AT Salzburg during May, 1773, Wolfgang composed a symphony (181 K.), a
concertone for two violins (190 K.), and a mass (167 K.) in June.
In the summer of this year the Archbishop repaired to Vienna, and
Leopold Mozart seized the opportunity of following him thither with
Wolfgang. He looked forward only to a short absence, but when they
presented themselves before the Archbishop in Vienna he gave them
permission to extend their stay, as he intended himself to go into the
mountains and to Gmünd.
Of the precise object of this tour we know nothing, only that L. Mozart
hints mysteriously that he cannot tell his
{VISIT TO VIENNA, 1773}
(145)
plans to every one, and that he must avoid anything that would excite
attention either at Vienna or Salzburg, and cause obstacles to be thrown
in their way. When the good people of Salzburg connected the illness of
the kapellmeister Gassmann with his journey, he answered indignantly:
"Herr Gassmann was ill, but is now better. I do not know what connection
this may have with our journey to Vienna; but fools will be fools, all
the world over."[1] There can be no doubt, however, that he was anxious
that Wolfgang should be permanently attached to the court, either at
Vienna or elsewhere. The Empress, of whom they immediately sought an
audience, was very gracious, but that was all. The Emperor only returned
from Poland towards the end of their stay, and they do not appear to
have spoken to him at all.
They arrived on the 18th of July, and went straight to their old
lodgings, where they surprised old Frau Fischer at supper; she was
delighted to see them, and to provide them once more with comfortable
apartments. Many old friendships were renewed: L'Augier, Martinez,
Novarre, honest old Bono, Stephanie and his lovely wife, Dr. Auerbrugger
and his two daughters, Franziska and Mariane, "who played charmingly and
were thorough musicians,"[2] all welcomed the Mozarts eagerly; Wolfgang
had grown so as never to be recognised unless his father were with him.
But their warmest welcome was from the Messmers, who only regretted that
they had come without Frau Mozart and Marianne. Since the Mozarts' last
visit, they had decorated their garden with statues, &c., and had built
a theatre, an aviary, a dovecot, a summer-house looking over the
Prater, and they were now turning their house into a comfortable winter
residence. The whole family were together, including Fräulein Franzl,
who was seriously ill, and Fräulein Sepperl, an inveterate match-maker,
interesting herself in the love affairs even of the cook and the
footman. Here they met their old friends Heufeld, Greiner, Steigentesch,
{WORKS IN GERMANY.}
(146)
Grill, Bono, &c.; and music was the invariable theme of conversation.
Messmer had learned to play the harmonica from Miss Davis, and had an
instrument made at a cost of 50 ducats, which was finer than that used
by Miss Davis. He played it very well, and so did his little son, who
showed considerable talent; Wolfgang tried the harmonica, and "wished he
had one too." The Messmers soon after went farther into the country to
Rothmühl, which interrupted this pleasant intercourse.
The great public event of the day during their stay in Vienna was the
suppression of the order of Jesuits. L. Mozart, who followed their
expulsion with great interest, thought that many good Christians would
consider the Pope had only jurisdiction in matters of faith, and that
the Jesuits would probably have been left unmolested if they had been
as poor as the Capucines. In Rome the property of the Jesuits had been
seized ad pias causas, which was easily done, since all that the Pope
appropriated was ad pias causas; the Emperor thought differently, and
had reserved to himself the right of dispensing the property of the
Jesuits. Mozart thinks, too, that the millions taken from the Jesuits
will awaken the appetite for more of such confiscations.[3]
Wolfgang had taken some work with him. A grand serenata for some fête in
the family of their friend Andretter was sent from Vienna and performed
at Salzburg in the beginning of August under Meissner's conductorship
(145 K.). Then he set to work to write six quartets (168-173 K.),
whether by order or not is uncertain; nothing more important, however,
came to hand. The Jesuits performed the P. Dominicus Mass (66 K.) at
court during the Octave of S. Ignatius' day; L. Mozart conducted, and
the applause was great. The Theatin monks invited them to their service
and banquet on the feast of S. Cajetan, and, the organ not being
available, Wolfgang had the boldness to execute a concerto on a violin
borrowed from his young friend Teyber. This made such an impression that
in 1782 a lay brother, to whom Wolfgang
{COMPOSITIONS IN SALZBURG, 1773-74.}
(147)
remarked that he had eight years before played a violin concerto in the
choir, at once addressed him by his name. Of money receipts during this
visit to Vienna we hear little or nothing; on the contrary, L. Mozart
writes to his wife that his body grows fat in proportion as his purse
grows thin; and he consoles her for the fact that he has had to borrow
money by declaring that it only proves his having need of money, but
not of a doctor. Notwithstanding, he considered he had good reasons for
remaining in Vienna. "Things must and will mend; take courage, God will
help us!"
With the end of September they were again in Salzburg, and in December
Wolfgang wrote a quintet for stringed instruments (174 K.) and a
pianoforte Concerto in D major (175 K.), the first of the long list
after his early attempts. Almost the whole of the year 1774 was passed
quietly at home; Wolfgang wrote some important church music, two Masses
in F and D major (192,194, K.), a great litany (195 K.), two psalms
for a Vesper (193 K.), various symphonies (199-202 K.), two complete
serenatas (203, 204, K.), and an interesting divertimento (205 K.). Then
came a commission from Munich to write a comic opera for the Carnival
of 1775. It is probable that the influence of the Prince Bishop of
Chiemsee, Count Ferdinand von Zeil, an enthusiastic patron of Mozart,
had been exerted on his behalf. The Elector Maximilian III. had also
shown great interest in Mozart in former years, and on this account it
was impossible for the Archbishop of Salzburg to refuse Wolfgang leave
of absence. The Elector had a decided talent for music, which he had
cultivated by study; he composed church music, and played the bass-viol,
as Naumaun wrote to a friend, "divinely"; Burney declared he had heard
no such bass-viol-player since the celebrated Abel. The Elector's sister
also, the widowed Electress of Saxony Maria Antonia Walburga, known as
a poetess, was then on a visit to Munich; she both composed and sang
operas for which she had written the verses.[4] It followed, therefore,
{WORKS IN GERMANY.}
(148)
that much was done in Munich for orchestra and singers both in the
opera and the churches, although the performances fell short of those in
Mannheim.[5]
On December 6 Wolfgang set out with his father for Munich, where they
found a small but comfortable lodging with a _Chanoine et grand custos
de Notre Dame_; this good man showed them honour and hospitality
above their deserts, as they considered, and often sacrificed his own
convenience to theirs from sheer friendliness. The intense cold of the
journey had, in spite of precautions, brought on Wolfgang's habitual
malady, severe toothache, and he was confined to his room with a swelled
face for several days. As soon as possible they made the acquaintance
of those with whom they were to be associated, and were well received
everywhere.
The opera "La Finta Giardiniera" is very rich in airs, and Mozart,
finding a wealth of resources in Munich ready to hand, went to work more
seriously, both with the voices and the orchestra, than was customary
with an opera buffa. It is impossible to ascertain how much of the opera
he brought with him, or how much was altered or composed in Munich. The
first rehearsal did not take place till near the end of December, and
the performance was consequently postponed to January 5, 1775, so that
the singers might be more sure of their parts than could have been the
case had they played, as intended, on December 29.
"You must know," writes L. Mozart, "that the maestro Tozi, who is this
year writing the opera seria ('Orfeo ed Euridice'), wrote last year at
this time an opera buffa, and exerted himself to the utmost in order
that it might surpass the opera seria of Sales (of Trier): he succeeded
in quite eclipsing Maestro Sales' opera.[6] Now it so turns out that
Wolfgang's opera is ready just before Tozi's, and all those who heard
the first rehearsal are saying that Tozi is paid back in his own coin,
since Wolfgang's opera will
{"LA FINTA GIARDINIERA"--MUNICH, 1775.}
(149)
throw his quite into the shade.[7] I do not like this sort of thing,
and have tried all I can to put an end to the gossip; but the whole
orchestra, and all who heard the rehearsal, declare that they
never heard more beautiful music; all the songs are beautiful." The
performance on January 13,1775, was a brilliant success; the court and
the public overwhelmed the composer with applause and honours, as he
himself informs his mother.
The Secretary of Legation, Unger, notes in his journal (January 15,
1775): "_Vendredi L.A.R.E., assistèrent à la première représentation
de Vopera buffa, 'La Finta Giardiniera'; la musique fut applaudie
généralement; elle est du jeune Mozart de Saltzbourg qui se trouve
actuellement ici. C'est le même qui à l'äge de huit ans a été en
Angleterre et ailleurs pour se faire entendre sur le clavecin, qu'il
touche supérieurement bien_."[8] And Schubart writes in the "Teutsche
Chronik" (1775, p. 267): "I also heard an opera buffa by the wonderful
genius Mozart; it is called "La Finta Giardiniera." Sparks of genius
flash out here and there, but it is not yet the calm flame from the
altar, rising to heaven in clouds of incense--a perfume meet for the
gods. If Mozart does not turn out to be a hothouse-reared plant, he will
undoubtedly be one of the greatest composers that has ever lived."
It was said of the performers that Rossi and Rosa Manservisi were
specially suited for opera buffa. Rossi was as good as his brother in
Stuttgart in merry, waggish parts; Manservisi was above the average of
singers in voice, execution, and personal appearance.[9]
This time Wolfgang's sister enjoyed the pleasure of witnessing his
triumph. During her visit to Munich she was placed under the care of
a certain Frau v. Durst, a sensible well-educated widow, who provided
Marianne with a room to herself and a piano, on which her father took
care she should practise diligently. Other Salzburg friends arrived for
the
{WORKS IN GERMANY.}
(150)
Carnival, Eberlin Waberl, Fräulein v. Schiedenhofen, And-retter, and
young Molk, who went into such raptures over the opera seria, it was
plain that he had heard nothing outside Salzburg and Inspruck.
Another involuntary witness of Mozart's triumph was the Archbishop of
Salzburg. He had occasion to pay a visit to the Elector of Bavaria
in January, 1775,[10] and though he arrived in Munich after the
representation of the opera, and had left before its repetition, he
was forced, as L. Mozart remarks with satisfaction, to listen to the
eulogies pronounced by the electoral suite and all the nobility, and to
receive the congratulations which were poured on him. He was so taken
aback that he could only answer by shaking his head and shrugging his
shoulders. It was little likely that such a scene should have raised
Mozart in the favour of a man like Hieronymus.
The repetition of the opera, which could only be given on Fridays,
brought difficulties, inasmuch as the seconda donna, who was wretched
even at her best, fell seriously ill, and the opera had to be
considerably curtailed, in order to dispense with her. It took place on
Wolfgang's birthday, and he thought it indispensable that he should
be present at the performance, as otherwise his opera might not
be recognised. The orchestra was in great confusion, since it was
shamefully neglected by the director Tozi, who was at that time enacting
the romance in real life with the Countess Törring-Seefeld, of which L.
Mozart writes to his wife:--
Signor Tozi has gone. He had an old-standing love intrigue with
the Countess v. Seefeld, in which her brother, Count Sedlizky, was
implicated, as well as a certain tenor, Signor Guerrieri. The Countess
left Munich six weeks ago on pretence of visiting her estates, but she
has quite deserted her husband and children, and carried off money
and jewels. The complicity of her brother and the two Italians was
discovered by a letter; Count Sedlizky was placed under arrest,
Guerrieri thrown into prison, and Tozi took refuge with the Theatin
monks. The Elector sent him an assurance that he should not be
imprisoned if he would submit to an examination. He issued from his
hiding-place, but
{MUNICH, 1775.}
(151)
immediately took flight to Italy. Count Sedlizky confessed everything;
Guerrieri denied everything, but to little avail, since the jewels
were found in Guerrieri's lodgings, sewed up in an old cushion. It is
suspected that the Countess is in Holland; there she sits forlorn, since
her projected escort has not joined her.
L. Mozart writes to his wife to tell this story, "just to show people
that Italians are rascals all the world over."[11]
The opera did not put a stop to Wolfgang's church music. His Grand
Litany (125 K.) in B major was performed at the court chapel on New
Year's day, as well as one of his father's; and later on two small
Masses, no doubt those in F and D major (192, 194 K.). A few days
before their departure, as Wolfgang writes to Padre Martini, the Elector
expressed a wish to hear an offertory, contrapuntally worked out, which
was to be composed, copied, and practised before the following Sunday.
It was the "Misericordias Domini," to which Padre Martini accorded
great praise.[12] As a matter of course, Wolfgang made his mark also as a
clavier-player; with this object he had taken his concerto with him,
and his sister was to bring some of his sonatas and variations. Schubart
writes in his "Teutsche Chronik" (1776, p. 267): "Only think, my
friends, what a treat! Last winter, in Munich, I heard two of the
greatest clavier-players, Herr Mozart and Herr v. Beecke. My host, Herr
Albert, who is enthusiastic for all that is great and beautiful, has an
excellent pianoforte in his house. So these two giants strove together.
Mozart can play any difficulties, and whatever is laid before him at
sight. But nevertheless, Beecke far surpasses him--winged speed, grace,
melting sweetness, and a marvellous amount of taste, are weapons which
none can wrest from the grasp of this Hercules."
The great and universal applause bestowed on Wolfgang inspired his
father with the hope that he would be intrusted
{WORKS IN GERMANY.}
(152)
with the opera seria for the next year; why this was not the case we
are not aware. The rumour current in Salzburg that Wolfgang was about to
enter the Elector's service, L. Mozart ascribes to his enemies, and to
those whose consciences told them what good cause he had for taking
such a step; he was used to such childish folly, and did not allow it to
trouble him in the least. Nevertheless, there is no doubt that nothing
would have pleased him more; but, as a prudent man, he did not wish to
cut himself adrift from Salzburg before having secured a safe anchorage
at Munich.
After enjoying to their close the pleasures of the Carnival, which
lasted too long for the father, they returned to Salzburg on March
7,1775. In April the Archbishop of Salzburg was honoured by a visit
from the Archduke Maximilian, youngest son of Maria Theresa (b. 1749),
afterwards Archbishop of Cologne; he had been spending the Carnival
in Paris, where his want of tact had placed the Queen in considerable
embarrassment,[13] and had also paid a short visit to Munich. Court
festivities were arranged, chiefly consisting of musical performances,
for which the singer Consuoli and Becke, the flautist, were summoned
from Munich. A serenata by Fischietti was performed on April 22, and on
the following day Mozart's "Re Pastore," which had been very hurriedly
composed. On April 24, according to the report of one of the Archduke's
suite, "Music was the entertainment provided, as on the preceding days;
at the conclusion of the performance, young Mozart placed himself at
the piano and played various pieces from his head, with equal skill and
grace." Whether he appeared as a violinist we do not know; he had, at
any rate, composed his first violin concerto on April 14 (207 K.), and
the fact that this was followed by four others in the same year (211,
216, 218, 219, K.) is a proof that he was applying himself energetically
to the violin; possibly because it would be easier to find a good
situation if he were an accomplished violin-player.
The next two years passed quietly and busily at Salzburg. Extracts from
a diary kept by young Schiedenhofen show how
{CHURCH MUSIC--"HAFFNER-MUSIK," 1776.}
(153)
limited their circle of friendly intercourse was, and Wolfgang's
authentically dated compositions afford proofs of his activity and
progress.
The year 1776 was especially rich in church music; four masses (257,
258, 259,261, K.) fall in this year, three of them in its last quarter,
while in March a Grand Litany in E flat major (243 K.) was written,
besides an Offertory, "Venite populi," for two choirs (260 K.). To
1777 belong a Mass (275 K.), and a Graduale, "Sancta Maria" (273 K.). A
series of organ sonatas were furnished for the services of the church,
and for the court a number of divertimenti for wind instruments,
probably as table music. In other respects, doubtless in consequence of
the ill-will of the Archbishop, Wolfgang appears to have held aloof from
the court concerts; no symphonies belong to this time. The serenatas
were written for other occasions. On wedding-days, fête-days, or the
like, these nocturnal pieces were usually performed in the street, not
excepting the solos;[14] they were introduced by a march, in which any
of the company who could handle a bow might take part; the rest listened
from the windows above. Such music was either ordered and paid for, or
offered as a tribute of esteem.
On the wedding-day of the Salzburg citizen F. X. Spath with Elise
Haffher, daughter of the worthy merchant and Bürgermeister Sigmund
Haffner[15] (July 22,1776), a serenata by Mozart was performed,
afterwards known as the "Haffner-musik" (249, 250, K.). Another
opportunity offered in the fête-day of the Countess Antonia Lodron, for
whom in 1776 and 1777 Wolfgang wrote several specified nocturnes;[16]
Schiedenhofen was present at the rehearsal of one of them, and he tells
us also that on July 25, 1777, there was a
{OPERA SERIA.}
(154)
rehearsal of a serenata at the house of the grocer Gusetti, composed by
Wolfgang for his sister's fête-day; it consisted of a symphony, a
violin concerto played by himself, and a flute concerto played by Cosel.
Probably the divertimento composed in July, 1776 (251 K.) was also
intended for his sister's fête-day. A Finalmusik (185, 215, K.) produced
on August 23, 1775, and a "Serenata Nottuma" (239 K.) in January, 1776,
are both for unknown occasions.
The clavier compositions were also mainly written for pupils or
amateurs; for example, the Concerto in C major (246 K.) for the Countess
Litzow or Lützow, wife of the Commandant of Hohen-Salzburg; that in E
flat major (271 K.) for a Madame Jenomy (January, 1777), whom Wolfgang
had met in Paris; the Concerto for three pianofortes for the Countesses
Antonie, Luise, and Josepha Lodron (242 K.), February, 1776. While the
Mozarts were at Munich, in 1775, a landed proprietor, Buron Dümitz, had
ordered some pianoforte sonatas, which were duly forwarded (279-284 K.);
but he altogether forgot to send the promised payment in return. Two
four-hand sonatas, mentioned by his father (December 8, 1777), were
probably intended for Wolfgang and his sister; Schiedenhofen heard them
play a duet on August 15, 1777.
Having taken this biograpical survey, it is now time to bestow a closer
inspection on Wolfgang's compositions.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1: After Gassmann's death in 1774, Jos. Bono (1710-1788) was appointed
kapellmeister (Dittersdorf Selbstbiogr., p. 209).]
[Footnote 2: Nicolai, Reise, IV., p. 554. Cramer, Magaz. f. Mus., I., p. 928.]
[Footnote 3: Cf. K. L. Reinholds Leben, p. 5, and the description by Car. Pichler
(Denkw., I., p. 36),]
[Footnote 4: Fürstenau, Beitr. z. Gesch. d. sächs. Kap., p. 151. Zur Gesch. d.
Mus. in Dresden, II., p. 183. Rudhart, Gesch. d. Oper zu München, I., p.
142.]
[Footnote 5: Burney, Reise, II., p. 90. Schubart, Leben, Abschn. 16, I., p. 196.
Rudhart, Gesch. d. Oper zu München, I., p. 129.]
[Footnote 6: A favourable criticism was given by Schubart, Teutsche Chronik,
1774, p. 100 (Rudhart, p. 157).]
[Footnote 7: Calsabigi's words were adapted by Coltellini, and an act was added.
Schubart gave a severe criticism (Teutsche Chronik, 1775, p. 239), which
he afterwards modified (Ibid., p. 265). Rudhart, I., p. 163.]
[Footnote 8: Weber, Marie Antonie, II., p. 43.]
[Footnote 9: Rudhart, I., p. 161.]
[Footnote 10: [Koch-Stemfeld] Die letzten 30 Jahre d. Hochst. Salzburg, p. 348.]
[Footnote 11: It is noticed anonymously in Schubart's Teutsche Chronik, 1775, p.
324, Cf. Rudhart, I., p. 102.]
[Footnote 12: "Nissen is mistaken in saying that it was composed in Munich in
1781. The "Offertorium in Contrapunkt in D minor," of which Mozart had
a copy made at Augsburg in 1777, was, according to a letter from his
father (December n, 1777), this same "Misericordias Domini."]
[Footnote 13: Mdme. Campan, Mém. sur Marie Antoinette, V., p. 107. Ires, III., p.
224.]
[Footnote 14: Sammartini's Serenate were performed in the open air at Milan
(Carpani, Le Haydine, p. 58).]
[Footnote 15: [Koch-Sternfeld] Die letzten 30 Jahre, pp. 30,187.]
[Footnote 16: Mozart mentions the "zwei Caesationen fur die Grafin," which his
father calls the Lodron Nocturnes. The "last Cassation in B," which
Wolfgang played at Munich (October 6, 1777), is the divertimento (287
K.) for quartet and horns; the earlier one is a similar divertimento in
F major, composed in June, 1776 (247 K.).]
====
MOZART
By David Widger