It was in January of the year 1762 that L. Mozart first turned to
account the precocious talent of his children in an expedition to
Munich. Their visit extended over three weeks, and both Wolfgang and his
sister were summoned to play before the Elector, and were well received
everywhere. Their success encouraged their father to a bolder attempt,
and on September 19, of the same year, they set out for Vienna.[2001]
Their journey was made by easy stages. At Passau they remained for five
days, at the request of the Bishop, who wished to hear the boy-prodigy,
and having done so, rewarded him with--one ducat! Thence they proceeded
to Linz. Canon Count Herberstein travelled with them, and Wolfgang's
distress at seeing an old beggar-man fall into the water impressed him
so much that, as Bishop of Passau, in 1785 he reminded L. Mozart of
it. At Linz they gave a concert, under the patronage of Count Schlick,
Governor-General of the province. Count Palfy, a young nobleman who was
paying his respects to the Countess Schlick on his way through Linz,
heard from her such a glowing account of the boy-prodigy that he left
his travelling-carriage at the door of her residence and went with her
to
{EARLY JOURNEYS.}
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the concert; his amazement was unbounded. From Linz they continued
their journey by water. At the Monastery of Ips, while their travelling
companions, two Minorite monks and a Benedictine, were saying mass,
Wolfgang mounted to the organ-loft, and played so admirably that the
Franciscan friars, and the guests they were entertaining, rose from
table and came open-mouthed with astonishment to listen to him.
On their arrival at Vienna, Wolfgang saved his father the payment of
customs duties. He made friends with the custom-house officer,
showed him his harpsichord, played him a minuet on his little fiddle,
and--"That passed us through!" Throughout the journey Wolfgang showed
himself lively and intelligent, readily making friends, especially with
officials; his engaging manners attracted as much love as his playing
excited admiration.
The fame of the two children had preceded them to Vienna. Count Schlick,
Count Herberstein, and Count Palfy had raised expectation to the highest
pitch, and the children were assured of a good reception at court
and among the nobility, who vied with each other in their devotion to
everything connected with art.
The imperial family took more than a passive interest in musical
affairs.[2002] Charles VI. was an accomplished musician, and used to
accompany operatic or other performances at court upon the clavier,[2003]
playing from the figured bass, according to the custom of conductors at
the time. He caused his daughters to study music, and the future Empress
Maria Theresa displayed at an early age both taste and talent. In 1725,
when only seven years old, she sang in an opera by Fux, at a fête given
in honour of her mother, the Empress Elizabeth. It was in allusion
to this that she once, joking, told Faustina Hasse that she believed
herself to be the first
{VIENNA, 1762--WAGENSEIL.}
(27)
of living virtuose.[2004] In 1739 she sang a duet with Senesino so
beautifully that the celebrated old singer was melted to tears.[2005] Her
husband, Francis I., was also musical, and gave his children a musical
education.[2006] The Archduchesses appeared frequently in operatic
performances at court, acquitting themselves "very well for
princesses."[2007]
The Emperor Joseph sang well, and played the harpsichord and the
violoncello.
Anecdotes of Mozart's genius had excited much interest at court, and
on September 13, before he had even solicited the honour, L. Mozart
received a command to bring his children to Schönbrunn. A quiet day was
chosen, that the children might be heard without fear of interruption.
Their playing surpassed all expectation, and they were afterwards
repeatedly summoned to court. The Emperor took special delight in the
"little magician" and enjoyed inventing new trials of skill for him.
He jestingly told him that playing with all his fingers was nothing;
playing with one finger would be true art; whereupon Wolfgang began to
play charmingly with only one finger. Another time he told him that
it would be true art to play with the keyboard covered; and Wolfgang
covered the keys with a cloth, and played with as much decision and
vivacity as if he could see them. This _tour de force_ was often
repeated on subsequent occasions, and always received with great
applause.
But music was, generally speaking, a serious matter to Wolfgang, and
even at court he refused to play except before connoisseurs. Once,
seeing himself surrounded by a fashionable assemblage, he said before he
began: "Is Herr Wagenseil here? Let him come; he knows something about
it." (Georg Christoph Wagenseil--born in Vienna, 1688; died, 1779)--was a
pupil of Fux, and one of the first
{EARLY JOURNEYS.}
(28)
clavier-players and composers of his time: he taught the Empress and afterwards
her children.[2008] The Emperor moved aside to let him come near Mozart,
who exclaimed: "I am going to play one of your concertos; you must turn
over for me." At court, as elsewhere, Mozart was a bright, happy child.
He would spring on the Empress's lap, throw his arms round her neck and
kiss her, and play with the princesses on a footing of perfect equality.
He was especially devoted to the Archduchess Marie Antoinette. Once,
when he fell on the polished floor, she lifted him from the ground and
consoled him, while one of her sisters stood by: "You are good,"
said Wolfgang, "I will marry you." The Empress asked him why? "From
gratitude," answered he; "she was good to me, but her sister stood by
and did nothing."[2009] The Emperor Joseph reminded him in after years of
his playing duets with Wagenseil, and of Mozart's standing in the
antechamber among the audience, calling "Pfui!" or "Bravo!" or "That was
wrong!" as the case might be.[20010]
The favour of the court was further displayed in substantial honours and
rewards. In addition to a gift of money Marianne was presented with
a white silk court dress, belonging to one of the Archduchesses, and
Wolfgang with a violet coloured suit, trimmed with broad gold braid,
that had been made for the Archduke Maximilian. His father had his
portrait painted in this magnificent attire. As might have been
expected, the children became the rage in society; "all the ladies
fell in love with the lad." The music-loving Prince von Hildburghausen,
Vice-Chancellor Count Colloredo, Bishop Esterhazy, all invited the
Mozarts; and before long they were indispensable at every fashionable
assembly. They were generally carried to and fro in the carriage of
their entertainers, and received many handsome presents of money and
trinkets. This prosperous course
{SECOND JOURNEY, 1763.}
(29)
was, however, suddenly interrupted by an attack of scarlet fever, which
kept Wolfgang in bed for a fortnight. The dangerous part of his illness
was soon over, and the greatest sympathy was everywhere expressed for
him; but the fear of infection was then very great, and the interest
taken in his convalescence was accompanied by considerable reluctance to
his society.
An invitation from the Hungarian magnates induced L. Mozart, although he
had already exceeded his leave of absence, to undertake an expedition
to Pressburg on December 11. The weather was very unfavourable, and
made the return journey through roadless Hungary not a little dangerous.
Their stay in Vienna was not much further prolonged, and early in
January, 1763, they found themselves once more in Salzburg.
Having once tested the powers and popularity of his children, Leopold
Mozart could not settle contentedly in Salzburg again, and he soon
determined on the bolder venture of making their talents known beyond
Germany. Paris was his ultimate goal, but he intended to exhibit the
children at any of the German courts which did not lie too far out of
their way. The class from which at the present day the musical public,
properly so called, is drawn was then altogether uncultivated; and even
where there were no courts, as in the imperial towns, the nobles and
rich merchants kept up similar distinctions of rank.
L. Mozart lays complacent stress upon the fact that throughout their
tour, their intercourse was confined to the nobility and distinguished
persons, and that both for their health's sake and the reputation of
their court, they were obliged to travel _noblement_. Being summer,
therefore, the travellers avoided the capitals and visited the country
seats to which, at this season, the courts were wont to repair.[20011]
{EARLY JOURNEYS.}
(30)
The journey began on June 9, and not prosperously; for in Wasserbrunn
the carriage broke down, necessitating the delay of a whole day. "The
last new thing is," writes the father, "that in order to pass the time
we went to look at the organ, and I explained the pedal to Wolferl. He
set to work to try it on the spot; pushed aside the stool, and preluded
away standing, using the pedal as if he had practised it for months. We
were all lost in astonishment. What has caused others months of
practice comes to him as a gift of God." Wolfgang performed on the organ
constantly throughout the journey, and was, his father says, even more
admired as an organist than as a clavier-player.
Arrived at Munich on June 12, 1763, they proceeded at once to
Nymphenburg, the summer residence of the Elector. Here the introduction
of the Prince von Zweibrücken gained them a favourable reception,
and they played repeatedly before the Elector and Duke Clement; it is
specially mentioned that Wolfgang executed a concerto on the violin with
cadenzas "out of his own head." Here they fell in with two travellers
from Saxony, the Barons Hopfgarten and Bose, with whom they formed a
cordial friendship, cemented during their stay in Paris. At Augsburg
they took up their abode for a fortnight with the Mozart family, and
gave three concerts, at which the audience were almost exclusively
Lutherans. The Salzburg "Europàische Zeitung" (July 19, 1763) reports
from Augsburg, July 9:--
The day before yesterday, Herr Leopold Mozart, Vice-Kapellmeister
at Salzburg, left this place for Stuttgart, with his two precocious
children. The inhabitants of his native town have fully appreciated
the privilege accorded them in witnessing the manifestation of the
marvellous gifts bestowed by Providence on these charming children; they
recognise also how great must have been the paternal care, the result
of which has been the production of a girl of eleven and, what is still
more incredible, a boy of seven years old as ornaments to the musical
world. The opinion pronounced on these prodigies by a correspondent from
Vienna, which will be found on another page, enthusiastic as it appears,
will be confirmed by all musical connoisseurs.
At Ludwigsburg, the summer residence of the Wurtemburg court, they did
not succeed in obtaining audience of the Duke, although they had brought
introductions from
{LUDWIGSBURG, 1763--JOMELLI.}
(31)
Canon Count Wolfegg, both to the Master of the Hunt, Bar. v. Pölnitz,
and to Jomelli. L. Mozart was inclined to ascribe this to the influence
of Jomelli, who figured as Kapellmeister from 1754 to 1768,[20012] with a
salary of 4,000 fl. (more correctly 3,000 fl.), the keep of four horses,
fuel and lights, a house in Stuttgart and another at Ludwigsburg, and
2,000 fl. pension for his widow. Leopold Mozart announces all this
to Hagenauer, with the question: "What do you think of that for a
Kapellmeister's pay?" He maintained that all native artists had to
suffer from Jomelli's influence, who spared no trouble to drive Germans
from the court and to admit none but Italians; this was the more
possible, as he was in high favour with the Duke.
He and his countrymen, of whom his house was always full, were reported
to have said that it was incredible that a child of German birth could
have such musical genius, and so much spirit and fire. _Ridete Amici!_
he adds. Granted, however, that musical taste in Ludwigsburg had been
thoroughly Italianised by Jomelli's influence and position,[20013] there
is no doubt that this account of him is prejudiced and exaggerated.
Metastasio pictures him as courteous and affable,[20014] and in Stuttgart
he had the reputation of giving all due credit to German artists,[20015]
so that L. Mozart's accusation is probably without much foundation. He
himself acknowledges that Jomelli's unlimited power had been principally
the cause of the excellence of musical performances in Ludwigsburg;
though here again, Schubart complains that the orchestra was spoilt by
the numerous amateur members who could not agree, and who were fond
of introducing ornamentations in their separate parts, quite out of
character with the whole.[20016]
Of the really superior amateurs who were then at
{EARLY JOURNEYS.}
(32)
Ludwigsburg L. Mozart mentions only Tartini's pupil, P. Nardini (died
1793) who "was unsurpassed in taste, purity, and delicacy of tone, but
not by any means a powerful player."
From Ludwigsburg they proceeded to Schwetzingen, and presenting
recommendations from the Prince von Zweibrücken and Prince Clement of
Bavaria, were well received by the Elector Palatine Karl Theodor. On
July 18 the court assembled to hear them from five to nine o'clock; the
children set all Schwetzingen in commotion, and the electoral household
were enchanted with them. L. Mozart praises the admirable flute-playing
of Wendling, and speaks of the orchestra as the best in Germany,
being entirely composed of young men of good birth, who were "neither
tipplers, nor gamblers, nor miserable ragamuffins" (a hit at Salzburg),
and who were as estimable in their private as in their professional
capacity. He goes on to inform pious Frau Hagenauer, that since they
left Wasser-burg they had found no holy water, and rarely a crucifix
in their bedrooms, and that they found it difficult to procure fast-day
meals: "Everybody eats meat, and perhaps so have we, without knowing it.
After all, it is no fault of ours!"
Making an excursion to Heidelberg, Wolfgang played the organ in the
Church of the Holy Spirit, and so astonished his audience that the Dean
ordered his name and the particulars of his visit to be inscribed as a
memorial of it on the organ. Unfortunately no trace of the inscription
remains.
At Mayence, owing to the illness of the Elector, Joseph Emnrerich (von
Breidtbach), they could not appear at court, but made 200 florins at
three concerts. Here they met the singer, Marianne de Amicis, who was
returning with her family from London.
At Frankfort, which they went out of their way to visit, Mozart's first
concert, on August 18, was so successful that they decided on giving
three more. The newspaper announcement, of August 30, 1763, shows
what an astonishing performance was offered to the public. It runs as
follows:[20017]--
{FRANKFORT, COBLENZ, COLOGNE.}
(33)
The universal admiration excited in the minds of the audience by the
astounding genius of the two children of Herr L. Mozart, Kapellmeister
at the Court of Salzburg, has necessitated the threefold repetition of
the concert which was announced to take place on one occasion only.
In consequence, therefore, of this universal admiration, and in
deference to the desire of many distinguished connoisseurs, the next
and positively the last concert will take place this evening, Tuesday,
August 30, in the Scharfischen Saal, on the Liebfraoenberge.
The little girl, who is in her twelfth year, will play the most
difficult compositions of the greatest masters; the boy, who is not yet
seven, will perform on the clavecin or harpsichord; he will also play a
concerto for the violin, and will accompany symphonies on the clavier,
the manual or keyboard being covered with a cloth, with as much facility
as if he could see the keys; he will instantly name all notes played at
a distance, whether singly or in chords on the clavier, or on any
other instrument, bell, glass, or clock. He will finally, both on the
harpsichord and the organ, improvise as long as may be desired and in
any key, thus proving that he is as thoroughly acquainted with the
one instrument as with the other, great as is the difference between
them.[20018]
Here, too, Goethe heard him. "I saw him as a boy, seven years old," he
told Eckermann, "when he gave a concert on one of his tours. I myself
was fourteen, and I remember the little fellow distinctly with his
powdered wig and his sword."[20019]
At Coblenz, Mozart was presented to the Elector of Treves, Johann
Philipp (von Walderdorf), by Baron Walderdorf and the Imperial
Ambassador, Count Bergen, and appeared at court on September 18. He was
also frequently invited by the Privy Councillor and Imperial Knight von
Kerpen, whose seven sons and two daughters all either sang or played
some instrument. At Bonn, the Elector of Cologne, Maximilian Freidrich
(Count of Konigseck-Rothenfels), being absent, they only remained long
enough to see and admire the splendours of the residential palace;
the magnificent beds, the baths, the picture galleries, concert halls,
decorations, inlaid tables, chairs, &c.; also the numerous curiosities
at Poppelsdorf and Falkenlust. At Cologne, on the other hand, they only
note the "dingy cathedral." At Aix, the Princess Amalie, sister
{EARLY JOURNEYS.}
(34)
to Frederick the Great, and a zealous lover and patroness of music, was
taking the waters. She endeavoured to persuade L. Mozart to take his
children to Berlin, but he would not alter his plans.
"She has no money," writes the practical man. "If the kisses she bestows
on my children, particularly on Master Wolfgang, were each a louis
d'or, we should be well off; as it is, neither our hotel bill nor our
post-horses can be paid with kisses." At Brussels, where Prince Charles
of Lorraine, brother of the Emperor Francis I., resided as Governor
and Captain-General of the Austrian Netherlands, they were delayed some
time, but succeeded in giving a grand concert.
Thence they proceeded direct to Paris, where they arrived on November
18, and were kindly received and hospitably entertained by the Bavarian
ambassador, Count von Eyck. His wife was a daughter of the high
chamberlain at Salzburg, Count Arco. Mozart was furnished with
introductions to the most distinguished persons then in Paris; but
all these were worth nothing, L. Mozart writes, in comparison with one
letter given to him by a merchant's wife at Frankfort, and addressed
to Grimm. Friedrich Melchior Grimm, the pupil and disciple of
Gottsched,[20020] had lived in Paris since 1749. As secretary to Count
Friesen, and afterwards to the Duke of Orleans, he had admission to the
highest circles of society. His amiable disposition and the important
share he took in the literary struggles of the encyclopedists gained
him a still more exalted position as a sort of literary and artistic
arbiter. His judgment on musical matters was eagerly sought after, and,
as it came within his special province to bring to light anything out
of the common way, he was of all others most fitted to appreciate
Wolfgang's performances. He had genuine sympathy with his countrymen,
too, and could understand such a nature as L. Mozart's. He had not yet
been created baron and ambassador, was still active and energetic, and
exerted all his personal and literary influence for the Mozart family.
Leopold ascribes
{PARIS--1763-64, GRIMM, MDME. DE POMPADOUR.}
( 35)
all their subsequent success to this "powerful friend." "He has done
everything--opened the court to us, managed the first concert, and is
going to manage the second. What cannot a man do with sense and a kind
heart? He has been fifteen years in Paris, and knows how to make things
fall out as he wishes."
Their first object was the introduction at court. The most important
personage at that time at Versailles was, of course, Madame de
Pompadour. "She must have been very beautiful," writes L. Mozart to
Madame Hagenauer, "for she is still comely. She is tall and stately;
stout, but well proportioned, with some likeness to Her Imperial Majesty
about the eyes. She is proud, and has a remarkable mind." Mozart's
sister remembered in after days how she placed little Wolfgang on the
table before her, but pushed him aside when he bent forward to kiss her,
on which he indignantly asked: "Who is this that does not want to kiss
me?--the Empress kissed me."[20021] The King's daughters were much more
friendly, and, contrary to all etiquette, kissed and played with the
children, both in their own apartments and in the public corridors. On
New Year's Day the Mozart family were conducted by the Swiss guard to
the supper-room of the royal family. Wolfgang stood near the Queen,
who fed him with sweetmeats, and talked to him in German, which she was
obliged to interpret to Louis XV. The father stood near Wolfgang, and
the mother and daughter on the other side of the King, near the Dauphin
and Madame Adelaide.
Once having played at Versailles, they were sure of access to the most
distinguished society.[20022]A small oil painting, now in the Museum at
Versailles, shows little Wolfgang at the clavier in the _salon_ of
Prince Conti, the centre of an assemblage of great people. Finally,
having established their
(36)
{EARLY JOURNEYS.}
position in private society they gave two great concerts (on March 10
and April 9, 1764) in the rooms of a certain fashionable M. Felix, who
had built a little theatre for private representations. The permission
to give these concerts was a favour obtained with difficulty, as they
infringed the privileges both of the Concert Spirituel and of the
French and Italian theatres. The result was in every respect a brilliant
success. Marianne Mozart played the most difficult compositions of the
musicians then living in Paris, especially of Schobert and Eckart, with
a precision and correctness that could not have been surpassed by the
masters themselves.
Schobert was a native of Strasburg, cembalist to the Prince de Conti;
as a composer he was famous for his grace and fire, especially in
allegros,[20023] but as a man he was not all he should have been, according
to L. Mozart. He was a false flatterer, his religion was _à la mode_,
and his envy was often so ill-concealed as to excite ridicule. Eckart,
on the contrary, was a worthy man, and quite free from jealousy; he
had come from Augsburg to Paris in 1758, and was highly esteemed as a
clavier-player and teacher.
Wolfgang's performances on the clavier, organ, and violin, extraordinary
as they were, were thrown into the shade by the proofs he gave of almost
incredible musical genius.[20024] He not only accompanied at sight Italian
and French airs, but he transposed them [prima vista].
At that time, accompanying meant more than the playing of prepared
passages for the piano or clavier; it involved the choice at the moment
of a fitting accompaniment for the
{FIRST PRINTED COMPOSITIONS.}
(37)
several parts of the score, or the supplying of harmonies to the bass.
On the other hand, the simplicity of the harmony, and the adherence to
certain fixed forms, gave to such exercises facilities not afforded
by the license and want of form of modern music. Grimm relates in
his correspondence a truly astonishing instance of the boy's genius.
Wolfgang accompanied a lady in an Italian air without seeing the music,
supplying the harmony for the passage which was to follow from that
which he had just heard. This could not be done without some mistakes,
but when the song was ended he begged the lady to sing it again, played
the accompaniment and the melody itself with perfect correctness, and
repeated it ten times, altering the character of the accompaniment for
each. On a melody being dictated to him, he supplied the bass and the
parts without using the clavier at all; he showed himself in all ways
so accomplished that his father was convinced he would obtain service at
court on his return home. Leopold Mozart now thought the time was come
for introducing the boy as a composer, and he printed four sonatas for
the piano and violin, rejoicing at the idea of the noise which they
would make in the world, appearing with the announcement on the
title-page that they were the work of a child of seven years old.
He thought well of these sonatas, independently of their childish
authorship; one andante especially "shows remarkable taste." When it
happened that in the last trio of Op. 2, a mistake of the young master,
which his father had corrected (consisting of three consecutive fifths
for the violin), was printed, he consoled himself by reflecting that
"they can serve as a proof that Wolfgangerl wrote the sonatas himself,
which, naturally, not every one would believe." The little composer
dedicated his first printed sonatas (6, 7, K.), to the good-natured
Princesse Victoire, both she and her sisters being very fond of music.
The next (8,9, K.), were dedicated to the amiable and witty Comtesse de
Tessê, lady-in-waiting to the Dauphiness.
Grimm had written a dedication in Mozart's name, in which both he and
the Dauphiness were well touched off.
{FIRST JOURNEY.}
(38)
To L. Mozart's vexation she declined it as too eulogistic, and a simpler
one had to be substituted.
The prodigies were overwhelmed with distinctions, complimentary verses,
and gifts. M. de Carmontelle, an admirable amateur portrait painter,
made a charming picture of the family group;[20025] it was engraved by
Delafosse at Grimm's instigation.
The unprecedented success of the two children was the more significant
since musical culture was not nearly so predominant in Paris as in most
of the German courts. "It is a pity," says Grimm, "that people in this
country understand so little of music."
L. Mozart notes the standing war between French and Italian music, and
the position which Grimm took up on the side of the Italians served to
confirm him in his preconceived opinions. According to him none of
the French music was worth a groat; in church music all the solos and
everything approaching to an air, were "empty, cold, and wretched,
in fact French." But he did justice to the choruses, and lost no
opportunity of letting his son hear them.[20026] In instrumental music
the German composers, among them Schobert, Eckart, and Hannauer, were
beginning to make their influence felt, so much so that Le Grand[20027]
abandoned the French style and composed sonatas after German models.
The revolution to be wrought by Gluck, was as yet, indeed, not to be
foreseen; but L. Mozart hoped that in ten or fifteen years the French
style would be extinguished.
On April 10, 1764, the Mozart family left Paris. At Calais, Marianne
notes in her diary, "how the sea runs away and comes back again." Thence
they crossed to Dover in a small vessel, the packet being over full, and
were very sea-sick; an experienced courier, whom they had brought with
them from Paris, arranged the journey direct
{LONDON, 1764-65.}
(39)
to London.[20028] They were heard at court on April 27, and their reception
surpassed all expectation. "The favour shown to us by both royal
personages is incredible," writes L. Mozart; "we should never imagine
from their familiar manner that they were the King and Queen of England.
We have met with extraordinary politeness at every court, but this
surpasses them all. A week ago we were walking in St. James's Park; the
King and Queen drove past, and although we were differently dressed,
they recognised us, and the King leant out of the window smiling and
nodding, especially towards Wolfgang."
George III. was a connoisseur and passionate admirer of Handel's music,
and Queen Charlotte sang and played; both had German taste, and
gave special honour to German artists, as Jos. Haydn found in later
years.[20029] The Mozarts were summoned to court on May 19, and played
before a limited circle from six to ten o'clock. Pieces by Wagenseil,
Bach, Abel, and Handel were placed by the King before the "invincible"
Wolfgang, who played them all at sight; he surpassed his clavier-playing
when he sat down to the King's organ; he accompanied the Queen in a
song, a flute-player in a solo, and, finally, he took the bass of an
air by Handel and improvised a charming melody to it. None took more
interest in the young musician than the Queen's music-master, Joh.
Christian Bach,[20030] the son of Sebastian Bach, settled in London since
1762, and the author of several popular operas and numerous pianoforte
compositions. He looked upon his art after an easy careless fashion;
but his kindness and goodwill won Wolfgang's heart for ever. He liked to
play with the boy; took him upon his knee and went through a sonata with
him, each in turn playing a bar with so much precision that no one would
have suspected two performers. He began a fugue, which Wolfgang took up
and completed when Bach broke off.
{FIRST JOURNEY.}
(40)
At last L. Mozart thought the time had come to introduce to the public
"the greatest wonder of which Europe or the world can boast," as the
grandiloquent announcement ran. Not without due calculation, the concert
was fixed for June 5, the King's birthday, which was sure to bring a
large public to London. The speculation succeeded, and L. Mozart "was
terrified" by taking one hundred guineas in three hours--a satisfactory
sum to send home. On the 29th Wolfgang played at a concert given
at Ranelagh Gardens, with a charitable object, and "astonished and
delighted the greatest connoisseurs in England." This prosperous career
was, however, temporarily cut short; Leopold Mozart was seized with
dangerous inflammation of the throat, and retired with his children to
Chelsea, where they remained seven weeks before his cure was completed.
During this time Wolfgang, out of consideration for his father, left his
instrument untouched; but he set to work to write orchestral symphonies,
and his sister tells[20031] how he said to her, sitting near: "Remind me
to give something really good to the horn." The horn was at that time
a favourite instrument in England, and in many of Wolfgang's youthful
compositions it has a prominent part. The first symphony, in E flat
major (1 K.), in the three usual movements, has many corrections which
the boy made, partly to improve the instrumentation, partly to moderate
the too rapid transition to the principal theme of the first movement.
Originality is scarcely to be expected, but it is something that a due
regard to form and continuity should be everywhere apparent. He worked
so diligently that at the next concert it was announced that all the
instrumental pieces were of Wolfgang's composition. Three symphonies
(17,18,19, K.), in B flat major (with two minuets, the instrumentation
not quite complete), in E flat major (with clarinets, instead of oboes,
and bassoons), and in D major (Londra, 1765), which all fall within the
London visit, show marked progress. The subjects are better defined,
the disposition of the parts is freer and more orchestral, and some
instrumental effects
{LONDON, 1764-65.}
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begin to be heard. On October 29, they were in town again, and invited
to court to celebrate the fourth anniversary of the King's accession. As
a memento of the royal favour, L. Mozart printed six sonatas for piano
and violin or flute, composed by Wolfgang, and dedicated to the Queen on
January 18, 1765, which dedication she rewarded with a present of fifty
guineas.[20032] The opening of the Italian Opera House on November 24,
1764, had no small influence on Wolfgang's genius; here, for the first
time, he heard singers of note. Giovanni Manzuoli (born in Florence,
1720),[20033] whose singing and acting were then exciting the London public
to the highest enthusiasm,[20034] became acquainted with the Mozart family,
and gave Wolfgang lessons in singing. His voice was, of course, a boyish
treble; his style that of an artist. The following year, in Paris, Grimm
declared that he had so profited by Manzuoli's instruction as to sing
with extreme taste and feeling, notwithstanding the weakness of his
voice. Thus early did Mozart acquire, as if by natural instinct, all the
requisites for a great composer which are, to most men, the result of
years of painful study.
During Lent, he enjoyed the opportunity of hearing Handel's Oratorios,
but we hear nothing of any special influence which they may have had
on his mind; indeed, he knew little of Handel in later years, until Van
Swieten made him acquainted with his works.
On February 21, the "Wonder of Nature" reappeared in public at a concert
which had been often postponed. The political situation and the illness
of the king made the time an unfavourable one, and the receipts were not
so great as had been expected.
Another concert, on May 13, took place only after repeated announcements
of the approaching departure of the Wonder of Nature, and at a reduced
rate. "It was quite enchanting," declares the "Salzburger Zeitung"[20035]
"to hear the sister
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of twelve years old play the most difficult sonatas on the harpsichord,
while her brother accompanied her impromptu on another harpsichord."
Wolfgang performed on a harpsichord with two manuals and a pedal which
the musical instrument maker Tschudi had constructed for the King of
Prussia;[20036] Tschudi "rejoiced that his extraordinary harpsichord should
be played for the first time by the most extraordinary performer in the
world." After this, L. Mozart repeatedly invited the public to hear and
test the young wonder in private daily from twelve to two o'clock; at
first these performances took place in their own lodging, afterwards
in a tavern, not of the first rank. It was promised as something
extraordinary that the two children should play a duet on the same
clavier with the keyboard covered. It was for these occasions that
Wolfgang composed his first duet, according to L. Mozart, the first
sonata for four hands ever written.
The Hon. Daines Barrington, a man highly esteemed as a lawyer and a
philosopher, undertook a repeated and searching trial of the boy's
skill, and has left a circumstantial report of the result.[20037] He
obtained a copy of Wolfgang's registry of baptism, in order to be sure
of his age, and made other minute inquiries concerning him. Besides the
usual tests of playing difficult pieces at sight, and of singing and
accompanying with proper expression a score hitherto unknown to him, he
demanded an improvisation. He told Mozart to improvise a love-song such
as Manzuoli might sing in some opera. The boy at once pronounced
some words to serve as a recitative, then followed an air on the word
_affetto_ (love) of about the length of an ordinary love-song in the
regulation two parts. In the same way he composed a song expressive of
anger on the word _perfido_ which excited him so much, that he struck
the clavier like one possessed, and several times sprang up from his
seat. Barrington remarks that these improvised compositions, if not very
astonishing, are
{HOLLAND, 1765.}
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yet far above the ordinary run, and give proofs of decided inventive
power. Not only has Mozart's technical education so far advanced, that
he handles freely the forms and rules of composition; he begins now to
display the inspired imagination of an artistic genius.
It is interesting to note the first stirrings of the dramatic element
in Mozart, and how he was able already to give articulate expression to
various passions as they were suggested to him.
An instance of this is a tenor song, "Va dal furor portata" (21 K.),
composed in London, 1765, in which the Da capo form is rigorously
adhered to, and which, though wanting in originality displays much sense
of characteristic expression.
Before the end of their London stay they visited the British Museum,
the natural history and ethnographical curiosities being duly noted
by Marianne. In deference to an expressed wish, Wolfgang presented the
Museum with his printed sonatas and with a manuscript composition (20
K.), consisting of a short madrigal in four parts, "God is our Refuge,"
the melody being possibly suggested.[20038] Notwithstanding this, the
treatment of it is an extraordinary proof not only of the boy's skill,
but of his readiness in apprehending and adhering to an unaccustomed
form.[20039]
On July 24, 1765, they left London, remained one day in Canterbury, and
passed the rest of the month at the country seat of Sir Horace Mann.
In obedience to the repeated and earnest solicitations of the Dutch
Ambassador, speaking as the mouthpiece of the Princess Caroline, of
Nassau-Weilburg, L. Mozart, contrary to his original plan, consented to
visit the Hague. He probably lays stress on this pressing invitation to
excuse his lengthened absence from Salzburg. His leave of absence had
long ago expired,
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(44)
and he was repeatedly urged to hasten his return; but he was firmly
resolved with God's help, to carry out what he had begun. They had
proceeded as far on their journey as Lille, when Wolfgang was seized
with an illness which necessitated a delay of four weeks, and from which
he had not quite recovered when he was in Ghent playing on the great
organ of the Church of St. Bernard. They reached the Hague in the
beginning of September, and met with a very gracious reception from
the Prince of Orange and his sister the Princess of Weilburg. But now,
Marianne, in her turn fell dangerously ill; was delirious for a week
together, and received the last sacrament. "No one," writes the father,
"could have heard unmoved the interview between myself, my wife, and
daughter, and how we convinced the latter of the vanity of the world and
the blessedness of early death, while Wolfgang was amusing himself with
his music in another room." They did not neglect to have masses for
Marianne's recovery said in Salzburg.
On the Sunday that she was at her worst, Leopold opened the Gospel at
the words: "Lord, come down, ere my child die;" but a new treatment of
the case by Herr Schwenckel, physician to the Princess of Weilburg,
was so successful, that he was soon able to acknowledge the prophetic
significance of the words: "Thy daughter sleeps; thy faith hath saved
thee."
Scarcely was the father relieved from this anxiety when he was subjected
to a still greater trial. Wolfgang was seized with a violent attack of
fever, which reduced him to extreme weakness for several weeks. But even
illness did not cripple the boy's mental activity. He insisted on having
a board laid across his bed, on which he could write; and even when his
little fingers refused their accustomed service he could scarcely be
persuaded to cease writing and playing.
In January, 1766, we find him composing a song, "Conservati fedele" (23
K.), for the Princess of Weilburg, which consists of a pleasant, flowing
melody, and here and there characteristic touches, happily expressed by
changes of harmony.
{HOLLAND, 1765-66.}
(45)
He was able before the end of this month to go on to Amsterdam, where
they spent four weeks. Wolfgang gave two concerts at which all the
instrumental pieces were of his own composition. Among them was a
Symphony in B flat major (22 K.), in three movements, which had been
written at the Hague, and which contains noteworthy instances of
thematic elaboration and well-rounded phrasing. Although it was Lent,
and all public amusements were strictly forbidden, these concerts were
permitted because the "exhibition of the marvellous gifts of these
children redounds to the glory of God," a resolution which, though it
was formulated by Lutherans, was nevertheless cordially accepted by so
devout a Catholic as L. Mozart.
On March 8, 1766, they travelled back to the Hague, to assist at the
festivities given in honour of the Prince of Orange, who came of age
on that day. Wolfgang was ordered to compose six sonatas for piano
and violin for the Princess of Weilburg, which were printed with a
dedication (26 to 31, K.). In addition, he wrote several songs for the
same princess, and other "trifles," which were also printed, among them
pianoforte variations on an air composed for the occasion (24 K.),
and upon another air, "which is sung, played, and whistled all over
Holland." This was the song, "Wilhelmus von Nassau,"[20040] written and
composed by Philipp von Mamix (d. 1598), on the Prince of Orange (d.
1584), which soon spread far and wide[20041] and became the national song
of Holland. Mattheson cites it as an instance of a national war-song,
which had inspired a whole people to great deeds, and had played an
important part in the war and in the celebration of peace, in 1749.[20042]
For one concert, Wolfgang composed an orchestral piece after the manner
of a "Concerto grosso," in which a clavier obbligato was introduced with
the other instruments and called it a "Galimathias musicum." Sketches
for this in Wolfgang's handwriting, with his father's corrections here
and there, have
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been preserved (32 K).[20043] After an easy andante, which serves as an
introduction, come thirteen movements, generally only in two parts,
varying both in measure and time. There is a variety of instrumentation
unmistakably present, and the horns are specially favoured; there is one
passage which imitates the bagpipes.
[See Page Image]
The whole winds up with an elaborate movement on the first part of the
national song--
which is partly fugued, partly worked out in a free imitation, showing,
as one might expect, the uncertain hand of a boy. But it is plain that
he was considered as an established composer. His father's talent, too,
met with flattering recognition; his Violin Method was translated into
Dutch, and dedicated to the Prince of Orange on his accession.[20044] The
publisher brought it to Leopold Mozart, accompanied by the organist, who
invited Wolfgang to play on the great organ at Haarlem, which he did on
the following day. At length they travelled by way of Mechlin to Paris,
where they arrived on May 10, and established themselves in a lodging
provided by their friend Grimm. The progress made both by Wolfgang
and his sister was acknowledged by all; but the public are more easily
excited by the phenomenal performances of an infant prodigy than by the
incomparably more important development of an extraordinary genius, and
the interest in the children does not appear to have been so great as on
their former visit. Nevertheless, they played repeatedly at Versailles;
the Princess of Orleans, afterwards Duchess of Condé, thought herself
honoured in presenting Wolfgang with a little rondo for piano and
violin of her own composition.[20045] Prince Karl Wilhelm Ferdinand von
Braunschweig, the Braunschweig Achilles, as Winckelmann calls him,[20046]
who
{PARIS, SWITZERLAND, 1766.}
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had won his laurels in the seven years' war, sought them out in Paris.
"He is pleasant, handsome, and amiable," writes L. Mozart, "and as soon
as I went in, he asked me if I were the author of the Violin School." He
had not only intelligence and good taste in music, but played the violin
himself so well "that he might have made his fortune by it."[20047] He said
of Wolfgang that many a kapellmeister had lived and died without having
learnt as much as the boy knew now. He entered into competition with the
most distinguished artists on the organ, the piano, or in improvisation,
and either came off victor or with abundant honour. On June 12, he
composed a little Kyrie for four voices with stringed accompaniment (33
K), that is precise and simple, but in style and form, and in the purity
of its melody, approaches nearer to the Mozart of after life than any
other composition of his boyhood.
Leaving Paris on July 9 they obeyed the summons of the Prince of Condé
to Dijon, where the Estates of Burgundy were assembled. Next they stayed
a month at Lyons, and made the acquaintance of a certain Meurikofer,
a merchant, who was never tired of the joke of making Wolfgang sing an
Italian song with spectacles on his nose. At Ghent, where they found
everything in confusion, they made no stay; at Lausanne they remained
five days at the request of several distinguished persons, especially of
Prince Louis of Wurtemberg, brother of Duke Charles; they were a week
at Berne, and a fortnight at Zurich; guests of the Gessner family, from
whom they received much kindness, and parted with regret. Among other
books presented to them as keepsakes, Salomon Gessner gave them a copy
of his works, with the following inscription:--
Accept this gift, dear friends, in the same friendly spirit in which I
offer it. May it preserve my memory fresh among you. May you, venerable
parents, long enjoy the sight of the happiness of your children wherein
consists the most precious fruit of their education; may they be as
happy as their merit is extraordinary! In the tenderest youth
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they are an honour to their country and the admiration of the world.
Happy parents! happy children! Never forget the friend whose esteem and
love for you will never be less lively than at this moment.
Salomo Gesner.
Zurich, August 3, 1766.
Taking Winterthur and Schafhausen by the way, they journeyed to
Donaueschingen, where they were expected by Prince Joseph Wenzeslaus von
Fürstenberg. They remained here twelve days, and played every evening
from five to nine o'clock, always producing some novelty; they
were richly rewarded by the Prince, who was moved to tears at their
departure. At Biberach, Count Fugger von Babenhausen arranged an organ
competition between Wolfgang and Sixtus Bachmann, who was two years
older than Wolfgang, and had attracted great admiration by his musical
performances. "Each tried his utmost to surpass the other, and the
competition increased the fame of both."[20048] Then they went by way of
Ulm, Günzburg, and Dillingen to Munich. Arriving here on November 8,
they dined with the Elector on the following day. Wolfgang sat next to
him and composed a piece in pencil, taking for theme a few bars which
the Elector hummed to him; this piece he played after dinner to the
astonishment of all the party.
An indisposition with which Wolfgang was here seized seems to have put
a stop to a journey to Regensburg which had been planned, and about the
end of November, 1766, the Mozart family re-entered Salzburg.
FOOTNOTES CHAPTER II.
[Footnote 2001: We have a somewhat more detailed account of this journey from
letters of L. Mozart to the merchant, Lorenz Hagenauer, in whose house
he was living when Wolfgang was born (opposite the tavern "Zu den
Allürten"). Hagenauer proved himself a true friend; always ready with
support and counsel in business matters, even to the extent of making
considerable loans, so that it was natural that Mozart should keep him
informed as to the pecuniary results of his journey. Many characteristic
traits are given by Schlichtegroll, probably derived from Wolfgang's
sister, and confirmed after examination by Niemetschek (p. 8).]
[Footnote 2002: Cf. L. v. Köchel's Die Pflege der Musik am österr. Hofe vom Schlusse
des 15, bis zur Mitte des 18. Jahrh. Wien, 1866.]
[Footnote 2003: Apostolo Zeno, Lettere III., p. 447. Oehler's Gesch. des
Theaterwesens zu Wien, II., p. 4.]
[Footnote 2004: In the year 1735 the Archduchess again appeared in an opera on the
Empress's birthday. Metastasio, who wrote it, and rehearsed it with her,
is enthusiastic in his praises of her grace and cleverness (Opp. post.,
I., p. 175).]
[Footnote 2005: Burney, Reise, II., p. 186.]
[Footnote 2006: Metastasio's Opp. post., I., p. 401.]
[Footnote 2007: Burney, Reise; II., p. 187.]
[Footnote 2008: Metastasio's Opp. post., II., p. 31. Bumey, Reise, II., p. 241.
Marpurg's criticism is not favourable (Krit. Briefe, II., p. 141).]
[Footnote 2009: So Nissen relates the anecdote. Niemetschek, doubtless from respect
to the Royal Family, says nothing about the marrying.]
[Footnote 20010: A. M. Z., I., p. 856.]
[Footnote 20011: Chief sources of information are L. Mozart's letters to Hagenauer
(of which only a few are preserved) and some family reminiscences given
by Nissen. L. Mozart's memoranda made on the journey are interesting, as
containing addresses of people whom they met, remarks on the inns and
on the various sights they visited. They display a habit of close
observation. There are some few similar notes made by Marianne still in
existence.]
[Footnote 20012: P. Alfieri's Not. biogr. di Nic. Jomelli, p. 15.]
[Footnote 20013: Schubart's Aesthetik, p. 150. Selbstbiographie, I., 12, p. 122.]
[Footnote 20014: Metastasio, Lettere (Nizza, 1787), IV., p. 185. Cf. Opp. post, I.,
pp. 35g, 386; II., pp. 129, 320. Burney, Reise, I., p. 137.]
[Footnote 20015: Schubart's Aesthetik, p. 78. Selbstbiogr., I., 12, p. 126.
Betracht. d. Mannh. Tonsch., I., p. 153.]
[Footnote 20016: Schubart's Aesthetik; p. 156. Selbstbiogr., I., 12, p. 127.]
[Footnote 20017: Belli-Gontard Leben in Frankfurt, V., p. 25.]
[Footnote 20018: To this is added: "Each person pays half-a-dollar. Tickets may be
had at the Golden Lion."]
[Footnote 20019: Eckermann's Gespräche mit Goethe, II., p. 180.]
[Footnote 20020: Danzel's Gottsched, p. 343.]
[Footnote 20021: He was particularly proud of the Empress's notice. When they were
encouraging him to play at a small German court, where there were to
be some persons of high rank, he answered that he had played before the
Empress, and was not at all afraid.]
[Footnote 20022: L. Mozart made a list "a page long" of the persons of rank and
distinction with whom they had come in contact.]
[Footnote 20023: Hiller's Wöchentl. Nachr., I., p. 135. Schubart's Aesthetik, p.
230, Junker's Zwanzig Componisten, p. 89. He died from eating poisonous
mushrooms in 1767 (Goethe's Briefe an Leipziger Freunde, p. 242).]
[Footnote 20024: Suard gives the following notice (Mél. de Litt., II., p. 337): Il
avait 6 à 7 ans. Je l'ai entendu jouer du clavecin au Concert Spirituel
et dans des maisons particulières. Il étonnait tous les amateurs par sa
facilité et la précision avec laquelle il exécutait les pièces les
plus difficiles. Il accompagnait sur la partition à la première vue.
Il préludait sur son instrument et dans des capricci improvisés, il
laissait échapper les traits du chant les plus heureux et montrait déjà
un sentiment profond de l'harmonie.]
[Footnote 20025: Mme. du Deffand, Lettres, I., p. 207.]
[Footnote 20026: Compare with this what Burney (Reise, I., pp. 12,16) says on the
same side in 1770 upon French contemporary music in relation to Italian.]
[Footnote 20027: Cf. Schubart's Aesthetik, p. 270.]
[Footnote 20028: The most authentic account is given by F. Pohl, Mozart und Haydn in
London. Vienna, 1867.]
[Footnote 20029: Griesinger's Biogr. Notizen über Haydn, p. 57.]
[Footnote 20030: Parke's Mus. Mem., I., p. 347. Reichardt's Mus. Aim., 1796.]
[Footnote 20031: A. M. Z., II., p. 301.]
[Footnote 20032: The sonatas were advertised as for sale on March 20, 1765.]
[Footnote 20033: Metastasio's Opp. post., II., p., 272.]
[Footnote 20034: Burney's History of Music, IV., p. 485. Kelly's Reminiscences, I.,
p. 7.]
[Footnote 20035: Europ. Zeitg., 1765, No. 63, Aug. 6.]
[Footnote 20036: Burney, Reise, II., p. 104.]
[Footnote 20037: Philosophical Transactions, 1770, Volf XL.; repeated in
Barrington's Miscellanies on Various Subjects (London, 1781), p. 279.]
[Footnote 20038: F. Pohl (A. M. Z., 1863, p. 853).]
[Footnote 20039: The letter of thanks runs as follow: July 19, 1765. Sir,--I am
ordered by the standing committee of the trustees of the British Museum
to signify to you, that they have received the present of the musical
performances of your very ingenious son, which you were pleased to make
them, and to return you their thanks for the same.--M. Maty, Secretary.]
[Footnote 20040: Hoffmann von Fallersleben, Horæ belgico, II., p. 96.]
[Footnote 20041: Grenzboten, 1864, III., p. 128.]
[Footnote 20042: Mattheson, Mithridat, p. 12, published in Weimar. Jahrb., IV., p.
162.]
[Footnote 20043: The identical compositions are said to have been lately discovered
in Paris.]
[Footnote 20044: Mozart Grondig Onderwys in het behandelen der Violin met 4
Konst-plaaten en een Tafel. Harlem, 1766, 4.]
[Footnote 20045: So says Nissen, p. 114.]
[Footnote 20046: Winckelmann's Briefe, III., pp. 95,98,104. Cf. Goethe, Briefe an
Fr.v. Stein, III., p. 96.]
[Footnote 20047: Burney, Reise, III., p. 258.]
[Footnote 20048: "Christmann Musik. Corresp.", 1790, p. 164.]
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