writing. What am I
to conclude ? Scarcely otherwise than that, even now
while I write this, she is dead, or else she must be
better, for yours is dated on the 3d, and it is now the
13th. You say that the bleeding did her good ; but
that some days afterward she complained of cold and
heat. Your last letter was on the 12th of June, and
then she wrote, · Yesterday I was bled :' and wherefore
on a Saturday and a fast-day? Perhaps she ate meat.
She certainly delayed the bleeding too long. I say so
because I know her, and remember her way of putting
off from one day to the next; and this would naturaly
o
-
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THE LIFE OF MOZART.
,-
for you.
happen in a strange place, where one must commence
inquiries for a surgeon. The thing is now done, how-
ever, and cannot be altered. I place the most perfect
reliance on your filial affection, that you have taken
every earthly care of your excellent mother, and, if
God spares her to us, will continue to do so; for that
excellent mother, the apple of whose eye you were,
who loved you beyond measure, was so proud of you,
and who (as I know better than you) lived wholly
But should all our hopes be vain! should
we have lost her!--great God! then you will want
friends- trustworthy friends ; for not only will you
have funeral expenses, &c., to meet, but a great many
expenses of another kind, with which you are totally
unacquainted, in which a foreigner is easily overreached
and taken in, and, if he have not judicious advice, is led
into unnecessary outlay, and half ruined; but it is im-
possible that you can understand these things. Should
this misfortune have happened, request Baron von
Grimm to permit you to place your mother's things in
his charge, to prevent your having so much to attend
to; or else lock everything securely; for, as you are
frequently from home for the whole day, your apart-
ments may be broken into and robbed. God grant that
all these precautions may be needless; but herein you
recognise your father. My dear wife! my dear son!
As she was ill a few days after the bleeding, she must
have been ill from the 16th or 17th of June. She
waited too long; she expected that by keeping herself
quiet in bed, by diet, and other simple remedies, she
would soon be better. I know how it is in such cases;
one hopes and delays from one day to the next; but,
my dear Wolfgang, diarrhea, with fever, requires in-
stant medical advice, to know whether the fever may
be removed or must be left, since cooling remedies in-
crease the relaxation, and if that is stopped at an im-
proper time, the materia peccans occasions inflamma-
tion.
• I congratulate you on having had such success with
your symphony at the concert spirituel. I can fancy
all your apprehensions and uneasiness; but your reso-
lution of rimning into the orchestra if it had not gono
i
1
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
159
well was but the momentary suggestion of passion.
God forbid ! You must control such impulses as these--
they are exaggerated : such a step would have cost
you your life, which no man of sense would risk for a
symphony. An affi'ont like this—a public affront, too,
would be revenged sword in hand, not by a Frenchman
merely, but by any other man who calls himself a man
of honour.
I wrote her my felicitations at the commencement
of this letter, and Nannerl intended to conclude it with
hers; but she is unable, as you may easily suppose, to
write a single word, for the news comes just now when
she was going to write, and every letter that she at-
tempts to form sends a gush of tears into her eyes.
Do you, her dear brother, supply her place-if, as we
hope and trust, it is still to be supplied.
“But no! you can no longer do it! she is gone!
You take too much pains to comfort me, and that is
never so anxiously done, unless the loss of all earthly
hope, or the event itself, naturally force one to it. I
write this at half past three o'clock in the afternoon. I
now know that my dear wife is in Heaven! I write it
with weeping eyes, but with entire submission to the
divine will.
"M. Bullinger found us, as every one else did, in
deep affliction; I handed him your letter without say-
ing a word; he dissembled very well, and having read
it, inquired what I thought about it. I said that I
firmly believed my dear wife was no more. He almost
feared the same thing, he told me; and then, like a true
friend, entered upon consolatory topics, and said to me
everything that I had before said to myself. We fin-
ished our conversation, and our friends gradually left us
with much concern; M. Bullinger, however, remained
behind, and when we were alone, asked me whether I
believed that there was any ground for hope after such
a description of the illness as had been given. I replied,
that I not merely believed her dead by this time, but
that she was already so on the very day that the letter
was written; that I had resigned myself to the will of
God, and must remember that I have two children,
who I hoped would love me, as I lived solely and en-
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THE LIFE OF MOZART.
a man.
1
tirely for them; indeed, that I felt so certain, as to
have taken some pains to write to you, and remind you
of the consequences, &c. Upon this he said, Yes, she
is dead, and in that instant the scales fell from my
eyes; for the suddenness of the accident had prevented
my perceiving what I else should have suspected, as
soon as I had read your letter, namely, how probable
it was that you had privately communicated the real
truth to M. Bullinger. In fact, your letter stupified
me : it at first was such a blow as to render me incapa-
ble of reflection. I have now no more to say. Do not
be anxious on my account; I shall bear my sorrow like
Remember what a tenderly loving mother
you have had : now you will be able to appreciate all
her care, as in your mature years, after my death,
you will mine, with a constantly increasing affection.
If you love me, as I doubt not but you do, take care of
your health : on your life hangs mine, and the future
support of your affectionate sister. . How incompre-
hensibly bitter a thing it is when death rends asunder
a happy marriage, can only be known by experience.
Write me the whole particulars ; perhaps she lost too
little blood ? It is most certain, however, that she re-
lied too much on herself, and that the physician was
called in too late ; meanwhile, the inflammation in intes-
tinis had gained ground. Take care of your health, and
let us not be altogether miserable! Nannerl as yet
knows nothing of Bullinger's letter, but I have so pre-
pared her that she already believes she has lost her
dear mother. Write to me soon, and everything;
when she was buried, and where. Great God! that I
should have to look for the grave of my dear wife in
Paris !"
The bereaved son, alone in the great crowd of
Paris, but bearing his new and trying position with
Christian resignation, after the lapse of a few days
communicates in full the sad event to his father
and sister.
“ Paris, ce 9 Juillet, 1778.
:- MONSIEUR, MON TRÈS CHER PÈRE,
5* I hope that you are now prepared to receive with
1
THE LIPE OF MOZART.
101
firmness some intelligence of a very melancholy and dis-
tressing character; indeed, my last letter, of the 3d,
will not have encouraged you to expect anything very
favourable. On the evening of the same day (the 3d),
at twenty-one minutes after ten at night, my mother
fell happily asleep in God, and was already experiencing
the joys of heaven at the very moment that I wrote to
you. Al was over: I wrote to you in the night, and I
trust that you and my sister will pardon this slight but
very necessary artifice ; for when, after all the distress
that I had suffered, I turned my thoughts towards you,
I could not possibly persuade myself to surprise you all
at once with the dreadful and fatal news. Now, how-
ever, I hope that you have both prepared yourselves to
I
hear the worst ; and, after giving way to the reasonable
and natural impulses of your grief, to submit yourselves
at last to the will of God, and to adore his inscrutable,
unfathomable, and all-wise providence.
ܪ
*
米
​• I write this in the house of Madame d'Epinay and
M. Baron de Grimm, with whom I am now staying, and
where I have a pretty little room with a pleasant pros-
pect, and am, as far as circumstances will permit, happy.
It would be a great additional comfort were I to hear
that my dear father and sister had resigned themselves
with fortitude and submission to the will of God; trust-
ing him entirely, in the full conviction that everything is
ordered for our good. Dear father, be comforted!
Dearest sister, be comforted! you know not the kind
intentions of your brother towards you, because hith-
erto they have not been in his power to fulfil
.
"I hope that you will both be careful of your health.
Remember that you have still a son—a brother-who
-
will exert himself to the utmost for your happiness, well
knowing what sacrifices you are both ready to make for
him, and that, when the time shall come, neither of you
will oppose the fulfilment of his honourable wishes.*
Oh! then we will lead a life as peaceful and happy as
is attainable in this world; and at length, in God's time,
* He here alludes to his union with Aloysia Weber, to which
he turns as the source of consolation, for the future, nearest to his
thoughts.
11
02
162
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
meet all together again in the enjoyment of that object
for which we were created.
6 With regard to Noverre's ballet, I never mentioned
more than the probability of his composing a new one.
He has just been in want of half a ballet, to which I
have written the music; that is to say, six pieces were
by other hands: these consisted of miserable French
tunes merely; the rest, namely, the symphony and
country dances (about twelve pieces in all), were by me.
This ballet has been played four times already with
great applause. I now resolutely refuse to do anything
without stipulating the terms beforehand, for what I
have just done was out of friendship to Noverre. I have
conversed with Piccini* at the concert spirituel. When
we meet by accident, he is very polite, and I also ; but
I give myself no trouble to cultivate an acquaintance
with him, nor with any other composers; they under-
stand their affairs and I mine, which is enough. If I
should be engaged to write an opera, I shall have plenty
of annoyance; but that would not be worth mentioning,
as I am used to it, were it not for the confounded
French language, which is so detestable for music!
How wretched it is; the German is divine in compari-
son; and then the singers-indeed, it is a shame to call
them so, for they don't sing, but shriek and howl with
all their might through the throat and nose.
“I am to compose a French oratorio for the concert
spirituel against the next Lent. I am in wonderful fa-
vour with. M. le Gros, the director."
Much, however, as M. le Gros was delighted
with the symphony, which he called his best, he
thought the andante too full of modulation and too
long; and Mozart, although he held a totally dif-
ferent opinion, composed another, to pamper bim
* This celebrated musician survived both his old antagonist
Gluck, and Mozart. He returned to Paris after the Revolution,
but music being much neglected, was compelled to live in pover.
ty and seclusion. Shortly before his death he presented to the
First Consul the following memorial : “ Piccini is starving."
This
appeal did not remain unnoticed, even in that time of fierce cod-
tention; and some small provision was made for him.
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
163
a
with a fresh proof of his inexhaustible genius. In
his succeeding letters he desires to have mass said
at Maria Plain and at Loretto, as he had done at
Paris; and presents his sister, on her name-day,
with a little prelude he had composed for her. The
playfulness and readiness with which he struck
into new paths is surprising.
- This is not a pre-
lude," he writes, “merely to go from one key to
another, but a capriccio to try a piano, and espe-
cially adapted for that purpose.” His imagination
was practical in the smallest details, as well as uni-
versal.
The apprehensions of Leopold Mozart at this
juncture were not to be concealed. He saw in his
son's residence at Paris, under his present circum-
stances, a thousand nameless risks, and in his anx-
iety to rescue him from the evils he dreaded, he
appealed to his old friend the Padre Martini to
intercede on his behalf.
But the padre was not a very active friend, and,
although he entertained great admiration for Mo-
zart, he did nothing to promote his interests. The
only alternative that presented itself to Leopold
Mozart was the immediate return of his son to Salz-
burg. He could no longer bear the separation, and
he had been preparing the way by interviews with
the countess, who was very anxious that Wolfgang
should once more enter the archbishop's service.
A vacancy having occurred by the death of Lolli,
it was proposed that his salary should be bestowed
upon Leopold, who had petitioned for an increase,
“after many years of diligent and irreproachable
service," and that Adlgasser's salary should be giv-
en to Wolfgang, making altogether 1000 florins per
annum. The father announces this proposal to his
son, and urges him to accept it. The stress he lays
upon these beggarly terms is affecting, as it shows
,
164
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
1
a
a
that the family, notwithstanding their long servi-
tude at Salzburg, and the applause they had won
from crowned heads, courtiers, and popular assem-
blies, had still a hard struggle.
“If this takes place, we can rely for a certainty on
115 florins a month, at least, and, as it is at present, on
more than 120 florins a month of certain income, with-
out reckoning what I get by the sale of my violin-school,
which produces at least fifty florins a year, or what your
sister earns for herself, who has now ten florins a month
certain, out of which she clothes herself, as she instructs
the two little daughters of the countess daily, but I the
elder two. In this account, also, no reckoning is taken
of what you might make for yourself by private engage-
ments; for, though we must not count upon much of
that sort here, yet you know that, from time to time,
you have tåken something; and even in this manner
we are better off than in another place where it is
twice as dear, and we cannot so exactly rely upon the
inoney. Here, at least, we are supported."
The only difficulty he apprehends in the way of
this arrangement, by which they were to be kept
like caged birds, beating their wings in vain against
the bars, and singing for the pleasure of others, is
the archbishop's miserable parsimony. He tries
to reconcile his son to the proposal, should it be
carried out, by reminding him that he must be cel-
ebrated before he can hope to command fortune;
that there is plenty of time before him; that Gluck
.
is probably sixty, and that it is not more than six
or seven and twenty years since he first began to
be talked about: arguments which might probably
have weighed little with his correspondent, had
they not been strengthened by hopes of a still more
interesting kind.
In the next letter he tells him that, to his great
surprise, the archbishop has not only consented to
the terms, by which the son was to be concert-mas-
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
165
ter, with a salary of 500 florins, but politely ex-
pressed his regret that he could not do more, and
that whenever he wished to write an opera, he
might have leave to go; making, at the same time,
a mean excuse for denying them the journey of the
year before, by saying " that he could not endure
the wandering about on such begging expeditions."
This insulting phrase his highness thought fit to ap-
ply to the honourable tour of an artist. But the
attraction that seems to have determined the move-
ments of Wolfgang transpires in a casual sentence
of this letter. The fame of Mademoiselle Weber's
singing had reached Salzburg, and there was some
prospect of an opera there, at which she was to as-
sist by invitation of the court, and to live with the
Mozarts, whose lodgings are, fortunately, capacious
enough for her reception.
• The prince and the whole court are wonderfully
taken with Mademoiselle Weber, and are absolutely de-
termined to hear her; she will, therefore, reside with
Her father appears to me to have no head: I will
manage the matter better for them, if they will follow
my advice.
* People are always asking me here why we two
single people live in such great lodgings, for which we
must pay so dear. But I have always thought, either
I go away or you come, and in either case it must be
better; we have a stable, too, belonging to the house,
and I can keep a horse. If I like to buy a little chaise,
or Würstl, I can give the great carriage in exchange.
My next will tell you when to set off.”
The next and last letter from Salzburg contains
advice for the journey. The prudent father rec-
ommends his son to see the elector, if possible, on
his way through Munich, and to say that he had
accepted the appointment at Salzburg out of filial
regard. “Here,” says Leopold, "you may add
some 200 or 300 florins, and say your appointment
us.
ܕ
1
166
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
is 700 or 800 florins as concert-master”-a little
device that may be pardoned, in consideration of the
straits to which they were driven in making head
against the favourites of fortune. The chance of
writing an opera for Munich is pointed out. “For,"
he observes, “Schweitzer and Holzbauer will not
write every year, and even should Michl write, he
will soon be out-Michled." The archbishop, it
seems, had yielded up every point to render his
position easy and agreeable. You are not to play
6
the violin at court;" the father adds,“ but to preside
at the clavier, with the entire power of direction,
while the absolute control of the prince's music
and the inspection of the chapel-house are con-
fided to me.
With these prospects, such as they were, before
him, Wolfgang Mozart quitted Paris on the 26th
of September, 1778.
The complete failure of this expedition on one
ground after another, the uncertainty of procuring
even a bare subsistence, far less of such an appoint-
ment as he had a right to expect, must, it will be
supposed, have opened the eyes of both the father
and son to the startling truth that genius may be
too great (as well as too small) for success. And
yet it is probable that, in the change of events pro-
duced during the last few months, neither of them
dwelt much on the ill omens of their first experi-
ment, the father being engrossed with the cares
incident to his promotion at Salzburg, and the son
full of the expectation of meeting Mademoiselle
Weber under the paternal roof.
Had Mozart remained at Paris, and worked his
way (for the various pleasing and elegant things
he wrote there were not without their influence
even on the French taste of that time), it would
have been much to his personal advantage.* His
* This visit to Paris gave rise to a symphony in D for the con-
**
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
167
-
industry and genius, everywhere conspicuous,
would have been gradually appreciated and re-
warded in France; but destiny had more congenial
work in store for him than that of reforming and
ameliorating French music, work in which the
taste of Europe at large was concerned.
In the last letter received by Mozart previously
to his departure from Paris, his father advised that
he should not omit the opportunity of again offer-
ing his services to the elector at Munich. An al-
teration had occurred which gave some likelihood
of success to an application at this juncture;
it
was,
that the electorates of Mannheim and Munich were
now united, and that the fine orchestra at Mann-
heim, among whom Mozart enumerated many
friends and admirers, was consequently removed
to Munich, as, in future, the principal residence of
the government. The only effect, however, which
this had upon the composer was to bring together
the choice band who executed his “ Idomeneo,"
consisting of the picked men of the two orchestras,
and to make his sojourn at Munich during the
composition of that opera the more agreeable, by
surrounding him with his old associates.
His journey to Salzburg occupied more than
three months, a lingering one for a young man in
his situation, but capable of satisfactory explanation.
Towards the end of October he was at Stras-
burg, giving concerts, of which we have the fol-
lowing humorous account.
The first concert was
by subscription, for concert-giving was at that time
a more miserable business there than even at Salz-
burg.
cert spirituel, commonly called the French symphony to the sinfo-
nia concertante, to two quartetts for the flute, a concerto for the harp
and flute, six sonatas for the clavier, &c., besides the greater part
of a ballet which he wrote for Noverre, and several pieces of church
inusic in lieu of Holzbauer.
S
a
168
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
"I play ed entirely alone, and took no music with me,
to be sure of losing none. In brief, I made three louis
d'or; but the chief thing was the bravo and bravissimo,
which resounded on all sides; and I must inform you
that Prince Max, of Zweibrücken, honoured the room
by his presence. That every one was pleased I need
hardly say
When this was over I wished to take my leave, but
was persuaded to wait till the next Saturday, and give
a grand concert at the theatre, in which my receipts
were the same, to the amazement, the shame, and dis-
grace of Strasburg. The manager, Mr. Villeneuve,
gives the worst character to the inhabitants of this truly
abominable city: I have, indeed, made a little more ;
but the expenses of the orchestra, which was very bad,
but very dear; the lights, the printing, and the numer-
ous attendants at the entrances, caused a very heavy
deduction. However, the applauding and clapping tor-
mented my ears as much as if the theatre had been full.
Every one present loudly and publicly complained of the
negligence of their town's folk; and I frankly told them
that, if I could rationally have expected to meet so mea-
ger an audience, I should much rather have given the
concert gratis, for the mere pleasure of seeing the the-
atre filled-indeed, I should have preferred to do so ;
-
;
for, upon my honour, nothing is more melancholy than
to see a grand entertainment of eighty covers and only
three persons to dinner-and then it was so cold! I,
however, soon warmed myself; and, to show Messieurs
the Strasburgers that I did not take the thing to heart,
I played a good deal for my own amusement*—a con-
certo more than I promised-and, at last, for a long
time, out of my head. That is now over;. and I have,
at least, won honour and reputation."
During all this time dramatic music was gradu-
ally gaining the ascendency in his imagination; and
as he felt the increase of his powers in that depart-
* Handel exhibited kindred sentiments on similar occasions,
when he found a thin attendance at his oratorios; he is said to
bave comforted himself with the observation, “Never mind--the
music will sound the better!'*
THE LIFE OF MOZART,
169
's
.
ment, he prepared to abandon models and author-
ities, and to give a new aspect to the lyric stage.
The eagerness and enthusiasm with which he de-
votes himself to this subject are characteristically
portrayed in a letter to his father, dated
“ Mannheim, November 12, 1778.
-
“ I reached this place safely on the 6th, and gave all
my kind friends a very agreeable surprise. I may, per-
haps, make forty louis d'or here, but shall be obliged to
stay six weeks, or, at longest, two months. Seiler's
company, which is known to you by reputation, is now
at Mannheim. : M. von Dallberg is the director of it,
and he will not let me off till I have written a duodrama
for him. To confess the truth, I did not long hesitate
in complying, for this is a sort of drama that I have al-
ways been wishing to compose. I forget whether I
wrote you any description of this kind of piece when I
was here the first time, having, on that occasion, twice
witnessed the performance of one with the greatest pleas-
ure. Nothing, in fact, ever so much surprised me, for I
had always fancied that no effect could thus be produced.
You are aware that nothing is sung, but that declama-
tion is substituted for singing. The music is like that .
to an accompanied recitative, having now and then be-
tween its phrases a sentence
spoken, which produces
the most magnificent effect. The one I saw was "Me-
dea,' by Benda; but there is another by the same,
· Ariadne in Naxos, both of them truly excellent. You
know that, of all the Lutheran Kapellmeisters, Benda
has ever been my favourite ; and in these works I take
such delight that I always carry them about with me.
Fancy my happiness in now having that to compose for
which I have constantly been longing. I will tell you
an opinion of mine, that the greater part of the recita-
tives in operas should be treated in this manner, and
only sung when the words are well adapted to musical
expression. They have established here an amateur
musical society like that at Paris. M. Franzl is the
leader, and I am just now writing, on that account, a
double concerto, for clavier and violin.*
* This concerto was never completed. It proceeded somewhat
P
170
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
.
The duodrama here alluded to is “Semiramis,"
which, it is to be feared, has been irrecoverably
lost. He wrote it without pay, out of regard for
M. von Gemmingen, the author of the libretto, and
for his own pleasure.
From Mannheim he proceeded by way of Kay-
sersheim, instead of Stuttgard, as he originally in-
tended, changing his course in consequence of trav-
elling in company with the bishop of that place,
who was much gratified with his society. On
Christmas day he reached Munich, from whence:
he wrote abrupt notes, simply indicating that he
had seen the electress, presented her with his so-
natas, and had a gracious reception, and that he con-
trived to have her informed of his intention to set
off in a few days, in order that he might be speed-
ily furnished forth.
The flurry of these brief notes, and his sudden
willingness, after lingering so long upon the road,
to return homeward, may be easily accounted for.
He had no sooner reached Munich than he hast-
ened to the house of the Webers, who were set-
tled there with the rest of the Mannheim musi-
cians.
The father of the young Aloysia had witnessed
Mozart's attachment to his daughter with peculiar
satisfaction, believing that the union of such a com-
poser and such a singer could not but be prosper-
ous; and Leopold Mozart, from his readiness in
informing his son, as an additional motive for him
to leave Paris, that Mademoiselle Weber was en-
gaged to sing at the concerts of the archbishop, ap-
beyond a hundred bars, and then, in the multiplicity of avocations
with which he was surrounded during the few weeks of his stay,
was thrown aside. This fragment, which will be found in the
catalogue of his unfinished pieces, is described by the Abbé Stad-
ler as promising a work of greater beauty in its kind than any he
had yet produced.
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
171
pears to have been thoroughly cognizant of the re-
ſation in which the parties mutually stood. How-
ever, none of these expectations were to be fulfill-
ed, for an old and sufficient reason, the inconstancy
of womankind.
As Mozart entered the apartment of his mistress,
he found her with altered inclinations ; she seem-
ed scarcely to know him from whom she had part-
ed as lovers part—with tears. Some eyewitness
of the scene has rendered it graphic, by recollec-
tions of the personal appearance of the composer,
who was now in mourning for his mother, and
dressed after the Parisian fashion, in a red coat
with black buttons. Perceiving the change that
had taken place, he immediately sat down to the
clavier, and sang aloud, “ Ich lass das Madël gern,
das mich nicht will," expressing his readiness to re-
sign a girl who did not love him, either in an ex-
tempore composition, or in a song very happily se-
lected. He now turned his attentions towards her
younger sister, Constance; and, during the time
that the family of the Webers spent at Salzburg
in 1779 (in the course of which the elder made her
first appearance on the stage of the Munich Opera),
found many opportunities to cultivate the good
opinion of one who better understood him, and was
more fitted to partake his fortúnes. From this
time Constance Weber became his pupil in piano-
forte playing, and he instructed her with pleasure.
Their acquaintance was renewed at Vienna, ripen-
ed into a mutual attachment, and ended, as we shall
see by-and-by, in marriage.*
Aloysia Weber eventually married a tragedian named Lange;
a union which proved so unfortunate, that it was the town-talk of
Vienna. Her greatest success as a prima donna on the theatres of
the Continent, at Hamburg, Amsterdam, &c., took place after Mo-
zart's death ; and to this success his admirable compositions for
her mainly conduced. Conversing on the subject of her youthful
i
172
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
Whether his father had any reason to suspect
the turn which this affair had taken, or that he had
merely lost patience at the long time which this
journey from Paris had consumed, must be left to
speculation ; but, finding that his son had fixed no
specific time for leaving Munich, he wrote to him
on the 11th of January, 1779, commanding his im-
mediate return in more decisive terms than he had
ever before employed.
** You will have perceived from the letter which I
sent on the 7th to M. Becke, which contained a mes-
sage to M. Gschwender and one to yourself, that it is
my desire that you prepare to set off in company with
M. Gschwender according to my request to him in that
letter. I desire that you embrace this opportunity
without fail, and as he departs earlier than Madame
Robinnig, that you make all necessary arrangements for
that purpose, if you do not wish to give me very serious
offence. I hope, however, that, from the instructions
contained in my letter of the 7th, you have so ordered
your affairs as to have nothing to detain you; that you
can send the superfluity of your luggage by the dili-
gence on the 13th, and set off with M. Gschwender, for
that is a favour which he certainly cannot refuse. The
present from the electress cannot possibly detain you;
for, as the sonatas were presented on the 7th, every.
thing, with ordinary attention, must be ready in a week.
There can be no excuse; you have seen the opera,
consequently have done all that you wished."
That Mozart expected little from the new scheme
of life laid down for him at Salzburg, or the terms
conceded to him by the archbishop, and that he loi-
tered on the road in the vague hope that something
might turn up to give a new direction to his future
plans, is clear enough, But matters had now un-
rejection of Mozart, some years since at Vienna, with a friend of
the author's, Madame Lange observed that she knew nothing of
the greatness of his genius--she saw him only as a little man.
Her subsequent regrets in some measure atoned for the levity with
which she treated him.
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
173
dergone an unexpected change, sufficient to deter-
mine him, at least, for the present, and he rejoined
his father about the middle of January, 1779.
PART FOURTH.
HIS MANHOOD.
THE Court Calendar of Salzburg for 1799 and
the year following records the name of Mozart as
Court and Cathedral organist. Thus, after having
rejected with contempt the offer made to him at
Versailles, we find him holding a similar appoint-
ment in a place of far less consideration under the
authority of that archbishop who had been through-
out, in some sort, his evil genius. Nor had time
diminished the force of this malignant influence, or
soothed the sense of animosity at either side. A
short connexion with Salzburg and its affairs re-
opened all the old wounds.
Soon after his return, he renewed his acquaint-
ance with the family of the Webers, the eldest
daughter of which, as has been mentioned, was
now singing at the concerts of the archbishop, and
formed his first particular intimacy with her sister
Constance, his future wife. His opportunities of en-
joying this pleasant intercourse could not, however,
have lasted more than a few months, as the family
soon left to attend the début of Aloysia Weber on
the stage at Munich, and were afterward travelling
in various parts of Germany.
The first work of importance he now produced
at Salzburg was a mass* which, judging from the
* No. 1 of the English edition of the Masses. To the original
score, as generally known to our musicians, Mozart added an ap-
pendix, containing accompaniments for two horns and three trom-
bones. The date of the work is March 23, 1779.
*
P 2
174
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
style of the composition, was designed for a high
festival of the Church, and the date renders it prob-
able that it was produced at the Cathedral on East-
er Sunday. This elevated and truly admirable
composition announces the great career of Mozart
as symphonist and dramatic musician. He seems
to have seized the occasion to gratify and astonish
the whole of the music-corps of the city, and not
even to have forgotten the archbishop, who liked a
pompous style and to hear the trumpets. The
soprano solo was doubtless intended for the We-
ber; and we may conceive the emotions of the
other composers and artists at the energetic and
fiery Credo. What an advance in his genius with-
.
in a few months! Some of the symphonies he
produced for the court this year appear, by their
beginnings, to be well worth knowing. In others
he probably pleased himself less; for in August
we find him engaged in a third symphony, which,
from its singular plan and abundant solos, must
have been destined rather to surprise and amuse,
than to develop the higher qualities of instrumental
music.*
Indeed, it would seem that he was soon thrall to
the court taste, and compelled to produce once more
* The existence of this curiosity among the symphonies of Mo-
zart is so imperfectly known to the musical public, that some de-
scription of its plan may not be unwelcome. It consists of eight
movements. The trio to the first minuet has obligato parts for a
flute and bassoon, both which have concerto passages. The
fourth movement is a concertante, in which all the wind instru-
ments, including the trumpet, are obligato in turn, and have each
a cadence. The fifth movement is a rondo, in which the two
flutes and the two oboes are obligati. To this succeeds an andan-
tino, in the form of an entracte, and then a second minuet, follow.
ed by two trios, of which the second has an obligato posthorn!
The score of this production, which has been partially published,
discovers so few traces of Mozart worthy of the epoch of" Zaïde,"
“Idomeneo," and the grand mass in C, that it is with difficulty
referred to the same period, notwithstanding the date and auto-
graph of the composer.
a
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
175
i.
under restrictions that must have been deeply mor-
tifying; for how could this mighty and impassioned
genius condescend to purposes of mere amusement,
or suspend its nobler speculations and projects, to
become the puppet of triflers ? To increase his
dissatisfaction, he had the almost undivided task of
producing novelties for the court of Salzburg, Mi-
chael Haydn and every other composer on the es-
tablishment being seldom called upon for anything
while young Mozart was at hand.
.
The hours which he was enabled to devote to
meditation and self-improvement were principally
employed on the musical drama; and the transform-
ation of style and independence of models which
have been justly thought to characterize “ Idome-
neo,” and to stamp it with the maturity of the mas-
ter, were now in active progress. That the opera
of“ Zaïde,” though the MS. is without date, was
the preparatory step to “Idomeneo," and a study
,
in dramatic composition made at this period, seems
collaterally proved by facts, as well as borne out
by its internal evidences of prodigal invention of
the exuberant mind rejoicing and luxuriating in its
new creations, and scarcely knowing when or where
to stop. Soliloquies, interrupted at times by strains
of music responsive to the situation or passion, in
the manner of recitative, form a feature of “ Zaïde;"
and it is plain, from the minute description of this
kind of composition given by Mozart in letters to
his father, that he had never employed his pen upon
it until, on returning from Paris, the accidental
hearing of Benda's " Ariadne in Naxos” inflamed
his ambition, by discovering new truths and fresh
modes of expression in his art. Again, there is a
connexion between the opera of “ Žaïde” and that
of "Die Entführung aus dem Serail," produced by
bim a few years afterward at Vienna, which shows
176
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
.
that the former could not have been long dismissed
from his mind.* The dramatic business is similar
in both; and it is remarkable that the theme of the
last quartett in “Zaïde" is introduced as a middle
phrase in one of the most beautiful songs in “ Die
Entführung." Among the inducements to leave
Paris enumerated by his father, some slight musi-
cal dramatic performances to take place at Salz-
burg form one. This certainly furnishes a conjec-
ture as to the origin of “ Zaïde."
To account for the sudden perfection of that
most important branch of the lyric drama, accompa-
nied recitative, as exhibited in “ Idomeneo," would
be difficult, were no intervening studies to be found;
but, putting “ Semiramis” out of the question, the
melodramatic part of “ Zaïde" alone, viewed in
connexion with certain letters of Mozart, which
exhibit the close observer of dramatic propriety in
action and declamation, may easily suggest what
improvements such a master of instrumental music
would bring to the previous attempts of Benda
and Gluck. Every onward step of the composer
throughout his youth shows his respect for antiqui-
ty, and progress so well calculated naturally be-
came solid and assured. Mozart was the same
man even in the sudden transition to “ Idomeneo:"
he only saw with more vivacity what was to be
done, and the extent of his power to accomplish it
.
Since this time the lyric drama has seen many
in-
* M. Fétis conjectures that " Zaïde" was the opera for which
Mozart entered into treaty with a Venetian manager in 1773; a
treaty, by the way, which never reached completion. But the
original German libretto, omitting all considerations of the matu-
rity of the style of the music, is decisive against its having been
written for Venice at the period supposed. See " Biog. Univ. des
Musicians," art. Mozart.
+ The passage in question appears in the pathetic air, in G mi-
nor, “ Traurigkeit ward mir zum loose. It is first recognised as
& symphony, though in altered notation 4 instead of f.
.
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
177
.
*
gy.
novators, whose career only proves that originality,
to have permanent influence, must not be the growth
of wayward impulse or the sudden ambition of no-
toriety, but of calm and deliberate mental power.
Towards the winter of 1780, Mozart received
from the Elector of Bavaria an engagement to com-
pose the opera seria for the ensuing Carnival. “Ido-
meneo," the subject selected for this occasion, is an
echo of the Greek drama; and the libretto was ar-
ranged so as to produce the greatest effects of the
grand opera, through the colouring of heroical
times, scenes, situations, and the classical mytholo-
The author of the text of this work was the
Abbate Varésco; a resident at Salzburg and friend
of his father. Having wrung from the archbishop
his slow consent to profit by the joyful opportunity
of distinction now offered, he engaged in the work,
and completed it with a rapidity which, consider-
ing its extent, beauty, and classical purity of style,
is truly amazing. He quitted Salzburg on the 6th
of November, 1780; but few, if any, of the impor-
tant parts of the music could have been written at
this time, as he was not yet aware who were to be
the singers. They proved, in the event, a motley
set, from whom no great effects of combination
were to be elicited. Among them were Raff, the
septagenarian tenor; Del Prato, a broken-down
musico, who had never before appeared on the stage;
and the two daughters of Wendling the flute-play-
On the other hand, there was a chorus, and an
* The story of this opera is a new version of Jephthah's “ Rash
Vow.” Idomeneo, a king of Crete, in danger of perishing in a
storm at sea, propitiates the angry Neptune by promising to sac-
rifice to him the first object he may meet, if permitted to land. It
is his son Idamante. Endeavouring to escape, the victim is stop-
ped by prodigious appearances, and the wretched father, and the
despairing mistress, llia, are moving towards the sacrifice, when
they are interrupted by the oracle, which deposes Idomeneo, and
places Idamante and Ilia on the throne of Crete,
er.
12
178
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
ti
orchestra--perhaps the most extraordinary in Eu-
rope—abounding in artists of the highest talent as
solo players. If therefore compelled to shun con-
certed music for the principal vocalists, he could
freely follow the bent of his fancy with respect to
the instruments; and of this privilege he memora-
bly availed himself.
There is nothing which gives a more lively idea
of Mozart, of the glowing animation and spiritual-
ity of his nature, than “Idomeneo," written in the
bloom of his life, at five-and-twenty years of age.*
Youthful fire and invention were never so happily
tempered with consummate experience. To con-
ceive the enthusiasm manifested at Munich, we are
to think of its musical condition: of artists who had
brought tone and facility of execution upon their
instruments to great perfection, but to whom the
mind that animates the mass was wanting; who
could not ordinarily get beyond such music as that
of Holzbauer, and a routine of novelties that left the
art where they found it. In“Idomeneo” they were
awakened by the magic touch of genius to a new
life in their art; they found themselves discoursing
in an unheard and rapturous language, and the ef-
fect upon them was one of intoxication and enchant-
ment. Even Mozart himself may have been some-
what surprised at what he had here accomplished,
though he had put his utmost force into a work
produced with eagerness and exaltation of fancy,
and with the enjoyment of his labours in no very
distant prospect. His letter, with intelligence of
* The author of the lives of “Haydn and Mozart,” in a note
"
upon “Idomeneo,” p. 370, asserts that the composer was at this
time deeply enamorired of Mademoiselle Constance Weber, and
that his attachment to her "supplied him with the subjects of the
impassioned airs which his work required." The whole note is
erroneous, and properly refers to the composition of a subsequent
opera, “ Die Entführung aus dem Serail,”
a
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
179
.
his arrival at Munich, is dated Nov. 9. After giv-
ing a few hours to the joyful greetings of the friends
by whom he was here surrounded, he begins his
preparations for the opera. He describes our old
acquaintance, Count Seau, of Munich, as now thor-
oughly intimate with the Mannheim orchestra, or, in
his own characteristic phrase, they are “ like melted
wax." His first business with the count concerned
the libretto, which was to be printed at Munich,
and still wanted alterations and abbreviations of the
recitative. These matters arranged, we may ob-
serve him in every stage of the progress of his op-
era, until its final production, sustaining some new
duty. He is composer; teacher of the singers,
the orchestra, and the chorus; he plans the action
and the stage effects; he speculates upon the de-
sires and tastes of his audience; and exhibits per-
fect confidence in his judgment on the lyric drama.
But he is in nothing more instructive than as the
critic of a libretto.
“I have now a request to the abbate. I wish to
have the air of Ilia in the second scene of the second
act somewhat altered, to suit a particular purpose, Se
il padre perdei, in te lo ritrovo : this strophe could not
be better; but it is followed by what always appeared
to me in an air unnatural, namely, the speaking aside.
In dialogue such things are proper enough; a little sen-
tence aside is quickly delivered, but in an air in which
the words have to be repeated it produces a bad effect.
Were, however, this not the case, my object in this ect.
requires a purely flowing, natural air, in which, not being
so much tied to the words, I could easily wander at
will; for we have settled here to have an aria andan-
tino concerted with four obligato wind instruments
flauto, oboe, corno, and fagotto, and this I request to
have as soon as possible.* The beginning may remain
if he pleases, for it is charming.
* The air, in E fiat, “Se il padre perdei,” is here referred to
It is, I believe, the first specimen in the musical drama of an air
a
180
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
ter;
- Now for a vexation. I certainly have not the hon-
I
our of knowing the hero Del Prato, but, according to
the accounts I receive of him, Ceccarelli* is almost bet.
for he is often quite out of breath in the middle of
an air, and, moreover, never yet appeared on the stage;
and Raff is a statue. Just fancy now the scene in the
first act.
" As good news, I have to inform you that Mademoi-
selle Dorothea Wendling is with her scena-contentis-
sima, and made me play it to her three times success-
ively."
The libretto arrived piecemeal from Salzburg,
with the father's warmest sympathy in the under-
taking. Leopold Mozart seems desirous to gratify
Count Seau by attributing the corrections rather to
his criticisms than the suggestions of his son. That
he hoped much from this first opportunity of the
exhibition of his son's genius by the famous Munich
and Mannheim orchestra, aware of the surprise
which it would occasion, and the honour he would
gain, is evident. His letter concludes :
• What you write concerning the singers is melan-
choly; the main interest must be thrown,
consequently,
into the composition itself. That I am as delighted as a
child at the idea of the admirable orchestra you may
easily suppose. I wish that I may soon be able to join
you."
The first week passes without any particular ap-
plication to the composition of the opera. Mozart
dines with his friends Cannabich, Quaglio, and Le-
grand the ballet-master, and they converse over
the project at their ease. He speaks of having
been introduced by Cannabich into the family of a
Countess Baumgarten, who proves a most valuable
concerted with wind instruments. We may imagine the pleasure
he had in writing it to gratify four particular friends, and especially
the warm-hearted and enthusiastic Wendling.
* An Italian singer-a musico-belonging to the household of
the Archbishop of Salzburg.
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
181
...
connexion ; and he attributes what appear to be
his present favourable prospects to her influence.
But he has time to think of other matters besides
his opera. Not content with what he had formerly
written at Munich for the Church, he is desirous
that the latest productions of his pen in that style
should be known, and hopes to recommend himself
through them to the patronage of the court.
· Be so good as to send me the scores of the two
masses that I have with me, and the mass in B major
likewise."
We see the humour of the master, and his con-
scious power in a slight touch, characteristic of the
commonplace church music of the period. He
writes :
" I have just heard a mass by one Grua; of this sort
of thing one might easily compose half a dozen a day."
But his mode of working at his opera is particu-
larly instructive. Having omitted the second duet,
he assigns as a reason:
“If you consider the scene, you will observe that an
air or duet renders it feeble and cold, as well as very
tiresome to the other actors, who must be standing by at
this place; the magnanimous contest, also, between Ilia
and Idamante would be too prolonged, and consequently
lose all its interest."
Another task, which demanded the nicest dex-
terity, was to adapt his airs to the powers of the
singers. In performing this, we see that he was
obliging and kind-hearted :
" Another alteration must now be made, for which
Raff is to blame. He is, however, in the right, and,
were it otherwise, one must do something to please his
gray hairs."
Raff, though enjoying a sort of " latter spring"
of life, had a feeble tone, and, as has been already
observed, was unable to sustain notes of any length.
182
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
His airs were therefore to be so constructed as to
allow him breathing time; to exhibit what he could
yet do in the bravura style, and even here and there
in the cadence; while the orchestra was to confer
a dignity on the composition which was totally be-
yond the ability of the singer. We shall see how
compassionately Mozart helped him over his diffi-
culties; not neglecting, however, to turn what was
inevitable to the profit of the opera:
- In the last scene of the second act Idomeneo (Raff)
has an air, or, rather, a sort of cavatina, between the
choruses; it will be better to substitute for this a mere
recitative, between which the orchestra can be effect-
ively employed; for in this scene, which, on account
of the action and grouping, we have planned with Le-
grand, will be the most beautiful of the opera. There
will be such noise and confusion on the stage that an air
would make but an indifferent figure; besides, it is to
thunder, and that will never be heard if Raff sings. A
recitative between the choruses will be decidedly bet-
Lisetta Wendling has repeatedly sung her two
airs through, and is much pleased with them. I have
it from a third hand that both the Wendlings, Dorothea
and Lisetta, have highly praised their songs. Raff is
my excellent attached friend. I shall, however, have
to teach my molto amato castrato del Prato the whole
opera through, as he has no notion of studying an air
worthy the name, and has an unequal voice.
"I had almost forgotten my best news. Last Sun-
day, after service, Count Seau presented me en passant
to the elector, who kindly said to me, · I am glad to see
you here once more.' And on my answering that I
would use my best exertions for the satisfaction of his
highness, he tapped me on the shoulder, and said, “Oh,
I have not the least doubt that the whole will go off
perfectly well.'"
From another passage in Mozart's correspond-
ence we gather a more accurate idea of the tal-
ents of Signor del Prato. His singing is described
ter,
6
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
183
a
а.
as being like that of the best of the boys, who from
time to time present themselves as candidates for
admission into the Cathedral choir at Salzburg! It
surely required all the skill of the composer to
manage such materials.
In the mean time, Schickaneder,* the manager
of a theatre at Vienna, had been to Salzburg, and
being desirous of a certain song by Mozart, had en-
gaged the father to write to his son at Munich to
compose it. This work he despatches at once,
scarcely missing the time on "Idomeneo." He
"
sends home the air with these words :
* Be under no apprehension, dearest father, about
my opera, as I trust it will have complete success.
There may be some slight cabal, but it will
, in all proba-
bility, only prove matter of laughter, as I have not only
all the most distinguished and powerful families of the
nobility in my interest, but all the principal musicians,
Cannabich especially."
His first idea was to treat the scene in which the
oracle speaks at some length, youthful enthusiasm
naturally inducing him to protract a fine situa-
tion; but he afterward altered his plan on critical
grounds.
do you not think the discourse of the sub-
terranean voice too long ? Consider it rightly. Imagine
the theatre; the voice must be terrible--it must raise a
shudder in the audience, who are to think it real; but
how can such an effect be produced when, through its
long speaking, the hearers are more and more convinced
of its unreality? If the ghost in Hamlet spoke less, the
effect would be heightened. This part may be easily
shortened, and with gain rather than with loss.”+
* This manager afterward appears in Mozart's history in a very
unfavourable light.
+ In fact, thus it stands in the score, though the original scene
is also given with its majestic modulations and solemn chorus of
brass instruments. Having concentrated, in a very brief passage,
all that was necessary to the immediate effect upon the audience,
he cut off at once what might have better pleased him as a musi-
bi Tell me,
cian.
184
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
He then quits the wide fields of imagination to
descend to the minutiæ of the practical; or per-
haps it might be better said that his genius, com-
prehending the entire domain of art, found even in
trivial mechanical details means to excite the im-
agination. Desiring to produce the effect of a dis-
tant march, he writes :
- I now require for the march in the second act,
which is first heard in the distance, some sordini for
trumpets and horns, of which there are none here.
Send me some by the next diligence, that I may get
others made from them."
It is curious that the mutes which soften the tone
of brass instruments were not possessed at this
time by the first orchestra in Germany, though they
were familiar to Mozart and the Salzburg musi-
cians. We detect in this slight circumstance the
effect which the master mind of the composer had
upon the musical improvement of his native city.
Before the end of the month, the first rehearsal
took place with all the wind instruments, but only
six violins--one lady and gentleman being the au-
dience. He anticipated the effect of his music, and
went to the rehearsal, he tells his father, as much
at his ease as if he had been invited to a feast.*
The first impression produced by “Idomeneo"
merits preservation. Count Seinsheim, one of the
two listeners, said, “I assure you that, though I
expected much from you, this I really did not ex-
pect.” Now for the musicians :
- On reaching home with Cannabich after the re-
hearsal—for there was still much to settle and talk over
with the count-Madame Cannabich met me at the
* Mozart seems to have a fondness for this image as represent-
ing the enjoyment attending a good musical performance, and the
first hearing of a fine composition in particular. We may recol-
lect he uses it at the Strasburg concert, “a.grand entertainment
of eighty covers."
а
a
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
185
+
door and embraced me with delight at my success; and
. then Ramm (oboe) and Lange (horn) came in half cra-
zy. Ramm, whom, if you knew him, you would call a
true German, his face does in such a manner express
everything that he thinks said to me, I must own
that I never yet heard any music that made such an
impression upon me, and I assure you that I have
thought of your father fifty times at least, and of the
delight that he will have in hearing this opera. But
enough of this.
“My cough has become somewhat worse at the re-
hearsal. When fame and honour are the stake, one
easily overheats one's-self in playing for them, however
coolly one may at first set to work. Raff called upon
me again yesterday to hear his air in the second act.
He is as much enamoured of his song as a young and
ardent man of his lady-love, for he sings it before he
goes to sleep at night, and the first thing when he awakes
in the morning. He told Baron Vieregg, the principal
equerry, · Hitherto I have been always obliged to alter
the parts written for me, the recitatives as well as the
airs, but now everything remains as it was written-
there is not a single note out of my compass.'
In addition to the favourable report of the opera
which Leopold Mozart received from his son, its
fame reached him indirectly through certain musi-
cians of the Salzburg orchestra, who corresponded
with their brethren of Munich. “I cannot sup-
pose,” he writes, “ that these are compliments, for
I know your work, and am perfectly convinced
that, if properly performed, it must have its effect.”'
Becke ħad written that the music brought tears into
his eyes, and the general opinion was, that it was
the most beautiful music ever heard. But the
father wished a splendid success, and tenders a lit-
tle impracticable advice on the occasion.
“ Consider that for every dozen real connoisseurs
there are a hundred wholly ignorant; therefore do
not overlook the popular in your style of composi-
>
Q2
186
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
tion, and forget to tickle the long ears. To this
the composer replies: “Don't be apprehensive re-
specting the pleasure of the crowd; there will be
music for all sorts of people in my opera, but noth-
ing for long ears."
The next inquiry from Salzburg concerns the
score" Will it not be copied? You must be
careful on this point. For such payment as you
receive the score cannot be given up.” Mozart
replies with frankness : "Concerning my property
in the score there was no need for mystery, so I
opened the matter at once to the count, and find
that it was always the practice at Mannheim, where
a composer was well paid, to return the original
work to him."
This inquiry respecting a matter of business
touchés a jarring string; he recalls his existence at
Salzburg, and breaks out with warmth :
“How goes on the archbishop? Next Monday. I
shall have been absent from Salzburg six weeks. You
know, my dear father, that it is only my love to you
that keeps me at Salzburg, for, by Heaven! if it rested
with me, I would have torn up my appointment and re-
linquished my situation before I came away. I assure
you, upon my honour, that, though I have no dislike to
Salzburg itself, its prince and proud nobility become
daily more and more insupportable to me, and I shall
,
therefore, look forward with pleasure to a letter which
may inform me that my services are no longer required.
The distinguished patronage I have here would well
supply both my present and future wants, to say no-
thing of what might accrue by deaths, for which no-
body can wait--and yet these are no disadvantage to an
unemployed man.
" Come to Munich soon and hear my opera, and then
tell if I have cause to be unhappy when I think of Salz-
burg; for you know how difficult it was to get away
this time, and that, unless upon some great occasion, &
journey cannot be thought of. It is enough to make
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
187
one cry to think upon the subject. But, out of love to
you, anything in the world.”
The rehearsals went on with energy during the
whole month of December; and when the second
act was ready, the performers removed from a
small apartment at Count Seau's to a large one in
the palace, where the elector was to be a listener
incognito in a chamber adjoining, and they were,
as the musicians phrased it, to rehearse for life and
death. Mozart was, as usual, long beforehand
with the copyist and musicians, and he gives us the
following picture of his feelings on the completion
of an opera:
“It is a pleasant thing, though, is it not? when one
at last comes to the end of a long and laborious work,
and quits it with fame and reputation, as is almost my
case, for there remain now only three airs and the final
chorus in the last act, the overture and the ballet-et
adieu partie !"
The musicians at Salzburg were, meanwhile, col-
lecting in little knots to enjoy the news of Mozart's
success, which, indeed, formed the general sub-
ject of conversation throughout the city. Michael
Haydn, Brunetti, Hafeneder, and others, had listen-
ed with great pleasure to the account of the opera
sent by M. Esser, a solo violin player, who was
now on a tour, and had followed Mozart to Mu-
nich. In confirmation of this opinion came another
letter to Fiala,* describing the storm chorus in the
second act as of so powerful an effect, that " no one
could hear it in the greatest heat of summer with-
out feeling cold as ice.”+
* Fiala was one of the most celebrated oboe players of the eigh-
teenth century. Being in his youth unable to procure a living by
the instrument he had selected, he entered the service of a Saxon
nobleman, in which situation he perfected his execution, and then
set out on his travels. He at length engaged in the orchestra of
the Archbishop of Salzburg, where he was much admired. He
was still living in 1811.
† The chorus in D minor, Corriamo, fuggiano.
a
a
188
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
.
Leopold Mozart receives these accounts as fa-
vourable omens of the success of the third act, and
he less fears any falling off in the interest of the
work in that part, as the greatest situations occur
there. He doubts not but it will be Finis coronat
opus. At the same time he sends some advice,
which exhibits his sagacity both as a musician and
man of the world.
“Endeavour only to keep the orchestra in good hu-
mour, and by flattery and praises to incline them to serve
you, as I know your way of writing, that it requires
the most unusual attention from every instrument; and
it is really no joke when the attention and diligence of
an orchestra are thus kept upon the stretch during three
hours at least. Every one, nay, even the most wretch-
ed tenor player himself, has a lively pleasure in being
complimented tete-à-tete, and will
, in consequence, be-
come so much the more zealous and attentive; and such
a civility costs you no more than a word or two. How-
ever, all this you know as well as I, and I now only
mention it because the rehearsals do not always afford
an opportunity for it, and then it is forgotten; while, as
soon as the opera is on the stage, you will want the
friendship and zeal of the entire orchestra. It is then
that the attention of every individual player must be
exerted to the utmost.
- You know that one cannot expect all to be our
friends. A doubt-an if or a but-must sometimes be
intermixed. It was doubted whether the second act
would prove as original and excellent as the first. Now
that doubt is removed, there will be some few more who
will be doubting about the third act; but I will wager
my head that there will be some who doubt this,
wħether, when the work is brought upon the stage, the
music will have as much effect as it had in the chamber
rehearsals ? For this reason, the entire zeal and good
will of the orchestra is necessary.
The musicians lost no interest in the progress of
the third act. Recitative rehearsals were held at
Wendling's, where the trouble Mozart had to get
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
189
.
Del Prato through the quartett Andrò ramingo was
very great; șix times in succession this piece was
tried before it would go even tolerably. These
difficulties were followed by others during the stage
rehearsals, in which the composer's wishes were
frequently opposed, notwithstanding the responsi-
bility attached to his arduous work. He met these
embarrassments in a characteristic manner.
Among various minor disputes," he writes, “ in
which I have been obliged to engage, I have had a vio-
lent altercation with Count Seau respecting the trom-
bones. I call it violent, because I was obliged to lose
my temper before I could carry my point."*
Towards the middle of January, 1781, “ Idome-
neo" was quite ready; still Mozart was glad at its
postponement for one or two weeks, for the sake
of more careful rehearsals. Expectation of the
first night was wrought to the highest pitch. The
composer had not only brought the third act of his
work to the climax desired by his father and him-
self, but, in addition to his other labour, had com-
posed the divertissement, which occupied the place
of a ballet, the more readily, that the music might
be entirely by one master. He had hoped that the
first performance would take place upon his birth-
day, by which time his father and sister would have
arrived from Salzburg to partake his pleasure ; but
in this he was disappointed. The elector fixed the
29th of January, on which occasion the accustomed
audience of the Munich opera was increased by a
* This passage affords a curious illustration of the composer's
general equanimity and mildness of manner. To be angry on this
occasion was a duty which he owed to his art. It may be well to
compare this, and a few ebullitions of the like kind, on the sub-
ject of music dispersed here and there in the course of his life,
with the testimony of his sister-in-law, Sophie, as to his general
tone and temper in domestic intercourse." She had never seen
him angry.
190
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
year. *
a
concourse of people from Salzburg, desirous of
hearing the wonderful composition of their towns-
man. Each successive representation received im-
mense applause, and the triumph of the composer
was complete.
With this work, the most important in its influ-
ence on music, Mozart crowned his twenty-fifth
The score is still a picture to the musician.
It exhibits consummate knowledge of the theatre,
displayed in an opera of the first magnitude and
complexity; which unites to a great orchestra the
effects of a double chorus on the stage and behind
the scenes, and introduces marches, processions,
and dances to various accompaniments in the or-
chestra, behind the scenes or under the stage.
This model opera, in which Mozart rises on the
wing from one beauty to another through long acts,
was completed, as we have seen, within a few
weeks, and ever since has defied the scrutiny of
musicians to detect in it the slightest negligence
of style.
The impassioned melancholy which pervades the
music in the first air of Ilia; in the meeting of the
father and the son, when the consequences of the
vow are evident; and in the scene between Ilia
and Idamante in the third act, when they are con-
* M. Fétis considers “ Idomeneo" as the basis of all the music
of our day. After remarking on the new disposal of the instru-
ments of a grand orchestra in the overture to “ Idomeneo," he
proceeds thus: “To prove that all these inventions really belong
to Mozart, it is only necessary to recollect that, in 1780, when
· Idomeneo' was composed, Haydn had neither written his six
symphonies for the Duke of Wurtemburg, nor those for the Loge
Olympique, which are of the date of 1784, nor the Seven last
Words, nor, lastly, his twelve symphonies for Salomon's con-
certs, which did not see the day till 1792. In these last works
alone the illustrious symphonist employed all the resources of the
orchestra previously to writing the Creation.” From an essay
entitled “ Mozart, ses (Euvres, son Influence sur l'Art et les Ar-
tistes."
6
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
191
::
tending which shall die, is still entirely unscathed
by time.* Expression is wonderfully heightened
throughout these scenes by peculiar accents of the
instruments, by the doubling and thickening of the
parts as the situation warms, and a magnificent ef-
fect of harmony, which musicians call the “inverted
pedal.” The poetry of these mechanical means
Mozart was the first to exemplify in effects which
are still modern; and the only indications of an
antique style which “Idomeneo" bears are in a
few airs, in which, to gratify the singers, he per-
mitted the accustomed cadence to remain. While
solemnity is the prominent characteristic of “Ido-
meneo," the scenes of that opera have many chan-
ges admirably planned for relief and variety of
character.
The chorus of mariners at the port of Sidon,
"Placido è il mar," and the opening of the third
act in the royal garden, where Ilia walks and in-
troduces the beautiful air to the Zephyrs, have a
calm and sweet expression, which contrasts beauti-
fully with the portentous sounds and sights that
nave previously occupied attention.
While “ Idomeneo” was running its prosperous
course the composer was in great spirits ; and,
probably thinking that his friends of the Munich
orchestra had had in his opera enough of “passion's
solemn tears," he changed their weeping to a
laughing mood by one touch of his wand-the
© Du eselhafter Martin.”+ In this jovial
* These pieces are still the greatest attractions of classical per-
formances.* The great dramatic scene, the sixth of the third act,
which comprises “O voto tremendo," the solemn march, the
prayer of Idomeneo, and the responses of the Priest of Neptune,
the parting of the lovers, and the voice of the oracle, produces all
its original effect when heard from time to time in private.
+ This address to the “foolish Martin" tells a tale of gay sup-
pers at Munich, and of the excessive merriment which accompa-
nied the run of Idomeneo.". The words and music are both by
canon
192
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
>
production he entirely postponed all pretension to
the sublime, and seemed bent only on showing
how effectively music and words might be combi-
ned for a laugh. Of the same date with these va-
ried compositions is the Offertorium in D minor,
“ Misericordias Domini," profoundly ecclesiastical
in its style, and uniting the severe school of ancient
counterpoint with some of the effects of the day, as
governed by his own turn of thought.
For the first time, apparently, fully aware of the
high destiny of his genius, and of its influence on
the amount of human pleasure, he became more
and more indifferent as to his own immediate in-
terest, thinking that the favourable hour would
come, and that the powerful of the earth could not
remain forever deaf and blind to his merit. Glad-
ly would he have established himself for life with
Cannabich, Wendling, and the rest of the old Mann-
heim orchestra in Munich; and the efforts he made
1
to accomplish this object have been told. It is cer-
tain that Count Seau was authorized to express
the
readiness of the composer to enter the service of
the Bavarian court; but the elector made no mo-
tion towards this object, and left the Archbishop
of Salzburg in undisturbed possession of his organ-
ist. Again, it is doubtful whether he was truly
served by the friend whom he trusted. Greater
credulity is required to believe his long train of ill
success the effect of chance, than of the jealous
alarm of men already in office, and fearful of their
prerogative in the society of so gifted an associate.
The leave of absence granted by the archbishop
Mozart; but the former are in the original, so entirely in the style
of Rabelais, and so adapted to the orgies of an orchestra, that
when the canon itself was afterward produced in public, a new
version of words was attached. Compared with the convivial
catches of Purcell's time, the offence of this canon is slight. It
is, in fact, a harmless monkish joke of questionable taste.
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
193
was gradually extended from weeks to months ;
and, by an extraordinary stretch of indulgence;
Mozart was permitted to remain at Munich till the
middle of March, 1781, when he was commanded
to follow the Salzburg court to Vienna.
This removal to Vienna in the train of his high-
ness led to results which influenced the rest of his
life, casting him upon a course of incredible labour,
interrupted only by sudden gleams of pleasure too
fierce and rare to be enjoyed with moderation.
In a letter dated March 17, 1781, the composer
acquaints his father with his safe arrival in Vienna,
The new circumstances in which he found himself
placed were not likely to mitigate his ancient aver-
sion to the arch-tyranny of the prelate, who now
heaped indignities upon him of so offensive à de-
scription, that it cannot be surprising to find him
resenting them, rashly perhaps, but with a sense
of what was due to himself and his art, which com-
mands our respect.
Yesterday, the 16th, by nine o'clock in the morning,
I reached this place, God be thanked, safely and well.
I write this in Mesmer's garden in the Landstrasse.
Now about the archbishop. I have a delightful apart-
inent in the same house in which he dwells. Brunetti
and Ceccarelli lodge in another house. Che distinzione!
My neighbour, Herr von Kleinmayern, loads me with
civilities, and is really a very charming person. Dinner
was served at half past eleven in the forenoon, which
was for me, unfortunately, rather too early, and there
sat down to it the two valets in attendance, the con-
troller, Herr Zetti, the confectioner, two cooks, Cecca-
relli, Brunetti, and my littleness. The two valets sat at
the head of the table, and I had the honour to be placed
at least above the cooks. Now, methought, I am again
at Salzburg. During dinner there was a great deal of
coarse, silly joking ; not with me, however, for I did not
speak a word unless absolutely obliged, and then it was
always with the greatest seriousness. So, when I had
13
R
194
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
finished dinner, I went my way. There is no table
in the evening, but each has three ducats, with which,
you, know, one may do a great deal! Our excellent
archbishop glorifies himself with his people, receives
their services, and pays them nothing in return.
Yesterday we had music at four o'clock, and there
were about twenty persons of the highest rank present.
Ceccarelli has already had to sing at Palfy's. We go to
Prince Gallitzin to-day, who was one of the party of
yesterday. I shall now wait to see whether I get anx-
thing: if not, I shall go at once to the archbishop, and
tell him without reserve that, if he will not allow me to
earn anything, he must pay me, for I cannot live upon
my own money.
That he whose transcendent genius has asserted
its empire over the whole musical world, and who
even at this time had put forth unmistakeable évi:
dences of his greatness, should be put down to ta-
ble with cooks and valets, is something to marvel
over in this retrospect of Mozart's checkered exist-
But how admirably he bore himself in this
situation, silent and grave, and keeping aloof from
the rude company, without offending their prejudi-
ces by the betrayal of his feelings. In his next let-
ter, dated a week later, he enters more at large
upon his mode of life.
“What you tell me concerning the archbishop's vanity
in possessing mo may be true enough, but what is the
use to me? One does not live by this. And, then, with
what distinction am I treated ? M. von Kleinmayern,
Boenecke, and the illustrious Count Arco have a table
to themselves; now it would be some distinction if I
were at this table, but not with the valets, who, besides
taking the head of the table, light tho lustres, open
the
doors, and attend in anterooms. And then, if we go
to a concert, Messieurs the Salzburgers have to wait
until Monsieur the valet has gone in and sends word to
them by a footinan that they may enter, as Brunetti
himself told me. I thought to myself as I listened,
*Only wait till I come.'
ence.
6
---
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
195
• The other day, in going to Prince Gallitzin's, I went
alone on purpose, and, on reaching the top of the stairs,
there stood M. Angerbauer, ready to tell the servant to
conduct me in. I took no notice, however, either of the
valet or the footman, but went straight through the
apartments to the music-room, the doors being all open,
and so direct to the prince, and paid my respects to him,
and then remained standing and conversing. I had quite
forgotten Brunetti and Ceccarelli
, who were out of sight,
and stood leaning against the wall quite at the back of
the orchestra, from which place they did not venture to
advance a single step. I go this evening with M. von
Kleinmayern to one of his friends, the Counsellor Braun,
who every one tells me is a very great amateur of the
clavier. I have already dined twice with the Countess
Thun, and go there almost every day. The countess
one of the most charming, lovely women I ever knew
in my life, and I am in great esteem with her.* I have
also dined with Count Cobenzl.
"My principal object now is to introduce myself in
some favourable manner to the emperor, for I ann abso-
lutely determined that he shall know me. I should
much like to play my opera through to him, and some
good fugues, for his taste lies in that direction. Oh, had
I but known that we should have been at Vienna in
Lent, I would have written a little oratorio, and per-
formed it for my benefit at the theatre, as is the custom
here. I might easily have written it beforehand, being
acquainted with all the voices.
"How gladly would I give a public concert, but it
would not be permitted, that I know for certain ; for
now observe : you are aware that there is a society
here which gives concerts for the benefit of the widows
* The Countess Thun was worthy of the enthusiasm with
which Mozart alludes to her. This tasteful amateur and distin.
guished lady had been the pupil of Haydn, and her patronage had
a powerful influence on his fortune ; for, having hy chance dis-
covered that he was the composer of a sonata of great merit, she
immediately appointed him her instructer on the pianoforte and
in singing, though up to that hour he had been living in a garret,
and enduring extreme privations. From this time his circum-
stances improved. The countess, it may be added, was one of
the chief favourites of the Emperor Joseph.
ܪ
196
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
of musicians, and at which everybody connected with
music plays gratis. The orchestra is 180 strong, and
no artist possessed of any benevolence or sympathy with
the unfortunate refuses to play if asked by this society,
for such conduct recommends him equally to the emper-
or and the public at large. Starzer was employed to
invite me, and I instantly agreed, though I said it de-
pended on the good-will of my prince, of which I could
not doubt, the performance being gratuitous, and for a
charitable and, in some sort, religious object. He would
not consent, however, and the whole of the nobility here
have taken it very ill of him. I am only sorry on this
account: I should not have played a concerto, but, as
the emperor would be in the proscenium box, I should
have preluded quite alone, then played a fugue and the
variations (Je suis Lindor). Whenever I have done
that in public I have always received the greatest ap-
plause ; it succeeds invariably, every one finding some-
thing to his taste. Countess Thun would have lent me
her beautiful pianoforte by Stein for this purpose.”
Notwithstanding the ungracious selfishness of
the archbishop, Mozart played at the concert after
all. The nobility teased his highness into it, and
compelled him to consent. Instead of being proud
of the distinctions won by his servant, he was churl-
ish of them, and could not bear Mozart to do any-
thing on his own account, or for the gratification
or advantage of others. The applause at the con-
cert, to use Mozart's words, was without end ;"
but what pleased the player best was the remarka-
ble silence, and the occasional bravos which burst
out in the midst of his performance. This was es-
pecially gratifying in a place where there were so
many excellent clavier players; and Mozart could
now have easily made money by giving a concert,
the ladies themselves having offered to dispose of
tickets for him, but the archbishop would not allow
it. “He prefers," says the oppressed musician,
" that his people should lose than gain.” Yet, in
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
197
spite of his tyranny, Mozart got a pupil, the Count-
ess Rombeck, and played at a concert at old Prince
Colloredo's, for which he was presented with five
ducats. But the struggle was rapidly drawing to
a close. Every day threw up some new incident
to show how completely the archbishop stood in
the
way
of Mozart's progress.
"We had a concert to-day at which three pieces,
new ones, of course, of my own composition,
were per-
formed, namely, a rondo to a concerto for Brunetti, a
sonata for myself, with accompaniment for a violin, which
I composed between eleven and twelve last night, but,
in order to be ready, wrote out only the violin part for
Brunetti and retained my own in my head, and a rondo
for Ceccarelli, which was encored; and for all this work I
get nothing. What makes me half desperate is, that I was
invited to Countess Thun's on the evening of our concert,
but could not go ; and who do you think was there?
The emperor. Adamberger and Weigl were also there,
and each had fifty ducats. What an opportunity !"
It was clear this could not last. Either Mozart
must surrender up his honest ambition in the low
servitude of a beggarly office, or assert his intellect-
ual independence at all hazards. Such a man could
not hesitate long in the choice of the alternative.
March and April passed over in a sort of conflict,
sometimes on the verge of open war, and always
pointing to ultimate separation. At length, after
enduring much indignity, Mozart requests his dis-
missal. In a letter dated the 12th of May, he re-
lates the whole history of this curious quarrel.
My last letter will have informed you that I request-
ed my dismissal from the service of the prince on the
9th of May, and at his own desire, for, in the two audi-
ences which I had previously had, he said to me, . Take
yourself off, if you don't choose to remain in my service.'
What wonder, then, if, after my enduring such appella-
tions as fellow, careless fellow, and the 'like, and worse,
he should be taken at his word in Take yourself off.'
а.
R2
198
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
..
“On the day following, I gave Count Arco a petition
to present to his highness, together with my travelliug
expenses, which consisted of fifteen florins forty kreut-
zers for the diligence, and two ducats for food, &c. He,
however, would accept neither, and assured me that I
could not resign without the consent of my father.
That is your duty,' said he. I told him immediately
that I knew my duty to my father as well as he, and
that it would give me much concern to have to learn it
at this time of day. Well, then,' he replied, if he is
satisfied, you may request your dismissal ; but if not,
you may also request it.' A pretty distinction! As for
the edifying discourse that passed between the arch-
bishop and me in three audiences, together with what
this beautiful man of God has lately said to me anew, it
had so powerful an effect upon my frame, that, being at
the opera in the evening, I was obliged to leave in the
middle of the first act and return home to lie down, for
I was quite feverish, trembled in every limb, and rolled
about the streets like a drunken man. The following
day, which was yesterday, I was obliged to pass at
home, and the entire forenoon in bed. Your supposi-
tion that I shall get into ill odour with the nobility and
the emperor is quite unfounded, for the archbishop is
hated here, and, above all, by the emperor; and it is the
very reason of his ill humour that the emperor did not
invite him to Luxemburg.
so I will now just inform you what was the principal
ground of offence. I knew not that I was a valet in at-
tendance, and that ruined me. I ought to have lounged
away a couple of hours every morning in the ante-
chamber ; indeed, I had often been told that I ought to
show myself, but could never recollect that this was a
part of my duty, and therefore contented myself with
coming when the archbishop sent for me.
As far as
this, I have spoken as though we were in the presence
of the archbishop; I now speak to you alone, my dear-
;
est father. Of all the injustice that Ì have endured from
the archbishop, from the beginning of his reign till now,
of his incessant insults, and of all the impertinence and
the affronting speeches that he has uttered to my face,
as well as of the incontrovertible right that I have to leave
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
199
;
.
him, nothing need be said here, for nothing can be said
that can bring their truth into question.
"I will merely mention what my inducements to leave
are, all consideration of offence and dissatisfaction apart.
I have the highest and most valuable connexion here
that can be ; I am treated with the greatest favour and
distinction in families of the first rank, and paid into the
bargain ; and shall I sacrifice all this for 400* florins in
Salzburg without encouragement? What would be the
end of it? Nothing, certainly, but that either I must
die of mortification, or be again compelled to quit. It is
unnecessary to say more ; you are yourself aware how
the matter stands. But this I will add : my history is
known throughout the whole city of Vienna, and I am
advised by the whole of the nobility not to suffer myself
to be led about any longer."
This is written with candour and modesty. The
motives on both sides were obvious enough, nor
does it appear that, outraged as he was, Mozart,
throughout the whole of this painful and unequal
contest, ever offered any personal offence to his
imperious lord. Separation was now inevitable,
and it took place without delay, thougli not before
the steward of the archbishop, Count Arco, had
endeavoured, by every representation in his power,
to dissuade the composer from the step he medita-
ted. It is easy to conceive how the little interludes
of abuse in which the worthy prelate indulged-
nobly thinking that after feeding his retainers he
was privileged to kick them—may have been soft-
ened to, or even forgotten by, the subject of them,
while he had a home to retire to, and could impart
the causes of his vexation to a father and sister.
But on this his first journey in the suite of his
prince, his position was entirely changed, and hu-
miliating beyond endurance. Sources of annoy-
ance opened to him in every possible way. His
* This looks as if the original income of 500 florins had been
*
reduced.
200
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
meals with the principal servants of the establish-
ment; his apartment a less distinguished one than
;
others had in the same retinue; the new duties re-
quired of him, all helped to show that the compo-
ser of “ Idomeneo”-the author of a revolution in
dramatic music—had established no higher claim
to respect in the opinion of the archbishop than
his own valets and cooks.*
It is too much to sup-
pose that this nobleman was fully aware of the
qualities of his concert-master; his notions of Mo-
zart were formed upon the opinions of others; and,
thinking himself secured by the poverty of his de-
pendant, he hoped to live on, gratifying his spleen
and lordly will by quietly and comfortably insult-
ing the gifted man who had condescended to eat
his bread.
But, even had no rupture been produced from
these causes, it must have ensued from the fact
that the whole of the highest nobility of Vienna
were spectators of the dishonourable circumstances
and treatment of the composer.
The step, however, of resigning a pension, and
of throwing himself entirely upon the public for
fame and support, was a more important one than
his sanguine imagination and excitement of feeling
permitted him at the time to contemplate. How
far his being an unappointed composer may have
* The patronage of genius at this time is a curiosity in the his-
tory of the arts. It is farther exemplified in a youthful adventure
of Rousseau. Arriving at Paris in 1741, with his play of “ Narcis-
a project for simplifying the reading of music, and fifteen
louis in his pocket, as his entire dependance, he is invited to dinner
by some great ladies, who at first intend to turn him over to their
housekeeper, but correct themselves. He says of Madame de
Beuzenval : « Elle avoit peu d'idée des égards qu'on doit aux tal-
"
Elle me jugeoit même en cette occasion sur mon maintien
plus que sur mon équipage, qui, quoique très simple, etoit fort pro-
pre, et n'annoncoit point du tout un homme fait pour diner à l'of-
fice. J'en avois oublié le chemin depuis trop longtemps pour
vouloir le rapprendre.”.
"--" Confessions, tome ij.
$uis,"
ents.
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
201
hastened the production of his immortal works is
open to question; but that his life was sacrificed in
struggling against the difficulties in which he was
thereby involved is beyond a doubt.
In the absence of any immediate design of a new
dramatic composition, and delighted at the effect
which his public performance on the pianoforte
had created at Vienna, Mozart forgot all the fears
he had expressed previously to his journey to Paris;
thought no more that teaching would interfere with
the higher vocation of his muse, and was content
to become the fashionable performer, teacher, and
pianoforte composer of the day. This mode of
life, for a time, had its temptations and its success,
and he hoped that he might still better assist his
father at Vienna than at Salzburg, as he was at in-
tervals able to remit to him sums of from ten to
thirty ducats. But here commenced the precarious
existence which the composer was for the future
destined to lead; for not only was the taste of Vi-
enna then, as now, proverbially variable and flippant;
not only was concert-giving an uncertain specula-
tion, and teaching an inconstant source of income,
but in a man who, like Mozart, had, from time to
time, strong impulses to write for the theatre, it
frequently happened that the order and regular-
ity of his engagements were made to yield to the
object which engrossed bim, and that the profits of
his time were sacrificed on the one hand, without
any proportionate advantage on the other.
In his present temper, and with his elastic con-
stitution, Mozart was not easily discouraged. He
was young, hopeful, energetic; with a pen that
never halted for ideas, and an activity in writing
that defied fatigue. He had had small experience
in those stern realities of life for which the artist
has, unfortunately, but too soon to exchange the
202
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
glowing visions of fancy. When reminded of the
fickleness of the Viennese public, he contented
himself by replying, “ The Viennese are certainly
prone to change, but in the theatre only; and my
peculiar art is too much admired to render me ap-
prehensive of going out of fashion. Here certain-
ly is found the true atmosphere of the pianoforte;
and if I admit that the taste may change, it will be
some years first.'
The greatest advantage that the composer de-
rived from his settlement in Vienna was the facil-
ity of the journey to Prague, in which city his -
works gradually acquired a high reputation, and
himself a circle of genial and discerning friends.
Gerber, the author of the Lexicon of Music, sup-
poses that this change of residence had great influ-
ence in refining and beautifying Mozart's style of
composition, and that in the secluded life of Salz-
burg he might easily have encountered the fate of
the great Friedemann Bach.* The modifying pow- .
er of circumstances upon Mozart's style is indeed
an interesting consideration. Whatever of striking,
new, or beautiful he met with in the works of oth-
ers, left its impression on him; and he often re-
produced these effects--not servilely, but mingling
his own nature and feeling with them—in a manner
not less surprising than delightful. This may
be
seen in the purposes to which he turned his ac-
quaintance with Benda’s monodrames in “ Idome-
neo;" with Gluck's operas in “Idomeneo;" and
* William Friedemann, the eldest and most gifted son of John
Sebastian Bach. It was the misfortune of this fine organist and
musician to survive the taste for the school of music founded by
his father, to see his compositions appreciated by a few connois-
seurs only, and disregarded by the public at large. He was a man
of innocent life, but his disposition was obstinate and sombre, and
he was unable to adapt his style to circumstances. During many
years he depended for existence on the bounty of friends, and died
in extreme misery at Berlin in 1784.
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
203
“Don Giovanni;" and, lastly, with Sebastian Bach's !.
choral motets in the “ Zauberflöte." Had the
Princess Amalie of Prussia succeeded in persua-
ding Leopold Mozart to take his little boy to Ber-
lin, where he would have heard the grand choral
and organ compositions of Sebastian Bach perform-
ed in the best style, it is impossible to conceive
what results might have ensued; but we should
think that a nature so sensitive to the beauty of
counterpoint must have been affected even to the
colouring of the whole future of artistic life.
It was during the first years of Mozart's estab- ;
lishment at Vienna, while he was principally in
esteem as a virtuoso on the pianoforte, and the
wonder at his attainments was still fresh, that he
commenced acquaintance with the celebrated for-
ty-eight preludes and fugues, “ Das wohltempirirte
Člavier" (the well-tempered clavier), of Sebastian
Bach, a work which excited his enthusiastic admi-
ration, and ever remained the favourite relaxation
of his severer studies. Not content with simply
playing these fugues, he put several of them, as we
have seen in a MS. in his own handwriting, into
score, designing to enjoy their beauty and symme-
try through the medium of another sense.
To the study of Bach and Handel, Mozart was
a
*
66
+
* The alacrity with which the great composer became a learn-
er is characteristic. Like Chaucer's student,
Gladly wolde he lerne, and gladly teche.”
The five fugues of Bach which Mozart' preferred are the fol-
lowing, from the third and fourth of which he certainly derived
hints for the overture to the “ Zauberflöte," and the finale to the
! Jupiter Symphony.”
be
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204
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
scarcely less induced by his own secret inclination
than by the sympathy of his friend the Baron von
Swieten, a member of the privy-council, the super-
intendent of the royal library of music at Vienna,
and an intelligent amateur, to whom the art is in-
debted for the suggestion of many valuable under-
takings in which both Mozart and Haydn have done
themselves honour. The baron survived Mozart
twelve years, but during a great part of his life he
enjoyed the closest intimacy with both these com-
posers.
From the year 1781, for four or five successive
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​The late Mr. Attwood, organist of St. Paul's, who was for a
time Mozart's pupil, remembered that this volume of fugues was
always lying open on his pianoforte. He also remembered that,
on entering the musician's apartment one morning, he found the
floor strewed with sheets of a score, thrown down one by one as
they were finished, and left to dry. It was in this way the over-
ture to “Don Juan" was produced, .
* Baron von Swieten used to have music performed in his house
with a full orchestra. He suggested the Creation" and "Sea-
sons” to Haydn, and patronized Beethoven, inducting him, as he
had done Mozart, into the particular study of Bach.
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
205
.
0
years, scarcely any pianoforte player was thought of
in Vienna buť Mozart, and his engagements to play
at the parties of the chief nobility were very numer-
ous. He became considerably occupied in teach-
ing; composed a variety of instrumental things-
among others, a set of sonatas, which he published
by subscription; and led a life of great activity.*
The Emperor Joseph suggested many under-
takings to Mozart, and completely won his regard
by the affability and cordiality of his demeanour
towards him; but there is reason to doubt whether
;
his own preference was not, like that of his court,
decidedly in favour of the Italian musicians, who
now, during a long series of years, had been su-
preme in their art at Vienna. The anecdotes of
this emperor, which have descended to us in con-
nexion with the lives of the great men who have
rendered his reign so memorable in the history of
music, are certainly not of a kind to convey any
high idea of his taste or perspicacity as an amateur.
The full harmony of Mozart's orchestra oppressed
the royal ears, educated as they had been in the
bald partitions of the Italians. With regard to this
composer the emperor was as a puppet, moved by
the wires of opposing factions, being wholly des-
titute of the judgment which would have poised
him, and enabled him to decide for himself. If
the Prince de Cabentzel and the Countess Thun
at one time persuaded him that Mozart was a great
musician, at another, the friends of the Italian
* On the evening of his name-day in 1781, he was serenaded
in one of his own compositions, a piece which he had composed
for a family festival on Theresa's day, on which occasion it was
performed at three different places, for when the performers had
finished at one place, they were immediately carried off to play at
another. The principal reason for its production was to give M.
von Strak a notion of his power. M. von Strak was one of the
principal pages to the emperor, and, as the reader will discover
by-and-by, repaid Mozart's courtesy by neglect and indifference.
S
а
206
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
party gave him a different bias; and all the while
he piqued himself on being superior to influences,
and on exercising a strict impartiality. With much
good-nature in his manner towards Mozart, and a
kind of instinct of his superiority—for he saw him
perform feats of skill which no other musician about
the court would dare to attempt—his friendship
never extended to the purse ; nor did he think of
attaching the composer to his service by any pro-
vision, until it seemed probable that absolute ne-
cessity would drive him from Vienna. The Emper-
or Joseph has had the credit of having thoroughly
understood and appreciated Mozart; but what sort
of patronage to an artist struggling with difficulties
must that be which ends in a joke, a laugh, à mis-
erable pension? Such will be found to have been
the history of their connexion.
One of the greatest amusements of the emperor
was to witness exhibitions and contests of skill. On
Clementi's arrival at Vienna there was a scene of
this kind, which produced some excitement at the
palace. The Italians had now a champion, and
hoped that the vigorous execution and highly-fin-
ished mechanism of Clementi might be successfully
opposed to Mozart, who was beating them out of
the field in every department of music, whether of
composition or performance. Mozart himself show-
ed that he did not despise the antagonist selected
for him, by doing that which he at other times en-
* For tne Emperor Joseph's character at large, the reader must
be referred to the chronicles of the day. He is represented by
Mrs. Piozzi as " a stranger upon principle to the joys of confidence
a
and friendship,” and as masking his cold-heartedness and insin.
cerity under a flattering surface. He was also eccentric in his
mode of life, dined off the meanest viands, and then in the even-
ing, at a party, would exhibit considerable relish for " a dish of hot
chocolate thickened with bread and cream. He might have been
one of the nine kings in “Candide,” who meet at a poor
inn with-
out enough among them to pay for a supper.
.
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
207
tirely neglected, namely, practising. He is known
to have exercised his fingers against this encounter,
though, after it was over, it would appear to have
dwelt very little on his mind, for in the letter in
which he speaks of it to his father he only alludes
to it incidentally. He begins with an account of
his mode of life and engagements. This is still
1781, in the month of December :
Every morning at six o'clock I am attended by my
friseur, and then I write till ten. At ten o'clock I have
a lesson to give at Madame von Trattner's, and at eleven
at the Countess Rombeck's,' and each pays me six
ducats for twelve lessons.* If you can listen to the
wretched story of my being hated by the whole court
and nobility, pray write to M. von Strak, Countess
Thun, Countess Rombeck, Baroness Waldstädter, M.
von Sonnenfels, Madame von Trattner, or, in a word, to
whom you will. Meantime, I may just inform you
that the einperor lately passed a grand eulogium on me
at table, accompanied by the expression, C'est un talent
decidé! and, moreover, the day before yesterday, the
24th, I played at court.
56 A clavier-player, an Italian, named Clementi, has
just arrived here. He, too, was in attendance. Yes-
terday I received fifty ducats for my playing. Now
about this Clementi. He possesses considerable execu-
tion, and when you have said this you have said every-
thing. He has a brilliant right hand, and his principal
passages are thirds; but, in other respects, not a far-
thing's-worth of taste or feeling—a mere mechanic.
The emperor, after we had complimented one
another sufficiently, commanded that he should begin.
· La Santa Chiesa Catholica,' said the emperor, Cle-
menti being a Roman. He preluded and played a
The emperor then said to me, Allons, drauf
los !'t I preluded and played variations. The princess
* Mozart's payment for lessons was consequently at the rate of
five shillings English each! How incredible does it now appear
that his genius could ever have been submitted to such indignity!
† As if giving the word of command to an Austrian artilleryman
" Come, blaze-away!"
sonata.
T..
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
208
royal then produced some sonatas by Paesiello, in a
miserable manuscript of his own, from which I had to
play an allegro, and he an andante and rondo. We
then each of us took a theme and played upon it on two
pianofortes. Curiously enough, though I had borrowed
for myself the pianoforte of Countess Thun, I only
played upon it when I played alone, as the emperor so
desired it. The other pianoforte was out of tune, and
had three of its keys sticking down. • It is of no con-
sequence,' said the emperor. I see clearly enough that
the emperor is aware of my attainments in the art and
science of music, and wishes to do me justice in the
eyes of foreigners. Besides, I know by a sure hand
that he was well satisfied with me; for he was ex-
tremely gracious, conversed with me privately, and even
talked of my marriage."
It was probably his desire to get his father's
permission to marry which made him dismiss Cle-
menti in this cavalier manner, for it is certain that
he spoke highly of him, and even with friendship,
in his letter to his sister. But he may have thus
underrated his rival, lest his father might become
alarmed about his prospects, or the permanency of
his favour at court.
His success as a pianoforte player among
the
fashionable world of Vienna was now at its height;
but dramatic composition could not long be banish-
ed from his thoughts. On the 31st of September
of the same year in which he quitted the archbish-
op, he received the libretto of the opera “ Die Ent-
führung aus dem Serail,” and with such delight,
that during the two first days he wrote two airs for
it, and the terzetto which closes the first act.
The
scheme of this opera, which was patronized by the
Emperor Joseph, and intended to neutralize the
Italian taste in dramatic music in Germany by
means of native singers and actors, had been men-
tioned to Mozart soon after his arrival at Vienna ;
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
209
:
but, after working at the opera for some time, he*
appears to have laid it aside in consequence of court
festivities and other hinderances to its production.
In fact, it was not performed till the summer of the
following year, 1782.
A letter addressed to his father during the prog-
:
ress of this work exhibits many pleasing traits of
the composer. Independently of the interest with
which this letter will be read, on-account of its mi-
nute history of the composition of the opera, its
critical acumen must excite surprise and admiration.
Mozart possessed a wonderful faculty of criticism,
and was as profound a judge of what was fitting in
the poet as in the composer.
** Vienna (date uncertain), 1781.
5. The opera began with a monologue; so I requested
M. Stephani to write an arietta, and then after Osmin's
little song, instead of the two talking together, a duet.
As we intend the part of Osmin for M. Fischer, who
certainly possesses an admirable bass voice (although
the archbishop once told me that he sung too low for a
bass, and I have consequently advised him to sing
higher), it will be desirable to turn this voice to account,
the more especially as the singer is a great favourite
with the public here. In the original libretto, Osmin
has but one single little song, and nothing more to sing
but in the terzetto and finale. He will now have an air
in the first, and another in the second act. I
air quite complete to M. Stephani, having written the
music long before he knew anything at all about it.
You have only the beginning and the end, which will
certainly produce a good effect, a comical turn being
given to the rage of Osmin through the employment of
the Turkish music. In the execution of the air, Fischer
will be enabled to show off his beautiful low tones.
The Drum beym barte des Propheten, &c., though in
the same measure, is in quick notes; and the audience
will fancy, as the man's anger goes on increasing, that
this must be the end of the air; but the allegro assai,
gave the
14
S2
210
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
in another time and key, will just then produce an ex-
cellent effect; for as a man in such a towering passion
outsteps all the boundaries of order and moderation, and
wholly loses himself in the excess of his feelings, so also
must the music. As, however, the passions, whether
violent or otherwise, must never be expressed to dis-
gust--and music, even in the most terrific situation,
never give pain to the ear, but ever delight it and remain
music. I have chosen no very distant key to F, the key
of the air, though not the nearest related, D minor, yet
the next in succession, A minor.
" With respect to Belmont's air in A major, O wie
ängstlich, O wie feurig, &c., can you imagine how it
is expressed ? the beating heart by the violins in oc-
taves. This air is the favourite of every one who has
heard it, and my own too, and is expressly written for
Adamberger's voice. One sees the trembling and the
irresolution, the heaving of the swelling bosom, which is
expressed by a crescendo; one hears the whispers and
the sighs, expressed by the first violins con sordini, with
a flute in unison. The chorus of janizaries is every-
thing that can be wished, being short and jovial, and just
fit for the Viennese.
“ Constanza's aria I have been obliged to sacrifice
somewhat to Mademoiselle Cavalieri's powers of exe-
cution. I have endeavoured to express the words
Trennung war mein banges loos, und nun schwimmt
mein aug' in thränen, as well as the style of an Italian
bravura air would permit. I have altered hui into schnell,
thus: Doch wie schnell schwand meine freude, &c. I
don't know what the opinion of our German poets may
be, though perhaps unacquainted with the theatre in
operatic matters ; still, methinks they might at least not
suffer their people to talk as if to a parcel of swine.
" I will now speak of the terzetto which concludes
the first act. Pedrillo has given out his master for an
architect, in order to afford him an opportunity of meet-
ing his Constanza in the garden. He is received into
the service of the pacha; but Osmin, the overseer,
knows nothing of this, and is, moreover, a churlish fellow,
and arch enemy of all strangers, is impertinent, and
rudely refuses his admission into the garden. The
who
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
211
ܪ
,
commencement is very short, and, as the text permitted,
I have written mostly in three parts; then the major
begins pianissimo, and must go very fast; and at the
end there will be a great deal of noise, which is the
principal thing belonging to the end of an act, where the
more noise the better, and the shorter the better, that
people may not cool in their clapping. The overture is
short, and changes from forte to piano continually ; at
the forte the Turkish music always accompanies, and
in this manner it modulates through the keys, so that I
believe no one will go to sleep over it, though he should
not have slept for a whole night before.
“I am now somewhat anxious. The first act has
been ready these three weeks, besides an air in the
second act, and the drunken duet, which consists of
nothing more than my Turkish tattoo ; but I cannot
proceed a step farther, as the whole story is being al-
tered at my own request. At the beginning of the
third act there is a charming quintett, or rather finale,
with which I should like to conclude the second act.
To effect this, a great alteration will be necessary ; in-
deed, an entirely new intrigue, at which Stephani is
over head and ears at work.
" As for the text of the opera, you are quite right in
what you observe upon Stephani's work“ in general;
yet he has not badly conceived the character of the
stupid, surly, and malicious Osmin. I am well aware
that the versification is none of the best, but it so luckily
fell in with the musical ideas that were wandering about
in my head that it could not but please me; and I would
venture a wager that nothing will be missed at the per-
formance. Indeed, I must praise some of the poetry of
the piece. Belmont's air, O wie ängstlich, * &c., could
scarcely be better written for music. The Huj and
Kummer ruht in meinem schoos excepted (for Kummer
is not a peaceful sensation), the air is not bad, particu-
larly the first part, and I well know that in an opera the
poetry must be the obedient daughter of the music.
Why do the Italian comic operas please universally,
notwithstanding their miserable libretti-even at Paris,
of which I myself was witness ? Because the music is
* Grief.
212
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
supreme, and everything is forgotten for it. So much
the more, therefore, must an opera please of which the
plan is well contrived and the words wholly written for
the music, and not for the satisfaction of a miserable
rhyme, which in a theatrical representation only does
mischief; for the rhyming versifier introduces words,
and even whole verses, that put to flight or destroy the
best ideas of the composer. Verse is indeed indispen-
sable to music, but rhyme, on account of the rhyming,
most injurious; the gentlemen who set to work so
pedantically continually go to the dogs, they and their
music together. It would be most desirable were a
good composer, who understood the theatre, to be united
with that true phænix, a judicious poet; such a pair
would have no cause to lament over the applause of ig-
norant admirers. Dramatic poets appear to me to have
as many mechanical tricks as trumpeters; if we com-
posers were to abide so firmly by our rules (which for-
merly, when nothing better was known, were good
enough), we should produce as wretched music as they
wretched books. But now, methinks, it is time to have
done. I have prated sufficiently."
The letters written by Mozart during the com-
position of “Idomeneo" have already shown in a
considerable degree the habit of a critical judgment
to which he had accustomed himself, and exercised
on every drama in which he engaged. Indeed, it
is not a little interesting to observe him speculating
on the effects of all the music he discovers, and en-
deavouring to put off his own nature and cultivated
taste, to sympathize with the feelings of the mass
of his audience. But if the letter just given intro-
duce the reader to little that is new in these re-
spects, it amply portrays the high state of enthusi-
asm, and the sanguine, hopeful frame of mind with
regard to its prospects, in which the composer lived
at this time." At the latter end of the year 1781 he
could see his favourite opera, “ Die Entführung,
in such a state of forwardness, that a week or two,
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
213
.
at any time, would serve to put the finishing hand
to it; and, to crown the felicity which he expected
from his debut as a dramatic composer at Vienna,
there was the prospect of his speedy union with
Constance Weber.
It is a strong argument of the virtuous nature of
the young Mozart that he so early formed his ideal
of earthly happiness in a marriage of sympathy and
affection. Even before he had attained his twen-
tieth year he had begun to adopt an oldfashioned
notion of this sort, probably encouraged by the
influences of home; and to this may be attributed
the comparative freedom from vice in which his
youth passed, the more surprising in one exposed
to unusual temptations, whose employment it was
to think and to feel voluptuously, and who had to
pursue the language of love in his music through
all its gradations and varieties. How easy it wou
have been for a young man of abilities and good-
nature, in an atmosphere of less attractive dissipa-
tion than that of the gay world of Paris, to form
dangerous intimacies, to lose his self-respect, and
become what by a strange misnomer is called ù
bonnes fortunes, has been but too frequently and un-
happily exemplified in the private life of artists.
The family of the Webers, to whom Mozart had
become attached during his sojourn at Mannheim,
was now transplanted to Vienna; and whenever he
could escape from his occupations in public and
among the great, it was in their house that he
sought to unbosom himself of cares, and indulge his
genial aspirations. His love for Constance Weber
extended to her family, whom he befriended in ev-
ery possible way, ever paying them the attentions
of a good son and brother. Even Aloysia Weber,
who had so treacherously broken her faith to him,
but was now justifying his high opinion of her
214
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
а.
>
talents in a most successful career as a dramatic
singer throughout most of the lyric theatres of Ger-
many, could depend upon his kindness to compose
for her whenever she stood in need of a new scena.
Constance, without the magnificent voice and brill-
iant execution of her elder sister, was still a singer
of very considerable powers* and great taste. She
possessed a real insight into the art, and was a com-
petent judge of most of that in which her future
husband excelled. The degree to which Mozart
had educated the musical taste of Constance Weber
will best appear from a letter of the 20th of April,
1782, addressed to his sister:
" I herewith send you a prelude and a three-part
fugue. ..... That this fugue has seen the light, you are
indebted to my Constance. Baron von Swieten, to
whom I go every Sunday, lends me the works of Han-
del and Sebastian Bach, after I have played them
through to him, to take home with me. As soon as
Constance heard the fugues, she was quite in love with
them; she will now listen to nothing but fugues, and to
Handel and Bach only in that style. Hearing me at
this time frequently play fugues out of my head, she
inquired if I had never written any, and upon my an-
swering. No,' absolutely scolded me for having neglected
the most beautiful and scientific part of music; nor did
she give me any rest till I had written her a fugue.
This is the origin of the one now sent. I have purposely
written andante maestoso above it, in order that it may
1
the
* The mass in C minor, which was afterward incorporated in
the cantata" Davidde penitente,” will sufficiently prove what has
been here advanced. This composition, which was intended by
Mozart as a votive offering for the recovery of his wife in her first
confinement, was produced in August, 1783, at St. Peter's Church,
Salzburg, during a visit of the Mozarts, when the wife sang
solos. The" Et incarnatus," a soprano solo, concerted with wind
instruments, is most beautiful. Some unpublished solfeggi for a
soprano voice show that after his marriage he was still cultivating
her vocal talent. The MS. has two inscriptions. On one page,
“Per la mia cara Costanza ;" on another, “Solfeggio per la mia cara
Consorte."
...
--
5
215
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TIE LIFE OF MOZART.
It
а.
a
not be played fast; for if a fugue be not played rather
slowly, the entrance of the subjects loses in clearness
and distinctness, and the effect is injured, if not destroy-
ed. When I have time and opportunity I intend to
write five others, and present them to Baron von Swie-
ten, who possesses an immense treasure of good music,
the quality of the works considered, though but a small
one in point of number. Do not, therefore, I beg, let
any one see it, but learn it by heart, and play it, which
with a fugue is no such easy matter."
In a letter addressed a few days previously to his
father, Mozart writes:
“ Send me the six fugues by Handel. I go every
Sunday at twelve o'clock to the Baron von Swieten,
where nothing is played but Handel and Bach, and am
now making a collection of the fugues of Bach--not only
of Sebastian, but of Emanuel and Friedemann Bach;
and, besides these, a collection of Handel's fugues, to-
wards which I want these six. You have probably
heard that the English Bach* is dead. What a loss for
the musical world !"
At this time Joseph Haydn was established as
Kapellmeister in the service of Prince Nicholas
Esterhazy, and enjoyed a very extensive reputation,
which, indeed, the native energy of his genius, and
the fortunate circumstances of his mature life, ena-
bled him to earn with ease in a variety of composi-
tions. He was frequently at Vienna in the suite
of his prince; and it was natural that Mozart, who
had long lived on terms of mutual esteem with Mi-
John Christian Bach, music-master to her majesty Queen
Charlotte. The most celebrated sons of John Sebastian Bach
were thus distinguished in Germany: William Friedemann was
termed the Halle Bach; Charles Philip Emanuel, the Berlin
Bach ; John Christopher, the Buckeburger Bach; and John
Christian, the English Bach. When it is considered that the pa-
triarch of harmony, John Sebastian Bach, had a family of twenty
children, all of whom were possessed, more or less, of musical
talent, the necessity of this additional distinction will not be ques-
tioned.
216
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
a
chael Haydn at Salzburg, should be predisposed
to a regard for his brother; but the simplicity, be-
nevolence, and sincerity of Joseph Haydn's charac-
ter, when united with the charming qualities of his
genius, offered more than the materials for an ordi-
nary friendship. The attachment of these two men
Temains, accordingly, one of the most honourable
monuments of the virtuous love of art that musical
history can produce. Haydn was at this period
about fifty years of age. His constant habit of
writing five hours a day had accumulated in a series
of years a large collection of quartetts, pianoforte
music, church music, and symphonies, most of which
were greatly admired for the spirit and elegance of
their style, and the clearness and originality of their
design.* Mozart at once saw and acknowledged
the excellence of Haydn, and in his future inter-
course with that master took the part which the
difference of their age, if not of their genius, ren-
dered graceful, by deferring to his judgment with
all the meekness of a learner. To Haydn he sub-
mitted many of his compositions before publication,
delighting often to call him his master and model
in quartett writing, which he now began to cultivate
in earnest, and omitting no circumstance which
could gratify the veteran musician in possessing
such an admirer. Haydn, on his part, repaid all
.
this devotion with becoming generosity. However
* The regularity of Hadyn's life, though probably not unknowil
to the reader, deserves to be recalled in this place. He rose at
six o'clock, dressed himself with scrupulous neatness, and then
sat down at a little table near his piano to write till noon, which
was his dinner time.
At two o'clock daily he attended the con-
cert of his prince, which lasted for an hour and a half, and twice
a week directed an opera, which took place in the evening. When
there was no opera, he superintended the rehearsal of some new
piece or other, supped at seven o'clock, and then passed the rest
of the evening with his friends or in the society of Mademoiselle
Boselli. Such was Haydn's existence at Esterhazy or Eisenstadt.
✓
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
217
conscious that, in the universality of musical power,
his own genius must be placed at a disadvantage in
comparison with that of his friend, he harboured no
envious or unworthy sentiment, and death alone
interrupted the kind relation in which each stood
to the other.
At the musical parties which Mozart gave from
time to time, when he had new compositions to try,
and leisure to indulge his disposition for sociality,
Haydn was a frequent guest, and no one more pro-
foundly enjoyed the extraordinary beauty and
per-
fection of Mozart's pianoforte playing. Years after,
when those fingers, and the soul whichi animated
them was sought for in vain, a few touching words
from Haydn spoke more feelingly to the imagina-
tion, in the description of that beauty, than the
most laboured and minute criticism could have done.
“Mozart's playing,” said he, “ I can never forget.”
To conceive what it was that Haydn could not
forget," it would be vain to speak of the refine-
ment and delicacy of style; the beautifully speaking
expression, which went to the heart; the evenness,
neatness, and rapidity of both hands; or the force
and character of the left hand (at that time some-
thing unusual); though all these were the undoubt-
ed characteristics of Mozart, they have also belong-
ed to other fine players, and therefore, to do justice
to the idea of his artistical perfection on the piano-
forte, we must conceive the great composer inter-
preting his own nature. That must needs be fine
playing where the spirit of “Don Juan,” “Figaro,"
&c., animates the keys. The great effects which
are said to have been produced by Beethoven in
his improvisation on the piano, and in an inferior
degree by Hummel, may be attributed to the same
cause. Indeed, in that performance which presents
us with the clear and well-defined ideas of the mas-
T
218
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
*
а
ter, delivered in the heat of conception, there is
generally a charm which may be elsewhere sought
in vain.
The pianoforte compositions of Mozart of all
kinds, sonatas, variations, concertos, &c., began
now to be in general request, first in Bohemia,
and soon afterward throughout Germany at large.
The originality of style, and the exquisite melodies
which characterized these works, opened a new
field in the art, and before a few years had elapsed
the whole musical world was in amazement at the
dignity which pianoforte music had attained through
the contributions of this master.
In the spring of the year 1782, Mozart entered
into a speculation with one Martin," who had re-
ceived the emperor's permission to give twelve
concerts in the Augarten, and four grand serenades
in the principal squares, the orchestra to be com-
posed of mere dilettanti, except the bassoons, trum-
pets, and drums.
These Sunday garden fêtes in the spring and
early summer are peculiarly characteristic of life
in Vienna, where the pleasures of the promenade,
and the enjoyment of the air and sunshine, regularly
succeed the observances of religion. In such a
scene, where all the beauty, rank, and talent of the
capital are frequently assembled, the spirit of the
season is irresistible. And there is the music. An
orchestra is erected in some green walk among the
trees, and the first sound is the signal to suspend
conversation, to sit down quietly, or to cluster round
the musicians. Mozart, who, like Rousseau, felt
that one of the most delightful privileges of his art
was that of “communicating emotions," was not
less inclined to an experiment in open-air concerts,
from his sympathy with the pleasurable at large,
than from that eager desire of new effects which
:
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
219
V
continually exercised and strengthened his inven-
tion. A style of instrumental music at once light
and ariose--somewhat between the symphony and
the dance, but calculated to give elegance and ten-
derness of sentiment to the promenaders--was at
any time attractive to him, and among his easiest
work. His serenades were not such as “the stary-
ed lover sings,” but imbued with all the genius of
the south ; in fact, when we consider the emotions
created by Mozart's instrumental music, and by the
adagios of his symphonies in particular, the imagi-
nation of the author may be compared to a Moham-
medan paradise, for in no other element can such
refined voluptuousness and elegant repose be con-
ceived to originate.
The judgment with which this warm imagination
was tempered was never more forcibly shown than
when the composer was writing beneath himself, in
promenade or garden music. No thought too good
for the occasion found place. He was rich enough
in ideas to spare his best on any occasion, and thus,
at all times, preserved the unity and due corre-
spondence of his style. His method of writing for
wind instruments, with which the Bohemians (great
practical musicians) were highly delighted, showed
the most exact discrimination; whether the instru-
.
ment were employed in the solo, the concerto, or
in
accompaniment, he treated it in a peculiar and
appropriate manner. Though only theoretically
acquainted with the nature and genius of these in-
struments, his intimacy with the performers made
him quickly master of any advantage that could be
derived from an improvement in their mechanism.
The difficulties which had impeded the produc-
tion of “ Die Entführung aus dem Serail” being
now removed, that opera was performed by royal
command on the 12th of July, 1782. The author
220
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
of the drama, Bretzner, had conceived a plot that
presented many happy situations for stage effect,
which Mozart did not omit to turn to good account.
Among the original singers were Mademoiselle
Cavalieri, Mademoiselle Tayber, and Messrs. Fis-
cher, Adamberger, Dauer, and Walter.
The suc-
cess which crowned this undertaking was of the
most decisive character; crowded houses every
night, and the call for the repetition of favourite
pieces, attested the delight of the audience, and
quite destroyed the hopes of those who intrigued
against the composer, and would have been willing
spectators of his failure.
The repertory of the German lyric stage was at
this time miserably poor in comic operas. Some
few attempts in that style by Benda and Reichardt
excepted, together with “ The Doctor and Apothe-
cary' by Dittersdorf-ephemeral productions that
now exist only in the chronicles of the historian-
there is absolutely nothing to deprive Mozart of
the honour of having struck out an entirely new
path in this work. Appearing after “ Idomeneo,"
it could scarcely be believed to have proceeded from
the same pen. There is not the least correspond-
ence between the forms of the melody, the harmo-
ny, or modulation of the two works; and, notwith-
standing the melancholy to which Mozart's genius
was naturally disposed, unfavourable as it may be
thought to variety of style, he herein showed tri-
umphantly that music had no formulas for him, that
new situations constantly suggested new thoughts,
and that to diversify his pieces in succession, from
the air to the chorus, was one of the most remark-
able elements of his power.
Notwithstanding the defects of the singers, who
failed in several parts for want of rehearsals, and
the perils that momentarily threatened the reception
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
221
!
*
::
of the piece on the first and second nights, it pro-
duced on those two occasions no less than 1200
florins. The great popularity of the piece render-
ed it necessary to prepare it speedily for the garden
orchestra, in order to anticipate others who would
have taken it with impunity. From a passage in a
letter to his father, we see how engrossed Mozart
was at this period :
“ I have now no slight task to get my opera arranged
in harmony* by Sunday week, or another will be before-
hand with me, and reap the profit; and, in addition to
this, I have to write a new symphony! How all this
is to be done I know not. You cannot imagine the dif-
ficulty of arranging an opera in harmony, to make it fit
for wind instruments without sacrificing any of the ef-
fect. I must borrow the night for this work, and to
you, dearest father, be it devoted. You may rely on
hearing from me every post-day. I shall write as fast
as possible, and as well as haste will permit.
“ Count Zitchi has just sent to invite me to go with
him to Luxemburg, and call upon Prince Kaunitz. I
must therefore leave off to dress ; for, when indisposed
to go abroad, I am constantly in déshabille. The copy-
I
ist has just sent me the rest of the parts. Adieu! I
kiss your hand 2000 times, and embrace my sister with
the truest affection."
Success was now carrying the imagination of the
composer into dreams of another kind. His heart
longed for her who ought to participate in these
triumphs, and in the following letter we have the
first open request for his father's consent to his
marriage :
My opera was given yesterday with great applause,
to the honour of every Nannerl in the kingdom, t and,
notwithstanding the dreadful heat, the theatre was
* So the Germans term arrangements made for the wind in-
strument bands that frequent the public gardens.
† The 26th of July is St. Anne's day. The recollection of this
was of course intended by Mozart to gratify his sister.
T2
222
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
crammed to the ceiling. It is to be repeated on Friday
next; though I have protested against this, for I do not
like to have it whipped on at such a rate. The public,
I can say with truth, are quite crazy about this opera;
and it really is very pleasant to have gained such ap-
plause. I hope that you have received the original
safely. Dear, good father, I must now beseech you,
by everything in life, to give me your consent to marry
my dear Constance. Do not suppose that the mere
marriage is in my thoughts.. Were that the case, I
would willingly wait; but I see that the state of my
health and spirits now render it indispensable. My
heart is ill at ease, my head distracted; and, in such a
condition, how is it possible to think or work to any
purpose ?"
This was written on the 27th of July. On the
31st he urges his suit again:
“The theatre is crowded on every performance of
my opera, which was played for the fourth time yes-
terday, and will be repeated on Friday. You write to
me that the whole world is of opinion that my boasting
and free speaking have made me enemies among the
professors of music and other people. What sort of
world? Probably the Salzburg world? For every one
here has plenty of opportunities of seeing and hearing
the exact contrary; and that shall be my reply. Mean-
time, you must have received my last letter, and I have
not the least doubt that the next I get from you will
contain your consent to my marriage. I gather from
your letters that you neither can nor will offer any op-
position ; for Constance is a respectable, good girl
, of
worthy parents. I am now able to earn bread for her,
and as we love one another, and wish to be together.
there can be no reason for delay."
The reply to these cogent arguments must have
been speedy as well as favourable, for in a few
days Mozart was happy in the possession of his
bride. On the 4th of August, 1782, the marriage
was celebrated at the house of the Baroness Wald-
stetten; and the delight of the occasion was en-
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
223
:
hanced by a little triumph, for Madame Weber,
making, at the last, some difficulty and show of un-
willingness to part with her daughter, Mozart was
obliged to carry her off by stratagem. This prac-
tical illustration of his own opera, “ Die Entführ-
ung” (The Abduction), afforded a subject for much
agreeable and good-humoured pleasantry to the
friends of the composer. But the account of the
marriage must be given in his own words. The
letter is thrown off in the bounding and exulting
spirit of an epithalamium :
66 Vienne, ce 7 d'Aout, 1782.
· Mon très cher Pére!
My dear Constance, now, thank God! my wife,
was long ago informed by me of the whole state of my
affairs, and of what I had to expect from you. Her
friendship and love to me, however, were so great, that
she joyfully and unhesitatingly confided her whole fu-
ture life to my keeping, and joined her fate to mine. I
kiss your hands, and thank you with all the tenderness
that a son should feel towards a father, for the kind
consent and the paternal blessing. My dear wife will
write next post-day, to beg the blessing of her kind
father-in-law, and the continuance of her beloved sister's
friendship. No one was present at the ceremony ex-
cept the mother and youngest sister, M. von Thorwart,
M. Landrath von Zetto, and M. von Gilowsky.
- When we were joined together, my wife began to
weep, and I too-and, indeed, they all wept, even the
priests themselves, at witnessing our emotion. Our
whole marriage feast consisted in a supper given by the
Baroness von Waldstetten, which was, in fact, rather
princely than baronial. During supper I was surprised
by a concert from sixteen wind instruments, who played
my own compositions. My dear Constance now looks
forward with pleasure to a visit to Salzburg, and I am
sure that, when you see her, you will congratulate me
on my happiness, if you are of my opinion that a virtu-
ous, well-disposed wife is a treasure to her husband.
“My opera was played again yesterday by desire of
224
V
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
the Chevalier Gluck.. Gluck has paid me many com-
pliments upon it, and I am to dine with him to-morrow.""
Of the nine years which this union lasted, one
whole year and a half was consumed by the very
serious illness of Madame Mozart, which scarcely
permitted her during that period to leave her bed;
and in addition to this, a young family grew rapid-
ly about her; so that, whatever might have been
the happiness, doubtless great, enjoyed by the sym-
pathetic pair, it was checkered with unusual care
and sorrow.
The constitutional delicacy of his
wife would have been a sufficient misfortune in it-
self, had Mozart's pecuniary resources been ample
and assured; but with fluctuating and stinted means,
their family troubles acquired increased severity.
For a while, indeed, everything prospered; but
the scene soon altered, and the married lovers
were obliged to descend from their poetical world
of love and imagination into a more prosaic one-
to listen to the clamour of creditors, whose demands
they could not satisfy, and to be sometimes cast
upon extremities for the supply of current wants.
It was probably in reference to these embarrass-
ments that the Emperor Joseph one day said to
Mozart, “ Why did you not marry a rich wife !"
To which the composer, with that dignity and self-
reliance which characterize all his answers to the
great, immediately replied, “Sire, I trust that my
genius will always enable me to support the wom-
an I love !"'*
* An anecdote may here be told, which will place the manners
of the Emperor Joseph in an amiable light, and show in what way
he worked upon the affections of Mozart. Shortly after this mar-
riage, as the composer and his bride were walking in the Augar-
ten, at Vienna, accompanied by a dog, the lady, joking
upon
the
attachment of her canine favourite, whom she wished to astonish,
said, “ Pretend now to beat me." As Mozart was proceeding to
obey her, the emperor stepped out of a neighbouring summer-
house, exclaiming, “ What! what! only three months married,
THE LIFE OF MOZAR'T.
225
The occasional difficulties here alluded to for-
tunately involve no suspicion of a laxity of principle
in either Mozart or the partner of his fortunes.
Their youth and inexperience, their education in
the houses of artists, and the trust in good fortune
so natural to people in their condition, to whom
hope is always bountiful, may plead their excuse ;
but what will best satisfy those who rightly think
that genius cannot claim exemption from moral ob-
ligations, nor, unaccompanied by integrity, be fitly
honoured, is the fact that every debt was in the end
fully paid. This record is due to the high princi-
ples of honour evinced by the widow of Mozart on
the death of her husband, and affords a proof of
the existence of those sentiments in each which
both had learned to reverence.
The most striking fact in this career of alternate
success and adversity is the production in such
profusion of the imperishable works of the compo-
ser, under circumstances of depression, and fre-
quently in opposition to the demands of nature for
repose and relaxation.
The exact order of Mozart's productions during
the first year and a half of his establishment at Vi-
enna is more difficult to trace than that of perhaps
any period in his life. Amid the hurry and dis-
traction attendant upon a new scene of existence
and the formation of new connexions, the good
practice of dating his compositions, which up to
this time he had generally observed, may easily
have fallen into disuse. Enough, however, may be
ascertained to prove beyond controversy that this
was the era of his matured strength in instrumental
and beating already!” Mozart explained the cause, at which the
emperor laughed, and then turned the conversation upon some
pleasant passages in their first acquaintance, during the lifetime
of his father, which have been before narrated.
15
226
THE LIFE OF MOZART,
y
composition. To the garden concerts may be tra-
ced two serenades and a divertimento for wind in-
struments; of the former, one piece, best known
in the more select concert-rooms as a magnificent
quintett in C minor,
Allegro,
bi
b-b6
tr
was in its original form a serenade for two oboes,
two clarinets, two horns, and two bassoons.
It was in the month of July, 1782, during the
first success of “Die Entführung," that the sym-
phony in D was produced.
Allegro con spirito,
#
Rei
& €
女
​-hr
How must the energy of such an opening have
astonished the Vanhalls and the Stamitzs; but, not
to mention obscure or half-forgotten names, how
must it have astonished even Haydn himself! The
specimens of composition adduced will show what
rank Mozart took among the musicians of Vienna
almost immediately on his removal there; and the
pre-eminence established by those works, which
are among the earliest of his writing now usually
performed in concert-rooms, he not only preserved,
but heightened to the end of his life; giving an
* The weight and strength of the subject adapt it for completer
effect in the shape of the otetto,
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
227
impulse to orchestral and instrumental music in
general, such as it had never yet received from the
hand of any master.
The Italian opera composers residing at Vienna,
among whom may be reckoned Salieri, Righini,
Anfossi, Martini,* &c., the last, indeed, a Spaniard
by birth, but by education an Italian, were any-
thing but pleased at the prospect of having, from
time to time, such an antagonist in the field of dra-
matic composition. Accustomed to the supremacy
of their countrymen in all matters connected with
the lyric drama, and enjoying, as it were, an an-
cient right of superiority on the stage of Vienna,
they listened in jealous alarm to the excellence of
the new master, and for the future omitted nothing
which the spirit of intrigue could suggest to frus-
trate his expectations, and to destroy at once both
his profit and his fame. Through their credit with
the ladies of the court, and by this channel with the
Emperor Joseph himself, they possessed, unfortu-
nately, but too many means of attaining their end.
When Mozart heard from the mouth of the emper-
or the remarkable criticism on his new opera,
“ Too many notes, my dear Mozart," and replied
at once with frankness and independence, “There
are just as many, please your majesty, as there
should be," he was perfectly aware from what
quarter that opinion had emanated. The most ac-
tive and inveterate against Mozart of all the Italian
* The real name of this composer was Vicenté Martin y Soler.
He was a choir-boy of the Cathedral of Valencia, who, becoming
enamoured of an Italian singer, followed her into Italy, where, la
faim le talonnant, says his biographer, he turned composer. His
melodies were highly popular, and Mozart himself introduced one
from “ La Cosa Řara' into the supper-scene in the second finale
of " Don Juan.” In a conversation at Leipsic in the year 1789,
"
Mozart thus expressed himself concerning Martini : " Many of
his things are really pretty, but in ten years time no one will take
any more notice of him."" This prediction has been fully verified.
228
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
enna.
66
clique was Salieri. This composer, whose talents
were just sufficient to enable him to live in some
estimation, was a creature of Gluck's. Salieri had
been with that master in Paris, and to him Gluck
had confided the libretto of his opera of the “Da-
naides,'** the work with which he intended to close
his own labours, when an attack of apoplexy made
him suddenly cease writing, and consult the preser-
vation of his health in retirement.
From this time, the year 1780, when Gluck was
in the 68th year of his age, he finally renounced
the toils of public life, and every new project of
ambition, to pass the remainder of his days at Vi-
Here he was more at home than in France;
his works were held in as much estimation, and
were better performed; in particular, the operas
which he had written at Vienna, "Orfeo," * Al-
ceste,” and “ Paris and Helen," maintained their
hold on public favour, and were occasionally re-
produced with great care. To a man of Gluck's
peculiar turn of mind, which united with genius
and simplicity an egotism truly splendid, this
homage to his productions was in some sort a ne-
cessary of existence. The possession of a large
a
fortune, and the honour of the most familiar inter-
course with princes--in fact, he had written an op-
era for the nuptials of the Emperor Joseph, the
principal characters of which were sustained by the
archduchesses of the imperial family—all these
things, with which an ordinary man might have
* Salieri imitated the style of Gluck in his opera “Tarare,".
and other works, which are now, according to the usual fate of
imitations, forgotten. As this composer has long been notorious
for his animosity against Mozart, soine personal description of him
may not be unwelcome. The mother of the celebrated Signora
Storace, who saw him repeatedly at Vienna, described him as &
little man, with an animated countenance, and peculiarly, fine
eyes, and his appearance altogether reminded her strongly of
Garrick
1
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
229
been content, were nothing unaccompanied by
praise in its strongest form, which, when not offer-
ed by others, he did not scruple to administer to
himself* It has been truly remarked of Gluck
.
and Handel, that they, among all the great musi-
cians, were the two who most enjoyed the art
through the medium of their own productions. It
may suggest a ludicrous commentary on this fact
to know that Handel had condemned Gluck. In
the year 1745, Gluck was engaged to write two
operas in London, one of which, on the subject of
the fall of giants, was heard by Handel, who pro-
nounced it detestable, and cared but little after-
ward for the productions of its author.
Notwithstanding this high authority against him,
Gluck was one of the great men who have estab-
lished an era in the art; and the credit of Handel's
discernment may yet be saved when it is recollect-
ed that Gluck was already advanced in life before
he discovered the destiny of his genius, and asso-
ciated his name with so many admirable and un-
dying works. All the operas which as a young
man he produced in Italy, all his attempts at sym-
phony writing, and his solitary essay in church mu-
sic, the “De profundis," have been overwhelmed
by oblivion, because their style was conventional,
and uninformed by the original genius of the mas-
ter. But from the time that Gluck commenced re-
former of the musical drama, as we learn from the
* Gluck favoured his friend and correspondent, the Bailli du
Rollet, with many instances of his amusing partiality for his own
performances. Of “ Alceste," he says, "I must own that it is
very little short of perfection.” And a little farther on, in the
same letter, he observes, “There is a sort of delicacy in . Armi-
da' which there is not in' Alceste;' for I have discovered a meth-
od of making the characters so express themselves, that froin the
very first
you may detect by their manner whether Armida is
speaking, or merely an attendant.” With such fondness Gluck
yearned over his own productions.
U
,
230
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
.
.
admirable dedicatory epistle of the “Alceste"-
from the time that the analysis of his own truthful
feelings, and reflection upon the dramatic abuşes
of poetry and music, enabled him to exhibit senti-
ment and situation in new and more forcible lights
upon the stage, immortality placed her seal upon
him. The enthusiasm which attended his progress
was worthy of a revolution which promised to re-
move from operatic composition all the absurdities
that had exposed it to the scorn of unmusical wit,
and to make the art in future the vehicle of truth
and nature. The full score of the “ Alceste,"
which is among the earliest dramatic works ever
published in that form, still remains a tribute to
the great reputation of its author, whom Wieland
compliments with truth when he says that he has
fulfilled one of the finest maxims of Pythagoras
“in preferring the Muses to the Syrens.
Amid all the admirers of this great master,
there
was, however, not one who more deeply felt and ap-
preciated the truth and beauty of style which he had
derived from the contemplation of the purest models
of classical antiquity than Mozart, who professedly
made the scores of Gluck his study. Still he could
hardly have disguised from himself the fact that
the path of this musician was exceedingly confined.
Give him some great situation or striking sentiment
to express, and he did it in perfection ; but, in the
mere luxury of music divested of action, and in the
numerous other ways in which music, though
vaguely, addresses itself to the passions of the soul,
he had no power. Haydn, though greatly inferior
to Gluck in dramatic ability, occupied a much wider
field, and came far nearer to Mozart in the abun-
dance of his resources.
The acquaintance which Mozart's letter of the
7th of August shows to have been commencing be-
:
а.
i
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
231
i
:
tween him and Gluck by a dinner invitation from
the latter, never ripened into any great intimacy,
still less into a cordial friendship. At first it may
appear strange that two men, who felt so much in
common, should have been not quite at ease in each
other's society; but their difference in years and
circumstances, and, more than this, Gluck's enfee-
bled health, in which his mind participating, left
him exposed to the influence of parasites and in-
triguers, will suggest many probable solutions of
the difficulty.
That Mozart had already, on several occasions,
handled the majestic pen of Gluck in dramatic
choruses, and with as much success as at a later
day he used the pens of Bach and Handel, often
surpassing his models, is certain ; and it may be
questioned how far such a compliment could grati-
fy a living composer. He had done this but too
well in the second finale in D minor of 6 Idome-
neo,” Corriamo, fuggiamo; in the sublime chorus,
O voto tremendo ; and also in the march and priest-
ly music of the same opera. He now gave more
striking illustrations of his command of the heroic
style by producing the choruses and entr'acte mu-
sic to the tragedy of “ Thamos," by Freiherrn von
Gebler; which compositions, of the date of 1782-3,
now known to the public as the cantatas Splen-
dente te and Ne pulvis et cinis, possess not only all
the dignity of Gluck, but an instrumentation far
more brilliant and spirited. The mere excellence
of such performances would alone be sufficient to
spur the malice of the Dii minores in the musical
world of Vienna, and afford matter for unjust con-
structions and evil whisperings. The attempt to
sow discord between Mozart and Haydn, by the
exposure to each of some negligences or oversights
in the works of the other, has been related by their
.:
232
THE LIFE OE MOZART.
а.
biographers, and some such attempt may have suc-
ceeded in the case of Gluck, the more probably
as he is known to have patronized a man so hostile
to Mozart as Salieri. Musical history can scarcely
parallel the animosity, the jealousy, and spirit of
base intrigue which prevailed at this time among
the composers of Vienna, of whom each was the
guardian of his own little interests, at the expense
of everything else in life. To the numerous in-
trigues and repeated slanders of which Mozart was
the subject, he had nothing to oppose but his rec-
titude of principle and transcendent genius; yet
as the latter, during his lifetime, through malicious
arguments and ignorant judgment, was sometimes
brought into question, his enemies not unfrequently
gained their point by adding to the difficulties of
his existence.
The profession of a dramatic composer seems to
have been at this time one of incredible hardship.
However successful an opera might be, the mana-
ger seldom increased the original sum agreed for
with the composer, but left him to augment his
stipend by arrangements of his work in " harmonie"
for the public gardens, and in various other shapes
for the music-sellers, so that the conclusion of an
opera was but the commencement of his labour, if
he wished to profit. But this was not all : musical
property being entirely unprotected, and the score
of a new opera left in the hands of a copyist, with
liberty to dispose of as many transcripts on his own
account as there might be a demand for, the com-
poser was frequently forestalled and robbed of the
fruits of his invention.
In the autumn of the year 1782, the Prussian
ambassador, Baron von Reidesel, ordered a copy
of the score of “ Die Entführung aus dem Serail”
to be sent to Berlin, and Mozart expressed his
0
:
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
233
w
thanks that the commission was given to him, and
not to the copyist. In writing to his father on this
.
subject, he appears to be so dissatisfied with the
state of dramatic rewards, as they affected the com-
poser, that he had some idea of engaging in a the-
atrical property on his own account. It would seem
that the custom at that period was, as it has been
șince, to allow the copyist of the theatre to have
the advantage, by way of perquisite, of furnishing
copies of new music; and Mozart, upon this oc-
casion, evidently felt that, however he might be
warranted on every principle of reason and justice
in disposing of a copy of his own work, he was
committing a violation of established' usage, which
his enemies would be sure to bring against him on
the first opportunity. It is to be feared that the
whole transaction points not less to the vindication
of his own right than to pecuniary cares already
commenced. He announced to his father in this
letter that his opera had just been performed be-
fore the Russian court at Vienna, on which occa-
sion he sat again at the pianoforte, partly to rouse
the orchestra from the slumber into which they had
fallen, and partly to show himself to the visiting
nobility as the father of his child.
The novelties of form, as well as of style, in
“Die Entführung aus dem Serail,” continued to
render it wonderfully popular. The three move-
ments of the overture, the conclusion of the first
act with a terzetto, of the second with a quartett,
and of the third with a song, which went round,
each person singing a little verse in turn, thus
avoiding the usual finale, were great and success-
ful innovations, whose influence upon the lyric
stage was not bounded by this opera. The stiff-
ness and formalities of ancient custom now disap-
peared from the musical drama, and it acquired a
U 2
234
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
vivacity and spirit to which it had hitherto been à
stranger. Concerted music, with brilliant accom-
paniments, combining variety of character and sen-
timent, began also to be enjoyed.
The age was certainly one of transition in oper-
atic matters. Ten years before, Gluck had suc-
cessfully opposed the corruptions introduced by
the singers, and had cut off their organ points or
cadences; Mozart now followed him as a reform-
er by altering the conventional forms of pieces,
and even venturing, on some occasions, to conclude
piano! It is fortunate that these changes, which,
from that circumstance alone, incurred enormous
risk, were seconded by the efforts of admirable
singers. Adamberger's expressive tenor, and the
volun ous and full-toned bass of Fischer in Os-
min, aided the success by the perfect justice they
did the music.
Mozart had peculiar associations with “Die
Entführung," which always rendered it a favour-
ite work in his eyes. He had written it as a bride-
groom, and had given the name of his mistress to
the heroine, to whom he expressed his own feelings
in the part of Belmont. There was thus a slight
romance going forward, of which the audience were
not in the secret, which, moreover, may now ex-
plain the singular excellence of the love songs.
He now lived in a delirium of invention, often
working so hard that, as he happily expresses it
,
he does not know whether his head is on or off.
Whatever extravagance may hereafter appear
in
his occasional diversions and relaxations, it would
seem but a necessary consequence of such unex-
ampled application.
Throughout this busy period his engagements
were incessant. Count Rosenberg, in the midst
of it all, persuaded him to undertake an Italian op-
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
235
era, and he sent to Italy for the newest subjects of
opera buffa. Thus he describes the way in which
his day is occupied :
“ The whole morning, till two o'clock, is taken up
with lesson-giving; then we dine. After dinner I am
obliged to give my poor stomach a short hour for di-
gestion ; it is only in the evening that I can write any-
thing, and this not always, on account of my being fre-
quently invited to concerts."*
About this time he composed two concertos, in
which he says he has preserved the medium be-
tween too great difficulty and too great facility.
They are very brilliant, pleasing to the ear, and nat-
ural without being vapid. Here and there are spots
which connoisseurs will best appreciate, yet such as an-
other class of hearers will like without knowing where-
fore."
He was engaged at the same time upon the pi-
anoforte arrangement of his opera and the “Bard's
Song,” by Dennis, upon Gibraltar, at the request
of a Hungarian lady. Of this subject, which he
describes as difficult, he says:
“ The ode is majestic beautiful-what you will; but
to my poor taste, however, rather overdone, and some-
what tumid and bombastic. But why complain? The
middle thing, which is the true thing in all matters, is no
longer felt or appreciated. To gain applause, one must
either write in so obvious and commonplace a style that
one's productions may be caught up in the streets, or
so unintelligibly, that, defying the utmost power of sense
to discover a meaning, we may please all the more on
that very account.”
At the beginning of the year 1783, Mozart was
employed upon a mass, of which he completed
one half in January, and then, in the distraction
* let the reader think of the time thus irrecoverably lost in
Mozart's short life, and then consult the catalogue of his works!
Comment on such facts is quite superfluous.
236
THE LIFE OF MOZART:
of affairs, laid the rest aside to be finished at leis-
ure. His reason for again entering upon the un-
profitable field of church music was a purely do-
mestic one; but it did honour to the goodness of
his heart, and to his sense of religion as a Catholic
Christian
This mass was a
was a 6 labour of love" in more
senses than one. To exercise his pen in the grand
contrapuntal style of church music was at all times
agreeable to him; and he was now free from the
local restrictions under which he had written his
numerous masses at Salzburg, where neither the
style, the length of the pieces, nor their instrument-
ation was left to his own discretion; hence, ma-
king due allowance for the effect of some few years
in developing the composer's genius, the great su-
periority of “Davidde Penitente,” by which title
this mass was in the sequel better known over all
the earlier masses, as well for breadth of style as
in true ecclesiastical solemnity.
Among the compositions of this period there
are some concertos for the horn, which are too
illustrative of the disposition and manners of Mo-
zart, and of his connexion with the best perform-
ers of the orchestra, to be passed without notice.
A correspondent of the “Harmonicon,"* who had
visited M. André, at Bonn, to examine the MSS.
of Mozart in his possession, writes: "Besides many
unpublished fragments of operas and sacred com-
positions, I saw a very curious MS. concerto for
the horn, with this droll superscription : Mozart
has compassion on that silly fool Leitgeb, and
writes the fellow a concerto for the horn.?»t He
* For March, 1824.
+ Mozart's words are, “Wolfgang Amadé Mozart hat sich über
den Leitgeb, Esel, Ochs, und Narr erbarmt zu Wien den 27 Maij,
1783." It will not be uninteresting to note, that the Leitgeb to
whom all these pleasantries were addressed had formerly been
one of the companions of his boyhood at Salzburg.
3
6
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
237
-...
has given this player, with whom he seems to have
been on a very intimate footing, a great many oth-
er ludicrous epithets, which, however, do not bear
translating. The manuscript of this concerto has
all the colours of the rainbow, and to some very
difficult passages, written with blue ink, he has
added queries like this,“ What do you say to that,
Master Leitgeb?"
Humour of this kind was, without doubt, well
adapted to the meridian of Master Leitgeb. He
had got an excellent new concerto wherewith to
display his fine tone and execution; and that the
maestro condescended to have a laugh with him
did not detract from the value of the gift. The
talent and good-humour of this horn-player are ob-
liquely complimented in another concerto, of which
the rondo contains a running accompaniment of
drollery in the handwriting of the composer, from
the beginning to the end. Immediately on the en-
trance of the first solo, we find, à lei Signor Asino.
Animo-presto-Su via-da bravo-corraggio," and
at the conclusion,“ Grazia al ciel! Basta, basta!"
As all these expressions were faithfully given by
the copyist in writing out the part for perform-
ance, the ludicrous effect of such a commentary,
read by the player, on the execution of each pas-
sage, as it occurred, may be well conceived.
The instances in which Mozart performed acts
of kindness to musical artists of all classes, by giv-
ing them compositions without any return or re-
ward, are innumerable. His father had counselled
him to be on good terms with the men of his or-
chestra, that they might take pains with his works;
but these prudential considerations had little weight
with him. Wherever he found talent united with
a friendly character, his love for music did the rest;
and thus, however straitened or embarrassed in his
238
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
own circumstances, he would still be a benefactor
to the humblest follower of art.
The taste for the humorous displayed in the
anecdote just related may be possibly thought in-
fra dig. ; but it is, however, characteristic of the
composer, who preserved in mature life the same
pleasure in the broadest and most extravagant play
of the imagination that he had shown when a boy.
Usually absorbed in the serious business of com-
position, he unbent his mind with eagerness, and
at times enjoyed such a holyday of sheer animal
spirits as could scarcely have been tolerated in an
inferior person. He liked associates of this com-
plexion; and, in his love of sympathy, either over-
looked, or cared not to see, that a good jester and
table companion may possess a hypocritical and
selfish character. In the end, he discovered this
to his cost; but his own humour was still the con-
comitant of a highly susceptible and tender nature,
and might at any time have given place to tears.
Mozart had now for some time been enrolled a
brother of a lodge of Freemasons at Vienna, and
had the honour to compose the music for most of
the remarkable solemnities and festivals of that
order, The jollities of this club seem to have
been much to his taste, and often raised his spirits
when depressed by too close attention to composi-
tion.
Towards the middle of the year 1783, Mozart
was occupied on the six quartetts which two years
afterward he dedicated to Joseph Hadyn. Hebe-
stowed the highest pains on this work, in order to
render it an offering worthy of the great model upon
which he always professed to have formed his style
of quartett writing. *
* He was employed on the second in D minor during the first
accouchement of his wife, pursuing his occupation in the cham-
*
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
239
1
a
1
Anfossi's opera, “Il Curioso Indiscreto," brought
out in June, 1783, excited a rather unusual interest
in Vienna, from introducing the two celebrated
German singers, Madame Lange and Herr Adam-
berger, on the Italian stage for the first time. Both
had solicited Mozart to write something for them,
and he accordingly gratified his sister-in-law with
two airs, and Adamberger with a rondo. It was
one of the most common practices of the distinguish-
ed singers of that day to introduce into any new
part, in which they desired to make a favourable
impression, some composition written by a master
who knew and could display their powers : in com-
plying, therefore, with the wishes of the perform-
ers-in this instance, there was nothing unusual. But
whether Italian jealousy was alarmed at the near
approach, and feared the rivalry of German preten-
sions, or whether the opportunity to prejudice the
public against a young and rising composer, by
representing him as dictatorial and conceited, were
thought too good to be lost, certain it is that the
report of Mozart's desire to improve Anfossi's opera
was industriously circulated.
In the account which Mozart gives his father of
this transaction, he says that he disappointed the
malice of his enemies by causing a notice to be
printed in the books of the opera that the two airs
sung by Madame Lange were composed by him,
and not by Anfossi; so that there was no ground
for charging him with a design upon the reputation
of that artist. And these two airs, one of which was
encored, were the only parts of the opera that
ber of the invalid. According to one of his German biographers,
the minuet and trio were composed immediately after her deliv-
ery. The various and profound feelings displayed in that mag-
nificent work afford internal evidence of the truth of these do.
mestic circumstances, and show the agitated state of mind in
which it was produced,
240
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
a
pleased. Adamberger did not sing the rondo Mo-
zart had composed for him, having been tricked by
Salieri into a belief that it would offend Count Ro-
senberg. "Adamberger,proud in the wrong place,"
observes Mozart, was determined to show that
he did not want introduction; he, however, repent-
ed of the resolution, and, seeing his mistake, came
to beg the rondo of me, but I would not let him
have it."
Towards the end of July in this year, Mozart
and his wife visited their father at Salzburg. This
journey had already been postponed some months
from the want of money; and even now the cir-
cumstances of the composer appear to have been
far from flourishing, for he was arrested on the step
of the carriage for a debt of thirty florins. After
some difficulty, he was, however, liberated.
With what mingled feelings must the travellers
have entered upon this journey! There had now
been some years' practical experience of the mode
of life which Mozart had himself voluntarily adopt-
ed. The brilliant reputation he had founded in the
musical drama had brought with it no solid advan-
tage, nor diminished the toil with which he earned
his daily bread, while it had sharpened the vigilance
of his enemies, and increased their activity in con-
testing every step to his preferment. To this life
--the prospect a little softened, perhaps, by hope
and recognised superiority-he was to return, " to
fight his battles o'er again." Still, if there was a
dark spot in the vista of the imagination, it did not
affect the present, nor lessen the holyday feelings
and joy of heart with which he now reyisited the
scenes of his infancy and happy boyhood. *
a
* Of the effect of fine scenery upon Mozart a characteristic an-
ecdote is preserved, which, though it does not relate to this jour-
ney, may not be misplaced here. In travelling with his wife
!
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
241
**
米
​9
But the travellers are arrived, and the imagina-
tion readily pursues them to their retreat, partaking
of the hospitalities of home and the diversions usual
on such occasions.*
Yet, if the Mozarts enjoyed themselves in these
lovely solitudes--scenes which, viewed in youth,
and mingling in the bosom of the artist with the
remembrance of life's uncertainty, awaken inten-
sest feeling-it would seem that they must have bor-
rowed time from sleep, for never was the pen of
the composer more actively employed than during
the interval of something less than three months
which this visit occupied.
His first care was to complete the votive mass,
of which it has been already mentioned that one
half was ready in January. This mass was rehear-
sed on the 23d of August in the chapel-house, and
performed on the 25th at St. Peter's Church, his
wife singing the solos ; probably, at this time, as a
religious observance, for we hear of her no more
through a beautiful country, he would at first gaze attentively and
in silence on the view before him; by degrees, as the ordinary
serious, and even melancholy expression of his countenance bé.
came enlivened and cheerful, he would begin to sing, or, rather, to
hum, and at last exclaim, “Oh, if I had but the thema on paper!"
On her answering that that might easily be, he would continue,
Yes, my treatment of it, no doubt. But how vexatious to be
obliged to hatch all one's conceptions within doors.” Mozart al-
ways composed in the open air when he could. Thus, "Don Gio-
vanni"
was composed on a bowling-green, and the principal part
of the “Requiem” in a garden-two of his greatest works,
* Even during his own lifetime Salzburg derived a charm from
its association with Mozart, which enhanced the romance of its
natural beauty. Kelly, not many years after the date of this visit,
speaking of his approach to the city, says,
" As I viewed its lofty
spires from a distance, I felt a kind of reverential awe”-a becom-
ing homage to the birthplace of the great musician: M. Beyle,
the author of some charming letters on Haydn, dated Salzburg,
in the spring of 1808, talks with rapture of his walks in the woods
there : and M. Mainzer, an intelligent correspondent of the “Ga-
zette Musicale de Paris," under the influence of the same feelings,
gives a morning view of Salzburg in the taste of one of Claude's
landscapes
»
a
16
X
242
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
.
in the character of a public performer. But the so-
lemnity was not allowed to pass without enhancing
the mutual kindness of the young married pair.
The next work of the composer was to write two
duets for the violin and viola for Michael Haydn,
organist of St. Peter's at Salzburg. These duets,
having originated in an office of friendship and hu-
manity, were never claimed by Mozart.* Their
history is short, but interesting. Poor Michael
Haydn, at this time suffering from a severe attack
of illness, which rendered him totally incompetent
to work, had received the command of his prince
to produce duets for the violin and viola against a
certain day, and was threatened with the loss of his
salary in case of failure. Such were the liberal
dealings of the archiepiscopal government with art-
ists. Mozart, who was a daily visiter of Haydn,
and saw his helpless circumstances, set to work for
him so eagerly, that in a short time the duets were
completed and ready for presentation in the name
of Haydn, whom they benefited not less in purse
than in reputation.
To this holyday period in Salzburg are also to
be referred two Italian operas, the very titles of
which have as yet scarcely transpired. The first,
entitled “Lo Sposo Deluso, Ossia la Rivalità di tre
Donne per un solo Amante," an opera in two acts,
the text by Varesco, the author of " Idomeneo,"
approached completion so nearly that its overture
was written. Of the second, a comic opera, called
“L'Oca del Cairo," the sketch only of the first act
in score was finished. From these productions, it
appears that the composer was addressing himself
C
1
* They have since been published by André, of Offenbach, with
the name of their real author.
+ The overture is the last piece produced in the composition of
an opera.
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
243
to the peculiar taste of the Viennese, with the in-
tention of confirming the dramatic reputation he
had commenced; but that, on reviewing what he
had done, he thought fit to suppress it. Nothing
of importance has been lost by this proceeding, the
best ideas having been treated to greater advantage
in other works.
On the 27th of October, Mozart set out on his
return to Vienna. One solitary cause of dissatis-
faction between the father and son arose out of this
visit, which else had been all harmony. It seems
that the composer wished to present his wife with
some of the trinkets given to him 'during his youth-
ful progress through the various European courts.
This desire, however, was not gratified; and M.
Nissen* is of opinion, from the letters of Leopold
Mozart to his daughter, who shortly afterward mar-
ried, that some coldness on the part of the father
towards his son is perceptible. What the expecta-
tions of the father were has been already shown in
various letters; he looked forward, at the least, to
an old age of ease and religious meditation. Beat-
en from one ground of hope to another, until at last
no refuge was left, this coldness, if it existed at all,
must have been the natural effect of accumulated
years and disappointments. To these causes may
be added the wide separation of the two, and the
now total independence of the son, who had been
so long under the paternal wing and protection.
As for Mozart, who was the most disinterested
of mankind, and whose even temper was scarcely
ruffled by the gravest acts of unkindness, it will be
sufficient to read the letter addressed by him to his
sister on her marriage (which will appear in its
place) to prove that he never lost sight of the kind
* See the preface to the “ Biographie, W. A. Mozart's.” Leipsic,
1828,
244
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
ness.
a
intentions of a good son towards his father, and that
circumstances alone prevented his realizing them.
The travellers stayed at Linz on their journey
homeward, stopping at the house of the old Count
Thun, where they were treated with great polite-
At this place Mozart gave a concert, and, not
having a single symphony by him, he writes to his
father that he is over head and ears at a new one.*
He here learned that his German opera,“ Die Ent-
führung aus dem Serail,” had been produced with
much applause at Prague and Leipsic.
The spring of the year 1784 was unusually brill-
iant in respect of music at Vienna Paesiello and
.
Sarti, the one on his journey from Russia, the oth-
er on his way thither, for a time enlivened the
city by their compositions and their presence. In
addition to these, an English party, consisting of
Stephen Storace, his sister, a celebrated singer fresh
from Italy, and Michael Kelly, an Irish youth, the
pupil of Aprile, excited much attention, and receiv-
ed the marked favour of the Emperor Joseph. To
the last-mentioned individual we owe the best per-
sonal description of Mozart now extant.
"I went one evening,” he says, “to a concert of the
celebrated Kozeluch’s, a great composer for the piano,
forte, as well as a fine performer on that instrument. I
* The symphony conceived and executed within four days I
take to be the one in C, No. 6. -
3
4
f
The dates of the other great symphonies are well ascertained,
and the origin of this alone remains to be determined. In the
structure of the slow movement, and in the astonishingly anima-
ted and impassioned finale, may be discovered such music as Mo.
zart would write in haste--but still with a pen of fire, that rescued
him in the most hazardous straits, and under every disadvantage.
16
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
245
saw there the composers Vanhall and Baron Ditters-
dorf, and, what was to me one of the greatest gratifica-
tions of my musical life, was there introduced to that
prodigy of genius, Mozart. He favoured the company
by performing fantasias and capriccios on the pianoforte.
His feeling, the rapidity of his fingers, the gr
the great execu-
tion and strength of his left hand particularly, and the
apparent inspiration of his modulations, astounded me.
After this splendid performance we sat down to supper,
and I had the pleasure to be placed at table between
him and his wife, Madame Constance Weber, a German
lady of whom he was passionately fond.
He con-
versed with me a good deal about Thomas Linley, the
first Mrs. Sheridan's brother, with whom he was inti-
mate at Florence, and spoke of him with great affection.
He said that Linley was a true genius, and he felt that,
had he lived, he would have been one of the greatest
ornaments of the musical world. After supper, the
young branches of our host had a dance, and Mozart
joined them. Madame Mozart told me that, great as
his genius was, he was an enthusiast in dancing, and
often said that his taste lay in that art rather than in
music.
“He was a remarkably small man, very thin and pale,
with a profusion of fine fair hair, of which he was
rather vain. He gave me a cordial invitation to his
house, of which I availed myself, and passed a great
part of my time there. He always received me with
kindness and hospitality. He was remarkably fond of
punch, of which beverage I have seen him take copious
draughts. He was also fond of billiards, and had an ex-
cellent billiard-table in his house. Many and many a
game have I played with him, but always came off sec-
ond best. He gave Sunday concerts, at which I never
was missing. He was kind-hearted, and always ready
to oblige, but so very particular when he played, that,
if the slightest noise were made, he instantly left off.”
--Reminiscences.
Kelly adds that Mozart advised him, when he
talked of composing, to let well enough alone, and
a
X 2
246
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
.
not study counterpoint-a good-natured way of
hinting that it would only be a waste of time.*
His engagements this spring were almost unex-
ampled. He gives an account of his subscription
I concerts in a letter to his father.
“ Herewith you receive the list of my one hundred
and seventy-four subscribers. I alone have thirty sub-
scribers more than Richter and Fischer together. I
commence with three subscription concerts in Tratt-
ner's Hall on the three last Wednesdays in Lent, begin-
ning on the 17th of March; the price of the three is six
florins. I shall also give two concerts in the theatre
this year; and as I shall be obliged to play new things,
you may imagine that I must write. The entire fore-
noon is taken up with pupils, and in the evening I have
nearly every day to play. Here is a list of the concerts
at which I am engaged :
Thursday, February 26, at Gallitzin's.
"Monday, March 1, at Joseph Esterhazy's.
Thursday, March 4, at Gallitzin's.
Friday, March 5, at Esterhazy's.
" Monday, March 8, at Esterhazy's.
“ Thursday, March 11, at Gallitzin's.
"Friday, March 12, at Esterhazy's.
Monday, March 15, at Esterhazy's.
6 Wednesday, March 17, my first private concert.
“ Thursday, March 18, at Gallitzin’s.
Friday, March 19, at Esterhazy's.
* The manners of the composer, and his views of composition,
will be farther illustrated by the following anecdote. During one
of his journeys, Mozart was the guest of a musician, whose son, a
boy of twelve years old, already played the pianoforte very skilfully.
But, Herr Kapellmeister," said the boy, "I should like very
to compose something. How am I to begin ?" " Pho, pho, you
must wait.”
* You composed much earlier." “ But asked nothing
about it. If one has the spirit of a composer, one writes because one
cannot help it.”. At these words, which were uttered in a lively
manner by Mozart, the boy looked downcast and ashamed. He,
however, said, "I merely meant to ask you if you could recom-
mend me any book.", Come, come,” "returned Mozart, kindly
"
patting the boy's cheek, "all that is of no use.
Here, here, and
here," pointing to the ear, the head, and heart," is your school. If
all is right there, then you may take the pen without delay.”
а
а
"
6
much
»:
>
3
THE LIFE OF MOZART:
247
.
Saturday, March 20, at Richter's.
Sunday, March 21, my first concert in the theatre.
Monday, March 22, at Esterhazy's.
“ Wednesday, March 24, my second private concert.
“Thursday, March 25, at Gallitzin's.
Friday, March 26, at Esterhazy's.
Saturday, March 27, at Richter's.
Monday, March 29, at Esterhazy's.
“ Wednesday, March 31, my third private concert.
Thursday, April 1, my second concert in the theatre.
“ Saturday, April 3, at Richter's.
“ Have I not enough to do?: At this rate, methinks,
it will be difficult for me to get out of practice.
I must now very briefly tell you how it happens
that I give concerts in a private saloon. The clavier
teacher, Richter, is giving concerts in the same place
on six successive Saturdays. When the nobility sub-
scribed, they observed to him that they had no wish to
go if I did not play. Richter therefore engaged me,
and I consented to play three times for him, but got up,
also, three concerts for myself, to which all have subscri-
bed. The first concert, on the 17th of March, went off
well; the room was crammed; and the new concerto*
which I played pleased so extraordinarily, that, wher-
ever one goes, one hears the praises of this concert.”
In the month of February, 1784, Mozart com-
* The concerto mentioned as such a favourite is the beautiful
one in B flat, commencing in the Italian style:
Allegro. Oboi e Fag.
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.
b-
It was written only two days before the concert, and probably
played in public by Mozart without having been once tried over,
as was frequently the case.
248
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
7
menced a catalogue of his productions from that
time onward, and suffered no distraction of affairs
to interfere with his regularity in keeping it. . As
sooni as he had finished a composition, he entered
a few bars of its theme in a book, together with
the date of its completion; and thus, in simply as-
sisting his own memory to recognise the numerous
offspring of his brain, left a document to posterity
which is invaluable, as it affords a complete history
of his genius throughout its most brilliant years.
M. André, who has published this catalogue, has
given some anecdotes of the composer in the pref-
ace, which throw much light on his moral and so
cial character. They also confirm the opinion that
even at this time Mozart much wished to settle in
England; a desire in which he was encouraged
by Storace and his sister, by Kelly, and shortly
afterward by the persuasion of his pupil Attwood.
Allusion has been already made to some pecu-
niary embarrassment of Mozart previous to his
visit to Salzburg. This accident, unfortunately so
frequent with him, was not the result of poverty so
much as of an ill-regulated household economy, and,
at that time, of inexperience. To live in a house
in which it is not known how the money goes, has
been at once the happiness and the misfortune of
men of genius in all ages. But let us observe the
strong, though most unwelcome effort that this great
man made to live with the reputation of a good
citizen :
** At the time that he commenced this catalogue,"
says André," he also commenced keeping a regular ac-
count of his receipts and expenses. His receipts, among
which are comprised the prodụce of his concerts, of his
instructions in distinguished families, and of the sale of
some few of his works, were put down by him on an
oblong piece of paper, commencing in March, 1784, and
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
249
extending to February of the year following. From
that date the account was handed over to his wife, who
did not continúe it long. The expenses were written
in a little quarto book, which had before been appro-
priated to his stụdies in the English language, and which
contains several letters translated by him into English.”
The trifling disbursements which the composer
thought fit to enter in his account during this par-
oxysm of domestic prudence may create a smile,
while, at the same time, his purchases show the
simplicity and elegance of his taste. On the first
of May he buys some flowers, which cost a kreut-
zer; this, though somewhat less than a farthing,
;
forms an item in the musician's leger. On the
27th there appears to have been a more expensive
purchase, in the shape of a bird--a starling, for
which thirty-four kreutzers were paid. The tune
which the starling had been taught to sing was so
curious, that there is little doubt it occasioned the
composer many a hearty laugh. Immediately un-
der the entry of his purchase he has written its
song, with the remark, Das war schön! How
pretty !*
te
非
​ଓY
These are the traits of an amiable and affection-
ate nature, but they have peculiar grace in connex-
ion with the great musician. His fondness for an-
imals, but especially for birds, was a part of that
original refinement, that feeling for the beauty of
Cowper, the poet, writes on one of his tame hares :
“I kept him for his humour's sake,
For he would oft beguile
My heart of thoughts that made it ache,
And force me to a smile."
a
250
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
*
natural objects, which neither the artificial life of
the theatre, nor the influence of an absorbing pro-
fession were able to weaken, much less extinguish.
It was his practice every summer to hire a little
house and garden in the suburbs of Vienna. Here
he enjoyed the air with his wife and friends, and
often pursued his work in an arbour in the midst
of their conversation. When the starling before
mentioned, which became a great favourite, died,
he buried it in his garden with due honours, and
raised a monument and inscription to its memory.
But to return to the catalogue. One of the most
important productions of the spring of 1784 was
the first of what are now known as a set of three
pianoforte quartetts. In its original form it was a
quintett for the pianoforte, oboe, clarinet, horn, and
bassoon. The author refers to this composition in
the letter following:
Vienna, April 10, 1784.
I have gained great honour by my three subscrip-
tion concerts. My concert at the theatre likewise went
off very well. I have written two grand concertos, and,
in addition to these, a quintett for the oboe, clarinet,
horn, bassoon, and pianoforte, which has received ex-
traordinary applause; and I myself hold it for the best
that I ever yet wrote. How I wish that you could
have heard it, and how beautifully it was performed!
For the rest, I must confess that, towards the end, I
was absolutely tired with mere playing; and it is not a
little flattering to me that my hearers were not so."
This quintett was first performed at one of the
Sunday concerts which Mozart was in the habit of
giving at his own house, and a remarkable anec-
dote in Schlictegroll's narrative refers to it, but
the identity of the particular composition is now
first established.
* Cowper performed the same kind offices to his hares, whom
he " sepulchred” with pomp, and even honoured with epitaphs.
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
251
6
a
"A Polish count, who was introduced on the occa-
sion, was delighted, as were all the rest of the company,
with this piece, and expressed his gratification to the
composer, requesting that, when he was at leisure, he
would compose for him a trio for the flute. Mozart
promised to do so, on condition that it should be at his
own time. The count, on his return home, sent the
composer one hundred gold demi-sovereigns (about
£100), with a polite note, in which he thanked him for
the pleasure he had enjoyed. Mozart sent him the
original score of the piece for five instruments, which
had appeared to please him. The count left Vienna.
A
year afterward he called again upon Mozart, and in-
quired about his trio. Sir, replied the composer, I
have never felt myself in a disposition to write anything
that I should esteem worthy of your acceptance.
• Probably you will not feel more disposed,' replied the
count, to return me the hundred demi-sovereigns which
I paid you beforehand for the piece.' Mozart, indig-
nant, immediately returned him his sovereigns, but the
count said nothing about the original score of the piece
for five instruments, and it was soon after published by
Artaria as a quatuor for the pianoforte, with an accom-
paniment for the violin, alto, and violoncello."**
Considering the unsettled nature of his employ-
ment, it could not well be otherwise than that Mo-
zart must at all times have pursued composition
with great irregularity. He was a bad composer
to order;" did not like to write invitâ minervů;
and was much indisposed to follow Johnson's recom-
mendation to set to work “doggedly." But when
the mood was on him, day and night were alike,
and he wrote through both at a stretch.
Signora Strinasacchi,t a violin-player from Man-
* In this unauthorized manner a great number of Mozart's com-
positions made their way into public.
† Strinasacchi, afterward known as Madame Schlik, entered
the service of the Duke of Saxe-Gotha, and continued in it till her
death. Her violin passed into the hands of Spohr, who, I believe,
it at the Norwich Festival in 1839. The enjoyment
of the hearers, on that occasion, would have been enhanced, had
they known the historical interest attached to his instrument.
played upon
252
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
tua, played before the court of Vienna this spring,
and obtained the emperor's permission to give a
concert in the royal opera-house. She soon made
the acquaintance of Mozart, who undertook to write
a sonata for her.
The composition of this sonata was by some
means deferred until the night before the concert.
Strinasacchi, anxious for a successful appearance,
then pressed to have her violin part to study on
the following morning, and received it; but this
was all that there was time to write. Mozart could
find no opportunity to put his own part on paper,
The players met in the opera house, and executed
the sonata without any rehearsal, to the high de-
light of the audience, both at composition and per-
formance. The emperor, who was looking down
on the stage from his box through a lorgnette, sus-
pecting that Mozart had no notes before him, sent
to him for the score.
His astonishment was great
at finding the lines of the bars only on the paper.
“What! have you ventured that again ?" said the
emperor. May it please your majesty,” returned
Mozart, “there was not a single note lost.'
The composer, in performing this surprising feat,
had recourse only to a common expedient when
pressed for time. He did the same in the sonata
* As it may be interesting to know the work which forms the
subject of this anecdote, two bars of the theme are subjoined:
Largo,
7
bo
***
be
f
P
Vibe
1
253
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
written for himself and Brunetti in 1781, which
was produced in an hour--from eleven to twelve
at night. Though nothing is more frequent than
exhibitions of musical memory, there certainly
in the power to retain a newly-invented composition
with accuracy, matter for very just and reasonable
admiration. It is almost as though we should ask
a great extemporaneous performer, on his conclu-
ding a piece, to repeat what he had played. Such
anecdotes show the extraordinary completeness of
his conceptions, and prove that he could both im-
agine and retain the whole of a composition before
putting a single note upon paper.
On the 24th of May, 1784, he wrote, among oth-
er matters, to his father,
" I really am unable to tell you which of the two con-
certos (in B flat and D, composed on the 15th and 22d
of March, 1784) I prefer. I take them both to be con-
certos die schwitzen machen (that will make the player
warm); but, as it regards difficulty, the one in B has
certainly the advantage. I am, however, exceedingly
anxious to know which among the three concertos in
B, D, and G major--the last written on the 12th of
April--most pleases you and my sister; for that in E
flat, of the 9th of February, 1784, cannot be included
among them, being a concerto of a peculiar kind, and
written rather for a small than a great orchestra. As
the talk at present is of nothing but these three concer-
ti
b
Dibe
5
This composition conceived one day, and performed the next,
without having been written down, is seventeen pages long !
Y
254
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
tos, I am desirous to know whether your opinion coin-
cides with the general one and mine also. It is, indeed,
necessary that they be well performed, and got up with
all the parts. I can spare them till you have done with
them, only take care not to let them go out of your
hands, for I might have sold one for twenty-four ducats
to-day; but I think it more to my advantage to keep
them in my possession for a couple of years or so, and
then publish them.”
No author ever suffered such extensive injury by
the surreptitious printing of his works as Mozart;
and the injunctions which so frequently accompany
the loan of a new composition to his friends-not
to let it be seen, not to trust it out of the hands, &c.
--were produced by the dishonesty which he had
experienced in this respect. While at home, he
preserved his MSS. in tolerable security; but du-
ring journeys, and in giving concerts at the towns
on his route, which some years later was a frequent
resource with the composer, when his health or his
purse were in bad condition, he could less easily be
on his guard against the designs of unprincipled
. His manuscript compositions, if not stolen,
were frequently copied and then printed, and the
author thus deprived of all pecuniary advantage in
The great memory of the composer now
came to his assistance. The copy from which he
used to play his concertos in travelling was such
a mere outline of the original, and contained -so
few notes, that it could be of no value to the per-
son who would take it. This method, while it se-
cured him against depredations, must have been
advantageous to those who heard him frequently, as
it may be easily supposed that the great artist trust-
ed much to impulse, and produced his works on
every fresh occasion with some various reading,
never condescending to repeat himself literally.*
* The brothers Hoffman, of Mayence, to one of whom we are
indebted for some truly admirable duets for the violin and violon-
men.
them.
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
255
Paesiello, though he had made a large fortune
at Petersburg, was not permitted to remain unem-
ployed at Vienna; he produced there his opera
entitled “Il Re Teodoro,” in which the English
singer, Signora Storace, and Kelly also, appear-
ed. The Barber of Seville," of the same mas-
ter, was likewise given at this time the part of Ro-
sina by Signora Storace. The emperor and the no-
bility treated Paesiello with great distinction; and,
as his character possessed all the frankness and
amiability of his own melody, Mozart became much
attached to him. The two friends dined, walked,
and drove out together. Mozart tells his father of
having taken Paesiello with him into the country to
hear Mademoiselle Babette, his pupil, and himself
perform a duet on two pianofortes. Of Sarti he
also speaks as a man of worthy character, and adds
that he had delighted him by making extempore
variations on one of his airs. This was an elegant
and peculiar art of complimenting much exercised
by Mozart, but not always well received by com-
posers.
With the exception of a single quartett for string-
ed instruments, produced towards the close of the
year, the whole of 1784 was passed by Mozart in
teaching, composing for, and playing on the piano.
The emolument of these occupations was consid-
erable; and if such a destiny would have contented
the
great artist, he might have settled down in a
very comfortable and flourishing condition as mu-
sic-master!
In August of this year the Mozart family sus-
cello, observed at a concert at that city that Mozart, in the per-
formance of his own concertos, never confined himself to the pre-
cise melody before him, but varied it from time to time with sin-
gular grace and beauty, according to the inspiration of the mo-
a
* The court of Vienna at this period was particularly gay and
brilliant, and among the celebrities there was the Duke of York,
who used to walk about the streets in the Windsor uniform,
ment.
256
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
*
a
tained a loss, which a few years earlier would have
been deemed irreparable. The friar, Padre Mar-
tini, Kapellmeister to the Church of St. Francis at
Bologna, on whose friendly disposition, and power-
ful influence with the great, the family had found-
ed all their hopes of advancement, expired during
this month, at a great age.
Whether he fulfilled
all that was expected from his interposition in fa-
vour of the Mozarts, whether absence made him
lukewarm towards them, or whether the kindest
intentions and efforts in their behalf were merely
unsuccessful, must now be left to conjecture. As
the depositary, however, of the secrets of the poor
Salzburg musicians, and as one whose amiable
character had won their confidence, the good Cor-
delier is too important a person to be allowed to
quit the scene unnoticed. The Padre Martini ap-
pears to owe his reputation rather to the age in
which he lived, and to the great men with whom
he became connected, than to anything actually ac-
complished by him. Jomelli, Metastasio, and oth-
ers have helped to extend his name; but, in fact,
his labours, both literary and musical, as well in
the history of music as in composition, form an ac-
cumulation of facts and principles which, though
curious enough for the research and industry they
display, it has been left for others to arrange to ad-
vantage and employ with profit. The fugues of
Martini, which in their day served so well to illus-
trate the laws of counterpoint, are consigned to
present silence, if not to perpetual oblivion.
During the same month, Anna Maria Mozart, the
* He was succeeded in his appointment by his pupil Mattei, a
musician less learned than his master, but more melodious. Mat-
lei retained the office till the suppression of the convent in 1798,
when he resumed a secular life, and had the honour of instruct-
ing Rossini! How strange, to find such a descendant from a mo-
nastic school of severe counterpoint, at only one remove from the
Padre Martini!
TIIE LIFE OF MOZART.
257
composer's sister, became Madame Sonnenburg.
Previously to her change of condition she received
a letter from her brother, accompanied by some
verses, in which he endeavours to revive the gay
and light-hearted tone of their youthful correspond-
ence:
“ Vienna, August 18, 1784.
** MA TRÈS CHÈRE SEUR!
“ Potz sapperment! I find that it is high time to write
to you, if I mean to address you again in your vestal
state.
My wife and I wish you all joy and hap-
piness on this alteration of your condition, and heartily
regret that we cannot have the pleasure of being pres-
ent at the ceremony; we hope, however, early in the
spring to embrace both you and your husband, and to
see you at Salzburg and St. Gilgen. Our chief concern
at present is about our dear father, who will now be
forced to lead such a solitary life. You are not, indeed,
at a great distance from him, and he may often take a
drive over to see you, but he is now again tied to that
abominable chapel-house. Were I in my father's place,
I would ask for some provision after so long a service,
and, on getting my pension, would go and live quietly
with my daughter. If the archbishop refused to listen
to my request, I would resign my employment, and go
to my son at Vienna; and this it is which I have prin-
cipally in view in writing, to beg you to take all possible
pains to persuade him to such a course ; in fact, I wrote
I
to him to the same purport to-day. Farewell : live to-
gether only as well as we do we two. Meanwhile,
accept a little advice from the poetical casket of my
brain. Just listen."
The verses are suppressed. Whatever logic or
forethought Mozart may have exercised when his
note-pen was in his hand, he no sooner commences
verse-maker than he loses all command of himself,
and runs as mad a race, interspersed with as many
frisks and curvets, as a young horse turned loose in
a field. Rhyme was with him a vehicle of the lu-
dicrous, and he possessed a happy facility in it.
ܕ
17
Y 2
258
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
In the mere existence, however, of these long
letters in verse, evidence may be discerned of the
passion with which the composer devoted himself
to every pursuit, whether in the serious business of
his art or in the lightest recreation. Returning
only to common life at intervals, as his abstracting
fits of composition subsided, and possessing a tem-
perament at all times strongly disposed for pleas-
ure, it may be conceived how much a monitor and
guide within his own home—a second conscience,
as it has been humorously called—was necessary
to him; and this duty fitly devolved upon his wife.
She had been counselled by the Baron von Swie.
ten as to the most prudent course for the manage-
ment of a genius whose life had become public
property, and she acted on this point as became her
station ; solicitous, in the first place, for the health
and welfare of her husband, and, in the next, for
the punctual fulfilment of his engagements. But
if it were necessary, when diverted from his com-
position by friends, to remind him that this or that
piece was waited for, and so, by a gentle remon-
strance, to send him again to his pen, it as frequent-
ly happened that schemes and stratagems were re-
quired to withdraw him from labour when torment-
ed by ideas, and in a state of feverish anxiety en-
deavouring to realize some favourite plan. Under
such influences, he lost all consideration for him.
self; and in later years, when his constitution was
less able to answer the demands made upon it by
the extreme irregularity of his life, he sometimes
fainted at the desk. It was the same when in the
mood to improvise upon the pianoforte, either alone,
or in the society of a friend; when he sat down to
the instrument in the evening, he commonly pur-
güed the train of his fancies till long after midnight.
The delicate health of Mozart had already og-
а.
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
259
ance.
a
casioned some inquietude to his family and acquaint-
Dr. Barisani, physician to the general hos-
pital at Vienna, and probably Von Swieten himself,
who formerly attended the Empress Maria There-
sa in that capacity, had given him advice on this
point. Both of these were men who directed their
attentions to the composer on public grounds, and
from a full appreciation of his artistical merits, as
much as from motives of private friendship; and Mo-
zart was thus doubly cared for in their hands. It was
suggested, to prevent the evils of long-continued
sitting, that he should stand at his desk to compose,
and this method he now generally adopted. The
billiard-table, too, which has caused much scandal,
and many unfair imputations on the memory of the
composer, there is reason to believe, was not brought
into his house so much out of an inordinate passion
for the game as from its affording an easy means
of exercise and relaxation, accessible at all hours
and in all weathers.
The year 1785 brought no appointment with it;
and while almost every other composer in Vienna
could take his flights of imagination, and return, in
case of failure, to the "sober certainty” of quarter-
ly emoluments in right of some place or pension,
Mozart alone was left to be provided for by chance.
However, during the past year his diligence had
been rewarded, and he had money in hand; but he
had no sooner abandoned the practice of register-
ing his expenses, than the old vicissitudes of pros-
perity and adversity were renewed.
In January he put the finishing hand to a work
which had long deeply interested him, and had for
some years employed much time, snatched from
laborious duties, namely, the six violin quartetts,
dedicated, in the autumn of 1785, to Joseph Haydn.
The desire of transmitting to posterity a memorial
of their friendship stimulated his industry far more
>
260
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
>
than the probabilities of gain, which indeed, in the
case of a work of such high art, were extremely
remote. In one so situated as the composer, the
production of these quartetts was an act of pure sen-
timent and romantic enthusiasm. It is not the less
gratifying, however, to know that the work found a
market, and that Artaria purchased the copyright
for one hundred ducats.
The last of these quartetts in C, finished on the
14th of January, commences with a few bars of slow
introductory harmony, constructed on a point of
imitation so close, and, moreover, so startling in its
opposition to the canons of orthodox composition, as
to have revived within these few years a violent
debate
upon the Continent.
The passage in question is the following :*
.
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ہے۔ p 3
Adagio.
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4
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4
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be
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​cres.
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* Reference to the original Ms., in the possession of Mf:
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
261
Sarti, of whom Mozart speaks, in a letter of the
th of June, with so strong a personal predilection,
published some severe strictures on this composi-
tion, in a pamphlet entitled “Osservazioni critiche
sopra un Quartetto di Mozart."* He concludes
his diatribe by asking, “Si puo far di più per far
stonare à professori ?". The struggle for superior-
ity between the Italian and German schools would
hardly have been decided at this day if no one had
astonished the professors. That was Mozart's busi-
Had it been permitted to Sarti, a disciple of
the old vocal school of Italy, to decide ex cathedra
upon the merits of German instrumental composi-
tion, Haydn and Bethooven must have been pro-
scribed as well as Mozart. Italian ears were slow
to approve the piquant chromatic harmony of the
Germans, or to perceive in it the source of unnum-
bered beautiful effects in instrumental music: and
ness.
Stumpff, of Great Portland-street, settled the question. All these
dissonances and false relations were reasserted by the composer.
The subject of the beautiful allegro, it may be added, appears in a
very youthful composition, and was here first developed.
* Sarti was far from being the ingenuous character that Mozart
thought him. Of the envy with which he saw the rising star of
Germany, this pamphlet affords proof; for now having, as he con-
ceived, good ground to carp, he even ventured to detract from
Mozart's fame as a pianoforte player. He was about fifty-four.
years of age when he passed through Vienna on his way to Rus-
sia, and became acquainted with the young man who was to re-
duce his dramatic reputation to nothing; and this was hard to one
who had been a spoiled child of the public, and whose composi-
tions had hitherto been termed musica dell' altro mondo. Of his
numerous operatic pieces, Gerber remarks that there was nothing
in them but what had been known twenty years before, namely,
that he wrote good melodies for the singers, with a feeble, and
often incorrect harmony. In Russia he made a greater noise than
ever. He there composed a psalm for Good Friday in the native
tongue, for eight voices, an orchestra, and the Russian horns; and
in his Te Deum for the capture of Okzakow, he added to these
noisy horns, cannon, which were fired at particular intervals in
the courtyard of the palace. This might well be called mu-
sic of another world. Such was Sarti, in whom the musician and
he quack seem to have been mingled'in pretty equal proportions.
برا
262
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
here an amusing and significant incident may be
recorded in reference to the six quartetts in ques-
tion. When Artaria sent the quartetts to Italy, they
were speedily returned with the excuse, “the en-
graving is full of mistakes." Nissen relates that
the Hungarian Prince Grassalkowitsch was one
day hearing them performed by the musicians of
his chapel, when he called out repeatedly, “ You
are playing wrong;" and on the parts being hand-
ed to convince him of the contrary, he tore them
up on the spot. Such is the slavery to the conven-
tional by which the public at large are enthralled.
Parallel cases may be found in the sister arts to
music, in which the self-love of the multitude being
affronted by productions beyond their power to ap-
preciate, they have revenged themselves by treat-
ing with indignity and contempt the noblest efforts
to enlarge the sphere of human enjoyment. The
bold inquirer after truth must often be content to
wait till the accumulated opinions of years gradu-
ally reverse the verdict of contemporaries.
On Friday, the 11th of February, 1785, Mozart
gave the first of six subscription concerts, and con-
tinued them on six Fridays in succession. They
took place on the Mehlgrube. The price of ad-
mission to the series was three ducats. * The piano-
forte concerto in D minor, probably for its heroic and
elevated style, the finest of its author's productions
of that kind, embellished the first concert; and the
time is altogether peculiarly interesting on account
of the presence of Leopold Mozart, of Salzburg,
who was now the guest of his son, and whose ob-
servations, transmitted occasionally in letters to his
daughter, give spirit and vivacity to the scene.
After informing her that the first concert went
off admirably, he communicates some circumstan-
ces of the secret history of the concerto in D mi-
TIE LIFE OF MOZART.
263
nor, which will show to what a point Mozart had
brought his practical skill and confidence in himself,
even before an accomplished audience.
Wolfgang,” he writes, “played a new and admira-
ble pianoforte concerto, on which the copyist was at
work yesterday when we arrived, and your brother had
not time to play the rondo once through, because he
was obliged to look over the copying. The concerto is
in D minor."
If the idea of a concerto played without a single
rehearsal or trial be surprising, how much more so
must it appear when we remember the quantity the
player wrote, and the little time that his fingers,
cramped and contracted by holding the pen, had to
recover their wonted freedom and agility.
There is little doubt but that rehearsals of the
private concerts of Mozart, which would have ex-
hausted more of time and money than the compo-
ser could well spare, seldom took place, at least
at Vienna, where he knew his orchestra; and that
to examine the separate parts for the band was an
ordinary practice with him. This precaution, with
able readers and sight-players, who apprehended
his intentions at a glance, would, in some degree,
supersede the necessity for rehearsal; but of the
manner in which it heightened the labour, the risk,
and the excitement in the production of his con- .
certos, the musician alone can judge. Let it not
be imagined that to create admiration at mechani-
cal excellence in the rapidity and precision of his
fingers was the principal object of Mozart; on the
contrary, he kept closely within the original limit
and signification of the term concerto, as a piece of
combination for instruments, with a principal part
for one in which all the bravura passages should
subserve good musical ideas, and never be intro-
duced for mere ostentation,
264
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
But there was one point in the old concerto in
which the custom of the time obliged the artist to
concentrate the whole energy of his being; to com-
bine all the principal subjects in one magnificent
stretto; to exhibit his resources of fugue and canon;
his mastery of effect, his promptitude of thought
and action. The mark of the cadence , dis-
carded from the more mechanically difficult con-
certos of these degenerate times, when it ushered
in, after a brief interval of silence, the improvisa-
tion of Mozart on the first performance of this con-
certo in D minor, how must it have exalted the
fàncy of his audience, and raised them on the tiptoe
of expectation! It is not difficult to believe that
in these moments of extemporaneous invention the
fingers of Mozart may have scattered even greater
beauties than he has left in that great work-an
effusion of passion and melancholy which, from the
first bar, addresses the soul like the opening of the
overture to - Don Giovanni.'**
A performer of these days, who was sufficiently
an object of interest to attract a large audience to
six concerts in succession, would probably think
it imprudent to weaken that interest by exhibiting
himself at the concerts of strangers. Such worldly
considerations, however, entered little into the the-
ories of Mozart, whose generous nature could not
be induced to balance between prudence and friend-
ship. Accordingly, the next day after he had played
with such success at the first of his own subscrip-
* Of the coolness with which the renowned masters of the last
century met the difficulties of the cadenza, an illustration may be
given in the person of Handel. In setting “Il Penseroso" to mu.
sic, and arriving at the words, " There let the pealing organ blow!"
he wrote the following directions for the organist: “ Take the
subject of the preceding chorus, and perform an extempore fugue
upon it ;" forgetting, at the time, that to do this well required a
genius almost equal to his own.
i
THE LIFE OF MOZART
265 -
tion concerts, he performed another new concerto
at the Opera House for the benefit of Senora Las-
chi.
At this concert, the father, still an enthusiast in
art, was not one of the least moved of the auditory.
He thus describes it:
"On the 12th of February your brother played a
magnificent concerto, which he has written for Paradies
at Paris, at the concert of Signora Laschi, in the Opera
House. I was well placed in a good box, and had the
pleasure to hear all the changes in the instruments so
admirably that the tears came into my eyes.. On your
brother's departure, the emperor took off his hat, com-
plimented him, and cried, “Bravo, Mozart! As he
went out after playing, the clapping and applause were
without end."
We may conceive the composer to have been at
this period in the happiest disposition for music.
There was a quartett party at his house on the
same evening, February 12, at which Leopold Mo-
zart and Joseph Haydn met for the first time. The
father of Mozart, anxious to possess the opinion of
the most celebrated composer of the age, as soon
as he found an opportunity
, of speaking privately to
Haydn, inquired of him what he thought of his son.
He refers to this in the following words:
“On the 12th Joseph Haydn was with us. Three
of the latest of the new quartetts were performed,
namely, that in B flat, A, and C major. They are cer-
tainly somewhat easier than the three others, but ad-
mirably written. Haydn said to me, “I must tell you,
before God and as an honest man, that I think your son
the greatest composer I ever heard of : besides his taste,
he has a profound knowledge of compositions."
It would be gratifying to know who were the
performers on this occasion. Mozart sometimes,
though rarely, took up a violin; his father, whom
we know had been a good player in the old school,
z
266
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
was still equal to a second violin or tenor; and
Hadyn, though little of a practical musician, could
sustain the tenor part in a quartett. The two great
composers were afterward heard to play together
in a music party:
One of the friends with whom the composer
was accustomed to play his four-handed pieces for
the pianoforte was a Signora Martinas, an old
lady, who kept house for her brother, a man of
great age. This ancient spinster, we are told by
a contemporary, was reckoned a deep blue, and
had even a reputation for proficiency in the arts
and sciences. The great poet Metastasio lived
sixty years in her brother's house upon the most
friendly terms, and died in it. The colleges of Bo-
logna and Pavia gave her the title of Dottoressa,
and deputations came from both those places with
her diploma. Although far advanced in life, she
still possessed the gayety and vivacity of a girl.
Mozart was a constant attendant at her parties, and
greatly admired her extraordinary musical taste,
which Metastasio had had a large share in forming.
The visit of Mozart's father lasted six weeks. He
was now in declining health, much afflicted with the
gout, and, during his whole stay, almost constant-
ly indisposed. However, what could be done to
make the time pass cheerfully was done; he heard
music at home and abroad, and was carried by his
son to the lodge of the Freemasons, and initiated
into the mysteries of that fraternity. But all the
satisfaction that he could have derived from wit-
nessing the triumphs of his son and pupil, and from
realizing, in one sense at least, the visions of suc-
cess which had haunted him in former years, must
have been sadly imbittered by seeing that son still
unappointed, unsettled, and left to the caprice and
sport of accident. Leopold Mozart had long since
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
267
entered that poetical hell of Dante, which consists
in ceasing to hope; but he could not cease to re-
gret while he still felt the pressure of injustice.
The old musician, however, was still the same
careful adviser and punctual correspondent. How
anxious he was that his daughter should participate
in the news of Vienna, will be seen in the follow-
ing fragments of his correspondence:
“On the 14th of February your brother again played
a concerto at the Opera House. Concerts are going for-
ward every day, and on the 15th he likewise played the
new grand concerto in D minor magnificently."
February 21.-I attended your brother's second
concert, which was again delightful. He plays to-day
at Count Zichy's."
** March 12.--Your brother, who has also given an
evening concert at the Opera House, made 559 florins
by it, which we did not expect, as he has a subscription
list of more than 150 people, and has so often obliged
others by playing in their concerts as a favour.”
Since I have been here, your brother's pianoforte
has been carried at least twelve times to the theatre, or
to Prince Kaunitz's, or to Count Zichy's. He has had a
great forte piano pedal made, which stands under the
instrument, is about three spans long, and amazingly
heavy."
"Torricella is engraving a pianoforte 'arrangement of
“ Die Entführung," made by your brother, who up to
this time, however, has not completed his work. Îor-
ricella has already published three sonatas, but one only
with the violin."
Leopold Mozart was continually pressing his son
forward with this arrangement, fearful that some
one else would anticipate him and reap the profit
of his invention. The result justified his appre-
hensions. On the 16th of December, 1785, he wrote
to his daughter from Salzburg :
“That has now happened of which I had already
warned my son.
A pianoforte arrangement of “ Die
268
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
Entführung aus dem Serail” has been published at Augs-
burg, and one has also been engraved at Mayence. Since
March, when he commenced, my son has not found time
to complete the work. He has, therefore, lost his la-
bour, and Torricella his expenses."
On the 19th of March he writes,
"I think that my son, if he have no debts to pay,
might now place 2000 florins in the bank. The money
has certainly been earned, and the housekeeping, as it
regards eating and drinking, is in the highest degree
economical.”
Towards the end of March, Mozart's father re-
turned to Salzburg. When they shook hands and
embraced at parting, it was for the last time. They
never met again.
Shortly before this, the emperor had suppressed
the institution for military music at Wartberg, over
which Joseph Hummel, father of the celebrated
musician of that name, presided. Being thus left
without any engagement, Hummel came to Vien-
na, where he soon succeeded in gaining the ap-
pointment of musical director to Schickaneder's
theatre. His little son, scarcely seven years old,
had already shown such talent for music, especial-
ly for the pianoforte, as to have attracted the favour-
able notice of the principal musicians at Vienna,
and among others, of Mozart.
Whatever repug-
nance the great master may have felt towards the
business of instruction, he was so pleased with the
promising ability of this boy as to offer to superin-
tend his education, provided he could have him in
his house and continually under his eye. The pro-
posal was accepted with gratitude; little Hummel
was seated at Mozart's piano, and in two years
made such progress as to delight every one with
his smooth, brilliant, and rounded execution. His
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
269
非
​first public appearance was in a concert given by
his master at Dresden.*
The adoption of this child into his family afford-
ed fresh scope for the kindly workings of the mu-
sician's nature; his own childhood and the anxious
solicitude of his good father must have recurred to
his memory: His lessons we can imagine to have
been rather desultory; but upon a mind disposed
to learn, and capable, in some degree, of appreci-
ating the greatness of the teacher, the fleeting ob-
servations of Mozart would make permanent im-
pression. The master kept an eye on his pupil's
progress by deputing him to play any new music
which he was desirous to hear, and which he would
else have played himself
. The following relation,
derived from one of the members of the family,
may give a view of the interior of the composer's
abode, and, at the same time, show the manner in
which Hummel profited.
At a late hour Mozart and his wife return home
from a party. On entering their apartment, the
boy is discovered stretched on chairs fast asleep.
Some new pianoforte music has just arrived which
they are both anxious to hear. Mozart, however,
will not play it himself, but tells his wife (by her
domestic name, Stänerlt) to wake up Hans, give
* Though Hummel afterward became the pupil of Clementi,
and in later years introduced a style of execution of his own, the
original stamp of Mozart's school was too strong in his perform-
ance to be ever entirely effaced. In cantabile and scale passages
his playing seems to have greatly resembled that of his master.
While a boy in Mozart's house, he had made the acquaintance
of Hadyn, who much admired him. They both met in England
in 1791, when Hadyn wrote a beautiful pianoforte sonata in X flat
for Master Hummel, who played it at the Hanover-Square rooms
in the presence of the composer. Hummel, on a visit to this
country a few years ago, still spoke of his boyish delight at hav-
,
ing received from Hadyn, on this occasion, his thanks, accompa-
nied by a guinea !
+ The diminutive for Constantia in the Upper German dialect.
Z 2
270
THỂ LIFE OF MOZART.
him a glass of wine, and let him play. This is no
sooner said than done; and now, should anything
go wrong, there is an opportunity for suggestions.
It is, in fact, a lesson, though given at the rather
unusual hour of midnight.
Attwood, who, at a somewhat later period, was
placed under the superintendence of Mozart, al-
ways spoke of his master with regard, but said of
him thất he would at any time rather play a game
at billiards with him than give him a lesson. This,
indeed, may be easily believed.
There was no end to the exertions which he
made to advance those pupils who interested his
friendship in their behalf. Whatever they wanted
he wrote for them. The Abbé Stadler, the intimate
friend and discerning admirer of the master, pla-
ced his niece under the care of Mozart for instruc-
tion on the pianoforte and in the science of harmo-
ny. For her sake he commenced theorist, and ac-
tually wrote a treatise on thorough bass, which has
been published, but is little known. The Abbé
Stadler (whom the writer of these pages had the
pleasure to meet at Vienna in 1827) seemed to
cherish his personal recollections of the man even
more warmly than those of the artist.* He gave
proof of this in the violent discussion which short-
İy afterward arose in Germany respecting the au-
thenticity of the “Requiem.”
Requiem.” Though at least
eighty years of age, the venerable abbé grasped
the pen in behalf of Mozart, and defended his fame
with the vigour and earnestness of youth.f
* The works entitled “Fundament des General-Basses, von
W. A. Mozart,” Berlin, 1822, and “Kurzgefasste General-Bass-
Schule, von W. A. Mozart," Steiner and Co., Vienna, were put
together on the foundation of these MS. examples in composition,
which were, at the lady's death, left as a memorial to her uncle.
“Whenever I look over these pages," said the abbé, “ I well re-
member the great master, and his manner of setting to work in
giving instruction."
it The Abbé Stadler was originally professor of theology in the
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
271
The cantata “Davidde Penitente” was produced
in the spring of 1785. The committee of the so-
ciety for the relief of the widows and orphans of
musicians wished to celebrate their festival by some
new work, and engaged Mozart to compose an or-
atorio. As the time was short, he took the “ Ky-
rie” and “Gloria" of his votive mass in C minor,
and employed himself in placing Italian text under
the music. The new pieces which he wrote were
an air for Adamberger, A te frà tante affanni ; a
bravura air, with introduction in C minor, for Ma-
demoiselle Cavallieri, Tra l' oscure ombre funeste;
a trio for two soprani, and a tenor in E minor,
a composition of the most beautiful and original
kind.
The entire work, with its additions, consists of
ten movements; and, singular as it may appear,
the oratorio, which, originating in this way, some
might expect to be patched or bungled, is consid-
ered by the best judges to exhibit one of the pu-
rest examples of Mozart's church style. In ori-
ginality and elevation, in the various treatment of
the subjects, and, above all, in keeping, " Davidde
Penitente” ranks among the greatest productions
of modern times.*
In the middle of this year he composed several
songs, an orchestral dirge for the Freemason's
Lodge, on occasion of the death of a distinguished
brother of the house of Mecklenburg and Ester-
Benedictine Abbey of Mölk. He was an admirable organist, and
is described by Gerber as one of the few who excelled in the con-
duct and treatment of an extempore fugue.
* This work, hitherto only partially made known in England,
through the exertions of amateur societies, will, it is to be hoped,
be shortly introduced to the same general notice at our festivals
as it has received in Germany. It is interesting to contrast its
style and form with those of his earlier masses, and even with
the "Requiem." The final chorus is esteemed by Continental
critics as the “queen of vocal fugues."
a
272
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
i
hazy, and the pianoforte quartett in G minor. This
work, which it may be thought would have formed
an era in the domestic performances of the day,
was intended as the first of a set for which Hof-
meister, a music publisher at Leipzic, had contract-
ed. Its reception, however, was so unfavourable,
that Hofmeister freed himself from his obligation
with respect to the rest by making the composer
a pecuniary compensation. Mozart wrote the sec-
ond of the set, now known under his name, about
a year later, immediately after the composition of
Figaro ;' the first of that set, as has already been
stated, is an arrangement from a quintett. Two
original pianoforte quartetts are therefore all that
we possess from his hand.*
Before Weber, Ries, and Mendelssohn had con-
tributed to the stock of chamber-music for the pi-
anoforte, violin, viola, and violoncello, the piano-
forte quartetts of Mozart formed the sole resource
of musical families who found pleasure in that kind
of instrumental combination. Thus, during a long
series of years, they were reiterated and hackney-
ed, until it has fared in certain quarters with them,
as in others with some of the finest passages of
Shakspeare, debased by vulgar use and associa-
tion, their original beauty has been obscured by
familiarity. But those who bring sensibility, taste,
and unprejudiced organs to the hearing of these
works, will confess that compositions of more ex-
quisite refinement and purity of style never fell
from the pen of musician.
It was the misfortune of Mozart that his genius
was in advance of his age.
Compelled by his necessities to produce, and,
at the same time, by his conscience towards the
* Five are stated in the catalogue, but they are unknown iş
England.
i
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
273
܀
6
art, to write up to his own standard of excellence,
he never enjoyed an amount of sympathy adequate
to his unlimited faculty of invention. This want of
sympathy, among other evils, brought poverty in
its train; and he who, above all other composers,
must have been conscious of his power of creative
beauty, and confident of his reception with poster-
ity, found it a difficult matter to live without de-
grading himself to the vulgar taste.
From July to November, 1785, three entire
months, the catalogue affords no evidence of com-
position, and all we can attribute to that period is
the correction of the engraving of the quartetts
dedicated to Haydn. In November Mozart wrote
à quartett and terzett; the latter, the admirable
“ Mandina amabile,” for the opera of “ La Villa-
nella rapita ;" and on the 28th of December fol-
lowing he informs his father at Salzburg that he
has been obliged to get up three subscription con-
certs in haste, that he has 120 subscribers, and that
he has composed a new concerto in C minor for
the occasion, the andante of which he was obliged
to repeat.
It is necessary to observe, as a peculiarity of the
concerts at Vienna in Mozart's time, that the au-
dience were entertained with minuets and trios,
like those of symphonies played by an orchestra
between the intervals in the appearance of the sing-
ers and solo performers. This fact, for which M.
André is the authority, accounts for some compo-
sitions of this kind found among the MSS. of Mo-
zart, and not belonging to any symphony.
From a letter of Leopold Mozart to his daugh-
ter, dated November 11th, 1785, we learn that the
composer was already engaged in preparations for
opera, Le Nozze di Figaro;" but they were
only preparations, as other engagements inter-
his
18
274
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
vened; and the actual score was not commenced
until the April following.
The musical history of Vienna for some few
years may now be said to have formed an epoch
in that of the art itself. The unexampled conflu-
ence of high genius and decided talent in compo-
sition, the presence of numerous singers of rare
powers, any one of whom might alone have occu-
pied the attention of the public, and the energy of
production conspicuous in the lyric drama, render
the traditions of the time highly interesting. Al-
though Gluck had resigned the pen, yet his tragic
operas, “ Alceste," " Iphigenia," &c., were per-
,
formed, from time to time, with great splendour
and effect; and the superintendence of the rehear-
sals drew the veteran musician from his retirement,
amusing him without exposing his feeble health
injurious excitement of original composition.
Salieri, who was obsequious to Gluck, and, as his
professed disciple, hoped to inherit some of his
Taurels, added to his industrious efforts in compo-
sition the most strenuous exertions to oppose
the
growing fame of Mozart. This, his position of
Kapellmeister to the court, and consequent influ-
ence with the singers, his countrymen, gave him
many opportunities of doing; but, when he had
exhausted all the resources of cabal and intrigue,
when he had done his utmost to raise a party in
his favour among the ladies who surrounded the
emperor, there remained for hini but one effort
more, which was to bring out a new work by him-
self, or some one of his party, to compete with any
new work of Mozart's, and in this way to divide
and distract public attention. Thus Martini's op-
era, “ Una Cosa Rara," brought forward at the
same time with “Figaro," being light and super-
ficial music, created a furore, which, with respect
,
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
275
66
to the latter, was only partially the case; and when
Mozart, highly disgusted with the reception of his
music at Vienna, and driven thence to Prague in
quest of a fitter audience, returned with the score
of “ Don Giovanni," he found Salieri ready to op-
pose him with “ Tarrare, " or Axur,'' as it was
then called. Party is the natural offspring of party;
but it would be unjust, as well as degrading to the
league of amity in which Mozart, Paesiello, and
Storace lived, mutually attracted by their sympathy
in art and by their candid natures, to refer their
association to any origin of this kind. Their friend
Haydn, sheltered at least from the storms of theat-
rical life, wrote on in his peaceful study, in the
green seclusion of Prince Esterhazy's country res-
idence, almost realizing the patriarchal idea of the
shade of his own vine and fig-tree.
It is highly to the credit of England that Stor-
ace was enabled to make so good a figure as he
did among his celebrated contemporaries. He was
by no means an idle man at Vienna—a hanger-on
in the train of his sister, content to depend for no-
tice on her adventitious superiority; on the con-
trary, he had claims of his own, which he exerted.
The first opera that he brought out at Vienna was
produced on the occasion of the Duke of York's
first visit to the theatre, and failed from a singular
accident. In the middle of the piece Signora
Storace suddenly lost her voice, and could not ut-
ter a note. In this state of incapacity she remain-
ed for five months; but on her recovery she made
her brother ample amends by performing in anoth-
er opera of his, called the “ Equivoci,” adapted by
,
”
Da Ponte from the “Comedy of Errors." This
opera, which had a long and brilliant career, estab-
lished the musical reputation of Storace at Vienna*
* The composer introduced some of the music of the " Equi-
276
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
.
The very early age at which these laurels were
won must not pass unnoticed. Storace was at this
time but two-and-twenty; his friend Mozart was
seven years older. Independently of their musical
enthusiasm, a strong congeniality of temperament
and mutual inclination for the pleasures of society
attached them to each other. Mozart selected
Signora Storace for the prima donna of his forth-
coming opera of "Figaro." Storace highly ad-
”
mired Madame Lange, Mozart's sister-in-law, and
thought her execution the most brilliant he had
ever heard, surpassing even that of Bastardella
herself. Among the points of sympathy in the
two musicians, their juvenile passion for arithmetic
is one of the most remarkable.
It is related of Storace, that when a boy, study-
ing music under his father, he received a bravura
song of Bastardella's to copy. . He was so astonish-
ed that fifty guineas should be paid for singing a
song, that he counted the notes in it, and calcu-
lated the amount of each note at 48. 10d. He val-
ued one of the divisions running up and down at
£18 118. There is a lurking satire in this whim-
sical estimate betokening talent, and worthy of the
powers which Sheridan thought fit to praise.
The adventures of the English party must have
afforded infinite merriment to the private circle of
their friends. The laughter-loving, good-humour-
ed Signora Storace was always committing some
gaucherie in the etiquette of high life, or involving
herself in some ludicrous distress. Even the Em-
peror Joseph, whose numerous oddities of behav-
iour made sober spectators laugh, was himself un-
able to resist her naïveté*
voci” into the opera of the " Pirates," and into the afterpiece,
"
“No Song, no Supper.
* One day she was driving in the Faubourg to witness a fete,
when the emperor rode up, asked if she was amused, and if he
.
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
27
**
a
The goodness of heart and generous qualities of
this lady might be celebrated in as many instances
as her eccentricities, and they must have rendered
her society, whether musical or otherwise, extreme-
ly agreeable.* In the parties given by the Stora-
ces the music was sometimes of a remarkable char-
acter, as will appear by the list of performers at a
quartett entertainment described by Kelly.
First violin
Haydn.
Second violin
Baron Dittersdorf.
Tenor
Mozart.
Violoncello
Vanhall.t
An equally celebrated audience, among whom
were Paesiello and the poet Casti, honoured this
quartett of composers by giving them their atten-
tion. At the supper which followed, there is no
doubt but that Kelly displayed symptoms of that
genial temperament, and nice discrimination in the
art of good living, in which he afterward rose to
such eminence when roasting oysters and drinking
Champagne with Sheridan.
The powers of mimicry with which the beard-
“
less stripling," as Kelly calls himself, was gifted,
could do anything for her. Storace, with her characteristic blunt-
ness, said, “Why, sir, I am very thirsty; will your majesty be so
good as to order me a glass of water ?" The emperor turned
round and directed one of his attendants to bring it; but one can
easily imagine the consternation of her companions at this com-
pliment to the sincerity of the Emperor of Austria.
* We remember, with pleasure, the monument she helped to
erect in the Abbey Church at Bath to her master Rauzzini, and
the legacy of £1000 which she bequeathed to the Royal Society
of Musicians.
† Whether Kelly's memory did not deceive him with respect to
the relative positions of Haydn and Mozart in this memorable
quartett, may be questioned. Haydn played the tenor very well,
but it is doubtful whether he was sufficiently master of the violin
to lead a quartett. Mozart, on the contrary, had been a concerto
player. While, however, we have the interesting fact of a quar-
tett performance by this assemblage of symphonists, accuracy in
the details of the anecdote is a matter of minor consideration.
Α Α
278
TIE LIFE OF MOZART.
were mainly instrumental to his success on the
stage, and must have contributed much to his fa-
vourable reception in private society. Paesiello,
he informs us, was much “ diverted by his monkey
tricks.” Among the persons upon whom this tal-
ent in mimicry had been exerted was one who was
well known to all the company at Storace's. This
was the Abbé da Ponte, the author of the libretti
of “Don Giovanni,” “Figaro," and some other
works made immortal by music. Kelly describes
his life as one of singular transition. By birth a
Venetian, and originally a Jew, he turned Chris-
tian, dubbed himself an abbé, and then became a
great dramatic writer. The profession of Da
Ponte, and his situation of poet to the opera, where
he was well known as a lounger, made him a fa-
vourable mark for Kelly, who, though so young,
was particularly successful in hitting off every va-
riety of old age and oddity, and who accordingly
brought Da Ponte on the stage the first opportuni-
ty that presented itself.
My friend the poet," he says, " had a remarkably
awkward gait, a habit of throwing himself (as he thought)
into a graceful attitude by putting his stick behind his
back and leaning on it; he had also a very peculiar,
dandyish way ofd ressing ; for, in sooth, the abbé stood
mighty well with himself, and had the character of a
consummate coxcomb. He had also a strong lisp and
broad Venetian dialect."
It must be added that the abbé recognised him-
self in the caricature, and, what is more, saw that
every one else, including the emperor, knew him;
but yet he took the ridicule in good part, and with
a forbearance not unbecoming the Christianity he
had assumed.
The satisfaction with which Mozart participated
in all that interested or amused his English friends
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
279
may be conceived from the fact that during the fol-
lowing year of their acquaintance he had been fully
persuaded to make preparations for rejoining them
in England. Of this more in its place.
During his subscription concerts of the winter of
1785–6, he appears to have produced selections
from the opera of “ Idomeneo." At all events, that
work was not unknown to the higher musical cir-
cles of Vienna ; indeed, it would appear, by the
. ;
evidence of the catalogue, that “ Idomeneo” was
given at this time in some private society of ama-
teurs, as Madame von Puffendorf, Baron Pulini,
and Count Hatzfeldt performed in it.
The first production of the year 1786 was “Der
Schauspiel Director," composed by desire of the
Emperor Joseph for the entertainment of the court
at Schönbrun. Mozart calls it “a comedy with
music," and his work consists of an overture, two
airs, a terzetto, and vaudeville. Supported by such
singers as Madame Lange, Mademoiselle Cavalieri,
and Adamberger, this piece, which is intended to
display the embarrassments of the director of a
theatre in dealing with rival candidates for favour,
must have afforded considerable amusement. It
was the business of the composer here simply
to exhibit in an apt and humorous musical form
the extraordinary compass and execution of the
singers for whom he wrote ; and no one certainly
could execute a task of the kind with more dexter-
ity and tact. But all interest in the "Schauspiel
Director” departed with the occasion for which it
was produced and the original performers. The
overture alone remains, an agreeable and spirited
composition in the Italian style.
The all-engrossing subject of Mozart's thoughts
during the spring of the year was." Le Nozze di
Figaro," an opera likewise undertaken at the sug-
1
280
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
:
gestion of the Emperor Joseph. This work, which
has maintained its place on the stage and in the
drawing-room for nearly sixty years in continua-
tion, is justly considered, for its extraordinary
wealth of melody, the variety of its style, and the
perfection of its concerted music, as one of the most
wonderful trophies of human skill.
The libretto adapted by Da Ponte from the well-
known comedy of Beaumarchais seems to have sat-
isfied Mozart, and the subject to have possessed
unusual charms for him, if we may judge by the
rate at which he worked. The whole opera was
written in the course of April. The marvellous
finale of the second act, consisting of six grand
pieces, occupied him for two nights and a day,
during which he wrote without intermission. In
the course of the second night he was seized with
an illness which compelled him to stop; but there
remained a few pages only of the last piece to in-
strument. During the month of May the composer
was occupied in teaching the singers and superin-
tending the rehearsals. It is remarkable that the
experienced friends of Mozart trembled for the re-
ception of this opera; and the father, who well
knew the musical politics of Vienna, and the state
of parties there, writes to his daughter, April, 1786,
in these doubtful terms:
" The first stage rehearsal of " Le Nozze di Figaro’
will take place on the 28th. It will be fortunate if the
opera succeeds, for I know that there are immensely
strong intrigues against it; Salieri and all his tribe will
move heaven and earth to put it down. Duschek lately
said to me that the reason of your brother's having such
strong cabals against him is the high estimation which
he has gained by his uncommon talents and skill."*
* The Duschek, or Dussek, here mentioned, was a musician of
Prague, and a pupil of that Wagenseil who "understood the thing.
His wife, one of the most celebrated singers of Germany, was also
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
281
.
Salieri and Righini, being at this time ready
with operas, were both competitors with Mozart
for preference; and the contest between the com-
posers was so warm that the emperor was obliged
to interpose, and he decided for Figaro.” Some
eagerness of rivalry seems to have been pardona-
ble on an occasion which is rendered memorable
by the unequalled talent of the singers, and the
extraordinary.congress of composers assembled at
Vienna. Rarely, if ever, has it happened to a mu-
sician to submit his composition to such an ordeal
as Mozart did “ Figaro;" and few have been the
instances in dramatic annals in which men of such
renown as Haydn, Mozart, Gluck, Paesiello, Stor-
ace, Salieri, Righini, Anfossi, &c., have been col-
.
lected under one roof to witness the first perform-
ance of an opera, as it is no improbable surmise
that they were on this occasion.
The rehearsals went off favourably ; * but on the
an admirable performer on the piano and harp, and a thoroughly
scientific musician. The acquaintance of the Dusseks with the
Mozart family was of old standing, the composer having begun to
write for Madame Dussek before his journey to Munich in 1777.
The connexion of these musicians with the opera of " Don Gio-
vanni," which will hereafter appear, gives them a certain promi-
nence in the history of the composer, independently of the great
talents of the lady, which inspired Mozart with some of the finest
productions of his genius.
* Kelly, who claims to have sung “ Crudel perché" with the
“”
composer, just as it had fallen fresh from the pen, gives a lively
account of the first rehearsal. Alluding to this occasion, he ob-
I remember Mozart was on the stage with his crimson
pelisse and gold-laced cocked hat, giving the time of the music to
the orchestra. Figaro's song, “ Non più andrai, farfallone amoro-
$0,” Benucci gave with the greatest animation and power of voice.
I was standing close to Mozart, who, sotte voce, was repeating,
'Bravo, bravo! Benucci;' and when Benucci came to the fine
passage, 'Cherubino, alla vittoria, alla gloria militar,' which he
gave out with stentorian lungs, the effect was electricity itself,
for the whole of the performers on the stage, and those in the or-
chestra, as if actuated by one feeling of delight, vociferated,' Bra-
vo! bravo! maestro. Viva! viva grande Mozart!' Those in the
orchestra, I thought, would never have ceased applauding, by beat-
serves ;
AA 2
282
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
a
first night of the performance there was a cabal
among the singers, which obliged Mozart to go be-
tween the first and second acts to the box of the
emperor, where he pointed out in great agitation
the danger his music was incurring. The
refrac-
tory performers were brought back to thuir duty
by royal interference. For an account of the opera
during the second and third nights, we must extract
a sentence from a letter of the composer's father,
dated May 18, 1786.
" At the second representation of · Le Nozze di Fi-
garo' at Vienna there were five, and at the third seven
pieces encored, and among them a little duet which was
sung three times.”
These encores, which seem indicative of the
growing popularity of the opera, were, notwith-
standing, of transient effect, and the balance of
parties was decidedly adverse to Mozart.
It is well ascertained that the profits of the third
representation, which were to reward his labour,
proved so inconsiderable as in no degree to ame-
liorate his circumstances; and so discouraged was
he with the reception of “Figaro," that he resolved
never more to produce an opera at Vienna. This
resolution he indeed waived through change of
circumstances and motives of private benevolence,
but his dissatisfaction with the musical taste of
that city is well known.
ing the bows of the violins against the music desks. The little
man acknowledged, by repeated obeisances, his thanks for the
distinguished mark of enthusiastic applause bestowed upon him.”
What a transition this, from the midnight solitudes in which, an,
imated by a great idea, he could not rest till he had delivered
himself of it! Had it been the acclamation of a crowded house
at a performance, instead of a spirited scene at a rehearsal, it
might have been better; still, it was the voice of truth, which he
seldom heard save in his own music
* To expect nothing became a habit with him. On completing
a great work, he would say, "I shall gain but little by this; but
I have pleased myself, and that must be my recompense."
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
283
.
Among the performers who sustained the origi-
nal cast of characters in “ Figaro,” Mozart could
certainly reckon upon some friends. According
to his memorandum on this opera, they consisted
of the following female singers : Storace, Laschi,
Mandini, Bassani, and Nanina : the men were Be-
nucci, Mandini, Ochely, and Bassani. We may be
curious to know who of this party were enthralled
by sinister influences; but the facts cannot now be
ascertained. The intrigues of the day may well
give place to a few considerations on the work it-
self. What the lyric drama gained by this opera
in elegance of melody, in models of love songs, in
rich concerted music, and varied finales, is the
question at present, and that we are well able to
determine. While all the popular melodies of the
comic operas coeval with “ Figaro” (tunes which
were regularly transferred from the theatre to the
street musicians) are lost, not a note of that compo-
sition has faded, and when reproduced, it still finds
as many enthusiastic admirers as a comedy of
Shakspeare. The combination of playfulness and
grace which predominates in it imparts to “Figa-
ro,” according to some critics, a more decided
Mozartean character than any other of his works.
Every one may certainly find in it something to
please. The musician, for instance, listens with
delight to the bass of the first duet, or to the ad-
mirable instrumentation of the song in which the
page is trying on the cap. What wealth of beauty
in places comparatively unnoticed! Those who
like to combine delightful music with a laugh may
find both in the duet in which Susanna describes
the behaviour of the count when her bridegroom
is
gone on his travels. The deprecatory interjec-
tions of poor Figaro, “ Susanna pian pian !" call
up the most pleasant recollections. It were end-
284
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
less to pursue this opera through all its materials
for pleasure.
The favourite piece of the composer was the
sestetto Riconosci in questo amplesso.
“Le Nozze di Figaro" is the third dramatic piece
which its composer had produced by desire of the
Emperor Joseph, the whole of whose splendid pat-
ronage had hitherto consisted in setting Mozart to
work, and in repaying him by an occasional bow
in public; by granting him a general facility of ac-
cess, and treating him with a great store of what
Parson Evans in the play contemptuously calls
"good worts.” It is worth while to contrast the
two patrons of the composer, the Emperor Joseph
and the Archbishop of Salzburg, for the sake of
the light they reflect upon his character. The em-
peror, who spoke respectfully of his art, but gave
him nothing, inspired him with a degree of attach-
ment that almost brought his understanding into
question; while the archbishop, who provided him
with some means of existence, coupled with insults
and degradations, was the object of his unmitiga-
ted dislike.
Throughout the remainder of the year in which
Figaro” was produced, Mozart appears to have
been full of a plan for settling in England. At
the commencement of 1787, the father of the com-
poser writes to his daughter:
* Wolfgang proposes to me certain terms to under-
take the care of his two children, as he is desirous of
making, in the course of next spring, a tour through
Germany to England, where he seems not disinclined
to settle. His scholar, Attwood, however, who is to
precede him in London, is to assure him of some cer-
tainty in advance, either through an engagement for an
opera, or by subscription concerts. Madame Storon
(Storace) appears to have made his mouth water, and
the whole plan has been set on foot through her conver-
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
285
a
sation and that of his scholar (Attwood). As I have,
however, written to him a fatherly letter, telling him
that he will make nothing by a journey in summer ;
that he will arrive at an improper season in England,
and be certainly 2000 florins out of pocket, which may
involve him in distress-Storace being positively en-
gaged to write the first opera--he may possibly be dis-
heartened."
Notwithstanding these representations, it ap-
pears that the scheme of a journey to England
proceeded so far that, after loitering over it for
several months, they at last determined to go, and
everything was packed up for their departure,
when the appointment of Mozart'as chamber com-
poser to the emperor, accompanied by a pension,
took place, and broke up his plans.
It will be seen that the English musicians now
at Vienna were not exempt from the nationality
which is so characteristic a foible of our travellers,
and that they had not omitted to describe their own
country as the true home of the artist, and the cen-
tre of all possible perfection. In persuading him
to join them on their return, they obeyed the im-
pulses of enthusiastic friendship-Stephen Storace
generously postponing his own claims as a com-
poser to the pleasure of introducing Mozart per-
sonally in England. If prosperity were ever rea-
sonably augured in the life of an artist, it would
appear to be so on this projected expedition. The
death of John Christian Bach had left a void at
court which it required a man of genius to supply;
the Italian opera languished for the pen of Mozart,
while from the pianoforte-playing world he might
have richly shared in the patronage bestowed on
Clementi ånd Dussek. What impediment, indeed,
would there have been to his following up the ca-
reer of Handel?
Mozart's winter concerts in 1786 were distin-
286
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
a
a
guished by the first production of some of the finest
of his compositions, and it was at this time that Bee-
thoven, then a youth just entering on his musical
career, came on a visit to Vienna, where, a few
years after Mozart's death, he finally settled. He
was introduced to the composer, and became for a
short time his pupil. Seyfried, who has recorded
some particulars of the interview, remembers that
Mozart gave Beethoven a subject to extemporize
upon, and, while he was working it, said to some
persons who were standing near him in an adjoin-
ing apartment, “ Listen to that young man; he
will some day make a noise in the world."* After
intermitting the composition of symphonies for
three years, Mozart now produced his symphony
in D (with the introductory adagio), a work in
which we first notice a certain elevated character
in the slow movements, as peculiar to the compo-
ser, and, at times, reaching the sublime. At these
concerts, also, were first heard the grand pianoforte
concerto in C, known as the posthumous concerto,
* Beethoven esteemed Mozart and Handel most of all compo-
sers, and next to them Sebastian Bach. If ever I found him with
Inusic in his hand or on his desk, it was sure to be that of one of
these mighty men.-Schindler's Life of Beethoven, vol. ii., p. 291.
+ It is claimed for Mozart to have first raised the symphony to
its true standard by his impassioned and poetical effects, of which
a decrescendo in the andante of the present one affords a striking
example. Chronology, “the eye of history," awards him this
distinction.
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THE LIFE OF MOZART.
287
.
and the scena and rondo Non temer, with piano-
forte obligato, which last was sung by Signora Stor-
ace. His approaching separation from the Stor-
aces, who were to set off for England early in the
next year, made him desirous to commemorate
their friendship by some acceptable memorial. He
accordingly produced this work, and, in inserting
it in his catalogue, placed the names of the per-
formers in friendly conjunction : "for Mademoi-
:
selle Storace and myself.” To have inspired so
inimitable a production is a lasting credit to the
singer and to English art.
Early in February, 1787, Mozart saw these
friends on their way to England, and was moved
to tears in bidding them adieu. He furnished them
with an introduction to his father, by whom they
were shown all the curiosities of Salzburg. They
found Raff still alive, and heard him sing, and the
archbishop's orchestra was much improved.*
In the very same week that he parted from his
English friends, Mozart himself set out upon a
journey to Prague, whither he had been very cor-
*
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​* From this tour Storace brought to England, and introduced
into the orchestras of our English theatres, the German effects o.
wind instruments, and a method of instrumentation before un-
known. He survived his friend Mozart five years, dying in 1796,
in his thirty-third year, of a cold caught in being carried from a
sick-bed to attend the rehearsal of the “Iron Chest” at Drury
Lane Theatre.
288
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
dially invited by a distinguished nobleman and con-
noisseur, Count John Joseph Thun, who maintain-
ed in his service an excellent private band. This
was the first professional expedition of any conse-
quence in which he had engaged since his settle-
ment in Vienna; it was prosecuted under the most
favourable auspices, and with glowing anticipa-
tions of that pleasure for which he so ardently
longed, but so imperfectly realized at home-the
entire sympathy of the public. Nor was he disap-
pointed. On the same evening that he alighted at
the castle of his noble entertainer, his opera of
Figaro” was given at the theatre, and Mozart
found himself, for the first time, in the midst of
that Bohemian audience of whose enthusiasm and
taste he had heard so much. The news of his
presence in the theatre quickly ran through the
parterre, and the overture was no sooner ended
than the whole audience rose and gave him a gen-
eral acclamation of welcome, amid deafening salvos
of applause.
The success of “Le Nozze di Figaro," so unsat-
isfactory at Vienna, was unexampled at Prague,
where it amounted to absolute intoxication and
phrensy. Having run through the whole previous
winter without interruption, and rescued the treas-
ury of the theatre from ruinous embarrassments,
the opera was arranged in every possible form--
for the pianoforte, for wind instruments (garden
music), as violin quintetts for the chamber, and Ger-
man dances; in short, the melodies of “Figaro"
re-echoed in every street and every garden; nay,
even the blind harper himself, at the door of the
beer-house, was obliged to strike up Non più an-
drai if he wished to gain an audience or earn a
kreutzer. Such was the effect of the popular parts
of the opera on the public at large; its more re-
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
289
+
>
-
a
fined beauties exercised an equal influence on mu-
sicians. The director of the orchestra, Strobach,
under whose superintendence “ Figaro" was exe-
cuted at Prague, often declared the excitement and
emotion of the band in accompanying this work to
have been such, that there was not a man among
them, himself included, who, when the perform-
ance was finished, would not have cheerfully re-
commenced and played the whole through again.*
Finding himself at length in a region of sympa-
thy so genial and delightful, a new era in the ex-
istence of the composer seemed to open, and he
abandoned himself without reserve to its pleasures.
In retracing a life so ill rewarded by contempora-
ries and so checkered by calamity, it is pleasant
to dally a while in the primrose path, and enjoy the
opening prospects of good fortune.
In a few days he was called upon to give a grand
concert at the opera house. This was, in reality,
his first public appearance, and many circumstances
conspire to render it memorable, but chiefly that
every piece throughout the performance was of his
own composition. The concert ended by an im-
provisation on the pianoforte. Having preluded
.
and played a fantasia, which lasted a good half
hour, Mozart rose; but the stormy and outrageous
applause of his Bohemian audience was not to be
appeased, and he again sat down. His second fan-
* In the good old times of the opera in London, before long
ballets and the reiteration of the flimsy compositions of modern
Italy had lowered the animal spirits of the performers, there was
not less enthusiasm here. We recollect to have heard, on the
conclusion of a rehearsal of “ Figaro," the first bassoon express
precisely the same thing. It was an especial feast to the leader
and the first bass : Spagnoletti and Dragonetti revelled in the ac-
companiments, and gave a tone of enjoyment to the orchestra.
What pleasure has Mozart dispersed among musicians alone!
And as long as our natural and healthy sensations at musical
beauty last, this pleasure, in all its freshness, will be revived from
time to time.
19
BB
290
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
a
tasia, which was of an entirely different character,
met with the same success; the applause was with-
out end; and long after he had retired to the with-
drawing-room he heard the people in the theatre
thundering for his reappearance. Inwardly de-
lighted, he presented himself for the third time.
Just as he was about to begin, when every noise
was hushed, and the stillness of death reigned
throughout the theatre, a voice in the pit cried,
"From Figaro." He took the hint, and ended his
triumphant display of skill by extemporizing a doz-
en of the most interesting and scientific variations
upon the air Non più andrai. It is needless to
.
mention the uproar that followed. The concert
was altogether found so delightful that a second,
upon the same plan, soon followed. A sonnet was
written in his honour, and his performances brought
him one thousand florins. Wherever he appeared
in public, it was to meet testimonies of esteem and
affection. His emotion at the reception of “Figa-
ro” in Prague was so great, that he could not help
saying to the manager, Bondini, “ As the Bohemi-
ans understand me so well, I must write an opera
on purpose for them.” Bondini took him at his
word, and entered with him, on the spot, into a
contract to furnish his theatre with an opera for the
ensuing winter. Thus was laid the foundation of
“Il Don Giovanni."
The remaining few weeks which this journey
occupied were given to pleasure. Many balls took
place; Mozart's pen was in requisition for the mu-
sic, and in this act of kindness the great musician's
career as the Strauss and Lanner of his day ap-
pears to have commenced. For the future, not a
Carnival passed without numerous contributions to
its dance music from his pen; and, unfortunately,
such as the degraded state of patronage, that he
4
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
291
found this unworthy resource the surest means of
subsistence.*
On returning to Vienna, he lost no time in wri-
ting to the members of the opera orchestra at
Prague, ascribing the greater part of his late suc-
cess to their able execution of his music, and thank-
ing the director, M. Strobach, very gratefully for
the attentions he had received. This slight inci-
dent shows that pride and ingratitude formed no
part of his nature.
The new and busy life on which he had entered
since quitting Salzburg, and the great fame which
his compositions were establishing, in no respect
altered the original simplicity of his character.
Filial piety had always distinguished him, and the
following letter of April 4, 1787, written on occa-
sion of the intelligence of the alarming illness of
his father, shows that the feeling remained unal-
tered.
"MON TRÈS CHER PÈRE!
“I have just received some news which has given
me a sad blow; the more so, as your last letter left me
reason to suppose that you were in perfect health. I
now, however, learn that you are really very ill. How
anxiously I await and hope for some comforting inteli-
gence from you I need hardly say, although I have long
since accustomed myself in all things to expect the
worst. As death, rightly considered, fulfils the real
* His easy manner of despatching these things is seen in a story
which may remind the reader of Sheridan. A certain count, mas.
ter of the ceremonies at Prague, had requested Mozart to write
some country-dances, and had been promised them, but by some
accident they were not forthcoming. The count had recourse to
a trick. He invited the composer to dinner, informing him that
on this occasion it would be served an hour earlier than usual.
On his arrival at the appointed time, the master of the house or-
dered the necessary writing materials to be brought, and pressed
him to fulfil his promise for a ball that was to take place on the
following day.
Thus ungenerously entrapped, Mozart set to
work, and in less than half an hour was ready with four country-
dances for a full orchestra.
292
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
design, of our life, I have for the last two years made
myself so well acquainted with this true friend of man-
kind, that his image has no longer any terrors for me,
but much that is peaceful and consoling; and I thank
God that he has given me the opportunity to know him
as the key to our true felicity. I never lie down in bed
without reflecting that perhaps (young as I am) I may
never see another day ; yet no one who knows me will
say that I am gloomy or morose in society. For this
blessing I daily thank my. Creator, and from my heart
wish it participated by my fellow-men.
I hope and trust that while I write you are getting
better; but should this, in spite of all our hopes, not be
the case, I beg that you will not conceal it from me, but
write, or let some one write to me, the real truth, in
order that I may be with all possible speed in your
arms. I conjure you to do this by everything that we
esteem holy. Meantime, I trust that I shall soon re-
ceive a more favourable letter from you."
As the composer did not make this journey, it is
likely that a favourable change occurred in the con-
dition of the invalid; but a fatal turn shortly after-
ward look place, and on the 28th of May, 1787,
Mozart lost his father. He died at Salzburg, in
his 68th year, a solitary man, and in a condition
which the exertions of his children were not able
to remove many degrees from absolute necessity.
The clouds which lowered over his declining days
were of darker hue than ordinary, even in the his-
tory of artists; and it is impossible to recall to mind
his simple and irreproachable life, his numerous
virtues, his refined tastes, and quiet enthusiasm,
without affording him the deepest sympathy. His
estimation in the eye of posterity as the father and
instructer of such a son will always be great, and
not less, certainly, than it deserves to be, when it
is considered how much of Mozart's perfection was
the result of judicious education.
THE LIFE OF MOZART,
293
.
From the time that the first parental tears of joy
and wonder bedewed his cheeks, his whole life
was a course of self-sacrifice, anxiety, and fore-
thought : animated by high religious principle, he
believed himself to be discharging a sacred trust.
But the successful result of his labour demanded a
strenuous exertion of faith; for, in educating a man
of the greatest genius, he had only produced an
unfortunate being, far in advance of his age, and
the more exposed to envy and malevolence, and
a subject of more bitter persecution on that very
account. Had he looked through the history of
the world to examine the strange circumstances in
which men of the highest influence on the intel-
lectual progress of mankind often fulfil their desti-
ny—themselves suffering the hardship and injus-
tice, others reaping the delight and the profit of
their lives-he could not have found a more per-
plexing chapter than that furnished by his own son.
Nothing, certainly, could equal his disappointment.
He had been so much interested in the youthful
performances of his son, that at one time he intend-
ed to write the narrative of his life, and desired that
all the letters to which his tours gave occasion
should be carefully preserved for that purpose.
But as time wore on, this task, which promised to
revive unpleasant recollections, was abandoned.
The musical part of his correspondence alone has
been made public; but many of his letters, partic-
ularly those from Italy, abound in statistical and
descriptive passages, and observations on manners
and customs, which are the more interesting from
their reference to a period when that country was
not the trite theme of tourists. The passages re-
lating to his private affairs and intentions were
written in a cipher which secured them from the
spies of the archbishop. In his last years Leo-
B B 2
294
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
a
pold Mozart became no very encouraging corre-
spondent, and the hasty letters of a few lines each
which he received from time to time from his son
at Vienna were no longer to be found at his death.
In reviewing the compositions of the most pro-
lific years of Mozart, we are struck, not merely
with the number of fine minor productions which
cluster round his greatest works, and show the ac-
tivity to which his genius was excited, but that so
many of these productions are still landmarks to
the artist, exhibiting excellence achieved in totally
new paths. Thus, before “Le Nozze di Figaro,"
we find the concerto in C minor, conspicuous for
its fine combination of the wind instruments and
the pianoforte; immediately after it a pianoforte
quartett, at that time a new combination in cham-
ber music, and written in a style which found little
favour with the music-sellers. Then came, at no
great interval, the magnificent pianoforte duet' in
F major, in which the ideas are orchestral, and of
greater dignity than had ever been displayed in
music for that instrument. These are not merely
new compositions, but important stages in the ad-
vancement of the art.
Thus also, in a short month, from April to May,
1787, stringed-instrument music for the chamber
acquired fresh distinction from the two quintetts in
C major and G minor, in which two tenors beau-
tify the score and add richness to the harmony.
These works show the variety of powers that Mo-
zart brought to composition; the great organist
and contrapuntist--the profound master of harmo-
ny and rhythm, are there, but taste and imagina-
tion ever preside. The quality of these produc-
tions can, in fact, only be estimated by the attempts
which musicians have been making ever since to
attain some credit in the same path.
* Mingled with these great productions, we find songs and oth-
n
*
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
295
:
Mozart was obliged to suspend all application
to his art during the month of July, in consequence
of an illness which threatened his life. That he
had had more than one attack of this character since
his settlement in Vienna, may be ascertained from
his own testimony.
His friend, Dr. Siegmund Barisani, first physi-
cian to the general hospital at Vienna, who, it
seems, was a connoisseur in music, had written
some verses in the album or memorandum-book
of the composer. After complimenting him on
his masterly pianoforte playing, and the variety
and magnificence of his genius, the writer gives a
very elegant and affectionate turn to his address :
in the midst of all a composer's triumphs, he is not
to forget one who recollects with alternate pride
and pleasure that he has twice served him in the
capacity of physician, and prolonged a life which
contributes to the pleasure of the world, but whose
greatest pride is still to be called his friend. In
the autumn of 1787, the doctor was suddenly car-
ried off, and the composer wrote immediately un-
der the lines paraphrased,
To-day, the 2d of September, I have had the mis-
fortune to lose, through an unexpected death, this hon-
ourable man, my best and dearest friend, and the pre-
server of my life. He is happy! but I--we, and all
who thoroughly knew him-cannot again be so till we
have the felicity to meet him in a better world, never
again to separate.
" MOZART."
The want of the kind attentions of this benevo-
lent physician may have hastened a state of things
which led to the premature dissolution of the com-
poser, whose health, tried by frequent night-watch-
er trifles of which the titles are sufficient to excite curiosity as to
their secret history. Among them are “The Concealment,"
“The Parting,” « Louisa Burning the Letters of her Faithless
Lover," " Evening Feelings," &c.
296
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
}
ing and fits of excessive application, began at this
time to experience a material change. He was
well aware of his fragile tenure of existence, and
we learn from the letter which he wrote to his fa-
ther, April 4, 1787, that death was much in his
thoughts. He was, however, by no means so fa-
miliar with the countenance of “the great queen
of sepulchres” as to be entirely at ease in contem-
plating it; on the contrary, those about him knew
that he was at times much disquieted by the thought
of death. In this weakness he shared with many
imagirrative people of more robust organization.
In September, 1787, we find him in the country,
composing serenades and sonatas for piano and
violin. The summer-house in a garden continued
to be his favourite resort for composition, as nu-
merous inscriptions on his MSS. evince. He dates
various pieces from the country-house of his friend
M. Gottfried von Jacquin, for whom he wrote the
Mentre te Lascio."
Having now completed all his arrangements for
- Don Giovanni,” he set off on a second expedi-
tion to Prague, accompanied by his wife. Not a
note of the music of his opera was as yet upon pa-
per, but he had thoroughly digested the subject in
his mind. The original libretto, entitled “ Îl Dis-
Il
soluto punito ossià il Don Giovanni," was adapted
by Da Ponte from the Spanish tale, "El combida-
do de piedra," of Tirso de Molina; and of all the
dramatic subjects treated by Mozart, this appears
to have taken the strongest hold on his imagina-
tion; from the beginning to the end he has sustain-
ed it without a symptom of fatigue. On reaching
Prague, he first took up his quarters at the inn call-
ed the Three Lions in the Coal-market, but sub-
sequently removed to his friend Dussek's, who re-
sided at a vineyard at Kosohitz, in the picturesque
suburbs of the city. Here, on an elevated site,
fine scena,
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
297
.
which commanded a view of the antique magnifi-
cence of Prague, its faded castles, ruined cloisters,
and other majestic remains of feudal times, under
the mild rays of an autumnal sun, and in the open
air, « Don Giovanni” was written.* Dussek's
house was a scene of great resort and revelry while
Mozart was his guest; and it is remembered that
there was often considerable playing at bowls in
his grounds. In the midst of all the talk and laugh-
ter with which this amusement was attended, the
composer pursued his work, but rose from time to
time when it came to his turn to take part in the
game.
“Il Don Giovanni” was finally completed, ex-
cepting the overture, on the 28th of October, 1787,
about six weeks after Mozart's arrival at Prague.
The parts were given out to the singers as they
were finished, and the composer rehearsed them
privately with each, while the rest of his work was
in course of completion. A week only was left
for stage rehearsals; from which fact, much pre-
vious study and a good general notion of the busi-
ness of the drama are to be presupposed. I
* While this work was in progress, he was called upon to con-
duct “ Le Nozze di Figaro" in the presence of Prince Antony of
Saxony and his wife, Maria Theresa, sister to the Emperor Fran-
cis. The rehearsals took place under the personal superintend-
ence of the composer, and they gave occasion to show bis man-
agement of the lady performers. One of these, at the rehearsal
of "Figaro," did not sing in a voice that satisfied Mozart; he obli-
ged her to use more power, and exert herself to a degree that made
her somewhat angry. When the song was ended, he did not apolo-
gize to her, but perfectly restored her good-humour by a " Brava
Donzella |
The original score of this opera is written on various kinds of
music
paper, apparently the first that came to hand. Nothing
more happily illustrates the decision of Mozart, who never made
sketches or retouched compositions, though we now and then
find him improving a thought in the act of writing.
In directing the first rehearsal of his opera, he was obliged to
stop the orchestra at the scene in the cemetery, “Di rider finirai,"
"Ribaldo audace," &c., as one of the trombone-players did not
execute his part correctly. The scene was originally accompanied
1
298
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
Everything went so smoothly and comfortably
in the production of this opera, that the time was
one of great enjoyment to the composer. At the
conclusion of the first rehearsal, he went out walk-
ing with the organist and orchestra director, Ku-
charz. Among other confidential talk, the dis-
course fell upon the new opera, and Mozart asked,
“What is your opinion of Don Giovanni ?' It is
quite of a different character to Figaro : do you
think that it will please as much?"
On receiving an encouraging reply, he continu-
ed: “Your assurance quiets me; it comes from a
by three trombones only. As the passage, after repeated attempts,
had no better success, Mozart went to the desk of the player and
explained to him how he would have it done. The man, who was a
crusty fellow, answered with some rudeness, " It is impossible to
play, and if I can't play it, I am sure you can't teach me. ** Heav-
en forbid," returned the composer, smiling, “that I should attempt
to teach you the trombone : here, give me your part, and I will
soon alter it." He did so on the spot, and added two oboes, two
clarinets, and two bassoons. The coincidence of the modulation
in this celebrated scene, and of the oracle in the “ Alceste" of
Gluck, is remarkable. Mozart has, however, strikingly improved
upon his model, and increased the solemn and unearthly effect of
the voice of the commendatore by terminating on the fifth of the
key, .
The original Zerlina of the opera was Signora Bondini, daugh-
ter of the manager. In rehearsing that part of the finale of the
first act where she is seized by Don Giovanni, there was some
difficulty in getting her to scream in the right manner and place.
It was tried repeatedly, and failed. At length, Mozart, desiring
the orchestra to repeat the piece, went quietly on the stage, and,
awaiting the time that she was to make the exclamation, grasped
her so suddenly and so forcibly that, really alarmed, she shrieked
in good earnest. He was now content. « That's the way," said
he, praising her; "you must cry out just in that manner.
He gave, at this time, a fresh instance of his extraordinary mem-
ory. The drum and trumpet parts to the finale of the second act
of “ Don Giovanni” were written by him without the score, from
mere recollection. He brought them himself into the orchestra,
and, giving them to the players, said, " Pray, gentlemen, be par-
ticularly attentive at this place," pointing to one, " as I believe
that there are four bars either too few or too many. It proved to
be as he had said. The brass instruments have frequently no
place in the original scores of Mozart. He wrote them continu-
ally on a separate paper, carrying the composition in his memory
at the time.
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
299
>
connoisseur ; but, indeed, I have spared neither la-
bour nor pains to produce something extraordinary
for Prague. It is a very great error to suppose
that my art has become so exceedingly easy to me.
I assure you there is scarcely any one who has
so worked at the study of composition as I have.
You could hardly mention any famous composer
whose writings I have not diligently and repeated-
ly studied throughout."
The people of Prague were charmed by his af-
fability of manners and unassuming demeanour.
Niemtschek, his biographer, who remembered him
well, says:
“ His friends at Prague think with joy
on the delightful hours they have passed in his so-
ciety, and can never sufficiently extol his kind, in-
nocent heart. They might have entirely forgotten
that they were in the presence of Mozart, the great
composer.'
The time passed in festivities of various kinds,
and the composition of the overture to “Don Gio-
vanni” was entirely neglected until the night of the
3d of November, 1787. This was the eve of his
great triumph. A large party was assembled at
Dussek's, and Mozart was enjoying himself with
them, apparently thoughtless of the overture. As
usual, overflowing with ideas, he had that day been
at work for his hostess, Madame Dussek, and had
produced for her the exquisitely scientific scena,
“Bella mia fiamma;" a composition by which her
Recit. Andante,
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件
​Ꮎ
300
THE LIFE OF MOZART:
style and attainments as a singer are effectually
characterized. His friends, however, became un-
easy, and one of them said to him, “Mozart, the
first performance of Don Giovanni' is to-morrow,
and you have not yet written the overture." He
appeared to consider a while, and about midnight
retired to his apartment, desiring his wife to make
him some punch, and to stay with him to keep him
awake.* The overture was ready by the morning;
but the copyists were less diligent or less success-
ful with their work. The opera should have com-
menced at seven in the evening; but there was no
overture, and the crowded theatre was kept wait-
ing until a quarter to eight, when the parts were
hastily brought into the orchestra, covered with
sand, and with them entered Mozart to take his
place as conductor. His appearance was greeted
by the general applause of the theatre, and the un-
rehearsed overture was then commenced. During
its performance, the audience gave many signs of
repressed pleasure, which at length broke out into
a loud exclamation. When the curtain rose, and
the first scene of the opera was going forward, Mo-
zart said to some of the musicians near him, “The
6
overture went off very well on the whole, although
a good many notes certainly fell under the desks.”
He was well acquainted with the talent of the or-
*Schlictegroll thus records the circumstance, which has been
confirmed by the widow herself: “She accordingly began to tell
him fairy tales, and odd stories, which made himn laugh till the
tears came. The punch, however, occasioned such a drowsiness,
that he could only go on while his wife was talking; as soon as
she ceased, he dropped asleep. The efforts which he made to
keep himself awake, the continual alternation of sleep and watch-
ing, so fatigued him, that his wife persuaded him to take some
rest, promising to awake him in an hour's time. He slept so pro-
foundly that she suffered him to repose for two hours. At five
o'clock in the morning she awoke him. He had appointed the
music-copiers to come at seven, and by the time they arrived the
overture was finished.”
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
301
S
chestra of Prague, and it is not unlikely that this
most unusual exhibition of an overture played with-
out rehearsal was a designed compliment to it.*
Thus, with no other inducement than love for
his art, and attachment and gratitude to his audience
at Prague, Mozart produced another great work,
combining the labour of the greatest melodist, sym-
phonist, and master of dramatic expression ever
united in the same individual. Whether we regard
the mixture of passions in its concerted music, the
profound expression of melancholy, the variety of
its situations, the beauty of its accompaniment, or
the grandeur of its heightening and protracted scene
of terror--the finale of the second act—" Don Gi-
ovanni” stands alone in dramatic eminence. Of all
musical romances it is certainly the first.
He received about one hundred ducats for this
opera, a slender consideration, which was a little
augmented by the sale of scores to the theatres of
Vienna and Warsaw; but when he found how
badly his opera was got up at Vienna, he regret-
ted that his necessities had prevailed with him to
let it be played. *5 Don Giovanni,
,
was rather written for Prague than Vienna, but
chiefly for myself and my friends.” It is an extra-
ordinary fact that the “ Tarrare" of Salieri, which
was brought forward at Vienna with Mozart's new
opera, far outstripped it in popularity.
* The original cast of the characters was as follows: Don Gio-
vanni, Signor Bassi; Donna Anna, Signora Saporiti; Donna Elvira,
Signora Micelli; Don Ottavio, Signor Baglioni; Leporello, Sig.
nor Felice Ponziani; Don Pedro ed Masetto, Signor Lolli; Zer-
lina, Signora Bondini.
+ At this distance of time, it appears strange that an opera
known only for one tolerable round should have had the success
described; but the fortune of works, when backed by the influ.
ence of living composers, and when 'submitted afterward to the
tribunal of posterity, is often very different. “ Tararre” is now
only named with a smile, or to provoke the inquiry, "What was
it all about?"
C
1
199 said he,
302
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
a
The criticism which the Viennese made upon
his last operas tried his forbearance to the utmost.
He had heard it said of "Figaro” that it was “too
difficult” and “too much spun out” for a comic op-
era,” and now he heard of “ Don Giovanni” that,
for a romance opera, it was “ too learned--too
much crowded with effects of scientific harmony."
Criticism of this kind, “faint praise" qualified
with blame, was bestowed on “Don Giovanni" by
an assembly of composers and dilettanti at the
house of Prince Radziwill, where that work was
performed soon after its production. Hadyn, who
had long sat silent at this party, was at length ap-
pealed to. “It is difficult to decide,” said he, among
your various opinions. All I know is," he added,
with vivacity," that Mozart is the greatest compo-
ser now existing.”
He expressed himself yet more strongly in a let-
ter dated December, 1787. Bondini, the manager
at Prague, who had prospered considerably with
“Don Giovanni,” now wished for an opera buffa
by another great composer, and commissioned a
friend to write to Hadyn on the subject. In reply,
Hadyn thinks it would be possible only with an en-
tirely new libretto, and adds :
“Even then it would be a bold attempt, as scarcely
any one can stand by the side of the great Mozart. For
were it possible that I could impress every friend of
music, particularly among the great, with that deep
musical intelligence of the inimitable works of Mozart-
that emotion of the soul with which they affect me, and
in which I both comprehend and feel them, the nations
would contend together for the possession of such a gem.
Prague ought to retain him, and reward him well, too;
else the history of great genius is melancholy, and offers
posterity but slight encouragement to exertion, which is
the reason, alas! that many hopeful and aspiring spirits
are repressed. I feel indignant that this unique Mozart
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
303
is not yet engaged at some royal or imperial court. For-
give me if I stray from the subject, but I love the man
too much."
The Emperor Joseph himself, who saw Mozart
in a most unsettled state, bringing out his operas
in remote places, and likely to abandon Vienna al-
together, thought it now high time to interpose
with some solid testimony of favour, and accord-
ingly sent him the appointment of chamber com-
poser to the court, with a promise that in future
his interest should be cared for. There was not
the least intention of acting upon this promise, but
it was deemed fitting to grace the miserable sine-
cure with something in prospect. Before the em-
peror could make up his mind what to give, he con-
sulted his page, Strak, as to the sum necessary for
the sphere of life in which Mozart moved. This
M. von Strak had been repeatedly at musical en-
tertainments at the composer's house, and, it might
be thought, would have seized the occasion to place
him at his ease. He was, however, too good a
courtier to alarm the parsimonious monarch by na-
ming a liberal sum, and therefore boldly answered
eight hundred florins. This paltry pension, which
barely defrayed the rent of the apartments of Mo-
zart, commenced towards the end of the year 1787.
In writing to his sister at this time, he endeavours
to make as favourable a representation of his mu-
nificent patron as he can:
“With regard to your question respecting my ap-
pointment, I must inform you that I now belong to the
imperial chamber, and am regularly and formally in-
stalled, but for the present with eight hundred florins
only; there is, however, no other musician of the cham-
ber who receives so much."
The first announcement of the composer in his
a
304
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
He accompa
a
new office appeared on the playbills of “Don Gi-
ovanni” at Vienna. In an age when a free artist
—a composer living solely by the resources of his
talent, was a most unusual'spectacle, even this triv-
ial distinction might and did give pleasure. But
Mozart soon found that his condition was substan-
tially, unaltered; he was mortified at having an
appointment void of duties, and from which no
reputation could possibly accrue.
nied one of the receipts of his stipend with a seal-
ed note, containing the words, “Too much for what
I do; too little for what I could do;" a stinging
epigrammatic remonstrance, which, however, pro-
duced no effect.
About this time, shortly after his return to Vi-
enna, the long and eventful career of Gluck was
brought to a close by a renewed attack of apo-
plexy. In dramatic accent, as well as in harmony
and melody, this composer had so much in com-
mon with Mozart as to render it somewhat sur-
prising that his works are now almost confined to
the cabinet of the musician, while those of his con-
temporary still keep possession of the stage. But
the reason will become obvious when it is consid-
ered that the interest in the operas of Gluck is
maintained by short airs and short choruses, which
form inseparable parts of a great whole, and art-
fully contrived scenes, in which he moves no step
without the immediate inspiration of the poetry
and situation; while Mozart, on the contrary, fills
up the scantiest outline from his invention, wander-
ing at will, as he somewhere describes himself
, in
the mere luxury of imagination. How, then, does
it happen, that the one who requires the theatre,
and an entire connected representation, should no
longer keep possession of the stage, while the oth-
er, who furnishes such exquisite morsels for the
concert-room and the chamber, still exercises his
1
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
305
S
sovereignty there? For this simple reason, that
in order to preserve popularity on the stage, it is
necessary to suppy the audience with music which
they can carry out of the theatre—music which can
be retained alone, and can charm by itself without
the help of dramatic auxiliaries. It is because
Mozart's operas are crowded with passages that
wing their flight into the concert-room and the
chamber, that they have always maintained their
influence on the stage. Another circumstance may
also be referred to as giving them continual fresh-
--the choice of subjects, which are almost in-
variably derived from the romance of real life, af-
fording greater scope for variety of style and con-
trasts of passion, while Gluck's operas are exclu-
sively founded on remote and barbaric themes.
Mozart, with his nervous and playful genius, keeps
within the range of our sympathies; Gluck deals
with materials that lie beyond them.
During the year 1788, Mozart made no excur-
sion, but remained at Vienna, patiently awaiting
some of the benefits to be anticipated from his
new office. The rumour of a war with Turkey,
which now filled the public mind, and formed a
very popular subject of allusion in the minor the-
atres, altogether depressed the interests of music,
and enabled him the better to bear his proportion
of the general neglect. At the come uncement
and close of the year, we find him writing orches-
tral minuets, waltzes, and country-dances for the
court balls-works which were of a better market
value than operas, and to which he could fortu-
nately have recourse when pressed for the means
of existence. Meanwhile, it is extraordinary that
his nature was not “subdued to that it worked in,"
and that in the intervals of this inferior occupation
his genius so soon regained its wonted elasticity.
20
Cc2
306
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
His compositions this year were unusually numer-
ous ; and though their occasional insignificance
precludes the idea of his having written them from
his own choice, they seem little calculated for ex-
tensive popularity. Composing gratuitously. to
supply the wants of a large acquaintance, it is dif-
ficult to tell whence he drew his means of subsist-
ence; and the inquiry now would be the more use-
less, since it is pretty certain that he hardly knew
himself.
The distinguishing feature of the year 1788 was
the production of the three symphonies, in E flat,
G minor, and the Jupiter, which rapidly succeed-
ed each other during the space of about six weeks
from the 26th of June, and were the last of his pro-
ductions of this kind. When he collects his pow.
ers for some grand effort, and throws the whole of
his strength, fancy, feeling, and invention into a
congenial work, then we see Mozart in his true
character. We discern him especially in these
.
symphonies, which are as dissimilar from them-
selves as they are distinct from everything else-
which exhibit a mind making constant advances,
yet not content to produce, without, at the same
time, giving an impulse to the art. Wonderful
was the faculty which enabled him to dismiss from
memory the composition just finished, to disengage
himself tom the throng of pleasing recollections,
and bring , orward a new face for each successive-
ly. The family likeness is there :
facies non omnibus una
Nec diversa tamen ;
but it is an elegance and perfection elsewhere un-
discernible that we discover the parent* Instru-
* The genius of instrumental music, of Mozart's especially, is
beautifully characterized in the following passage : “ The present
strain seems not only to recall, but almost to renew, some past
movement, another, and yet the same! Each present movement
*
/
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
307
mental music is so vague a subject without notes
to revive our pleasurable sensations, that we glad-
ly select a passage which shows the individuality
of Mozart in his method of bringing several sub-
jects together, and returning to his original theme
by a sequence. The whole of this return (from
the second part of the andante of the G minor sym-
phony) is never heard but with renewed astonish-
ment and delight.
bc
b
o-bi
ed
shib
bh
;
br
be
bi
bt
bro
b
Dib
b-b
bringing back, as it were, and imbodying the spirit of some mel-
ody that had gone before, anticipates, and seems trying to overtake
something that is to come; and the musician has reached the
summit of his art when, having thus mudified the present by the
past, he at the same time weds the past in the present to some
prepared and corresponsive future. The auditor's thoughts and
feelings move under the same influence, retrospection blends with
anticipation, and hope and memory, a female Janus, become one
power with a double aspect.”—Coleridge, The Friend, p. 170.
а
308
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
ܪ
For producing such music as this, he suffered
the usual penalty attendant on bold innovation and
anticipation of the future; he was neither under-
stood, nor, of course, rewarded. The composers
of instrumental commonplace immediately prece-
ding, or contemporary with him, were provided for.
Dr. Burney found Vanhall
, though somewhat cra-
zed in intellect, living at Vienna in comfortable re-
tirement: his symphonies, which had been engraved
in Holland, established his fortune. Dittersdorf,
another symphonist of the day, who produced a se-
ries of works illustrative of Ovid's “Metamorpho-
ses," was rewarded by an addition of nobility to
his name and a post under the Austrian govern-
ment.*
Mozart alone was turned over to that un-
failing patron of the muse, Necessity. The pleas-
,
ure he had in this kind of writing is apparent. He
lingered with fondness over those productions upon
which he chiefly calculated for his reception with
posterity. Of this, the symphony in G minor af-
fords an example; he returned to it and made a
second score, in which he added two clarinets to
the two oboes, and, to make room for these instru-
ments, altered the original in several places. In
the adagio to the "Jupiter Symphony," he profit-
ed by an after thought. That movement was ori-
ginally intended to conclude at the cadence which
precedes the last introduction of the subject, but
* The public taste for commonplace, and the composers who
pandered to it, were satirized by Mozart in a composition which,
though in its exterior a symphony, consisting of an allegro, min-
uet, and trio, adagio and finale, is only a joke (Musikalischer
Spass), sounding the basest string of humility." It must have
cost him some pains so completely to divest himself of his genius
as he seems to have done in this production. He sometimes,
though rarely, played with his art. The Gerinans possess a
method of composing waltzes mechanically by means of throw-
ing dice, the invention of which is ascribed to hiin. This prin.
ciple of the musical kaleidoscope is thought to have been applied
ere now to graver compositions.
i
THE LIFE OF MOZART:
309
+
the master, on reviewing his work, appended a
coda, in which he reproduced the affecting and pas-
sionate strain of melody with which it
, now dies
away upon the ear. If, in haste to commit his ideas
to paper, he omitted anything, his review was de-
,
cisive.
We may here take a picture of two great sym-
phonists with a work still undergoing the process
of gestation. Mozart, when he washed his hands
in the morning, could never remain quiet, but trav-
ersed his chamber, knocking one heel against
the other, immersed in thought. At table he would
fasten the corners of his napkin, and, while draw-
ing it backward and forward on his mouth, make
grimaces, apparently “lost in meditation."' Bee-
thoven, in a fit of abstraction, would pour several
jugs of water on his hands, "humming and roar-
ing." After wetting his clothes through, he would
pace up and down the room with a vacant expres-
sion of countenance, and eyes frightfully distend-
ed.* Schlictegroll has observed that Mozart's
physiognomy was remarkable for its extreme mo-
bility. The expression changed every moment.
His body, also, was in perpetual motion ; he was
either playing with his hands, or beating the ground
with his foot.
Throughout this year of incessant occupation,
discouragement was gaining ground upon him,
and the thinness of his catalogue during 1789-90,
when compositions appear only at the rate of one
a month, or even at longer intervals, affords conclu-
sive evidence of the fact. The music-shops, as a
source of income, were almost closed to him, as
he could not submit his genius to the dictates of
fashion. Hofmeister, the publisher, having once
* Schindler's Life, vol. ii., p. 178.
310
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
advised him to write in a more popular style, or
he could not continue to purchase his compositions,
he answered, with unusual bitterness, - Then I
can make no more by my pen, and I had better
starve and go to destruction at once." The fits of
dejection which he experienced were partly the
effect of bodily ailments, but more of a weariness
with the perplexity of affairs, and of a prospect
which afforded him but one object on which he
could gaze with certainty of relief, and that was
death. Constant disappointment introduced him
to indulgences which he had not before permitted
himself.
He became wild in the pursuit of pleasure ;
whatever changed the scene was delightful to him,
and the more extravagant the better. His associ-
ates, and the frequent guests at his table, were rec-
ommended by their animal spirits and capacity as
boon companions. They were stage-players and
orchestral musicians, low and unprincipled per-
sons, whose acquaintance injured him still more in
reputation than in purse. Two of these men,
Schickaneder, the director of a theatre (for whom
Mozart wrote the “ Zauberflöte”), and Stadler, a
clarinet-player, are known to have behaved with
gross dishonesty towards the composer, and yet he
forgave them, and continued their benefactor. The
society of Schickaneder, a man of grotesque hu-
mour, often in difficulties, but of inexhaustible
cheerfulness and good-fellowship, had attractions
for Mozart, and led him into some excesses that
contributed to the disorder of his health, as he was
obliged to retrieve at night the hours lost in the
day. A long-continued irregularity of income,
also, disposed
him to make the most of any favour-
able moment; and when a few rouleaus of gold
brought the means of enjoyment, the Champagne
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
311
米
​and Tokay began to flow.* This course is, un-
,
happily, no novelty in the shifting life of genius,
overworked and ill-rewarded, and seeking to throw
off its cares in the pursuits and excitements of vul-
gar existence. It is necessary to know the com-
poser as a man of pleasure, in order to understand
certain allusions in the correspondence of his last
years, when his affairs were in the most embar-
rassed condition, and his absence from Vienna fre-
quently caused by the pressure of creditors. He ap-
pears at this time to have experienced moments of
poignant self-reproach. His love of dancing, mas-
querades, masked balls, &c., was so great, that he
did not willingly forego an opportunity of joining
any one of those assemblies, whether public or pri-
vate. He dressed handsomely, and wished to make
a favourable impression in society independently
of his music. He was sensitive with regard to his
figure, and was annoyed when he heard that the
Prussian ambassador had said to some one, “ You
must not estimate the genius of Mozart by the in-
significance of his exterior." The extremity of his
animal spirits may occasion surprise. He com-
posed pantomimes and ballets, and danced in them
himself, and at the Carnival balls, sometimes ąs-
sumed a character. He was actually incompara-
ble in Arlequin and Pierrot. The public mas-
* What effects even an occasional indulgence of this kind, when
combined with night-watching and composition, must have had
upon his nervous system, may be easily imagined. It was, indeed,
to borrow a vulgar but expressive metaphor, lighting the candle
at both ends. The vice of ebriety was not, however, among Mo-
zart's failings. His sister-in-law Sophia, who has contributed the
best anecdotes of his domestic life, testifies that she never saw
him intoxicated; he drank to the point of exhilaration, but not
beyond.
† There is a tradition of his having also excelled in the charac-
ter of a quack doctor, in which he acquitted himself in prescrip-
tions to his numerous patients with great address and promptness
of wit.
312
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
querades at Vienna, during the Carnival, were
supported with all the vivacity of Italy; the em-
peror occasionally mingled in them, and his exam-
ple was generally followed. We are not, there-
fore, to measure these enjoyments by our colder
Northern notions.
That these scenes of extravagant delight seduced
him into occasional indulgences which cannot be
reconciled with the purity of his earlier life, it
would be the worst affectation in his biographer to
deny. Nor is it necessary to the vindication of
Mozart that such temporary errors should be sup-
pressed by a feeling of mistaken delicacy. Living
in such a round of excitements, and tortured by
perpetual misfortunes, there is nothing very sur-
prising in the fact that he should sometimes have
been drawn into the dangerous vortex ; but he re-
deemed the true nobility of his nature by presery-
ing, in the midst of his hasty inconstarcies, the
most earnest and unfailing attachment to his home.
It is a curious illustration of his real character,
that he always confessed his transgressions to his
wife, who had the wise generosity to pardon them,
from that confidence in his truth which survived
alike the troubles and temptations of their check-
ered lives,
But Mozart must be seen in quieter moods and
with other companions. One of his great favour-
ites was Benedict Schack, an opera singer, and
a devoted student of ecclesiastical composition.
Their friendship had a pleasant trait. When Mo-
zart called upon him that they might walk out
together, and Schack retired to dress for that pur-
pose, leaving the mass that he was composing un-
finished on his desk, Mozart would take the pen
and proceed with it.
He was still surrounded by his poorer brethren
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
313
of the profession, to whom he was liberal of his
time and labour even to excess. The quantity he
wrote to oblige, could it be seen in the aggregate,
would create astonishment. A volume of the airs,
scenas, &c., written for various performers, his
friends, to introduce into their parts in operas, has
been published by Breitkopf and Härtel, of Leipsic,
and is known to contain some of his finest things.
These, however, form but a small part of his con-
tributions to the cause of friendship and benevo-
lence. A host of concertos, sonatas, and other in-
strumental productions, sufficient to have founded
a lasting fame in that department of the art, re-
main to be placed in the same category of gratui-
tous labour. The works already referred to, under
the date of 1783, as entracts to the tragedy of
“König Thamos in Egypten,” now better known
as the motets Splendente te and Ne pulvis et cinis,
and generally employed as offertories and graduals
in the Roman Catholic Church, were originally of
this description. He wrote them for a manager at
Vienna named Schwerlich, reserving, however,
the MSS. for himself; and three years afterward
he transmitted copies of the same work gratuitously
to the distressed manager of the German theatre
at Prague, whom they greatly assisted. In this
manner the ill-rewarded Mozart was a constant
benefactor to his indigent contemporaries. “No-
thing," says his biographer Schlictegroll, "could
"
extinguish his compassion for the unfortunate.”
He himself received many testimonies of esteem
from persons unconnected with his profession, in
which the effects of his genius, or amiable disposi-
tion, or both, are to be traced. One of his chief
friends in times of pecuniary difficulty was M. von
Puchberg, a merchant of Vienna, who continually
lent him money. This gentleman appears to have
D D
314
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
been an amateur. performer on the double bass,
and it is gratifying to trace his name in the cata-
logue of the composer, as an evidence of the rela-
tion in which they stood. The bass air, Per questa
bella mano, with its unique accompaniment of
,
contra basso obligato, was written for M. Puch-
berg. * The Baron von Swieten also afforded him
assistance of the same kind.
But one of the most remarkable instances of en-
thusiasm awakened by his genius was exhibited
in an humble station in life, by one who had not
the advantage of knowing Mozart personally. A
citizen of Vienna, named Rindum, excited by the
mere admiration of music, received the sick wife
of the composer into his house, where she had full
opportunity, from the nature of his business, to
apply a remedy prescribed by physicians for a
lameness which afflicted her. The cure was tedi-
ous, but Rindum supplied everything necessary,
and would receive nothing for lodging or expenses.
In estimating the immense musical public whom
Mozart has gratified, it would be unjust to omit
those who have a purely natural taste, without pre-
tension to connoisseurship. His operas are con-
tinually attended by amateurs, who concentrate
the pleasure of an evening in two or three favour-
ite melodies; no professedly scientific composer
has ever embraced so large a class of this kind
among his audiences.
With his own relations he lived like the most
insignificant of mankind; and his home, unfortu-
nately, afforded but too many opportunities for his
sympathy in painful circumstances. During the
year 1788, the principal scene of his labours seems
ܪ
* Mozart, at the time of his death, was indebted 1000 florins to
this gentleman; this claim remained unsettled for some years, but
was finally liquidated by the widow.
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
315
to have been the chamber of his sick wife, whose
sister has commemorated his soothing attentions
and anxiety to relieve suffering in an anecdote.
"I well remember a long illness, during which I at-
tended her for full eight months. I was at her bedside,
and Mozart likewise, composing, both of us as silent as the
grave, for, after much suffering, she had just sunk into a
sweet and refreshing slumber. On a sudden a noisy
messenger entered the apartment. Mozart, alarmed
lest his wife should be disturbed, pushed his chair back
and rose hastily, when the penknife, which was open
in his hand, slipped and buried itself in his foot. Al-
though very sensitive to pain on ordinary occasions, he
was now silent, but beckoned me to follow him into an-
other room, where I found that the wound was really
a very serious one. Johannisöl, the surgeon, attended
him, and he was cured without his wife's knowing that
an accident had happened, although the pain made him
for some time lame in walking."*
The females of his wife's family, it is to be ob-
served, all joined in his commendation as a hus-
band and brother, and one reason of this certainly
was the unselfishness which they perceived in him.
In any turn of good fortune they all shared. They
saw his genius, his application, and its rewards,
and could not reproach him even with his errors
among the rest, with his unhappy choice of famil-
iar companions, though this occasioned many a
cause of secret regret.
Having glanced at some of the circumstances
connected with the disorder and agitation of the
* The custom of attending an invalid had by this time grown
so familiar to him, that he found a difficulty in discontinuing hab-
its suitable only to the sick-chamber. While his wife was ill he
met every one who came to see her with his finger on his lips, as
an intimation to them not to make a noise. For some time after
her recovery this practice still remained; he spoke in a subdued
tone of voice, and his abstraction was so great that he even ac-
costed his acquaintances in the street with his finger on his
mouth, and with hushing whispers.
316
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
last years of Mozart's life, when melancholy, re-
lieved only by an occasional extravagance of hu-
mour that heightened and confirmed the disease,
had become habitual to him, it is necessary to re-
vert briefly to the history of his compositions during
the year 1788, while the hopes encouraged by the
promises of the emperor, and by the inconsidera-
ble appointment he had received as the earnest of
future favours, were yet fresh. His solo piano-
forte music of this date is extraordinary, from the
character of the ideas which he thought fit to em-
ploy upon it. The sonata in F, from its beautiful
style, fine counterpoint, and the regularity of the
parts in which it is written, might pass as a quar-
tett for stringed instruments.
Allegro.
ber
fe
An adagio for the pianoforte solo in B minor,
which is as elevated and severe in its style as any.
thing in the “Passione" of Haydn, sets speculation
to work as to its origin. The fine compositions in
the appendix to “Don Giovanni” also distinguish
the year 1788.*
After the completion of the three symphonies,
the remainder of the original compositions of the
year 1788 were but light work for the composer,
* In this he introduced some of the singers, who thought them-
selves neglected with regard to songs, into more prominent situa-
tions in that opera. The tine song of Don Ottavio, Dalla sua Pace,
was composed for Mr. Morella; the duet between Zerlina and Le-
porello, Per quelle tue Manine, for Madame Mombelli and Signor
Benucci; and the recitative and aria of Elvira, Mi tradi, for Mad-
emoiselle Cavallieri. We are thus furnished with the names of
the original representatives of these characters at Vienna, and the
pieces he now supplied for them are in no respect inferior to those
written in the first heat of production.
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
317
I
a
a
and require no detailed observation. Their diver-
sity is, as usual, interesting. A war-song, two sets
of canons for four and three voices, a divertimento,
and a terzetto for instruments, and some country
dances, bring us down to November, in which
month he was occupied in putting additional ac-
companiments to Handel's " Acis and Galatea” for
the Baron von Swieten. The original score of his
work has never met the public eye, but remains to
the present day in the archives of an amateur at
Berlin; curiosity to view the first touches of this
novel, and, in ruder hands, hazardous process, can-
not therefore be gratified. Mosel, the editor of the
popular German version of Handel, states that Mo-
zart made Handel's choruses the principal object
of his study from the year 1788 to 1790. His opin-
ion of that master is well known. “Handel," said
he,“ understands effect better than any of us; when
he chooses, he strikes like a thunderbolt.”
In commencing his delicate task, Mozart seems
to have proceeded tenderly and with diffidence, for
in the correspondence which passed between him
and the Baron von Swieten, while engaged on it,
he hopes to be encouraged and confirmed by his
favourable opinion. The answer of the baron is
dated March 21, 1789. The “ Messiah” was then
in hand.
“ Your idea of changing the text of the frigid air into
a recitative is excellent, and, in the uncertainty whether
you have received the words, I again send you the copy
of them. He who can arrange Handel with such taste
and solemnity as to accommodate him to the day, with-
out detracting from the majesty of his compositions,
must have felt and understood them, and reached the
very source of his inspiration. This is my opinion of
what you have done ; it is not necessary for me to say
more than merely to express my wish to receive the
recitative as soon as nossible."
DD 2
318
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
grew bolder.
It is probable that Mozart's first labours on Han-
del were such as we observe in the “ Alexander's
Feast," confined chiefly to improvements of the
effect-the substitution of one voice for another-
of air for recitative, or the contrary, avoiding, in
fact, the monotony which the old master did not
care to shun, and enriching his harmonies without
adding new features. But in the “ Messiah” he
bolder. The clarinet and the bassoon parts
in the air Every Valley, introduced in passages
where Handel had formerly accompanied the voice
by a single bass, and more remarkably still in the
bass song, The People that walked in darkness, are
examples of innovation which equally astonish and
delight by their intrepidity and their success. Here,
doubtless, something is added beyond what Handel
could have done, had he been familiar with the
modern employment of wind instruments-effects
of harmony which are certainly neither of his age
nor style, and the propriety of which has been dis-
cussed by the critics for the last half century. But
the beauty of these additions has finally triumphed
over prejudice; they are now generally adopted,
and Mozart is associated with Handel in undying
conjunction.
Though meditating on the grandeur of Handel
in the winter of 1788, it was still important that he
should not neglect his old and kind patrons, the
masters of the ceremonies at the court and Carnival
balls, who gave him employment, and recompens-
ed him liberally for it. Between his operations on
“Acis and Galatea" and the “ Messiah,” he wrote
minuets and waltzes for the full orchestra by the
dozen, and probably got better through the winter
by this means than had he depended on appoint-
ments from the emperor.
In April, 1789, Mozart left Vienna on a tour,
in
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
319
the company of his pupil the Prince von Lichnow-
sky, who accommodated him with a seat in his car-
riage as far as Berlin. The King of Prussia had
expressed himself favourably towards Mozart on
several occasions, and the uncertainty of the com-
poser's position in the Austrian capital made it de-
sirable that he should not omit the chance of find-
ing a new and more generous patron. This was his
first visit to those more northern capitals of Ger-
many in which the science of Sebastian Bach, and
the traditions of his school, flourished; and as ev-
erything strange and beautiful which he heard in-
fluenced his genius, he collected at this time many
new views and designs of composition.
On the 10th of April he wrote to his wife from
Prague:
6. We arrived here to-day at half past eleven o'clock,
in perfect safety. Now with respect to affairs at Prague :
I went immediately to Guardassoni, who has all but
agreed to give me 200 ducats for the opera next autumn,
besides fifty ducats for travelling expenses. Ramm left
this place a week ago on his road home. He came here
from Berlin, and said that the king had spoken of me
frequently and with great earnestness, and, as I had not
arrived, he said again, I fear that he won't come. Ramm
was quite concerned, and endeavoured to assure him
to the contrary. From this account it would appear
that I shall not do badly.”
The
opera
referred to in this letter is “Cosi fan
tutte.” How much Mozart's fame had advanced
since the composition of “Don Giovanni,” may
be inferred from the fact of his now being able to
command a double price for his labour. Guardas.
soni, with whom he engaged, was a contractor in
theatres, and had several dramatic speculations on
his hands at the same time in the different capitals
of Europe, from Vienna to Warsaw. This is the
reason why the opera was agreed for at one place
and produced at another.
1
320
THE LIFE OĚ MOZART
At Leipsic, where Mozart stayed to give concerts,
he was closely observed by an intelligent youth,
who, with a presentiment of the famous master be-
fore him, preserved the memorabilia of the time.
This was afterward the celebrated critic Rochlitz,
whose authority confirms what is already known
of the ingenious method pursued by Mozart on his
journeys, and with strange orchestras, to make his
music go well. We have seen him ruffling the
plumes of a fair singer at Prague; he now angers
an orchestra by design, to rouse their attention.
One evening he had been heard declaiming in a
very animated manner on the injury his compo-
sitions received by hurrying the time.
"They
think,” said he, "to impart spirit and fire by that
means; but if there is no fire in the composition,
it will never get it by quick playing."
" The next morning, at rehearsal, Bochlitz Tomarked
that he took the first movement of one of his sympho-
nies at a rapid rate. Scarcely twenty bars had been
played before the musicians held the time back, and
dragged. Mozart stopped them, explained what was
wrong, then resumed the baton, wiede ancora, and re-
commenced at the same rate of speed. The result was
as before. He did everything in his power to keep up
.
the time, and once stamped the bar with such force that
his shoe-buckle flew in pieces. But all to no purpose.
He laughed at his misfortune, let the fragments lie,
againeriede ancora, and recommenced for the third time
in the same tempo. The orchestra, now thoroughly in-
censed with the little pale man who drove them on at
such a rate, at length exerted themselves in earnest,
and the movement went well.
" All that followed he took more moderately. And
now it became the object of the composer to recover
the good-will of the irritated orchestra, without, how-
ever, compromising the good effects to which his zeal
had been directed. He praised the accompanying, and
said, "When gentlemen play in this manner, it can be of
;
>
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
321
C.
no use to rehearse my concerto, for the parts are all
correctly written. You play right, and I too; what
more can be done ?' And at-the performance the or-
chestra accompanied an uncommonly difficult-and intri-
cate-Goneerto-at-sight with perfect correctness: After
the rehearsal he said to some connoisseurs, "Don't be
surprised at me; it was not caprice. I saw that the
greater number of the performers were men in years,
and there would have been no end of the dragging if I
had not put some warmth into them by making them
angry
Mere vexation at last made them do their
best."
He played his posthumous concerto, and accom-
panied Madame Dussek in Non temer, charming
the hearer by the “melting tenderness of his exe-
cution." Strange concerts must these German
concerts have been, at which the programme was
so utterly disregarded. After performing two con-
certos, and accompanying for a couple of hours,
some one wished to hear him play alone, and he
began afresh in order to please everybody. There
was little money in the house, and so all his ac-
quaintance received a free admission; the chorus
singers (an interesting class of euthusiasts) came
by dozens, though there was nothing for them to
do. When the Herr Kapellmeister was appealed
to, “Oh, let them in—let them in !" was the reply.
A clever violin-player in the orchestra attracted his
notice. At the conclusion of the performance he
takes this musician aside, “Come home with me,
dear Berger,' and I will play a little more to you;
you understand it better than most of those who
have just been applauding." They went away
together, and after supper Mozart extemporized
fantasias till midnight; then suddenly springing up,
as was his custom, he exclaimed, “Well ! are you
pleased ? Now you have heard Mozart for the
first time.”
21
322
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
.
His reception by Frederic William II. of Prus-
sia was highly favourable, and that monarch, who,
though no great connoisseur, was a tasteful amateur
of the arts, listened almost daily to his extempora-
neous fantasias, or engaged him in quartett per-
formances with the choicest artists of his private
band. From the letters of the composer while so-
journing at Berlin, it would appear that he had
heen at Potsdam, thence had returned to Leipsic,
visited Dresden, and was back again af Berlin.
He writes from this place to his wife on the 23d
of May:
“ The queen will hear me on Tuesday, but there is
not much to be made. I announced myself because it is
customary, and she might else have taken offence. You
must prepare at my return to find your pleasure rather
in me than in the money I shall bring. A hundred
Friedrichs d'or (which he appears to have received from
the king) are seven hundred of the Vienna guiden.
Lichnowsky was obliged to hasten away, consequently
my purse has been emptied at Potsdam, which is a
doar place; and I have, besides, been obliged to lend a
hundred florins to a person whom I could not refuse.
Add to this the failure of the concert at Leipsic, which
I always prophesied; but Lichnowsky would give me no
rest, and I was constrained to acquiesce in it. Here at
Berlin there is little to be made by concerts, as the king
is not friendly to them. You must, therefore, be con-
tent with getting me, together with this good news, that
I am in high favour with his majesty. What I have
written to you on this head is, however, between our-
selves."
This letter was written about a week before his
return to Vienna ; but the numerous adventures
and characteristic anecdotes connected with the
visits of the composer to Leipsic and Dresden
render it incumbent on us to retrace our steps, and
somewhat invert the order of events in this place.
One of the warmest of his admirers at Leipsic was
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
323
Doles, cantor to St. Thomas's School, a pupil of
Sebastian Bach, and his successor at that institu-
tion. In the company of this musician, he went
privately one afternoon to the organ in the Church
of St. Thomas, at which Bach formerly officiated,
and, though he had long omitted organ practice,
played in so masterly a style, that Doles, who was
standing behind him, declared with emotion that
he could have believed old Bach to have risen from
the grave. These accidental visits to the organ
were perhaps serviceable to him as a preparation
for a famous encounter, hereafter to be noticed.
The excellent organists of Lutheran Germany-
men “well up" in Bach's fugues and trios, with
obligato pedal, came about him with the humble
submission of their mechanical skill to the might of
his science and invention. In the album of M.
Engel, organist of Leipsic, he wrote a little sport-
ive fugue in Gs, in Sebastian Bach's manner,
which he entitles, in his own catalogue, Eine kleine
Gigue (a little jig).
The impression he received on first hearing the
motets of Sebastian Bach for a double choir was
striking. Doles had the pleasure of astonishing
Mozart by an admirable performance of the eight-
part motet, Sing to the Lord a new song, from the
pupils of his own school, a chorus of about forty
voices. Scarcely had the music proceeded before
Mozart started with an exclamation, and then was
absorbed in attention. At the conclusion he ex-
pressed his delight, and said, “ That, now, is some-
thing from which a man may learn.” On being
informed that Bach was cantor to this school, and
that his motets were venerated there as relics, he
was eager to see them. No score being to be ob-
tained, they handed him the separate parts, and it
was interesting to observe his manner of reading
8
324
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
them, holding some in his hands, some on his knees,
placing some on chairs around him, seeming thor-
oughly lost to everything, and not rising till he had
thoroughly satisfied his curiosity. He requested
to have a copy of the motet which he had so much
enjoyed. A young man among the bass singers
happening to attract his favourable notice, he en-
tered into conversation with him after the music,
and, taking an opportunity when unobserved, slip-
ped a considerable present into his hand.
It was now Mozart's turn to astonish Doles,
with whom he supped in high spirits the night be-
fore his journey to Dresden. It was at the house
of this friend that he most enjoyed himself, for
there he found his own free and unconstrained be-
haviour reciprocated. About the time of separation,
Doles said, in a melancholy tone, “ Who knows
whether we shall ever meet again? Leave me a
line or two from your hand." Mozart, who was
rather more inclined to sleep than to write, did not
at first comply; however, he said at last, " Well,
papa, then give me a piece of paper.” This was
soon brought, and Mozart, tearing it in halves, sat
down and wrote for five or six minutes. He then
gave one half to Doles and the other half to his son.
Upon the first leaf there was a three-part canon i
long notes, without words. “We sang the notes,'
says Rochlitz," and found it an excellent canon of
a very mournful expression. Upon the second leaf
there was also a three-part canon in short notes,
without words: we sang this, too, and found it also
excellent and very droll. We now remarked with
pleasure that both of them could be sung together.
Now for the words,' said Mozart, and wrote under
the first, Lebet wohl, wir sehn uns wieder (Farewell,
we shall meet again); and under the second, Heult
nicht gar wie alte Weiber (Don't be crying like old
{
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
325
a
a
women). We now sang it through again, and it is
impossible to describe what a laughable and yet
profound-I may almost say, majestically comic-
effect it had upon us, and, if I mistake not, upon
himself too; for, exclaiming, in a wild tone of voice,
. Adicu, kinder!' he was gone.' "
He had peculiar gratification in shaking the di-
aphragm of “old Doles” by startling and extrava-
gant jokes. Whether his canon, Bona nox, bista
rechta ox (in which we may depose on oath to Mo-
zart's text as well as music), was sung at these
Leipsic parties, is matter of speculation ; but he
certainly contrived to exhibit his just and ready
criticism in a most humorous scene at the house
of the cantor. Doles tolerated brilliant accompani-
ments in church music, and praised the mass of a
composer who, with a decided talent for comic
op-
era, had attempted to treat ecclesiastical compo-
sition in the same light manner. Mozart borrow-
ed the score of this mass for a short time, and
brought it back with fresh words under the music
--some whimsical sentences of his own invention.
The parts were distributed, and it was sung amid
the "zealous laughter profound” of the vocalists
and of Mozart himself, who accompanied, calling
out as well as he could, “ Now, doesn't that
go
bet-
ter?" He excused himself, however, to Doles for
taking this somewhat free method of displaying the
reasons for which music, good in itself, might yet
be unfit for ecclesiastical purposes.
Whatever compositions he heard or read instant-
ly brought his critical faculty into exercise; and
even some of his own music had scarcely grown
four or five years old before his improving judg-
ment discovered places in which alteration would
be desirable. Thus, in playing an air from “Die
Entführung" in private society, he was no longer
Е Е
326
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
17
satisfied with it for the theatre. “It may do well
enough in this form for the chamber,” said he, “but
on the stage it is too long. At the time I wrote it
I was never tired of hearing myself, and did not
know how to bring my work to a conclusion.
His table-talk in the musical society at Leipsic,
of which he was the centre of attraction, affords
many happy illustrations of his just discrimination.
Discoursing on the merits of composers and com-
position, Paesiello was mentioned, and Mozart,
who knew his works well, spoke very favourably
of them. " Whoever seeks for light and pleasur-
able sensations in music,” said he, “ cannot be rec-
ommended to anything better.”
His admiration of Handel was not confined to
his choruses; he had a high opinion of many of his
airs and solos. “ However he may linger in the
fashion of his day," said he," there is always some-
thing in him.”
Jomelli was a favourite. - The man has a path
of his own, in which he shines; but he should not
have quitted it to attempt to write church music in
the old style. None of them all,” he continued,
can be jocose or serious, raise laughter or create
profound emotion, and both with equal success,
like Joseph Haydn." The nicer qualities of the
style of these masters were so well known to him
that he could imitate them even to deception.
On this journey he appears to have formed the
acquaintance of a certain baron, an amateur com-
poser, who forwarded to him sundry compositions
for the benefit of his opinion, accompanying them
with what was probably more to the taste of Mo-
zart, a present from his cellar. This gives occa-
sion to an inimitable letter, characterized by extra-
ordinary contrasts. Levity and sense, humour and
mplancholy, the most profound observations upon
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
327
art, and the happiest turns of thought, are here
mixed up with incoherent eccentricity and irresist-
ible nonsense, Mozart is the same person that we
have known from boyhood, but more masterly and
rapid in his mode of dealing with composition :
6 TO THE BARON V-
66 Herewith I return you, my good baron, your scores,
and if you perceive that in my hand there are more notá miRNS
benes* than notes, you will find from the sequel of this
letter how that has happened. Your symphony has
pleased me, on account of its ideas, more than the other
pieces, and yet I think that it will produce the least
effect. It is too much crowded, and to hear it partially
or piecemeal festivalenciano) would be, by your permission,
like beholding an anthill
' Ameiset kaufen). I mean to
say, that it is as if Epo, the devil, were in it.
.
6. You must not snap your fingers at me, my dearest
friend, for I would not, for all the world, have spoken
out so candidly, if I could have supposed that it would
give you offence. Nor need you wonder at this, for it
is so with all composers who, without having from their
infancy, as it were, been trained by the whip and the
curses (Donnerwetter) of the maestro, pretend to do
everything with natural talent alone. Some compose
fairly enough, but with other people's ideas, not pos-
sessing any themselves; others, who have ideas of their
own, do not understand how to treat and master them.
This last is your case only do not be angry, pray! for
,
St. Cecilia's sake, not angry that I break out so ab-
ruptly. But your song has a beautiful cantabile, and
your dear Fraenzlt ought to sing it very often to you,
which I should like as much to see as to hear. The
minuet in the quartett is also pleasing enough, particu-
larly from the place I have marked. The coda, how-
ever, may well clatter or tinkle, but it will never produce
music; sapienti sat, and also to the nihil sapienti, by
whom I mean myself. I am not very expert at writing
* " In the original stands fenster, windows, which signify pas-
sages marked #, for the sake of drawing particular attention to
them."--Note by the Translator.
† The baron's daughter,
328
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
ness?
on such subjects ; I rather show at once how it ought
to be done. *
** You cannot imagine with what joy I read your let-
ter, only you ought not to have praised me so much.
We may get accustomed to the hearing of such things,
but to read them is not quite so well. You good people
make too much of me; I do not deserve it, nor my
compositions either. And what shall I say to your pres-
ent, my dearest baron, that came like a star in a dark
night, or like a flower in winter, or like a cordial in sick-
God knows how I am obliged, at times, to toil
and labour to gain a wretched livelihood, and Stänerl,
too, must get something.
" To him who has told you that I am growing idle, I
request you sincerely (and a baron may well do such a
thing) to give him a good box on the ear.
How gladly
would I work and work, if it were only left me to write
always such music as I please and as I can write ; such,
I mean to say, as I myself set some value upon. Thus
I composed, three weeks ago, an orchestral symphony,
and by to-morrow's post I write again to Hofmeister
(the music-seller) to offer him three pianoforte quatuors,
supposing that he is able to pay. Oh, heavens! were I
a wealthy man, I would say, "Mozart, compose what
you please, and as well as you can; but till you offer
me something finished, you shall not get a single kreut-
I'll buy of you every MS., and you shall not be
obliged to go about and offer it for sale like a hawker.'
Good God ! how sad all this makes me; and then, again,
how angry and savage ; and it is in such a state of mind
that I do things which ought not to be done.
my dear, good friend, so it is, and not as stupid or vile
wretches (lumpen) may have told you. Let this, how-
ever, go a cassa del diavolo.
6
zer.
ܪ
* In illustration of this passage, which recalls one of the famous
sayings of antiquity, I insert an anecdote of Mozart, preserved by
the late Mr. Attwood. Soon after Attwood's arrival at Vienna
he showed a book of sonatas or lessons to the great composer, who
glanced at them and said, "I should have begun thus ;" in anoth-
er place, “this would have been my mode of proceeding;" writing
on the spot new passages, which were exquisite improvements.
Attwood always preserved this book as a trophy of the masterly
skill of Mozart.
You see,
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
329
"I now come to the most difficult part of your letter,
which I would willingly pass over in silence, for here
my pen denies me its service. Still I will try, even at
the risk of being well laughed at. You say you should
like to know my way of composing, and what method I
follow in writing works of some extent. I can really say
no more on this subject than the following, for I myself
know no more about it, and cannot account for it. When
I am, as it were, completely myself, entirely alone, and
of good cheer-say travelling in a carriage, or walking
after a good meal, or during the night when I cannot
sleepit is on such occasions that my ideas flow best
and most abundantly. Whence and how they come, 1
know not, nor can I force them. Those ideas that
please me I retain in memory, and am accustomed, as I
have been told, to hum them to myself. If I continue
in this way, it soon occurs to me how I may turn this
or that morsel to account, so as to make a good dish of
it, that is to say, agreeably to the rules of counterpoint,
to the peculiarities of the various instruments, &c.
66 All this fires my soul, and, provided I am not dis-
turbed, my subject enlarges itself, becomes methodized
and defined, and the whole, though it be long, stands
almost complete and finished in my mind, so that I can
survey it, like a fine picture or a beautiful statue, at a
glance. Nor do I hear in my imagination the parts suc-
cessively, but I hear them, as it were, all at once (gleich
allez zusammen). What a delight this is I cannot tell !
All this inventing, this producing, takes place in a pleas-
ing, lively dream. Still, the actual hearing of the tout
ensemble is, after all, the best. What has been thus
produced I do not easily forget, and this is perhaps the
best gift I have my Divine Maker to thank for.
" When I proceed to write down my ideas, I take
out of the bag of my memory, if I may use that phrase,
what has previously been collected into it in the way I
have mentioned. For this reason, the committing to
paper is done quickly enough, for everything is, as I
said before, already finished, and it rarely differs on paper
from what it was in my imagination. At this occupa-
tion I can, therefore, suffer myself to be disturbed; for,
whatever may be going on around me, I write, and even
EE 2
330
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
.
.
talk, but only of fowls and geese, or of Gretel or Bärbel,
or some such matters. But why my productions take
from my hand that particular form and style that makes
them Mozartish, and different from the works of other
composers, is probably owing to the same cause which
renders my nose so large, so aquiline, or, in short, makes
it Mozart's, and different from those of other people,
for I really do not study or aim at any originality ; I
should, in fact, not be able to describe in what mine con-
sists, though I think it quite natural that persons who
have really an individual appearance of their own are
also differently organized from others, both externally
and internally ; at least I know that I have constituted
myself neither one way nor the other.
May this suffice, and never, my best friend, never
again trouble me with such subjects. I also beg you
will not believe that I break off for any other reason but
because I have nothing farther to say on that point. To
others I should not have answered, but have thought :
mutschi, butschi, quittle, etche, molape, newing. *
“ In Dresden I have not been eminently successful.
The Dresden people fancy themselves to be even yet
in possession of everything that is good, merely because
they had formerly to boast of a great deal. Two or
three good souls excepted, the people here hardly knew
anything farther about me than that I had been playing
at concerts in Paris and London in a child's cap. The
Italian opera I did not hear, the court being in the coun-
try for the summer season. Naumann treated me in
the church with one of his masses, which was beautiful,
well harmonized, and in good keeping, though too much
spread, and, as your C would say, rather cold (e
bieszle kühlig). It was somewhat like Hasse, but with-
out his fire, and with a more modern cantilena. I
played a great deal to these gentlemen, but could not
warm their hearts, and, excepting wischi, waschi, they
said nothing at all to me. They asked me to play on
the organ, and they have most magnificent instruments.
I told them, what is the real truth, that I had but little
* Such language as this was certainly never heard but by Pa-
nurge, in the Island of Lanterns.
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
331
No one
practice on the organ ; notwithstanding, I went with
them to the church. Here, now, it showed itself that
they had in petto another foreign artist, a professed
organ-player, who was to kill me, if I may say so, by
his playing (todt spielen). I did not immediately know
him, and he played very well, but without much origi-
nality or imagination. I therefore aimed directly at this
stranger, and exerted myself well. I concluded with a
double fugue, in the perfectly strict style, and played it
very slowly, both that I might conduct it properly to the
end, and that the hearers might be able to follow me
through all the parts. Now all was over.
would play after this. Hässler, however (this was the
stranger's name, who has written some good things in
the style of, the Hamburg Bach), was the most good-
natured and sincere of them all, though it was he whom
I had endeavoured to punish. He jumped about with
joy, and did not know how to express his delight. Af-
terward he went with me to the hotel, and enjoyed
himself at my table ; but the other gentlemen excused
themselves when I gave them a friendly invitation, upon
which my jolly companion Hässler said nothing but
• Tausend Sapperment !**
Here, my best friend and well-wisher, the pages
are full, and the bottle of your wine, which has done the
duty of this day, is nearly empty ; but since the letter
which I wrote to my father-in-law. to request the hand
of my wife, I hardly ever have written such an enor-
mously long one. Pray take nothing ill. In speaking,
as in writing, I must show myself as I am, or I must
hold my tongue and throw my pen aside. My last word
shall be, my dearest friend, keep me in kind remembrance.
Would to God I could one day be the cause of so much
joy to you as you have been to me. Well! I drink to
you in this glass : long live my good and faithful
· W. A. MOZART.'*
* The Hässler who figures so pleasantly in this gladiatorial ex-
hibition afterward came to London, and was introduced by his
friend, Mr. Baumgarten, organist of the Lutheran church in the
Savoy, to the notice of connoisseurs. His performance on the fine
instrument in that church was much admired.
† From the Harmonicon for November, 1825. The original
332
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
2
e
On the return of the composer from Dresden to
Berlin, it was evening as he reached the door of
his hotel. He had scarcely alighted before he in-
quired, “Is there any music going forward here
to-night ?" "O yes,” said the waiter, " the Ger-
man opera has just begun.” “Indeed! and what
do they give to-day?" "Die Entführung aus
66
dem Serail.'” “Charming !" cried Mozart, laugh-
ing with delight. "Yes," said the man, “it is a
“"
very pretty piece indeed ; let me see-
;
let me seem-who com-
posed it ? His name is—" Meantime Mozart
was gone. Entering the theatre in his travelling
dress, he at first established himself at the entrance
of the pit, that he might listen unobserved: now
pleased with the execution of certain passages, now
dissatisfied with the time of the pieces, or with the
fioriture of the singers; advancing insensibly, as the
interest gained upon him, towards the bar of the
orchestra, humming this or that phrase, sometimes
in a subdued, sometimes in a louder tone, and un-.
consciously exciting the general wonder at the ec-
centric behaviour of the little man in the old great-
coat. He was close behind the musicians when
they came to Pedrillo's air, Frisch zum Kampfe,
frische zum streit. The manager had either em-
ployed an incorrect score, or some one had been
making attempts to improve the harmony, for at
the frequently-repeated passage, Nur ein feiger
tropf verzagt, the second violins always played
a D sharp instead of a D natural. This was too
much for the patience of Mozart, who now called
letter is in the possession of Mr. Moscheles. It is without date,
and the translator supposes it to have been written from Prague
in 1783; but his conjecture is evidently erroneous, as the quar-
tetts mentioned were not composed till some years later. The in-
ternal evidence of the letter favours the supposition that it was
written from Berlin in 1789; it is not the production of a man
commencing a career with hope, as Mozart was in 1783, but of
one experienced in life an battered by misfortune.
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
333
now
er.
out aloud, “ Confound it! play D natural !” Ev-
erybody stared, and particularly the musicians in
the orchestra, some of whom recognised him, and
« Mozart is in the house /" ran like wildfire
from the orchestra to the stage. The singers were
in great agitation at the intelligence, and one of
them, who played the part of Blondine, could not
be prevailed on to reappear. The music-director,
aware of the embarrassment, informed Mozart of
it, who was in an instant behind the scenes.
6 What
are you alarmed at, madame?” said he to the sing-
“ You have sung capitally-capitally; and if
you wish to give the part still more effect, I will
study it with you myself."
On the last occasion that the composer was in
private with the King of Prussia, that monarch in-
quired his opinion of the royal orchestra' at Berlin.
Mozart, at no time a flatterer, replied, “ You have
the greatest assemblage of fine performers in the
world; and such quartett playing I never heard
before; but when the gentlemen are all together,
they might, perhaps, make better music.". The
king was pleased with his frankness, and, smiling,
said to him, " Stay with me, then, and improve
them ; I will give you a pension of three thousand
dollars a year.” “Can I leave my good emperor?"
.
said Mozart, with emotion, remaining silent and
thoughtful. The king himself appeared not wholly
unmoved at this instance of attachment, and shortly
added, “ Consider my proposal : I shall keep my
promise, even should it be a year and a day before
you return to claim it."
Encouraged by this prospect, Mozart returned
to his family at Vienna on the 4th of June. His
first work was to evince gratitude towards his roy-
al patron by writing stringed quartetts especially
adapted to the artists of the Berlin chapel, who pre-
1
334
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
ferred music allied with difficulty of execution, at
once fanciful and contrapuntal; and here, again, we
see his flexile genius accommodating itself to the
progress of the mechanism of music.
At the first view it may appear surprising that a
man who led so harassed a life at Vienna should
not instantly have closed with the advantageous
offers of the King of Prussia; but, among the cir-
cumstances unfavourable to this arrangement, the
principal one was Salomon's arrival at Vienna, for
the purpose of engaging Haydn and Mozart for his
London concerts. Had not death intervened, Mo-
zart would have succeeded Haydn in London, and,
doubtless, have also produced his twelve grand
symphonies for Salomon's concerts.* With this
change of life in prospect, the interest in the Ber-
lin scheme was probably weakened.
Now came his separation from Haydn, the man
to whom habit and sympathy had strongly attached
him, and who was, so to speak, an artist-father.f
It was a grievous trial, and Mozart, in his decli-
ning health, saw in it only evil omens--disaster
and death. At the parting he was much agitated, ,
and shed tears. "I fear,” said he, in bidding
Haydn adieu, “ that we see each other for the last
time”-a presentiment but too fatally confirmed.
"
* Haydn was so enamoured of the quiet life he led at Ester-
hazy, that it is thought he would hardly have complied with the
proposals of Salomon, if the death of Mademoiselle Boselli, which
left a void in his days,'had not occurred. He stipulated only to
precede Mozart, and without disguising his reason for it. The
journey turned out prosperously: it brought some of his best
works to light, and founded the fortune on which he retired from
public life. Its most striking effect, however, was to have silen-
ced professional enmity. Hadyn described himself, on his return,
as from the first time free from the malevolence of rivals. If the
life of Haydn, up to the age of sixty, was imbittered by profession-
al jealousies, we may form sone estimate of what Mozart had to
endure from the same cause.
+ In an affectionate and playful spirit, Mozart always called
Haydn father.
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
335
6
With regard to his settlement at Berlin, it is
probable that, however he might esteem the liber-
ality of his Prussian majesty, the mode of living in
the north of Germany had no charms for him. “I
am fond of Vienna," said he one day to a friend,
who was blaming him for neglecting the King of
Prussia's proposals; "the emperor treats me kind-
ly, and I care little about money.”
Some intrigues against him at court, however,
at length determined him to go and tender the
resignation of his appointment. The emperor
listened to his complaints, and, when he had fin-
ished, said to him in a tone of kindness, “My dear
Mozart, you know my opinion of the Italians, and
will you leave me?" These condescending words
altered the already wavering resolution of the com-
poser, and induced him to remain.*
When he ar-
rived at home with this intelligence, and related
to one of his friends the particulars of his interview
with the emperor,
" At least," said his hearer,
“you should have seized the favourable moment
to stipulate for some better provision than you
have at present.” Mozart was annoyed at this re-
flection on his want of prudence. "Satan himself,”
he replied, “would hardly have thought of bar-
gaining at such a moment.
* M. Fétis, in his “ Biographie des Musiciens," doubts whether
these words were ever spoken by the emperor; but they certainly
agree with that insincerity of character which history ascribes to
him. His partiality to the Italians was notorious. He was fond
of hearing the opinion of one artist upon another, and thought,
after gratifying himself in this way, to exercise an unbiased judg-
ment of his own; but he was deceived. His sentiments were
always influenced by the parties with whom he conversed. He
took Dittersdorf to his counsel in forming a comparative estimate
of Clementi and Mozart as pianoforte players, and of Mozart and
Haydn as composers. But his musical advisers were sometimes
.
unsound. He preferred a blunt to a fawning and sycophantic ad-
dress, and placed artists on an easy footing in their intercourse
with him; but his liberality in public compliments destroyed their
value, as they ceased to be recognitions of individual eminence.
.
ܢ
a
336
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
a
This conversation, so decisive of the composer's
fate, was one of the last which ever passed be-
tween him and the emperor, whose death followed
at the distance of a few months. This was a fresh
calamịty; at least so it seemed to Mozart, who to
the last believed that he had in this monarch a
protector and patron awaiting only the opportunity
to advance him. He, however, did better without
the
emperor,
and wanted nothing to be prosperous
but an unimpaired constitution and “sixty year's
on his shoulders.''
From the time of the composer's agreement to
remain in the service of the Emperor Joseph, in
the autumn of 1789 to the autumn following, may
be dated the epoch of his life in which his tempo-
ral affairs reached the crisis of misfortune. His
pen was peculiarly unproductive during this pe-
riod, although it gave birth to an opera, two quar-
tetts, a quintett, several airs, &c.—work, in bulk
alone, to sdy nothing of its quality, sufficient to
have redeemed any other composer from the charge
of indolence or misspent time, but not enough to
satisfy Mozart, who has left under his own hand,
while suffering from some calamity brought on by
himself, his own self-accusation of neglect.
“Cosi fan tutte," an opera buffa in two acts, was
brought upon the stage in January, 1790. Guar-
dassoni, the dramatic contractor to whom we owe
it, after engaging Mozart, left both the subject of
the work and the place of its production in doubt,
and when both were made known, gave satisfac-
tion to the composer in neither. The interest of
the libretto, which turns upon a trivial incident in
the taste of the French stage, would not have in-
duced Mozart, had he been at liberty to consult
his own feelings, to set it to music, and the opera
was now to be produced on the Italian stage at
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
337
ܪ
Vienna, a theatre detested by him from the remem-
brance of its intrigues. By this measure he also
lost all the pleasure and collateral advantage to be
expected from visiting some foreign city free of
expense to superintend its performance. The mu-
sic of the opera corroborates this account of its
origin. From the introduction for seven or eight
pieces, there is a characteristic grace, animation,
and enthusiasm ; but this high excellence is not
sustained, and the composition, though undeniably
Mozart's, is carried out with less than his accus-
tomed vigour. Of the success of the first repre-
sentation the records are wanting, but it may be
suspected to have been the reverse of distinguished.
We do not find the composer returning to this op-
era to write new things for it, as his manner was
with favourite and successful works. He commem-
orates it in his catalogue by a single inscription,
and we hear no more of it.
During six months after the completion of “Cosi
fan tutte," he completed nothing but two stringed
quartetts, the remainder of a set of three, which he
dedicated to the King of Prussia, who acknowl-
edged the compliment by a hundred Frederics
d'or in a gold box.
In July of the same year, 1790, Mozart was em-
ployed on Handel's “ Alexander's Feast” and “Ode
on Cecilia's Day” for the Baron von Swieten.
These were the last works of Handel that received
finishing touches from his pen, and the embellish-
ment of his exquisite wind-instrument parts. The
score of “ Alexander's Feast" displays alterations
and reduplications rather than added novelties---
efforts directed towards improving the effect and
connexion of the piece rather than new features.
Thus we find the air, Softly sweet in Lydian meas-
ures, given to a soprano voice instead of a tenor,
t
22
338
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
for the sake of a more beautiful combination with
a violoncello obligato, and now and then a chord
accompanying the recitative more effectively dis-
persed among the instruments, while the harmony
of the choruses generally is enriched. Such is
principally the nature of Mozart's additions ; in
one air only, The prince unable to conceal his pain,
has he ventured to occupy certain interstitial places
with phrases of his own for a flute and bassoon
obligato.
To remodel and beautify Handel must have been
a gratifying task to the composer, to whom good
music not his own was always welcome as a res-
pite to his ever-working invention. His wife could
not give him a more agreeable surprise on the oc-
casion of any family holyday than by getting up in
private some new church work by Michael or Jo-
seph Haydn.
The ceremony of electing the new emperor took
place at Frankfort in the autumn of the year 1790,
attracting, as usual, a concourse of nobility, and
giving occasion to many festivities. Mozart, who
was at this time in great pecuniary difficulty, went
to Frankfort in the hope of retrieving himself. His
misfortune seems to have been sudden, and his
finances were reduced so low, that, before he could
raise funds for the journey, his wife was obliged to
part with the most valuable articles of her toilet.
Thus furnished, he set off, carrying with him his
brother-in-law, Hofer, a needy man and an excel-
lent violin-player, attached to Schickaneder's or-
chestra. Hofer studied the first violin of Mozart's
quartetts under the direction of the composer, who
made him his companion, with the friendly view of
putting opportunities of advancement in his way.
The journey was performed in a chaise, rather a
perilous enterprise in the then state of the Ger.
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
T
339
6
man roads; but it rendered the travellers inde-
pendent, enabling them to stop where they pleased,
and take advantage of circumstances. Mozart was
in high spirits, and in his correspondence with his
wife, speaks of his dining magnificently at Ratis-
bon, of hearing divine music at table, of being
treated with English hospitality, and drinking ad-
mirable Moselle. He looked forward with great
hope to the issue of his journey, and pledging him-
self to work, work, work, promised his wife that
the results would prevent all embarrassments for
the future ; and then he adds, “What a delicious
life will we lead !". The slightest gleam of suc-
.
cess, through a life of disappointments, with the in-
vincible consciousness of genius, always threw him
into ecstasies, but they were of short duration.
Of Mozart's performances at Frankfort, all that
is known is that he played a pianoforte concerto
for four hands with M. von Becke, a personage
who filled the joint offices of music-director and
groom of the bedchamber to the Prince of Oettin-
gen-Wallerstein. ; This Becke* Mozart was wont
to term the father of all pianoforte players.
It appears that a proposal had been made to him
at Vienna for liquidating his debts, by advancing
him 1000 florins on Hofmeister's account. This
scheme largely occupied his thoughts during the
visit to Frankfort.
He experienced hours of deep dejection, not
sufficiently accounted for by his pecuniary troub-
les, but as though these were imbittered by some
latent cause of self-reproach. In a letter addressed
to his wife at this time, it will be seen that he ad-
vises her, while arranging money matters, to sup-
press the true cause of the difficulties under which
they are labouring
* The reader has met with this performer before in Mozart's
letters from Augsburg.
+
.
340
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
“I should certainty prefer for security?s sako, raising
2000 forins on Hofmeister's account; but you must al-
lege some other than the actual reason; for example :
that Lhad a speculation in hand which you were unac-
quainted with. 1 I shall make something here, without
doubt, though not quite so much as you and other friends
anticipate. Here I am well known and admired enough;
so we shall see. But, in order to play a sure game, I
would rather that the business were transacted with
Hofmeister, because then I get money with nothing to
pay back, but have merely to work, and that will I most
willingly do from love, my little wife, to thee. I am as
happy as a child at the thought of returning to you. If
the people here could see into my heart, I should be
almost ashamed. I am cold to everything-cold as ice.
Were you with me, indeed, then perhaps the kind at-
tentions I receive might give more pleasure ; but now
they are all lost.
"P.S.-In writing the foregoing page, many tears fell
on the paper. Now let us be merry. Prepare your-
self; the kisses begin to fly about amazingly. Patel!
here's a crowd of them. Ha I just now caught
three that were delicious.
1
A flash of the old spirit, that used to scatter such
sunshine over the letters of his boyhood. I
From Frankfort he continued his journey over
the familiar ground through Mannheim to Munich,
a scene associated with many sweet and bitter rec-
ollections, in which, thirteen years before, he had
commenced his first practical acquaintance with
life and its disappointments, in futile efforts to ob-
tain an appointment in the service of the elector,
it at a time when youth made cares sit lightly,
i when the consciousness of the dawning mag-
::licence of his genius, and the delightful society
vi is Mannheim friends, Cannabich, the Wend-
lings, the Webers, of M. de la Pottrie (our Indian),
to whom he used to play the organ, and even of
tu priggish Abbé Vogler himself, compensated
:
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
841
3
for everything. Thirteen years had elapsed since
Mozart had been at Mannheim in the first spring
of hope and ambition, and what a change had
taken place in the interval. It is true he had
achieved greatness,” but the sere and yellow leaf
had set in upon the very summer of his life. There
needs not the melancholy gayety of such a post-
script as that to the letter just given to prove
how low was the tone of Mozart's spirits during
this journey. He returned home towards the be-
ginning of December, very inconsiderably bene-
fited by this tour, and began to redeem his promise
by an activity beyond all example. The death-
year of Mozart, 1791, was the most wonderful of
his life; it was an end crowning the work in every
way worthy of his extraordinary career.
On reaching home, it became an early object
with him to release some of the valuables that his
wife had parted with, to prevent his paying the ex-
orbitant interest on which alone he could have
raised money. This, however, his gains permitted
him, for the present, only to accomplish in part;
and Stadler, the clarinet player, * was intrusted
with the commission to redeem some articles, and
renew the term of others. The tickets, or dupli-
cates now received, were soon afterward stolen from
an unlocked cabinet in Mozart's house, under cir-
cumstances that left no doubt of their having been
purloined by Stadler. This man was the familiar
acquaintance of the composer, his inmate at all
times, fed at his table, employed by him in busi-
ness, and enabled to turn the knowledge thus gain-
ed to his own advantage. His umprincipled char-
acter, and the incredible forbearance of Mozart,
will appear from another anecdote. He was con-
stantly lurking about, on the watch to discover the
* This person must not be confounded with the Abbé Stadler.
FF 2
342
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
best opportunity of borrowing money. The em-
peror, on a certain occasion, sent Mozart fifty duc-
ats, which, as soon as Stadler knew, he came to the
composer, representing that he should be utterly
ruined if he could not borrow that sum. Mozart
wanted the money himself; but, never proof against
a tale of distress, he gave him two valuable watch-
es (repeaters) to raise money upon, with the
words, " There! go and bring me the ticket, and
take care to have them out at the right time.”
Stadler neglecting to do this, Mozart, in order to
save his watches, was obliged to advance him the
fifty ducats with interest, which the fellow actually
kept! Mozart gave him a severe reprimand for
his base and dishonest conduct, but continued, as
usual, to receive him at his table and to be his
benefactor. In other men, mercy like this to such
a monster of perfidy would be highly culpable; but
in Mozart it sprang from that exalted quality of his
nature which literally rendered him incapable of
resentments, and always led him to return good for
evil. One of the last acts of his life was for the
benefit of this very Stadler, who wished to try his
fortune at Prague. Towards this expedition, he
furnished him with a new concerto for the clarinet,
money for his travelling expenses, and a letter that
procured him an engagement on his arrival.*
* His well known disinterestedness was particularly abused by
music-sellers and managers of theatres. The greater part of his
compositions for the piano brought him not a single penny, being
written chiefly to oblige acquaintances desirous of possessing some
piece in his handwriting for their private use. Hence may be dis-
covered the reason for the inferiority of some of his solo pieces for
the piano, as he was obliged to conform in them to the taste, pro-
ficiency, &c., of the persons for whom they were written. The
music-sellers found means to possess themselves of copies of these
productions, and published them without hesitation. · Artaria, of
Vienna, was a great offender in this way. A lady one day called
upon the composer: “Artaria has again been publishing some va-
riations of yours for the piano. Do you know anything about it ?"
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
343
4
Notwithstanding the vulgar exigences in which
this great man passed much of his life, he was
gradually working his way to fame and fortune.
The age, however tardily, was beginning to ac-
knowledge the genius so much misplaced in it; but
its rewards and encouragements unhappily came
too late.
Most of the compositions produced by Mozart
from the time of his return to Vienna have, in their
several kinds, the melancholy interest which at-
taches to the last touches of a great master. He
began work again in December with a quintett in
D major, for two violins, two tenors, and bass, but
immediately after this his thoughts were directed
into a new channel.
A powerful self-acting organ, to which a clock
seems to have been appended, and the machinery
of which was to regulate the times of playing, was
in course of erection at the country-house of a no-
bleman, and Mozart received a commission to fur-
nish the music. Nothing could have been more
agreeable to him than this employment, which
brought with it recollections of the grand organ
fugues and preludes of Sebastian Bach, heard on
his visits to Leipsic and Berlin, and afforded him
the opportunity of emulating them. For this instru-
ment he produced two companion pieces of sur-
passing excellence; the first in F major, in Han-
del's manner, the second in F minor, in that of
Bach. A comparison of his work with that of his
predecessors is in no respect unfavourable, but gives
she inquired. “No." “Will you not remonstrate with him?"
Oh, no; what is the good of talking? the man's a wretch,
returned Mozart. “But this is not a mere money matter-it is
one in which your fame is concerned." Well, whoever forms
his judgment of me from such trifles must be a wretch too: let
us say no more about it.” In the abrupt exclamation Der lump!
(the wretch!) his resentment of very grave injuries frequently
evaporated.
1)
344
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
him that advantage which the progress of the art
and the peculiarity of his genius lead us to expect.
These pieces appear to have given so much satis-
faction as to have procured for him the patronage
of the organ-builders; for in the spring of 1791 we
find him writing an andante for a barrel or cylin-
der in a little organ, and acquitting himself in this
trifle with all the simplicity and propriety of one
who had reached the limit of his powers.
It was now long since Mozart had presented
himself before the public of Vienna as a pianoforte
player. He had a strong repugnance to resume
this course, arising from his dislike to the frivolous
audiences of that city; but debts and difficulties
left him little choice. For the concerts which he
gave in January, 1791, he wrote a new pianoforte
concerto, of which, as his final work of that de-
scription, the subject will not be thought devoid of
interest in this place.
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THE LIFE OF MOZART.
345
The opportunity of one of his last appearances
in public as a pianoforte player may be well taken
to describe all that remains to be told respecting
his person. Mozart, though born of beautiful pa-
rents, possessed beauty himself as a child only; in
his later years he retained nothing of his early look
but its pleasing expression. His features were
marked, and had a strong individuality of character
that rendered them as impossible to be mistaken
as those of Socrates or Frederic the Great. The
outward man of the composer presented no index
to his genius. His eyes, which were rather large
and prominent, had more of a languid than a brill-
iant and animated character; the eyebrows were
well arched, and the eyelashes long and handsome.
His sight was on all occasions sharp and strong,
notwithstanding his frequent and laborious appli-
cation in the night. There was wandering and
abstraction in his eye, except when seated at the
piano, when the whole expression and character of
the face seemed altered. His unsteady gaze be-
came then earnest and concentrated, and every
muscle of his countenance betrayed the influence
of those feelings on himself which he was seeking
to awaken in others.
His head was comparatively too large for his
body; but the body itself, and the hands and feet,
;
were formed in exact proportion, of which he was
rather vain. The easy, natural, and elegant move-
.
ment of his small hands on the piano rendered it
interesting to overlook him when playing, while
the power which he occasionally exhibited raised
astonishment. His nose, which had been handsome,
became so prominent a feature in the last years of
his life, from the emaciation of his countenance,
that a scribbler in one of the journals of the day,
the Morgenblatte of Vienna, honoured him with
the epithet " enormous-nosed."
346
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
>
a
It has been stated that he never attained his nat.
ural growth, and the reason assigned for this is
his want of exercise in childhood ; but both asser-
tions may be questioned. Mozart's parents were
small persons; and the best proof that Leopold
Mozart, though he did not permit his children to
lose their time, cared sufficiently for their health,
may be found in the long life of Madame Sonnen-
berg, whose youth was passed in the same indus-
trious culture of excellence as her brother's.
The house in which Mozart resided during his
last years at Vienna, and in which he died, was
called the Kaiser-Haus (the imperial house), and
was at one time a building belonging to the gov-
ernment, The simplicity and kindliness of his do-
mestic habits may be illustrated by a passage in
one of the letters of his sister-in-law Sophie:
"Mozart daily became dearer to our deceased moth-
er, and she to him. He used to come running to our
house on the Wieden with little parcels of coffee and
sugar under his arm, and would present them with the
words, • Here, dear mamma, I have brought you a little
collation.'*
He never came to us empty-handed.”
Madame Weber and her daughter reciprocated
these acts of kindness, and Mozart accepted their
offerings with the joy of one to whom no testimony
of affection was unwelcome. They were at work
for him in his last illness, wholly unsuspicious of
the fatal termination at hand: they prepared for
him the cloth by which he was drawn forward in
his bed, when helpless and unable to turn on ac-
count of the weakness and swelling that accompa-
nied his disorder; and had also in readiness, against
his recovery, a wadded nightgown, in the hope of
enjoying which he was much cheered. These are
slight things, but nothing is unimportant that reveals
glimpses of the domestic life of such a man.
* Hier, liebe mama, haben sie eine kleine Jause.
TIIE LIFE OF MOZART.
347
6
In the year 1791, when he pledged himself to
work so hard, he accomplished far more than he
could have himself anticipated.
For the Carnival of the year 1791, he
composed
no fewer than five-and-thirty minuets, Teutsche and
other dances of full orchestral parts, during the
month of February and a part of January. Among
the labours of these remarkable six weeks will be
found the waltzes, commonly known as Mozart's,
which were danced to at the balls of Vienna under
the designation of Landlerische. This resort to the
ballroom, however little creditable to the then ex-
isting state of musical patronage, had the good ef-
fect of restoring him to comparative ease in his cir-
cumstances, and of enabling him again to oblige his
friends and to write for fame.
He wrote also during the spring his last quin-
tett for violins (in E flat ), and a final chorus to
Sarti's opera, “ Le Gelosie Vilane,” which was at
that time in preparation by a company of ama-
teurs.
The plan of the “ Zauberflöte" originated about
May in this year, with Schickaneder, Mozart's old
acquaintance, and the companion of his revels.
The theatre of which this man was the manager
was fast falling into a ruinous condition, partly
from his own carelessness, partly from the absence
of public patronage; and in a half-distracted state
he came to Mozart, telling him that he was the only
man who could relieve him from his embarrass-
ment. “I!” replied Mozart; “how can that be?”'
By composing for me an opera to suit the taste
of the description of people who attend my thea-
To a certain point you may consult that of
the connoisseurs and your own glory; but have a
particular regard to that class of persons who are
not judges of good music. I will take care that
tre.
848
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
>
you shall have the poem shortly, and that the dec-
orations shall be handsome: in a word, that eve-
rything shall be agreeable to the present mode."
Touched by the entreaties of Schickaneder, Mo-
zart promised to undertake the business for him.
“ What remuneration do you require ?" asked the
manager. Why, it seems that you have nothing
to give me,” returned Mozart; “however, we will
so arrange the matter that I may not quite lose my
labour, and yet enable you to extricate yourself
from
your
difficulties. You shall have the score,
and give me what you please for it, on condition
that you will not allow any copies to be taken. If
the opera succeeds, I will dispose of it to other
theatres, and that will repay me."
The delighted manager closed this advantageous
bargain with the most solemn assurances of good
faith. Mozart soon set to work, and so far kindly
consulted the taste, or, rather, interest of Schick-
aneder, who was constantly with him during the
Zauberflöte," as to strike out
whole scenes that displeased him, and to compose
one duet five times over in order to satisfy him.
In a few weeks the opera was produced; its rep-
utation spread throughout Germany, and it was
soon performed by several provincial companies;
but, alas! not one of them received the score from
Mozart! The cruelty which Schickaneder in this
instance superadded to his black ingratitude was
chiefly shown in his being fully aware of the ne-
cessitous condition of the man whom he thus base-
ly defrauded. Mozart did not permit conduct of
this kind to disturb his equanimity. When made
fully aware of the manager's treachery, he exclaim-
ed, “The wretch !" and dismissed the matter from
his thoughts.
It was during the composition of the “ Zauber-
progress of the
a
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
349
flöte" that the eruption of those symptoms which
portend decay of the vital powers, and a general
breaking up of the constitution, first appeared. As
usual, he grew interested in his work, and wrote by
day and night, but not, as formerly, with impuni-
ty. He sunk over his composition into frequent
swoons, in which he remained for several minutes
before consciousness returned. His health suffered
so much, that in the month of June he suspended
for a time his labours on the “ Zauberflöte," and
made a short excursion to Baden. There he pro-
duced his Ave verum corpus, a strain of such calm
but exalted religious feeling as may well interpret.
his sensations in sickness and solitude. The “ Žau-
berflöte" is entered in his catalogue as finished in
July, though it was not performed till the 30th
of September, after the composer's return from
Prague. That it was not quite finished, however,
at that time, but submitted to various alterations
and additions, which rendered the " Zauberflöte,"
“La Clemenza di Tito," and the “Requiem"
contemporaneous subjects of thought, will pres-
ently appear.
And now comes one of the most curious inci.
dents in his life. Early in August, the composer
was one day surprised by the entrance of a stran-
ger, who brought him a letter without any signa-
ture, the purport of which was to inquire whether
he would undertake the composition of a requiem,
by what time he could be ready with it, and his
price. The unknown expressed himself on this
Occasion in a manner as flattering as it was myste-
rious. Mozart, who was never accustomed to en-
gage in any undertaking without consulting his
wife, related to her the singular proposition made
to him, adding that he should much like to try his
hand in a work of that character, as the elevated
->
GG
350
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
and the pathetic in church music was his favourite
style. She advised him to accept the engagement
and he accordingly wrote an answer, stating his
terms for the composition, excusing himself from
naming the precise time of its completion, but de-
siring to know where it should be sent when fin-
ished. In a few days the messenger returned,
paid twenty-five ducats, half the price required, in
advance, and informed the composer that, as his
demand was so moderate, he might expect a con-
siderable present on completing the score. He
was to follow the bent of his own genius in the
work, but to give himself no trouble to discover
who employed him, as it would be in vain. On
the departure of the stranger he fell into a pro-
found revery; then, suddenly calling for pen, ink,
and paper, began to write. He had not proceeded
far before his farther progress was interrupted by
the commission to compose the opera for the coro-
nation of the Emperor Leopold at Prague. The
subject proposed by the council of the Bohemian
nobility was
“ La Clemenza di Tito." The whole
idea of this opera seems to have been unreasonably
deferred, and the work was now to be completed
on an emergency. About the 18th of August he
set off for Prague, accompanied by his wife and
his pupil Süssmayer. He commenced the compo-
sition in his travelling carriage, and finished it at
Prague in eighteen days. He carried with him at
this time a number of little slips of ruled paper, on
which he noted various subjects to be afterward
amplified. Such was the nature of his travelling
labours, now, from the great diversion of his
thoughts, unusually necessary as an aid to memory.
The unaccompanied recitative, that is to say, the
dialogue, merely accompanied by a pianoforte,
was wholly committed to Süssmayer.
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
351
1
Just as Mozart and his wife were entering their
travelling carriage for Prague, the stranger who
had brought the commission for the requiem sud-
denly reappeared. “How will the requiem pro-
ceed now ?" he inquired. Mozart excused him-
self on account of the necessity of the journey, and
the impossibility of giving intelligence of it to his
anonymous employer, but expressed his determi-
nation to make the work his first care on his re-
turn, This assurance gave satisfaction, and they
separated.*
Throughout the whole of his visit to Prague Mo-
zart was ill, and took medicine incessantly. An
unusual paleness overspread his countenance, and
its expression was languid and melancholy, though
in the cheerful society of friends his spirits occa-
sionally revived.
In composing “La Clemenza di Tito,” he evin-
ced the masterly decision to which he had attained
in treating the subjects submitted to him. Metas-
tasio's drama on this subject contains three acts;
but, finding that the action would be more rapid,
and the interest more concentrated by the abridg-
ment of the original, he at once struck out the sec-
ond act as superfluous, and united the first and the
third. He made other alterations in the libretto
that discovered his knowledge of audiences, and
better adapted the work for a festival in which te-
dium was unlikely to be tolerated. The plan of
an opera, abounding in airs, to be completed in lit-
tle more than a fortnight, would be usually consid-
* In this anecdote, which, it must be admitted, is abundantly
mysterious and provocative, we have the source of the supernat,
ural origin to which the “Requiem” is popularly ascribed. To a
man in Mozart's condition of weakness and melancholy, which,
by degrees, filled him with prepossessions approaching insanity,
the unexpected appearance of the bearer of this ghostly commis.
sion from a concealed hand might easily suggest that it was a
communication from the other world,
352
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
ered of the most difficult execution ; but Mozart
was so fertile in melodies, that it favoured his ra-
pidity by permitting most of the movements of the
work to be studied in succession as they were fin-
ished. It was thus that “ La Clemenza di Tito"
was produced ; Mozart was unable to see his whole
score until he had finished the last note. And what
a surprising work--how new in its character-how
full of a certain Roman grandeur and magnanimity
was thus hastily put together!
But, hurried as the composer was in "La Cle-
menza di Tito,” his thoughts were not wholly en-
grossed by it. He was at this time in the daily habit
of visiting a neighbouring coffee-house with some
friends, for the purpose of recreating himself with
billiards. One day, they observed that he drew a
book at intervals from his pocket in the midst of
his game, and humming as he made some hasty
memoranda in it, pursued his play. The company
at Dussek's house were soon after astonished to hear
him perform the beautiful quintett in the first act
of the “ Zauberflöte," Hm, hm, hm, which he had
completed in this manner.
- La Clemenza di Tito" was finished on the 5th
* One or two anecdotes of this last visit to Prague remain to be
told. The pianoforte-player Woelil was giving concerts at this
time, and advertised himself in his programme as the “Pupil of
Mozart.” When this was shown to the composer, he mild re-
plied, " The young man plays admirably, but he owes nothing to
me; perhaps he may have profited by my sister."
The l'umbler class of musical retainers the choristers at Leip-
sic, for example--sometimes displayed a very just appreciation of
the greatness of his genius. An old harpsichord tuner came to
put some strings to his travelling pianoforte : “Well, my good old
fellow," says Mozart to him," what do I owe you ?" The poor
man, regarding him as a sort of deity, replied, stammering and
confounded, “Imperial majesty! Mr. the maître de chapelle of his
imperial majesty! I cannot-it is true that I have waited on you
several times. You shall give me a crown." "A crown!” re-
plied Mozart; "a worthy fellow like you ought not to be put out
of his way for a crown," and he gave him some ducats. The hon-
est man, as he withdrew, continued to repeat, with low bows,
"Ah! imperial majesty!"
*
66
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
353
*
>
5
of September, 1791, and produced on the 6th.*
had less success during the course of its first repre-
sentations than the merit of the composition deserv-
ed. But the audiences of Prague were at this sea-
son intoxicated with the revelry of a coronation:
balls, festivities, and amusements of various kinds
had stupified their faculties, and rendered them, for
a time, incapable of the pleasures of sentiment, or of
tasting the noble simplicity that prevails in this mu-
sic. The composer appears to have been little dis-
turbed by the cold reception of his work, for he
ascribed it to the right cause, and could foresee the
time when its deserts would be more truly ac-
knowledged. He stayed with his friends, the Dus-
seks, till near the end of the month, enjoying, as
well as his ill health would permit, the cheerful
and congenial musical society which they drew
around him. On taking leave of the circle of his
acquaintance at Prague he was unusually affected,
and shed tears, for it was with a strong presenti-
ment of his approaching death, and that he should
see them no more.
Towards the close of September he was again
at Vienna, where the “ Zauberflöte” only awaited
the last touches to be quite ready for representa-
tion. On the 28th of this month he composed the
memorable overture, and a priest's march, in which
he seems to have cast a retrospective glance on a
similar subject in “Idomeneo. The opera was
produced on the 30th with a success which fully
warranted the manager's prediction.
»
* The opera is thus entered by Mozart in his catalogue :
“LA CLEMENZA DI TITO," opera seria in due Atti, per l'incoro-
nazione di sua Maesta, l'imperatore Leopoldo II., ridotta à vera
opera dal Signora Marroli, Poeta di sua A. S. L'Elettore di Sas-
sonia. Altrici-Signora Marchette Fantozi, Signora Antonini.
Attori--Signore Bedini, Signora Carolina Perini (da uomo), Sig.
pore Baglione, Signore Campi e cori. 24 Pezzi.''
23
GG 2
354
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
That Mozart was pleased with this his first crea-
tion on enchanted ground, and that, with the taste of
a poet, he “loved fairies, genii
, giants, and monsters,
to gaze on the magnificence of golden palaces, and
to repose by the waterfalls of Elysian gardens,"
there is no doubt; but still his pleasure in the mu-
sic of this opera was a divided pleasure. He could
not follow it as he did his favourite works - Ido-
meneo” and “Don Giovanni," from the beginning
to the end, with constant satisfaction; for, though
he had availed himself largely of the permission to
write for the connoisseur in the priest-music, and
other movements of the opera, yet every now and
then there was a sacrifice to the vulgar, and the
parts incessantly applauded by the public were
little to his taste. The contrast between the high
solemnity of some parts of the “ Zauberflöte" and
the farcical levity of others renders this work less
delightful to the musician than it might have been;
however, he may here and there cull specimens of
the best manner of the master.
But he had causes of pleasure, independently of
the music, in the success of the “ Zauberflöte."
He saw himself surrounded by friends whom this
*
* How full his mind was of Handet and Bach during these his
last years, is well worthy of notice, and so also is the noble ambi.
tion which made him seek opportunities of trying his strength
with them. In “ Don Giovanni” he had written a song in Han-
del's manner, and in "La Clemenza di Tito" a chorus. In the
“Zauberflöte" he wrote upon a canto fermo, remembering, doubt-
less, the motets for a double choir of Sebastian Bach which he
had heard at Leipsic. The melody sung in unison to Tamino by
the two men in armour, strengthened by bassoons, oboes, and
flutes, is an ancient church tune ascribed to Martin Luther: Ach
Gott vom Himmel sieh darein, und lass dich doch erbarmen. This
choral, covered by Mozart's learned counterpoint, seems long to
have escaped detection; but Gerber, an excellent writer on music,
penetrated the composer's design. We may well imagine Ma
zart's enjoyment of this astonishingly fine movement, while direct-
ing the orchestra during nine or ten representations, which were
all that his weak state permitted him to attend.
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
355
effort had benefited; on the stage were his friend
Schack, the original Tamino; the manager Schicka-
neder (his treachery yet unknown), as Papageno;
Madame Hofer, his wife's sister; and in the or-
chestra was her husband. There was a numerous
company in this theatre with whom Mozart was on
familiar terms, and thus, in conducting his opera, he
had more of the charm of private sympathy, and
was more emphatically “at home."*
When confined to his house, and no longer able
to attend the performances of the “ Zauberflöte,"
he would place his watch by his side, and follow
it in imagination. • Now the first act is over,” he
would say; "now they are singing such an air,"
&c., and then the thought of his approaching end
would strike him with melancholy. It was in this
state of mind that he worked at the “Requiem,"
partly at home, but more frequently at the Laim-
grube in Trattner's garden. Schack and Süssma-
yer were much with him during the progress of
this work; and it was his custom, as soon as he had
finished a movement, to have it sung, while he play-
ed the orchestral part on the pianoforte. His ap-
plication to the "Requiem" was accompanied by
unusual silence and dejection; he was, in fact,
brooding over one idea till it assumed a character
of monomania. He thought, though he did not
confess it, that he had been poisoned. In the hope
of distracting him from his melancholy, his wife
engaged his most intimate friends to call, as if by
chance, at times when, after many hours' applica-
tion, he ought naturally to have thought of resting.
* Mozart's note of the original performers in the " Zauberflöte"
is as follows: Ladies–Mademoiselle Gottlieb, Madame Hofer,
Madame Görl, Mademoiselle Klöpfter, Mademoiselle Hofmann.
Gentlemen -- M. Schack, M. Görl, M. Schickaneder sen., M,
Klöpfter, M. Schickaneder jun., M. Nouseul.
356
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
Though pleased with their visits, he did not cease
writing; they talked and endeavoured to engage
him in the conversation, but he took no interest in
it; they addressed themselves particularly to him:
he uttered a few inconsequential words, and pur-
sued his occupation.
One fine day, in the autumn, his wife drove with
him to the Prater. As soon as they had reached a
solitary spot, and were seated together, Mozart be-
gan to speak of death, and said that he was writing
this "requiem” for himself. She tried to talk him
out of these gloomy fancies, but in vain, and his
eyes filled with tears as he answered her, “ No, no,
1 am but too well convinced that I cannot last
long. I have certainly been poisoned. I cannot
rid myself of this idea.
Shocked to hear him talk thus, yet unable her-
self to persuade him how groundless were his sus-
picions, or to administer effectual consolation, she
determined to consult a physician, and, with his
approbation, the score of the “Requiem” was ta-
ken away. This, for a time, had a good effect;
the removal of the work which so fatally excited
his imagination caused a sensible improvement in
his health, and by the middle of November he was
so far recovered as to be able to attend a meeting
of his old friends the Freemasons. Their joy at
seeing him again among them, and the excellent
performance of a little cantata which he had just
written for them, entitled “ The praise of friend-
ship" (Das Lob der Freundschaft), greatly revived
his spirits. On reaching home after this festival,
he said to his wife, "Oh, Stänerl, how madly they
have gone on about my cantata. If I did not know
that I had written better things, I should have
thought that my best composition.” He now en-
treated to have his “Requiem” restored, that he
.
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
357
might complete it as soon as possible, and his wife,
no longer seeing any objection, complied.
The favourable turn of his fortune within the
last few months heightens the interest of the catas-
trophe in this strange drama of life. On returning
from Prague, he found awaiting him the appoint-
ment of Kapellmeister to the Cathedral Church of St.
Stephen, with all its emoluments, besides extensive
commissions from Holland and Hungary for works
to be periodically delivered. This, with his en-
gagements for the theatres of Prague and Vienna,
assured him of a competent income for the future,
exempt from all necessity for degrading employ-
ment; but prospects of worldly happiness were
now phantoms that only came to mock his help-
lessness and imbitter his parting hour.
With the “Requiem” his former illness return-
ed. About the 21st of November his hands and
feet began to swell, and he was seized with sudden
sickness and an almost total incapacity of motion.
In this state he was removed to the bed from which
he never rose again. During the fourteen days in
which he lay thus, his intellectual faculties remained
unimpaired; he had a strong desire for life, though
little expectation of it, and his behaviour was gen-
erally tranquil and resigned; but sometimes the
ingular concurrence of events at this juncture, and
the thought of the unprotected condition of his wife
and children overpowered him, and he could not
restrain passionate lamentations.“Now must I
go,” he would exclaim, “just as I should be able
to live in peace: now leave my art when, no long-
er the slave of fashion nor the tool of speculators,
I could follow the dictates of my own feeling, and
write whatever my heart prompts. I must leave
my family--my poor children, at the very instant
in which I should have been able to provide for
3
358
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
>
their welfare!" Sometimes he spoke more cheer-
fully. His sister-in-law Sophie, who visited him
daily, and did all that affectionate attention could
suggest to alleviate his sufferings, found him on the
day before his death apparently much improved-
hoping for, and even anticipating recovery. He
now sent a message to Madame Weber : “ Tell
mamma that I am getting better, and that I shall
come during the octave of her fête-day to wish her
joy.” This was followed by a fearful night, in
which his attendants were in momentary appre-
hension of his dissolution.
Throughout his illness music was still a subject
of the greatest interest to him. The “Requiem"
lay almost continually on his bed, and Süssmayer
was frequently at his side receiving instructions as
to effects, the production of which by an orchestra
he could never expect to superintend personally.
One of his last efforts was an attempt to explain to
Süssmayer an effect of the drums in the " Requi-
em;" he was observed, in doing this, to blow out
his cheeks, and express his meaning by a noise in-
telligible to the musician.
At two o'clock on the same day, which was that
of his death, he had been visited by some perform-
ers of Schickaneder's theatre, his intimate friends.
The ruling passion was now strongly exemplified
He desired the score of the “Requiem” to be
brought, and it was sung by his visiters around his
bed, himself taking the alto part. Schack sang the
soprano; Hofer, his brother-in-law, the tenor; and
Girl the bass. They had proceeded as far as the
first bars of the Lacrymosa, when Mozart was seiz-
ed with a violent fit of weeping, and the score was
put aside.* Throughout this day he was possess-
* It may appear incredible that Mozart should be in a condition
to sing after an illness of a fortnight's duration, in which his weak-
r
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
359
ed with a strong presentiment of the near approach
of death, and now gave himself up, relinquishing
every hope that he had hitherto occasionally cher-
ished. His physicians, indeed, thought unfavour-
ably of his case from the first, and one of them, Dr.
Sallaba, some days previously, had pronounced him
beyond all human aid. It is remarkable that Mo-
zart, notwithstanding the religious principles in
which he had been educated, and which it is be-
lieved he always preserved, made no application
for spiritual aid in this extremity, nor did the priests
offer to bestow the last sacraments of their Church
upon the dying man. As he had not solicited their
attendance, they left him to depart without the
viaticum.
It was late in the evening of December 5, 1791,
that his sister-in-law returned, but only to witness
his dissolution. She had left him so much better
that she did not hasten to him. Her own account
may now be given. • How shocked was I when
my sister, usually so calm and self-possessed, met
me at the door, and in a half-distracted manner
said, 'God be thanked that you are here. Since
you left he has been so ill that I never expected
him to outlive this day. Should he be so again, He
will die to-night. Go to him, and see how he is.'
As I approached his bed he called to me, 'It is
well that you are here: you must stay to-night and
see me die. I tried, as far as I was able to ban-
ish this irapression, but he replied, "The taste of
ness was such that he was obliged to be drawn forward whenever
he required to sit up in his bed. But there is no reason to doubt
the fact; for, besides the circumstantial testimony of Schack, to
whom we owe this anecdote, it is well known that other musi-
cians, whose death was caused by some one of the insidious forms
of consumption, have sung a few hours before their departure.
Two instances have occurred within our own knowledge, viz., in
Kiesewetter, the violin-player, and Weippert, the pianist-pames
still fresh in the inemory of the musical circles.
6
ܕ
360
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
death is already on my tongue-I taste death; and
who will be near to support my Constance if you
go away?" I returned to my mother for a few
moments to give her intelligence, for she was anx-
jously waiting, as she might else have supposed
the fatal event already over, and then hurried back
to my disconsolate sister. Süssmayer was standing
by the bedside, and on the counterpane lay the
• Requiem,' concerning which Mozart was still
speaking and giving directions. He now called
his wife, and made her promise to keep his death
secret for a time from every one but Albrechts-
berger, that he might thus have an advantage over
other candidates for the vacant office of Kapell-
meister to St. Stephen's. His desire in this respect
was gratified, for Albrechtsberger received the ap-
pointment. As he looked over the pages of the
Requiem" for the last time, he said, with tears in
his
eyes,
· Did I not tell you that I was writing
this for myself ?"
"On the arrival of the physiciar, Dr. Closset,
cold applications were ordered to his burning head,
a process endured by the patient with extreme
shuddering, and which brought on the delirium
from which he never recovered. He remained in
this state for two hours, and at midnight expired.'**
* The disease which carried off Mozart was variously charac-
terized by the press
: it was by turns a miliary fever, a rheu-
matic inflammatory fever--consumption. Mozart's notion that he
had been poisoned was always treated by those about him as a
fantastic idea; and, in fact, the post-mortem examination discover-
ed nothing extraordinary beyond inflammation of the brain. The
tale of poisoning, however, having transpired, Salieri, the known
inveterate foe of Mozart, was fixed upon as the imaginary criminal.
It is a singular fact that Salieri, who died in the public hospital
of Vienna, thought fit, on his death-bed, to make a solemn deposi-
tion of his innocence before witnesses, and that the document,
thus duly signed and attested, was made public. The story is not
without its moral. Salieri was aspersed; but to the humiliating
necessity for this formal contradiction the violence of party spirit
had reduced him.
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
361
.
Thus died Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, at the
age of thirty-five years and ten months. The fu-
neral, with the arrangements for which Baron von
Swieten charged himself, was unostentatious to
meanness, and far from such as befitted the obse-
quies of so great a man. The mortal remains of
the composer were deposited in the cemetery of St.
Marxer Linie, near Vienna; the same in which
his intimate friends Albrechtsberger and Joseph
Haydn were afterward buried. A common undis-
tinguished grave received the coffin, which was
then left without memorial--almost forgotten for
nearly twenty years; and when, in 1808, some in-
quiries were made as to the precise spot of the in-
terment, all that the sexton could tell was, that at
the latter end of 1791, the space about the third and
fourth row from the cross was being occupied with
graves; but the contents of these graves being from
time to time exhumed, nothing could be determin-
ed concerning that which was once Mozart.
Of six children born to the composer-four boys
and two girls--two boys alone survived infancy.
The elder, Carl, was early established, and is, I
believe, still engaged in some mercantile pursuit
at Milan; the younger, Wolfgang Amadeus, fol-
lowed the profession of his father. He was long
established at Lemberg, in Gallicia, but afterward
removed to Vienna. He died a few months ago,
much beloved for the sweetness and gentleness of
his disposition, but, as an artist, totally overwhelm-
ed by the splendour of the family name.
The widow of Mozart had a long and arduous
struggle to surmount the difficulties of her position.
Unskilled as her husband in the knowledge of busi-
ness, she was particularly unfortunate in her at-
tempts to bring out various pieces of music, of
which an arrangement of “ Idomeneo," and a pi-
Hн
862
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
anoforte concerto (dedicated to Prince Louis of
Prussia) were offered by subscription. The pub-
*
lication of these compositions was delayed from
year to year, until the subscribers were no longer
to be found. The malignity of the enemies of Mo-
zart did not cease even when he was in the grave.
The ear of the Emperor Leopold was abused by
tales of his extravagance, and his debts were mag-
nified to three times their amount. But in an au-
dience to which the widow was admitted, she vin-
dicated her husband, and showed that an uncertain
income, combined with sickness and the expenses
of a family, were the real cause of his debts; un-
dertaking, at the same time, to settle any claim with
about three thousand gulden. The emperor patron-
ized a concert on her behalf; the example was
followed at Prague, Leipsic, Berlin, &c., and with
the receipt of these performances she performed
her promise. Not a debt remained unpaid. :
After many years of widowhood, Madame Mo-
zart entered into second nuptials with M. von
Nissen, aulic counsellor to the King of Denmark,
with whom she resided at Copenhagen. They
subsequently removed to Salzburg, where Nissen
died, and his tomb testifies that he was the bene-
factor to Mozart's family. At Salzburg also lived
Madame Sonnenberg, a widow, advanced in age
and in narrow circumstances. This is an affecting
picture of the last days of poor Nannerl, the devo-
ted sister of Mozart:
“We found Madame Sonnenberg lodged in a small but
* Süssmayer, who had obtained possession of one transcript of
the “Requiem," the other having been delivered to the stranger
immediately after Mozart's decease, published the score some years
afterward, claiming to have composed froin the Sanctus to the end.
As there was no one to contradict this extraordinary story, it found
partial credit until 1839, when a full score of the “Requiem" in
Mozart's handwriting was discovered.
.
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
363
1
clean room, bedridden, and quite blind. Hers is a com-
plete decay of nature , suffering no pain, she lies like
one awaiting the stroke of death, and will probably ex-.
pire in her sleep. ... Her voice was scarcely above a
whisper, so that I was forced to lean my face close to
hers to catch the sound. In the sitting-room still re-
mained the old clavichord, on which the brother and
sister had frequently played duets together, and on its
desk were some pieces of his composition, which were
the last things his sister had played over previous to her
illness.'*
The death of Madame Sonnenberg occurred in
the spring of 1830, and twelve years later followed
that of her sister-in-law, Madame Nissen. All the
intimate friends and connexions of Mozart are
now removed, but the works of the composer, in
various modes of republication, or first printed
from the MSS., are, at the distance of half a cen-
tury, continually springing into life. This is the
.
fame he sought with the most earnest devotion and
self-sacrifice. Estimated by the universality of his
power, the rapidity of his production, and its per-
manent influence on art, the models he created,
and the constantly advancing march of his genius,
arrested in full career and in the bloom of life,
Mozart certainly stands alone among musicians.
The attempt to determine his exact position
among the greatest composers would be fruitless,
as opinions must always be expected to differ upon
questions of taste and sensibility; but of his title
* From some papers contributed by Mrs. Novello to the “Mu-
sical World." The distinguished musical family of this name,
being on a tour to Salzburg in 1829, aware of the necessitous and
infirm condition of Mozart's sister, provided themselves with a
subscription raised among their friends in London. It should be
added that this timely offering was, with characteristic fore-
thought and delicacy, presented to the aged lady as a remein-
brance on her name-day from some friends of her brother.
I ain indebted to the same source for some original sayings of
Mozart and traits of his character.
864
THE LIFE OF MOZART.
1
to the highest honours which posterity can award,
there. cannot be a doubt.
His works remain the “starry-pointing pyramid"
of one who excelled in every species of composi-
tion from the impassioned elevation of the tragic
opera to the familiar melody of the birthday song;
nor will they cease to command universal admira-
tion while music retains its power as the exponent
of sentiment and passion.
1
.
CONTENTS TO APPENDIX.
Page
The Works of Mozart...
367
Specimens of his Composition at Six Years of Age 381
Exercise performed on his Admission into the Phil-
harmonic Academy of Bologna...
.. 383
THE WORKS OF MOZART.
I. Catalogue of the Compositions produced by Mo-
zart between his seventh and twelfth year.
1. Sonates pour le Clavecin avec l'accomp. de Violon, dé-
diées à Madame Victoire de France, par W. Mozart, agé de
sept ans. Paris, (Euvre 1, 1764.
2. Sonates pour le Clavecin, &c., dédiées à Madame la
Comtesse de Tessé, &c. Euvre 2, 1764.
3. Six Sonates pour le Clavecin avec l'accomp., &c., dé-
diées à sa Maj. Charlotte, Reine de la Grande Bretagne, par
W. Mozart, agé de huit ans. A Londres, Euvre 3, 1765.
4. Sonates pour le Clavecin avec l'accomp. dédiées à
Madame la Princesse de Nassau Weilburg, née Princesse
d'Orange, par W. Mozart, agé de neuf ans.
A la Haye,
Euvre 4, 1766.
5. Variations for the Clavier, engraved at the Hague,
1766.
6. Other variations for the Clavier, engraved at Amster-
dam, 1766.
7. Fifteen Italian airs, written partly in London and part-
ly at the Hague.
8. A quodlibet, entitled " Galimathias Musicum," for two
violins, tenor, and bass, two oboes, two horns, two bas-
soons, and harpsichord obligato.
9. Thirteen symphonies for two violins, tenor, and bass,
two oboes, and two horns.
10. An oratorio for five principal singers. The original
contains 208 pages.
11. Another oratorio for two soprani and a tenor, with
accompaniments for an orchestra. Written in Holland.*
12. Kyrie for soprano, alto, tenor, and bass, with accom-
paniments for stringed instruments. Paris.*
13. Music to a Latin comedy called “ Apollo and Hya-
cinth,” for five principal singers. Composed for the Uni-
versity of Salzburg. The original score contains 162 pages.
1767.
* The works thus distinguished are additions to the catalogue furnished
by Nissen, and have been collected from the M$S, in the possession of M,
André.
368
THE WORKS OF MOZART.
14. Sıx divertimentos in four parts, for various instru-
ments, viz., violin, trumpet, horn, fute, bassoon, trombone,
viola, violoncello, &c.
15. Six trios for two violins and violoncello.
16. A cantata on the Passion for two principal singers.
It consists of two airs, a recitative, and a duet.
17. A short Stabat Mater for voices alone.
18. Various solos for the violin, for the violoncello (for
the Prince of Fürstenberg), for the viol di gamba, and for
the flauto traverso (for Duke Louis of Würtemberg).
19. Several pieces for two trumpets, two horns, and two
corni di bassetto.
20. Several minuets for the orchestra.
21. Various passages for trumpets and drums.
22. A collection of marches-some for an orchestra,
some for military instruments, and others for two violins
and bass.
23. Two MSS. books containing numerous pieces for the
clavier, composed from time to time in London, Holland, &c
24. A fugue for the clavier.
25. A fugue for four voices.
26. Veni sancte spiritus for four voices, and accompani-
ments for an orchestra. 1768.
27. A German operetta,“Bastien und Bastienne." 1768.
28. An opera buffa, “ La Finta Semplice." '1768. The
score, 558 pages.
29. A grand mass for four voices, two violins, two oboes,
two violas, four trumpets, drums, &c. 1768.
30. A shorter mass for four voices, two violins, &c. 1768.
31. A grand offertorium for four voices, two violins, two
trumpets, &c.
32. Four concertos for the clavier, with accompaniments
for an orchestra.*
II. Catalogue of Works composed by Mozart from
February 9, 1784, to November 15, 1791, ac-
cording to the themes.preserved by himself, and
as since published by André, of Offenbach.
1784.
February-Concerto for the pianoforte in E flat, 3-4.
March-Concerto for pianoforte in B flat, 4-4. Concerto
for pianoforte in D, 4-4. Quintetto for piano and wind in-
struments in E flat, 4-4.
-
7
THE WORKS OF MOZART.
369
April- Concerto for pianoforte in G, 4-4. Sonata for
piano and violin in B flat, 4-4.
August-Ten variations for the pianoforte alone.
September---Concerto for the pianoforte in B flat, 4-4.
October-Sonata for the pianoforte in C minor.
November-Quartett for two violins, tenor, and bass, in B
flat, 6-8.
December-Concerto for pianoforte in F, 4-4.
+
1785,
January-Quartett for two violins, tenor, and bass, in A,
3-4. Quartett for the same instruments in C, 3-4.
February-Concerto for pianoforte in D minor, 4-4.
March-Aria, “ A te frà tante affanni." Concerto for pi-
anoforte in C, 4-4. Aria," Fra l'oscure." Amasonic song
for voice and piano,
April-Andante to a violin concerto in A, 3-4. A canta-
ta, “ The Joy of Freemasons."
May-Three German songs, Fantasia for the pianoforte
in C minor.
June-Song, “The Violet."
July-Masonic funeral music. Pianoforte quartett in G
minor, 4-4.
November-Quartett for the opera “ La Villanella rapita."
Terzetto for the same opera.
December-Sanata for piano and violin in E flat, 3-4.
Concerto for pianoforte in E flat, 4-4.
{
/
1786.
February-Music to the comedy “Der Schauspiel Di-
ſector."
March—Concerto for pianoforte in A, 4-4. Duet for
« Idomeneo." Scena and rondo for the same, with violin
obligato. Concerto for the pianoforte in C minor, 3-4.
April—The opera " Le Nozze di Figaro."
-
June--Pianoforte quartett in E flat, 4-4. Rondo for the
piano alone in F, 4-4. Concerto for the horn,
July--Trio for piano, violin, and violoncello, in G, 4-4.
AugustSonata for four hands in F, 3-4. Trio for the
pianoforte, clarinet, and tenor, in E flat, 6-8. Quartett for
two violins, tenor, and violoncello, in D, 4-4.
September—Variations for pianoforte.
November--Variations for four hands. Trio for piano,
violin, and violoncello, in B flat, 4-4.
December-Concerto for pianoforte in C, 4-4. Symphony
-
21
370
THE WORKS OF MOZART.
.
-
ces.
for the orchestra in D, 4-4. Scena with pianoforte obli-
,
gato.
1787.
February-Six German dances.
March-Rondo for the pianoforte. Scena ed aria, " Non
sò d'onde Viene." Aria, “Mentre te Lascio."
April—Quintett for two tenors, two violins, and bass, in
C, 4-4.
May--Quintett for the same instruments in G minor, 4-4.
Four German songs. Sonata for four hands in C.
· June--A musical joke. Two songs.
August-A little serenade for two violins, alto, and bass.
Sonata for piano and violin in A, 6-8.
October—The opera “Il Dissoluto punito ossià il Don
Giovanni."
November-Scena, “Bella mia fiamma.” Two songs.
December—A song.
1788.
January--Sonata for the pianoforte. Two country dan-
Six German dances.
February-Concerto for the pianoforte in D, 4-4.
March-Aria, “Ah scia ciel.” Song, “ Ich möchte wohl
der Kaiser seyn." Adagio for the piano in B minor.
April-Air for the opera “Don Giovanni," " Dalla sua
Pace.” Duetto for the same, “Per quelle tue Manine,"
Scena and rondo for the same, "Mi tradi."
May-Arietta, “Un bacio di Mano."
JuncTrio for piano, violin, and violoncello, in E, 3-4.
Symphony for the orchestra in E flat, 4-4. A little march,
A
for the orchestra. A little easy sonata for beginners. In-
troductory adagio to a quartett fugue. in C inor.
July-Sonatina for piano and violin in F, 4-4. Trio for
piano, violin, and violoncello, in C, 4-4. Canzonet for two
soprani and bass. Symphony for the orchestra in G minor,
4-4.
August-Symphony for the orchestra in C, 4-4. War
song
September–Eight four-part canons. Two three-part can-
Divertimento for violin, alto, and violoncello, in E
fiat, 4-4.
October -Trio for pianoforte, violin, and violoncello, in G,
4.4. Two country dances.
November—Instrumentation of Handel's “ Acis and Gal.
7.
>
ons.
atea."
December. Sir fimrman daners. Twelve minnets,
THE WORKS OF MOZART.
371
1789.
January-A German song.
February-Sonata for pianoforte in B flat, 3-4. Six Ger-
mon dances.
March. Instrumentation of Handel's “ Messiah."
April-Variations on a minuet, by Duport.
May A little gigue for the clavier.
June-Quartett for two violins, tenor, and violoncello, in
D, 4-4.
July-Sonata for the pianoforte in D, 6-8. Rondo for
the opera of " Figaro."
August-Aria, “ Alma grande."
SeptemberGerman air. Quintett for clarinet, two vio-
lins, alto, and violoncello, in A, 4-4.
October-Aria, “Chi sà, chi sà.” Aria, “Vado, ma dove ?"
December-Aria, “Rivolgeti à me." Twelve minuets.
--
Twelve German dances.
-
1790.
January—The opera “Cosi fan tutte."
May—Quartett for two violins, alto, and violoncello, in B
flat, 3-4. Quartett for the same instruments in F.
July—Instrumentation of Handel's " Alexander's Feast,"
and ode on “ St. Cecilia's Day."
December-Quintett for two violins, two altos, and bass, in
D, 3-4. A piece for an organ in a clock.
1791.
January--Concerto for pianoforte in B flat, 4-4. Three
German songs. Six minuets. Six German dances.
February-Four minuets and four German dances. Two
country dances. Two minuets and two German dances.
A country dance and six waltzes.
March-A piece for an organ in a clock in F minor, 4-4.
Two dances. A song, with obligato double bass. Varia-
tions for the piano.
April—Quintetto for two violins, two altos, and violon-
cello, in E flat, 6-8. Final chorus to Sarti's. opera, “Le
Gelosie vilane."
May—Andante to a waltz for a little organ. Quintett
for the harmonica.
June—“Ave Verum Corpus."
July-A short German cantata. The opera
* Die Zan-
berflöte."
1
372
THE WORKS OF MOZART.
September - The opera “La Clemenza di Tito.” Over-
"
ture and priest's march for the “ Zauberflöte." Concerto
for the clarinet.
November--A cantata for the freemasons.
Note-The “Requiem,” which should have closed the
catalogue of works in this year, is necessarily omitted, as
are likewise a great many compositions of which he resery-
ed no copy, presented by Mozart to various friends.
III. Catalogue of Musical Fragments and Sketches
found among Mozart's papers, with a description
of them by the Abbé Stadler.
A. Fragments for the Clavier.
1. Concerto for the piano and violin in D major, begun in
1778, at Manheim. The ritornello is one of the most beau-
tiful he had ever written at that time. The violins begin
piano, and the tenors, violoncelli
, and basses, accompany
for eleven bars pizzicato; to this succeeds a magnificent
forte of sixty-five bars, accompanied by flutes, oboes, horns,
trumpets, and drums, and interspersed with the most agree-
able piano. The principal violin has the first solo for elev.
en bars, then the piano and solo for eleven bars; a short
forte, with all the instruments, follows. At last the princi-
pal violin and piano enter together, and interchange con-
certo passages by turns for twenty-one bars. To these
solos the accompaniment is wanting ; in other respects they
are entirely completed.
2. Concerto for the piano in D major. Of this twenty-
one bars only for the principal instrument are written; the
space for the accompaniment is empty.
3. Concerto for the piano in D major, 3-4. The ritornello
is merely indicated by the violin and bass without any ac-
companiment, for a flute, two clarinets, two horns, two
bassoons, &c.
4. Concerto for the piano in C major, 3-4, with accom-
paniments for two violins, viola, flute, two oboes, two
horns, &c. The introduction consists of twenty-five bars,
but is not fully instrumented. To this succeeds a solo for
the piano of eight bars length, and then four bars for the
instruments.
5. Concerto for the piano in C major, with two violins,
viola, flute, oboes, horns, trumpets, and drums. The intro-
ductory symphony is indicated in the first violin and bass
part for nineteen bars.
THE WORKS OF MOZART.
373
6. Concerto for the piano in D minor, with two violins,
viola, flute, oboes, corni di bassetto, horns, bassoons, &c.
Of this there are only six bars for the violin and bass.
7. Commencement of a rondo to a pianoforte concerto in
E flat, major. It consists of three bars only, without ac-
companiments.
8. Rondo in A to a pianoforte concerto. The piano com-
mences alla breve for eight bars, and the violin and bass
continue for fifteen bars. The other accompaniments are
wanting.
9. Rondo in A, 6-8, to a pianoforte concerto. The prin-
cipal instruments begin alone for four bars, the clarinet
has then four bars, which are again mutually interchanged.
The violins then enter, but the accompaniments are not
written.
10. A quintett for the piano in B major, 6-8, with oboe,
clarinet, corno di bassetto, and bassoon. Thirty-five bars
only are written, but they are completely in the Mozart style.
11. Commencement of a piece for the piano in D major,
with two violins, two horns, and bass. . It consists of twen-
ty-nine bars
12. Commencement of a trio for the piano, violin, and
violoncello in B major. Twenty-five bars.
13. Commencement of a trio for the same instruments in
G. Nineteen bars.
14. Beginning of an andantino in G minor, for piano and
violoncello. Thirty-three bars.
.
15. Ditto of a sonata for piano and violin in B. Thirty-
one bars.
16. Another of the same in A. Thirty-four bars.
17. Another of the same in A, 3-4. : Fifteen bars.
18. Commencement of a fantasia for the piano in F m nor.
Fourteen bars.
19. Commencement of a clavier sonata in F. Seven bars.
20. Commencement of a clavier sonata, alla breve. Fif-
teen bars,
21. Commencement of an allegro for the piano in F, 6-8.
Sixteen bars.
22. A rondo in F, 6-8. Thirty-three bars.
23. An adagio in D minor. Four bars, and the first part
of a minuet in the major.
24. The opening of a sonata in B. Nineteen bars.
25. A very short andante in E flat. The first part con-
E
tains eight, and the second twelve bars.
26. Thema for variations in C major.
27 Adagio in D minor. Nine bars.
II
374
THE WORKS OF MOZART.
28. Commencement of an allegro in C minor, for two
pianos. Twenty-two bars.
29. Ditto of a sonata for two pianos. The adagio con-
tains eight, and the presto forty-four bars.
30. Another of the same in B. Fifteen bars.
31. Beginning of a fugue in G. Thirty-three bars.
a
32. Forty half sheets, containing various themes for
fugues, canons, and exercises in counterpoint.
33. A sonata for piano and violin in C. Andante follow-
ed by an allegro. The first allegro and andante are com-
pleted by Mozart, the allegretto is the work of another.
34. Sonata in A for piano and violin. : It begins with a
beautiful andante, which is entirely Mozart's.work, but of
the following fugue in A minor, only one half is by him.
35. An allegro in D minor. A Tempo di Menuetto in G.
Another allegro in D, 6-8, for clavier, violin, and violon-
cello, not quite completed. It has been finished by an am-
ateur, and together forms a trio.
36. A beautiful allegro for the piano in B. It has been
finished by an amateur.
37. Commencement of a clavier sonata in B, with a vio-
lin. ' Completed by an amateur.
38. A short fugue for violin, viola, and violoncello, in G.
39. A prelude or short fantasia in C major, composed for
his sister. It begins with an allegretto, which is succeeded
by a capriccio and an andantino. A cantabile and capriccio
allegro form the conclusion. It is completed.
40. A concerto for three claviers, with violins, ohoes,
horns, viola, and bass, in F. The introduction is an allegro
in F; then follows an adagio in B flat, a movement in
minuet time, and a rondo in F. Of this composition there
are the parts for the first clavier, the first and second vio-
lin, viola, and bass. It may have been composed in the
year 1777. That it was completed, is proved not only by
the relation of its performance at Augsburg, October 24,
1777, given by Mozart in a letter to his father (see page
115), but by the elegantly ornamented title-page, on which
appears, in the handwriting of the father, “Dedicatio al in-
comparabile merito di sua Excellenza la Sigra. Contessa
Lodron, nata Contessa d'Arco, e delle sue figliele Sigre.
Contesse Aloisia e Giuseppe,
In F ... dal loro devotissimo servo,
“ WOLFGANGO MOZART."
Mozart's handwriting was probably not thought good
enough for such a dedication.
41. A variety of his earliest compositions.
1
TIIE WORKS OF MOZART.
375
a
B. Fragments for the Violin.
1. Commencement of a symphony in E flat, with violins,
viola, flute, oboes, horns, bassoons, violoncello, and bass.
The adagio of fourteen bars is entirely instrumental, and
quite complete. The first part of the allegro, consisting of
eighty-three bars, is likewise concluded, and for the most
part instrumented. The second part is wanting.
2. A fragment apparently belonging to an opera. It is in
D minor, of sixty-four bars' length, and is complete, with
accompaniments for an orchestra.
3. Introduction to an overture, andante in E flat, with vi.
olins, viola, flutes, oboes, clarinets, bassoons, horns, drums,
and bass. It is of eight bars' length, and is followed by an
allegro, of which eighteen bars are written in the violin
part, but without accompaniment for the other instruments.
4. “Chasse" in A, 6-8, with two violins, viola, two flutes,
two horns, oboe, and bass. The first part contains eight
bars, and the second likewise. Both are entirely completed
and instrumented. To these succeed a minore in two parts,
of eight bars' length; but the accompaniment is wanting.
5. Sinfonie concertante a tre instrumenti, violino, viola,
violoncello. In A major, with two oboes, two horns, two
violins, and bass. The introductory symphony of forty-
three bars is completed. The concerto passages for the
other instruments contain eighty-three bars, mostly without
accompaniment.
6. Commencement of a symphony in G major. Ten bars
without accompaniment.
7. Minuet for violins, two oboes, bassoon, two horns,
flauto piccolo, and tambarine, in A. The first part of eight
bars is finished, the second has only three bars.
8. Commencement of a rondo in B, for violins, flute, oboe,
bassoon, horn, alto, and bass. Twenty-five bars; the ac-
companiment wanting.
9. Rondo in F, for two violins, viola, two horns, and
bass. It is of three parts only, each of which has eight
bars, but no accompaniment.
10. Quintett for violin, tenor, clarinet, corno di bassetto,
and violoncello, in F major. In 102 bars; the accompani-
ment mostly complete.
11. Quintett for two violins, two tenors, and violoncello.
Allegro in A flat. Seventy-two bars.
12. Ditto ditto in B alla breve. 102 bars,
13. Ditto ditto in E flat, 3-4. The allegro
contains seventy-one bars, but is unfinished.
14. Ditto ditto
in E flat. Nineteen bars.
I
1
I
376
THE WORKS OF MOZART.
15. Quintett for two violins, two tenors, and violoncello.
Allegro in D major. Eighteen bars.
16. Rondo to a quintett in G minor, 6-8. Eight bars.
17. Ditto
in F major, 1-8. Ten bars.
18. Larghetto for the same instruments in C major.
Sixteen bars.
19. Violin quintett in E minor. The first part of the al-
legro of seventy-four bars is finished.
20. Ditto
in G minor. Twenty-four bars.
21. Ditto
in B. Allegrotto. Fifty-six bars.
22. Rondo for the same instruments in B. Ten bars.
23. Ditto
ditto
in A, 6-8. 139 bars.
24. Adagio
ditto
in F major. Eight
bars.
25. Rondo
ditto
in F, 6-8. Sixteen
bars.
26. Another beginning with a m.nuet. Nine bars.
27. Trio in G, 3-4, for violin, viola, and violoncello. The
first part, of ninety-one bars, is finished. Of the second part
there are nine bars.
Note.---Among these fragments, Nos. 1, 2, 3, 5, 10, 11, 12,
13, 19, 23, and 27 may be especially distinguished for ori-
ginality of design, melody, harmony, and masterly accom-
paniment.
C. Fragments for Wind Instruments.
1. Adagio for the harmonica, with flute, oboe, viola, and
violoncello. Ten bars.
2. Introduction to a horn concerto.
3. Ditto
ditto.
4. Quintett for clarinet, two violins, viola, and bass, in
B flat. The first part, of ninety bars, is completed. The
second part has only three bars.
5. Quintett for the same instruments in A; contains
eighty-nine bars, but is incomplete, the accompaniment be-
ing only indicated here and there.
6. Allegro for two oboes, two horns, two clarinets, and
two bassoons in B flat. Sixteen bars.
B
17. Adagio in F, for a clarinet and three corni di basset-
to. Six bars.
8. Allegro for the same instruments. Twenty-two bars.
9. Adagio for a “Corno Inglese,” two violins, and bass.
The first part, of twenty-three bars, is finished. The second
part, of thirty-six bars, is also finished, but without accom-
paniment.
THE WORKS OF MOZART.
377
D. Fragments of Vocal Composition.
1. Commencement of a Kyrie in E flat, 4-4, largo, for
four voices, two violins, two violas, two oboes, two horns,
two trumpets, drums, and two bassoons. Twenty-two bars
full of religious feeling and in the true church style. The
most agreeable melody, with various accompaniments in
the harmony, prevails. The“ Christe" contains short solos
for the soprano and alto.
2. Kyrie in C major, for four voices, two violins, two
trumpets, drums, and organ. Nine bars.
3. Kyrie in D major, four voices, two violins, viola, two
oboes, &c. Eleven bars, completely in the church style,
and remarkably beautiful.
4. Fragment of a Kyrie, Four voices with orchestra,
in a majestic style. Thirty-seven bars.
5. Ditto, commencing with an adagio in G, to which a
fugued andante succeeds. Thirty-four bars.
6. Ditto, in D major. A fugued allegro. Thirty-two
bars.
7. Ditto, in C, commencing with an adagio of fourteen
bars, and then an allegro, of which there are thirty-five bars.
8. Fragment of a Gloria in C. Twenty-six bars.
9. A psalm, “Memento, Domine, David," &c., for four
voices, in F. Thirty-two bars.
10. A German cantata, “ Die Seele des Weltalls, o Son-
ne!" &c., for two tenors and bass. The first chorus, in E
flat, is complete. It commences with a magnificent unisono,
and a simple, noble, and agreeable melody prevails through-
out it. At the words "From thee come fruitfulness, warmth,
light," &c., the word light is brought out by a forte on the
chord of the seventh, which must have much effect were
the accompaniment for the instruments in the score, flutes,
oboes, clarinets, bassoons, &c., not wanting. A tenor air
in B flat, of the tenderest melody, and magnificently ac-
companied by the double bass, succeeds this chorus. But
the other accompanying instruments are here deficient, the
space being left for them. A second tenor air in F fol-
lows. Seventeen bars.
11. Duet for two soprani, “I speak thy name uncon-
sciously," with accompaniment for the piano. Twenty-
seven bars.
12. A recitative, “O Calpe," with accompaniment for
the piano. Imperfect.
13. Air in D minor, “ Lonely am I." Eight bars.
D
14. Another," V'amo di core. Eight bars.
15. Sined's (Denis) Bard's song on Gibraltar.
I 1 2
378
THE WORKS OF MOZART.
16. An Italian operetta, in which the personages are
Bettina, Don Astrubale, Puleherio, and Bocconio. Incom-
plete.
17. A German operetta, somewhat similar in design to
the “Entführung aus dem Serail," in which the names of H.
von Dummkopf (Baron Thickskull), Rosaura, Trautel,
Leander, Casperl, &c., appear. Incomplete.
18. A cradle song in three verses, with accompaniment
for the piano. It is entirely in Mozart's manner, perfectly
naïve and original.
19. An air, “ Dentro il mio petto." Allegro maestoso.
Imperfect.*
IV. Catalogues of the Compositions which, in ad-
dition to those here mentioned, Mozart left com-
plete.
1. An oratorio, “ Davidde penitente." 1783.
2. Thirty various church compositions—masses, litanies,
offertories, motets, hymns, cantatas, &c., and among them
a requiem. Of these a stabat mater for three soprani, con-
sisting entirely of canons, and an antiphona in four parts,
which he wrote at Bologna in 1770, for reception into the
Philharmonic Society of that city, deserve especial notice.
The greatest work of all is, however, the requiem.
3. Four choruses for four voices and orchestra.
4. Forty-three Italian airs, duets, and trios, with and
without recitative accompaniments for a full orchestra.
Written for particular singers, and voices of various kinds.
5. Sixteen canons with and without words, for three and
four voices.
6. Some solfeggi for practice.
7. Thirty-four songs with accompaniment for the piano.
8. Thirty-three symphonies for the orchestra. Of these
several have been published at Vienna and Offenbach.
9. Fifteen opera overtures. Seven of them have been
published at Offenbach.
10. Forty-one divertissements for various instruments,
more or fewer. Among them are several suites of pieces
for wind instruments.
11. Eight quintetts for two violins, two tenors, and bass.
The whole engraved at Leipsic, Vienna, and Offenbach.
12. Twenty-eight quartetts : twenty-six are for two vio-
To this list of Fragments should be added two Italian operas, "Lo
Sposo Deluso, Ossia la Rivalità di tre Donne per un solo Amante,
," and
* L'Oca del Cairo.”
i
THE WORKS OF A1OZART.
379
lins, tenor, and bass ; one is for the oboe, and one for the
flute.
13. Ten violin trios.
14. Four ballets and pantomimes.
15. Five violin concertos. Some of them have been en-
graved at Offenbach.
16. Six horn concertos. Three have been published at
Offenbach.
17. One bassoon concerto. Published at Offenbach.
18. Fifteen pianoforte concertos, besides those already
mentioned. In the whole, he composed twenty-nine con-
certos for the piano; of these, Breitkopf and Härtel have
i
published twenty-one, and André twenty-three.
19. Five pianoforte quartetts.
20. Twenty-three pianoforte trios. They are all in Breit-
kopf and Härtel's edition of “Euvr. Compl."
21. Thirty-one pianoforte solos.
22. Four sonatas for four hands on the piano.
23. Two pieces for two pianos, namely, a sonata and a
fugue.
24. Several themes varied for two and four hands on the
piano.
25. Four rondos for the piano.
26. “Mitridate." Opera seria. Milan, 1770.
27. “ Ascanio in Alba.” Dramatic serenata. Milan,
1771.
28. “Il Sogno di Scipione." Serenata for the installa-
tion of the Archbishop of Salzburg, 1772.
29. “Lucio Silla.” Opera seria. Milan, 1773.
30. “ La finta Giardiniera.” Opera buffa. Munich, 1774.
31. “Il Re Pastore.” Pastorale. Salzburg, 1775.
32. “ Zaïde." Melodramatic opera in two acts.
33. “ Idomeneo, Ri di Creta.” Opera seria in three acts.
"
Munich, 1780.
34. “Die Entführung aus dem Serail; or, Constance and
Belmont.” Comic opera. Vienna, 1782.
35. Choruses and entr'acte music to the tragedy “Tha-
mos von Egypten,” for four voices and orchestra.
36. A brief system of thorough bass. Kurz gefasste
general bass-schule,
-
Two little Pieces, as specimens of Mozart's composition at six years of age.
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PRINCEPS CAETERIQUE
ACADEMICI PHILHARMONICI
Omnibus, et singulis praesentes Literas lecturis, felicitatem.
Quamvis ipsa Virtus sibi, suisque Sectatoribus gloriosum comparet Nomen, attamen pro
inajori ejusdem majestate publicam in notitiam decuit propagari. Hinc est quod hujusce nostrae
PHILARMONICAE ACADEMIAE existimationi, et incremento consulere, singulorumque
Academicorum Scientiam, et propctum patefacere intendentes, testamur Domin. Wolfgangum
Amadeum Mozart e Salisburgo-sub die 9 Mensis Octobris Anni 1770. inter Academ...v DIUSTI
MAGISTROS Compositores adscriptum fuisse. Tanti igitur Coacademici virtutem, et merita
perenni benevolentiae monumento prosequentes, hasce Patentes, Literas subscriptas, nostrique
Consessus Sigillo impresso obsignatas dedimus.
Bononiae ex nostra Residentia die 10 Mensis Octobris Anni 1770.
PRINCEPS PETRONIUS LANZI.
Registr. in Libro Campl. G., pag. 147.
Aloysius X a v. Ferri,
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Cajetanus Croci.
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​}
THE END.
wo
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HALV TAINO
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