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Salzburg and the Mozart family
The story of the events linked to the Mozart family could be best described by borrowing the subheading from "Don Giovanni", a playful drama; an oxymoron that I believe entertained Amadeus Mozart, who adored a good play on words and which, undoubtedly, is well suited to the intrigue of the protagonist's role of seducer in the opera. The definition could also be adapted to the above-mentioned Mozartian parable, or possibly even more appropriately adapted to the reversal of terms, defining the journey among the world of the Mozart family as a Dramatic Comedy.
The early years, while not easy, were certainly joyous and rich in satisfaction for the prodigious, young Wolfgang, shared with his sister Maria Anna, known as Nannerl. They enjoyed the favor of concerts at the important European courts, compliments and gifts from reigning monarchs and from the Pope, admission to prestigious musical academies (Bologna, Verona), honors (Knight to the Order of the Golden Spur, granted by Pope Clement XIV), adventurous journeys full of interesting encounters and the discovery of the world beyond the confines of the small principality of Salzburg.
The entire family participated, at least during the early years, in the tours that would launch the prodigious brother and sister, which included lengthy European trips through Germany, Holland, Belgium, France, England and Switzerland. Only on the three tours to Italy was Wolfgang chaperoned alone by his father, Leopold, who had decided to complete the education of his only son, in order to prepare him for a career as a composer, accompanying him to "drink directly from the spring" of the music from that epoch: Italy.
Adventures and travels were undertaken with high hopes, with curiosity and open ears, to listen, comprehend and assimilate the music, styles and the trends that were to transform this young "phenomenon" into a musical giant. Not everything, however, went as hoped and a sequence of events gradually transformed things from a joyous comedy into a drama.
After his great successes were underway in Wolfgang's final years, during the period when he was searching for affirmation in Vienna (the empire's capital), an advancing movement of "removal" began of the Salzburg musician by the fashionable and superficial Viennese intellectuals; an attitude that most certainly created feelings of bitterness and disappointment in the musician and the man.
We will talk about all this in due time, as well as Mozart's music. I do believe that in order to truly know and understand an artist, it is necessary to learn about the places where he spent his time, the way he lived and thought during his era, who he encountered and the ideas that helped shape him.
Of course, even without any knowledge of his life, we can still enjoy Mozart's compositions, but we risk limiting our comprehension of their musical range; the musician without the man in his entirety, of which places, people and ideas contributed so much. We will, therefore, begin at the beginning: Salzburg, the city that was first the cradle to his art and later a prison, as perceived by the Mozarts.
Salzburg: where it all began
Our story begins, inevitably, in Salzburg. This beautiful town is now Austrian, but in Mozart's epoch, it was part of the Bavarian territory, spread out along the Salzach River.
27 January 1756, Johannes Chrysostomus (feast day of this saint) Wolfgangus (his maternal grandfather's name) Theophilus (his godfather's name) Mozart was born. The name Theophilus (from the Greek Theofilos, "Friend of God" or "He who loves God") was soon transformed into Amadeus
and later, at times, charmingly shortened to Amadé. In letters from his father, there is occasional reference to the German version, Gottlieb, as well as the affectionate nickname of Wolferl.
At that time, Salzburg, comprised of 16,000 inhabitants, was the small capital of one of the many princedoms that were part of the Holy Roman Empire of the Germanic Nations, a federation of independent states, some of which were governed by secular sovereignty and others by a prince-bishop, all of which recognized supremacy to the Emperor. The Prince-Bishop of Salzburg was the Primas Germaniae law and leader of the Bavarian bishopric. So, to be exact, the highly acclaimed (by the Austrians) Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was actually born German of Bavaria. He himself confirms this, as well as his father Leopold who was born German of Augsburg, as can be seen in the letters of the epistolary, where they compare customs of foreign countries during their travels, saying "it's not like in Germany" or "we Germans". Another letter provides further confirmation, sent to Maria Theresia Hagenauer (the wife of friend Johann Lorenz Hagenauer) by Leopold Mozart from Paris with the following address: "To Mrs. / Mrs. Maria Theresia / Hagenauer / Salzburg / in Bavaria".
The religious influence in Salzburg was clearly evident in its architecture, given the presence of numerous churches and of the cathedral chapter made up of 24 canon priests. For centuries, the princedom was culturally and economically tied to Bavaria. It was only in 1816, after various vicissitudes, that the territory was assigned to Austria following a decision taken by the Vienna Congress.
In the princedom, the Prince-Bishop had, like the Pope in the Church State, spiritual power, as well as temporal power. The origins of the inauguration stem from a present monastery dating back to the turn of the 5th century, but the city began to develop after St. Rupert was transferred in the subsequent century.
As the centuries passed, the city lived through many disputes for power, but transformed into something that gave it a medieval appearance. Dark and gray were the castle and the dominating hilltops and the underlying city areas revealed distressed and dark streets.
The architectural and cultural turning point of the city came about with the Prince-Bishop Wolf-Dietrich von Raitenau (1559-1617) who was the nephew of Giovanni Angelo de' Medici, Pope Pius IV. It was Raitenau, using harsh measures in Counter-Reformation and who had cultural ties to Italy due to his formation as a youth in Rome, who planned the Baroque transformation in Italian style in Salzburg which continued to be carried out by his successors. The ambition of turning Salzburg into a "little Rome" can be seen in St. Cajetan Church - San Gaetano's Church - commissioned by the Italian architect, Gaspare Zugalli, which evokes St. Peter's Basilica to be followed by the creation of the Holy Stairs that evoked Rome's Scala Sancta at St. John in Laterano. Von Raitenau renovated the Residenz, the city's palace, where he could live in comfort rather than the cold rooms of the castle and administer the construction of the new Duomo by the architect, Vincenzo Scamozzi from Vicenza (the same architect who designed the Teatro di Sabbioneta - Theater in the style of the ancients, the first theater built in masonry in the Modern Age). He had most of the city's residential area demolished and rebuilt, inspired by Italian form and style, with large squares and pastel-colored houses which, without denying local tradition, evoked a southern appearance and character.
The cultural tie with Italy was also demonstrated by the fact that in 1614, in Salzburg, the first opera outside the Italian borders was performed: Orpheus, very likely Monteverdi's, who had created it in 1607 for the Mantuan Court of the Gonzagas and had published the musical score in 1609.
The personality of von Raitenau though, even with his undeniable merits, wasn't lacking in his opposing sides with his passion for art: from his predisposition for combat (he had a long dispute for control over the rock salt mines on the territory, which was the true source of its wealth) to an indulgence toward frivolous tendencies which were irrelevant to an ecclesiastic environment (he kept a mistress, Salome Alt, who repaid him with fifteen children for whom he built the Mirabell Palace with its splendid gardens).
Various other princes succeeded von Raitenau, bishops who completed the transformation of the little jewel of a city that it is today and that we can still admire, up till Sigismund III Christoph von Schrattenbach (1698-1771). Of noble lineage and of a cultured Roman education, he was a lover of the arts and had the services of Leopold Mozart and Johann Michael Haydn (brother of the more well-known Franz Joseph Haydn) who was the Kapellmeister in Salzburg and had a musical impact on the early compositional works of Wolfgang Mozart.
Schrattenbach was succeeded by Hieronymus Joseph Franz de Paula Colloredo von Wallseey und Mels (1732-1812) who reigned the princedom from 1772 to 1803 when the dominion was secularized and entrusted first to Ferdinand of Habsburg and then directly administered by Vienna, capital of the Habsburg Empire. Colloredo was an authoritarian, though a paternalistic follower of the Age of Enlightenment, and was a cultured patron of the arts, as well as an amateur violinist. The diffusion of certain Enlightenment ideals of the European princes was proven by the fact that Colloredo kept portraits of Rousseau and Voltaire in his studio. He had very clear ideas and well-delineated tastes, even if not avant-gardist for that epoch regarding the music that he preferred in civil and religious situations of the princedom. At a certain point, in order to reduce the expenses, he eliminated the theatrical activity that inspired Wolfgang as a composer. Colloredo's relative musical competence may explain his low appreciation of Leopold Mozart as a musician, possibly irritated by the insistent pressure of Leopold who aspired to a promotion from Vice-Kapellmeister to a higher position. This never came to be, in any case, despite his stories of triumphant success that Leopold had certainly spread around the city in memory of the Grand European Tour of a few years previous. The young Amadeus, unruly and quarrelsome by nature, combined with a rebelliousness difficult to contain (who in the meantime had been hired as a musician at the Archiepiscopal Court, and then as an organist) did not make himself welcome and "earned" a dismissal, with the additionally famous kick in the seat of his pants by Count Karl Joseph Felix Arco, Chamberlain to the Archbishop. We will talk more about these episodes and many more anecdotes as we move through our Mozartian account through the rich epistolary available to us.
So during Mozart's era, what was life like on a social level in Salzburg? The little princely town, like all the other capitals of the many independent states and confederates of the Empire, had at its center the Prince and his Court which formed a crown, like the rings of water that form when a stone is thrown in the middle of a pond; social circles that represented cultural and economic levels that went from the most superior as the ripples moved away from the center. The first and most central circle was made up of the highest local aristocracy, honored with titles and positions regarding the management of the princedom (spiritual, with the Canons of the Duomo, as well as temporal, which included positions in the various offices) and the public and private activities of the Archbishop (Grand Chamberlain, Council members, Ministers, etc.). In the outer circle which operated on precise directions of the decisional "magic circle", a multitude of functionaries who managed their own small power over subordinates and therefore, had a certain social prestige linked to their role: the functionaries of the palace, the military hierarchy, the musicians with senior positions (Kapellmeisters, concert masters, composers for the Court).
Even farther away from the powerful, but important to the Palace's economy (at least in part) were the middle and lower classes (artisans, merchants and various professionals) who created business and offered services to those who had money. And then there was the common class who worked as servants, hard laborers and those who lived hand to mouth; these people didn't have any rights or prospects for the future and considered themselves lucky if they were able to manage to survive. Often, in fact, they were directed to the princely offices to plea for any task, willing to go upon request for any job or to beg for unemployment aid or support or for tax exempt status (something that Leopold Mozart did at one time regarding imported wine) or requesting permission to marry. Almost every aspect of the life of the common citizens was ruled and dominated by the will - and at times, the whims - of the powerful. While it was true that many of the requests for assistance were granted (twenty percent of the population of Salzburg received something), it was usually less than what was requested. This permitted the Prince to maintain a certain social equilibrium, allowing the population to believe that the commoners had no rights and that the princedom was being generous.
Interesting facts on Salzburg
Here are a few interesting facts related to daily life in Salzburg, some of which were recounted in Nannerl's diary, which help us better understand that faraway epoch and the quotidian of the Mozart family.
Flagellated in the Town Hall: when girls were "discovered" morally misbehaving regarding their sexual conduct, they were publicly whipped in the Town Hall and sent to a "correctional home". On 11 August 1775, this happened to seven maids.
Grenadiers: when the Archbishop traveled outside of the city, he was escorted by numerous grenade throwing soldiers who were guards of honor and served to protect against potential attacks. Nannerl writes of 40 soldiers in her journal.
The pardon: for the occasion of Holy Friday, The Confraternity Brotherhood of Trinity obtained the privilege to request the pardon for the death sentence of a mill worker who had killed a judicial officer, as recorded by Nannerl.
Dangers in the beer taverns: a certain Mr. Stadler was asphyxiated in the cellar of the Stockhammer Pub (which is still open for business in Salzburg today).
Experiments in physics: at the University of Salzburg, while occasional lessons and experiments in physics were executed, persons of nobility of the city were allowed to participate. At times, these experiments were held in less rigorous locations, for example at the Kugel Pub or in the Town Hall where these "illustrative representations" of physics occurred during the market days by Phisicus Hooghe. We know nothing about Mr. Hooghe, except that during that epoch, together with the true scholars, they circulated around the fairs as a sort of itinerant medicine men like Dr. Dulcamara in Donizetti's "Elisir d'amore" ("The Elixir of Love"), using a few tricks to make ends meet by playing upon people's gullibility and the growing interest for science typical of the times.
Scientific experiments: interesting facts and social phenomenon
Among the more simpler experiments that were fashionable during the mid-1700s - so much so, as to be displayed in paintings and hung in households - were to demonstrate the necessity for living creatures' need of oxygen. The experiment was to place a small animal under a bell jar and use aspecific pump that would extract the air, while watching the animal die.
All over Europe, interest in science spread rapidly, even among women. In Parisian parlors, groups of 20-25 people gathered to participate in chemistry, physics and natural history courses. Novels and books on philosophy were substituted by physics and chemistry in women's parlors. Throughout Europe, newspapers published articles that combined science and poetry for women, suggestions on etiquette, news, astronomy, etc. There were also accidents and "martyrs" in the name of research for progress, such as J.P. de Rozier, chemist and physicist who gave lessons to the Parisian nobility and who went down in history as a key player with his hot-air balloon and the first mortal "flight" accident in history. Anatomy also had its followers, such as the eighteen year-old Contessa de Coigny, who during her journeys, never traveled without a cadaver in a crate to execute demonstrations in dissecting.
Soldiers and drilling: in a town like Salzburg, not particularly abundant in events for breaking up the monotony of everyday life, going to watch the soldiers practice their drilling exercises was an opportunity to get out of the house and create a diversion.
Processions: there were solemn events in various moments of the lituragal year. Among these were the procession of the Corpus Christi, accompanied by the Prince's cavalry and open fire with the exception of the various stops effectuated in the Piazza del Duomo. Without a doubt, the liturgical festivities in Salzburg were celebrated with less cruelty compared to Paris, where for the feast of St. John, the very same King of France would ignite a bonfire in which cats and foxes were set fire and thrown upon it.
Suicide and insanity: sadly, even in those times there were desperate situations which were probably caused by misery or the unbearable cruelty of an abusive "master". In Nannerl's journals, she writes about the suicide of a poor servant named Schlauka, who hung himself at 11:30 p.m. in his room. And then there was a certain von Amann, who appears to have lost his mind and was then hospitalized in the city, while another by the name of Edlenbach died in the fortress where he had been incarcerated for disorderly intoxication.
At the theater: theater life in Salzburg was not based on any regular timetable since there was not a resident theatrical company in the city. In exchange, when one reached the privileged period of the performances (the Carnival, for example), an enormous number of exhibitions were performed, with and without music and dancing. One example is during the period between 16 January 1783 and 12 February 1783: eleven different "comedies" were performed, alternating between the performances of serenades, an operetta, three French "comedies", two all-night balls in the City Hall with 65 present at the first and 160 present at the second, as well as another four balls at the Carnival.
Famous musicians just passing through: as in all of the European courts, many famous musicians who were experts in their instruments often passed through Salzburg, touring continuously among the most culturally and politically important hearts of the continent. Nannerl writes in her diary about the arrival in the city of the famous oboist virtuoso, Friedrich Ramm, who joined the celebrated Mannheim Orchestra at the young age of fourteen years old, exhibiting at the Salzburg Court in two concerts before departure to the following stop of his tour, in Munich.
Day trips: the organization of day trips outside of the city were frequent during fair weather, on foot or
by carriage. Among the most popular destinations were the Maria Plain Pilgrimage Basilica, the Mönchsberg (one of the two lower mountains overlooking Salzburg, of which emerge the
Hohensalzburg fortress and nunnery) and the Kapuzinerberg (the Capucines Cloister, named after the monastery upon which it is situated).
Games, entertainment and amusement: when friends got together in the Mozart household or at their friends' homes, they enjoyed playing games. Almost everyday there were card games, most often Tressette, a trick-taking card game and Tarock (Tarot), as well as many other card games played with small bets of money. Another game enjoyed by many was darts, played with air-guns, offering prizes for the winner, who was though, obliged to pay for a round of beer for the group. There was also a popular game called Kegelspiel (Ninepins), something similar to bowling.
In 1783, we see the term Lottery written in Nannerl's diary, which was probably a lottery game or something resembling Bingo. The Lottery, already diffused in various forms in other European countries (the Game of the Seminary, named after the ballot box used for its extraction and the Lottery of the Old Maid, named for a wedding dowry) became widespread during the second half of the 18th century in Austria. Wolfgang Mozart himself had probably brought the game to his friends in Salzburg from Vienna after his marriage to Constanze where it is likely that he learned about it in Vienna where he had lived for two years, and from where all things fashionable came before reaching Salzburg. In fact, there is no mention at all of the game in Nannerl's diary before this.
Music at the Archbishop Prince's Court of Salzburg
In order to understand the dimensions of the aspect of music in a relatively small but wealthy court like that of Salzburg, we need to take into consideration the information related to an article from The Salzburg Institute of Music published at that time in a Berlin newspaper. The writer of the article was anonymous, but likely traceable to Leopold Mozart, given that his presentation is the longest and most detailed of all, not to mention that he corresponded regularly with the director of the newspaper. Approximately one hundred musicians belonging to the Archiepiscopal Musical Choir were listed, among which, about twenty bowed string instrumentalists, two keyboardists, about ten woodwind and brass instrumentalists, not to mention the instrumentalists added for special occasions and celebrations, such as approximately ten trumpeters and two percussionists.
About ten soloists composed of a full orchestra of sopranos, tenors and bass, about twenty contraltos, falsettos, tenors and bass men in the chorus and a children's choir composed of fifteen boys were added to the instrumentalists. The quantity did not always correspond with the quality of the music, if we want to give credit to Wolfgang Mozart as he wrote from Paris to his father on 9 July 1778: "One of the main reasons I can't stand Salzburg is due to the vulgar, miserable and sloppy orchestra of the Court...And this is possibly why our music is not appreciated and taken into consideration. If only things here were like in Mannheim! An orchestra with discipline!"
The English traveler Charles Burney, while not having been in Salzburg in person but informed by his own sources in 1772, reports that the Archbishop Colloredo was a capable amateur violinist and was using all his means to improve his orchestra, "he was noted, according to some, for his loud and crude playing, rather than for delicacy and perfection". The same source who had been at the Mozart home, updated Burney on the status of the two former child prodigies: "The young man, who amazed all of Europe during his childhood continues to be a great master of his instrument". Nannerl "at this point in time has reached all of her potential and does not show any further extraordinary gift". And lastly, an opinion on sixteen year-old Wolfgang's talent, which should be compared to the enthusiastic words of Leopold in order to understand that not everyone had the same impression: "If I were to evaluate the music that I heard, composed for orchestra by the young Mozart, I would consider him to be an example of precocious development, more astonishing than excellent".
If the numbers quoted seem exaggerated (and quite possibly they were, considering the level of poverty in which its subjects lived and in which their taxes were utilized by the Court for its expenses), here we have another example in Germany in 1772; Mannheim, a small capital with a population of approximately 25,000 in 1776, as was Salzburg, which was the seat of the Prince's Electoral Palatinate, as well as the most famous orchestra of its time. Charles Burney reports that there were nearly one-hundred musicians and twenty-three vocalists at the service of the Prince, among which many were Italian (Roncaglio, Persarini and Saporosi). The high regard in which the Prince held the musicians, not especially common in that epoch, was clarified by his specific generosity; on the list of the 100 musicians, not all of them were "actively engaged", some for old age, some for ill-health. So the Prince guaranteed all the musicians who were no longer able to work a good pension as long as they resided in Mannheim, but would be compensated (though with a half salary) in the case that they should relocate back to their birthplace or elsewhere. Moreover, the advantages of the courtiers of the Electoral Palatinate did not end there, as was the summer relocation to the residence at Schwetzingen, His Highness was accompanied by 1,500 people, paying all of their travel, food and accommodation expenses (while it is probably more accurate to say that the Mannheim citizens covered all costs).
Another example, even more expensive and indicative of the social perception that the lower classes had regarding "artistic expenses" of the monarchy: Ludwigsburg 1772, the new seat of the Court of the Duchy of Württemberg after its transfer from Stockholm. The Italian Niccolò Jommelli (1714-1774) serving the Duke from 1754 as a composer and Kapellmeister, directed the theatrical seasons of the Court which were considered the most extravagant and lavish. The expenses for the theatrical and musical productions, though, were so exorbitant, that they compounded upon the taxation level to the point that the citizens had to resort to the Imperial Diet (a convention formed by the Emperor and by the most influential Princedoms of the Empire) in protest of what they considered excessive squandering at the expense of the community.
The result of the protests were a reduction of 50% of the wages of the musicians and consequently an "exodus" of the best in the Court with the exception of the Charge (in 1770, even Jommelli's contract was annulled). Regardless, in 1772 the orchestra of the Duke of Württemberg which was under the direction of the Italian violinist Antonio Lolli (first violin soloist who in his previous years was so extraordinarily talented that he was able to increase his earnings from 700 florins to 2,000) could count on 18 violins, 6 violas, 3 violoncellos, 4 double basses, 4 oboes, 2 flutes, 3 horns and 2 bassoons for a total of 42 musicians, of which were added 2 organists. In addition to the musicians, we can also count the singers, almost all Italian, for the melodramma serio (2 sopranos, 2 contraltos, 2 castratos) and for the opera buffa (3 female voices and 5 male voices), 32 male and female dancers, not to mention instrument carriers, opera prompters and copyists for the preparation of the scores to be distributed among the musicians. Here we also find a list of 90 retired artists. Burney also tells us of a peculiar piece of information, that the Court of the Duke of Wūrttemberg had 15 castrated singers at his disposal, as he had two Bolognese surgeons that were "experts at the surgery that effected the timbre of the voice".
The musicians of the Salzburg Court
Knowing the musicians who gradually came later into the scene in the various roles at their service to the Salzburg Court may help us understand who the Mozart family was dealing with and possibly better comprehend why Leopold, after various initial career advancements, held his position definitively in the role of Vice-Kapellmeister. The names of these musicians can also be occasionally found in the Mozartian epistolary which is why there could be useful information about them in order to better understand situations and relations that influenced the Mozart's life. When Leopold Mozart was hired in 1743 as a violinist in the orchestra of the Prince's Archbishop of Salzburg, at the musical apex of the city sat Johann Ernst Eberlin with already 17 years of service as the Court's organist and then promoted to Kapellmeister in 1750 and Anton Cajetan Adlgasser, initially hired as a chorister, who was then was replaced by Eberlin in the role of Court organist. These two musicians, both originally from Bavaria were, therefore, directly superior and most certainly to him, besides aspiring to the post that they held being of higher importance and pay than his, lead to some profit in the connections of their compositions toward his advancement as a composer.
Johann Ernst Eberlin (Jettingen 1702 -- Salzburg 1762)
Eberlin's musical education was quite similar to that of Leopold Mozart, of which he was also friend, teacher and probably mentor in the musical Court. In fact, like Leopold, he also studied at the Lyceum of the Jesuits of Augsburg where he received his musical education, and later transferred to Salzburg to study law at the Benedictine University, and like Leopold, abandoned his studies after two years. Hired in 1727 as an organist (during the epoch of the Archbishop Firmian who governed nearly 20,000 inhabitants of the region of which practicing Protestants were forced to emigrate), in 1749, he obtained simultaneously the positions of Court Kapellmeister and Cathedral Kapellmeister, namely Chorus Conductor and was responsible for the musical development for all of the ceremonies at the Salzburg Cathedral. Eberlin was an esteemed composer, and even Leopold Mozart had a high opinion of his music which, though, given their outdated style in comparison to the musical evolution of that epoch, were soon forgotten. His keyboard musical pieces, 9 toccatas and fugues for the organ, were requested by Wolfgang in 1782, while he was residing in Vienna, discovering the fugues of Bach thanks to the evenings spent at the Baron van Swieten home. Wolfgang's intention was probably to use them to deepen his study of the fugue, or possibly as had already happened in the past, to claim them as his own (secretly requesting to have his father copy them in Salzburg) obtaining the goodwill of van Swieten who was a great appraiser of Bach's polyphonic music. In a letter to his sister Nannerl, dated 20 April, he writes: "If our father has not yet had the operas of Eberlin copied, I would be happy, as I have already secretly received them and unfortunately, have ascertained (...) that they are too ordinary to deserve a position among Haendel and Bach".
Anton Cajetan Adlgasser (Inzell 1729 -- Salzburg 1777)
After moving from his birthplace in Bavaria to Salzburg, Adlgasser became Eberlin's pupil (later marrying his daughter) and was the organist of the Cathedral until his death (Wolfgang Mozart followed him as organist). He married three times in his lifetime. His last wife was the singer Maria Anna Fesemayer of which both Mozart father and son were witnesses at their wedding given their friendship and their collaboration in the creation of the oratory Die Schuldigkeit des ersten Gebots (The Duty of the First Commandment). The composition, in three parts, beholds a ten-year-old Wolfgang Mozart compose the first, Michael Haydn the second and Adlgasser the third. He died astonishingly of a heart attack while performing the aspiration of his life, during his performance at the organ in Salzburg's Cathedral.
Giuseppe Francesco Lolli (Bologna 1701 -- Salzburg 1778)
Hired in 1722 as a tenor in the Orchestra of the Salzburg Court, Lolli became Vice-Kapellmeister in 1743 and then Kapellmeister in 1762. Leopold Mozart, who aspired to that very position, was embittered by the preference conceded to Lolli, so much so, that he writes of his rival's compositions: "He has never written more that a few chamber oratorios and religious music". In 1772, due to old age, he was substituted as Kapellmeister by Domenico Fischietti.
Johann Michael Haydn (1736 -- 1806)
Younger brother (in age as well as musically) of the great Franz Joseph, followed his elder brother's footsteps becoming at the age of eight years old a choirboy in the chorus at St. Stephen's Cathedral in Vienna. He later studied violin, organ and composition. As soon as he finished his studies, he was appointed Kapellmeister in Oradea, a Romanian city located in the north-west where he was to gain experience. Five years later, in 1762, he relocated to Salzburg to substitute Leopold Mozart (who was no longer available for the position due to the first promotional journey to Vienna of his child prodigy), and then finally as Kapellmeister and Concert Conductor (initial annual pay was 300 florins), a position that he held for forty-three years, including the honor of free meals in the official dining hall; Leopold and Wolfgang Mozart never had such a privilege, and were only allowed to eat at the table in the kitchen with the servants. Father and son obviously had frequent interactions with Michael Haydn, who represented a model for some of the compositions of Wolfgang's youth, since as a composer, he had a considerably vast production in all types of music utilized in that epoch (symphonies, concerts, serenades, trios, quartets, sonatas, sacred and profane vocal music). Some of Michael Haydn's works were cited in the Mozartian epistolary as transcribed (however, not always authorized) and were utilized for educational purposes as well as something to display to his two children. Even though they worked together on an almost daily basis, Leopold Mozart held a grudge against Michael Haydn which we see in letters to Wolfgang, denigrating his higher-ranking superior with accusations of him being lazy (which was later retracted by his immense catalogue of compositions) and a drunkard. Similar opinions were surely expressed as gossip among the circle of friends of the family and was quite likely that these rumors reached the ears of the Archbishop, which certainly did not serve to favor his opinion of the envious Leopold.
Domenico Fischietti (Naples 1725 -- Salzburg 1810)
Son of Kapellmeister and composer Giovanni Fischietti, after his musical studies in Naples under the tutelage of his father and then Francesco Durante (just to name a few), he made his debut in the same city with his first opera "Armindo" in 1742. In 1755, he moved to Venice where the first thing he did was stage the opere buffe on the texts of Carlo Goldoni with enormous success. After experience in Prague as the impresario of the theatrical Bustelli Company in 1764, he was appointed Kapellmeister in Dresden in 1766 after Johann Adolf Hasse, with an annual salary of 600 florins. Having lost his position at Dresden, he went to Vienna in 1772 where he met the Archbishop Colloredo of Salzburg who, appreciating his musical talents, engaged him as composer for the cathedral choir and assistant to the Kapellmeister Lolli and to vice Leopold Mozart. From 1776 to 1783 he was Kapellmeister to the Salzburg Court and cathedral with an annual salary of 800 florins. Luigi Maria Baldassarre Gatti succeeded him as Kapellmeister.
Luigi Maria Baldassarre Gatti (1740 -- 1817)
The musical formation of the abbot Gatti took place in Verona and Mantua, where he began his career as a tenor at the Chapel of St. Barbara at Mantua, but soon became successful as a composer thanks to his opera "Alessandro nelle Indie". In 1769, he was Vice-Kapellmeister in the newly established Accademia Reale di Mantova (Virgilian Academy of Science and Arts) with a salary of 6 gold coins of 45 lire. On the occasion of his first trip to the Mozart's Italy in 1770, he was able to listen to the young Wolfgang in Mantua at the highly acclaimed exhibition at the Teatro scientifico (known today as Teatro Bibiena, named after its designer) and met the two Salzburg men. In 1778, he was engaged as Vice-Kapellmeister to the Court in Salzburg and was on good terms with the Mozarts at least until February of 1783 when he was hired as Kapellmeister in Salzburg to the detriment of Leopold Mozart, who had coveted the position for years. In Nannerl's journal, Leopold vented his anger venomously upon one of Gatti's serenades exhibited in the theater, defining it as "charming Italian music, more appropriate for the ears than the heart, since the harmonization with the expression of the lyrics and the true passion is less than satisfactory". In any case, Gatti was an abbot...and he would have had to imagine passion. Gatti was the last Kapellmeister of Salzburg due to the abolishment of the Princedom and the territory was integrated into the borders of the Habsburg Empire.
Here is a summary pertaining to the musicians of the Court of Salzburg during the period involving the Mozart family and the musical activity of the Princedom.
- Prince Archbishop: Leopold Antonio Eleuterio Firmian (from 1727 to 1744)
- Kapellmeister: Matthias Sigismund Biechteler (until 1743) Karl Heinrich von Bibern (from 1743 to 1749)
- Court Organist: Johann Ernst Eberlin (from 1727)
- Leopold Mozart: 1737; arrival in Salzburg 1740; assistant to the Chamber and Music for the Count Johann Baptist von Thurn-Valsassina and Taxis. Early compositions; 1743 engaged as 4th violinist in the Court Orchestra
- Prince Archbishop: Jakob Ernst von Liechtenstein-Kastelkorn (from 1745 to 1747)
- Kapellmeister: Johann Ernst Eberlin (from 1749 to 1762)
- Court Organist: Johann Ernst Eberlin (from 1727)
- Leopold Mozart: 1744; added to his role of violinist, he was hired to teach violin and keyboard to the children in the Cathedral Choir; he married in 1747
- Archbishop Prince: Andreas Jakob von Dietrichstein (from 1747 to 1753)
The Mozart family: 1751, Nannerl Mozart is born
- Archbishop Prince: Sigismund III Christoph von Schrattenbach (from 1753 to 1771)
- Kapellmeister: Giuseppe Francesco Lolli and Johann Michael Haydn (from 1762)
- Court Organist: Anton Cajetan Adlgasser (from 1762)
- Leopold Mozart:
1756: published the Violin School, Wolfgang is born
1757: appointed Court Composer
1758: promoted to 2nd violin in the Court Orchestra
1763: appointed Vice-Kapellmeister
Wolfgang Mozart:
1769, appointed 3rd Master Concert Performer to the Court, without a salary
- Archbishop Prince: Hieronymus Joseph Franz de Paula Colloredo von Wallsee und Mels (from 1772 to 1803)
- Kapellmeister: Domenico Fischietti (from 1772); Luigi Maria Baldassarre Gatti (from 1783)
- Court Organist: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (from 1777)
- Leopold Mozart: Court Composer (with Caspar Cristelli and Ferdinand Seidl)
- Wolfgang Mozart:
From 1772, he was violinist at the Court Orchestra without a salary, followed by Concert Master with a very low salary of 150 florins annually. In September of 1777, he left the position in order to travel to Munich and Paris. Upon his return in January 1779, he was appointed the position of Court Organist and Concert Master. In Vienna, April 1781, he resigned permanently from the services of Archbishop Colloredo.
The Mozart family
We can begin with a "snap-shot" of the epoch with the celebrated painting by Johann Nepomuk della Croce that represents the Mozart family in 1780/81. It depicts Wolfgang and his sister Nannerl at the keyboard during the performance of a piece with four hands while their father, Leopold, poses nearby listening with his violin, ready to intervene. The oval-shaped portrait hanging on the wall portrays their mother who had passed away in Paris four years earlier. And hanging on the right is Apollo, the Greek God of the arts, displayed with the instrument devoted to him: the cithara. The Mozart family was formed 21 November 1747 when the 28 year-old Leopold Mozart married the 27 year-old Anna Maria Pertl at the Salzburg Cathedral after a rather long courtship. They were reputedly a handsome couple and enjoyed a solid marriage over the years, as we learn from the family correspondence available to us. In one letter sent to his wife, Leopold Mozart who was traveling with their son, Wolfgang, writes: "Today is our wedding anniversary. If I'm not mistaken, twenty-five years have passed since we had the joyful idea to marry: the fact of the matter is that we had this idea many years prior. The best things in life come to those who wait!".
In that era, roles were well-defined and customs and traditions were highly respected. The husband took care of all things related to finances and society (Leopold was extremely meticulous to the point of fanaticism as we will see in his letters), while the wife looked after the household and children, maintaining relations with their circle of friends or people who were in some way useful to reach certain purposes. The Mozart couple had seven children, but only two survived, the fourth-born Maria Anna (Nannerl) in 1751 and the seventh-born Wolfgang (Wolferl for family members) who came into the world in 1756. The mortality rate for childbirth in that epoch was a situation that was painfully accepted by parents who, for this reason, gave birth to many children. Wolfgang, himself, had six children of which only two survived.
In Nannerl's Diary which was written from 1775 to 1783, we learn that the Mozart family had a wide range of acquaintances, with friends who visited them at their home (some on a daily basis) or who they visited in their friends' homes, as well as the students of Leopold and Nannerl. They passed their time together chatting and gossiping or playing cards (tresette, tarocchi, briscola, etc.) or at range shooting played with air-compressed guns always made with small wagers of money or birilli (a game similar to bowling). The guests frequently stayed at the Mozart's home for meals and likewise the Mozart family was often hosted at their friends' homes to dine. And naturally, there were many occasions to play music. To begin with, there were the music lessons; Leopold taught violin while Nannerl taught the harpsichord at the Mozart residence or at the students' homes. But in the household, Mozart also played music with his circle of friends from Salzburg, many of whom belonged to the Orchestra of the Archbishop Court. He also played with foreigners passing through the city who were invited by Leopold or brought to him by his circle of friends who regularly visited.
Nannerl's friends would style her hair, accompany her for walks along the city walls (which no longer exist today), participate in the almost daily religious receptions which were often accompanied by the music of the Court composers such as Eberlin, Adlgasser, Michael Haydn and Wolfgang Mozart, himself. Processions were another attraction for the people, especially those of solemn occasions of which the Archbishop Prince would make an appearance. Or, as on the occasion of the Feast of Corpus Christi where they were accompanied in grand style by the Order of Chivalry, as was written in Nannerl's diary, Wolfgang couldn't resist making fun of the fact that on the occasion of a visit to the Hagenauer family (the previous owners of the Mozart house in Getreidegasse), he "saw the horses crapping" and dropped a lit candle on the procession.
Things wouldn't have been complete without blasphemous distractions, such as the frequent participation of the Mozart family (even for many days in a row) of the comedic performances proposed by the theatrical companies that toured Salzburg and would stop over for a few weeks where they offered various shows from their repertoire. In 1779, for example, Johann Bohm's theatrical company settled in Salzburg for the season, proposing over the course of the year about ten encore performances (in the neighborhood of sixty, according to Nannerl's diary) of a variety of comedies and ballets, which were, in truth, judged as "very bad". There were also the musical academies and ballets, as well as the evenings of weekly ballroom dancing, mostly during the Carnival at the Town Hall.
Here is the musical program of an academy held on 18 March 1779. (In Nannerl's diary, the twenty-three year-old Wolfgang sometimes wrote in his sister's journal with his characteristic gags, describing the academy as "trendy crapademia"):
1 -- a symphony (the Haffner Symphony KV385 composed by Wolfgang -- A/N);
2 - an Italian aria;
3 - a trio with three voices by Antonio Salieri (Imperial Composer and Kapellmeister during that epoch in Vienna -- A/N);
4 -- a cello concert by Joseph Fiala (oboist, cellist and friend of Mozart -- A/N);
5 -- a voice aria, oboe and harp;
6 -- An aria with trumpets, timpani, flutes, violas, bassoons and basses written by me (Wolfgang -- A/N);
7 -- Anfossi's first finale from "Perseguita incognitata" (Wolfgang's comically twisted title of the opera; the correct title by the composer Pasquale Anfossi's opera is "L'incognita perseguitata" (A/N);
8 -- out of mere compassion did we let Ceccarelli sing a Rondeau (Ceccarelli was a "castrato" and family friend who served the Salzburg Court, and for whom Wolfgang wrote an aria and an acting part -- A/N);
9 -- In conclusion, we performed in the entire city of Milan n.b.: with trumpets and timpani.
Moreover, on special occasions there was other forms of entertainment, such as fireworks in the Summer Equitation School.
Another fashionable activity during the mid-eighteenth century (also documented as a pastime in the Mozart household) was the silhouette, a portrait technique that traced the outline of a person or object and coloring the entire subject in black. This was achieved by hanging a white cloth in front of the subject while it remained back-lit, highlighting the outline. Among these activities (with the exception of brief lessons nearly everyday), there were of course the responsibilities at the Court that weren't particularly demanding for concerts or various tasks, such as Leopold's job tuning the piano at the Archbishop's summer residence at Mirabell Palace.
Sometimes walks were taken in the gardens of the Mirabell Palace, in the newer part of the city on the other side of the river. Alternatively, there were excursions outside of the city walls, such as the visit in 1780 to the salt refinery and San Zeno (remember that rock salt was the principle source of wealth in the region, of which is derived the name of the city of Salzburg, the castle of salt and the Salzach River - the passage of salt). One last interesting fact regarding the Mozart family is the ciphered code that Leopold and his wife used to avoid the curiosity of censorship (during that epoch, letters and correspondence were often opened and read to monitor the subjects' thoughts and ideas in order to avoid conspiracies). The letters that Leopold wrote were meant to circulate around Salzburg to express recognition of the musical feats that were accomplished in the various courts, consequently the secret code was used to communicate with his wife the occasions in which there were lies present in their correspondence to be fed to the Archbishop.
The most glaring examples we find in the letters from Milan, sent over the course of Leopold and Wolfgang's third and final Italian journey in which he complains of a terrible pain in his arms and legs that kept him from departing for their return to Salzburg. In truth, he was procrastinating in order to find out the result of his contacts with Peter Leopold of Habsburg-Lorraine, Gran Duke of Tuscany, regarding Wolfgang being hired by the Florentine Court, which turned out to be unsuccessful. Leopold was, unfortunately, obliged to return to Salzburg with his tail between his legs, his great Italian dream vanished.
Looking back at the coded language, it was nothing particularly complex and if a censor were to have gone to the trouble of deciphering it, they would have probably figured it out. Besides, it appears that none of the letters with coded parts were chanced upon by the monitors because, if they had been, the censor would have surely been curious to know which secrets might have been revealed in these senseless sentences included in letters that were otherwise easily comprehensible. And the methods for saying it were surely not lacking. So here is the little Mozart family secret: substitute the vowels of some of the words with consonants
A = M E = L I = F O = S U = H
Instead of Milano, they would have written Mflmns
Wolfgang's mother
Anna Maria Walburga Pertl (1720 -- 1778), was born in St. Gilgen, a small village situated 545 meters above sea level on the banks of Lake Wolfgangsee, approximately thirty kilometers from Salzburg, the region's capital. It lies in a pleasant area and was enriched by small alpine lakes. In that epoch, there were just a handful of homes inhabited by farmers.
Anna Maria's father, Wolfgang Nikolaus Pertl (married to Euphrosina Puxbaum, the daughter and widower of two musicians of the church), completed his law studies and began a promising career as a state official in Salzburg, Vienna and Graz. However, an incapacitating disease forced him to accept a lesser job as Vice Superintendent at Huttenstein, a town near St. Gilgen, with a reduced annual salary of 250 florins. Taking into consideration the situation (imagine that today the town has little more than 3,000 inhabitants, divided into 7 districts and that at that time the population was much lower) such a position wouldn't be particularly honorary, let alone well paid. At her father's death in 1724, the family lived in serious poverty with debts of more than one thousand florins, causing their assets to be repossessed. This situation forced the wife to make the decision to return to the family's place of origin in Salzburg with two small children, one of which died shortly after. Here, they lived a life of misery, managing to survive only thanks to a town welfare payment and minimal domestic jobs for other families. Therefore, we can assume that Anna Maria and Leopold's first meeting surely occurred in Salzburg.
The cultural habits of farm life acquired in St. Gilgen and the environment of the impoverished in Salzburg must have certainly impacted Anna Maria's formation which highlights, as sources tell us, a certain spontaneous and simple zest for life combined with an enjoyment for crude banter, even to the point of exceedingly vulgar. These traits were passed on to her son, Wolfgang, as well as her "poetic" gift of rhyming all words related to the digestive and intestinal tract.
Following are a few fragments of a rhyming composition (in German) sent by the twenty-two year old Amadeus to his mother on 31 January 1778: "(...) They are also from people who carry crap in their belly/ but who let it out before, as well as after the revelry. They pass gas all night long/ in such a way as to resonate valiantly. (...) As of now we have left more than eight days ago/ and we have already shit in huge quantities.". In all fairness, it should be stated that their father was not immune to the same literary pinnacles, at least as far as the same vulgarity among members of the family.
Let us now look further into Anna Maria's "colorful eloquence". Following is one of the most famous examples. A segment of a letter that the fifty-three year old Mrs. Mozart sent from Munich to her husband, Leopold (who had remained in Salzburg): "Goodbye, my darling (the original in Italian -- A/N), be well, into your mouth your arse you'll shove. I hope you sleep well, but first shit in the bed until it explodes, it's already past one o'clock, now you can make a rhyme", Munich 26 September 1777. The translation from German, besides the explicit significance, doesn't allow us to understand the playful tone given that the text is in rhyming couplet and ends with a riddle of a fecal nature. This very same "poem" was later partially used by Wolfgang in the lyrics to one of the Canons composed around 1788 (in Vienna) for the amusement of his friends, "Bona nox! Bist a rechta Ox" ("Good night! You are a true ox"), in 4 voices a cappella.
Endowed with a limited culture (which was not uncommon among most of the population in that epoch, especially amidst the women), Anna Maria always possessed a subordinate role toward her husband, as well as her son, as was demonstrated during the journey to Paris (which, as we will see, proved fatal for her), during which she remained passive to the indications from her husband in Salzburg and the differing aspirations of Wolfgang. She didn't speak any language except her own "Salzburg" German. In fact, during the European journeys carried out by the family, she associated only with German expatriates at public or business functions.
We can discern a pleasant disposition. However, as far as culture and knowing her station in society (even with later attendance at the European courts which had most certainly helped refine her), she was lacking. Here is an example of her ungrammatical way of expressing herself in writing (and I do believe that her speech was similar): "(...) I hope that you and nanerl is well, what is my bimperl up to (the family dog, A/N), it's been awhile since I've not heard nothing about him..." Letter from Mannheim to her husband, 31 October 1777 as quoted by W. Hildesheimer. Though she did have the opportunity to refine her ways through her initial association with her circle of Salzburg friends of the family (the smaller local nobility, as well as the well-to-do high society) and later, with some of the principal European courts thanks to the exhibitions of the two child prodigy children.
Wolfgang's sister
Maria Anna Walburga Ignatia Mozart (1751 -- 1829) Wolfgang's sister, five years his elder, also had a musical formation that led her to become a very accomplished harpsichordist / pianist. Thanks to the Mozartian correspondence, we know that in the family she was usually called by the affectionate nickname of Nannerl (Nannina, Annetta). Her father began her musical formation at age seven, teaching her to play the harp and fortepiano, as well as voice lessons. While she was very close to her younger brother, with whom she undertook the first long European journeys in the role of one of the prodigious children, she was, however, taken less seriously by her father than her brother.
The reasons for this attitude, seen through modern eyes as certainly discriminatory, were at least two: as five years older than Wolfgang, Maria Anna inspired less of an impression as a "child prodigy" and consequently, her career was destined to be shorter term. Evidence of the favored treatment that their father used toward his son (and as can be observed today and which does not do Leopold Mozart honor), concerns two cases of illness and recovery. In November 1765, while returning from London on the first great journey that the entire family had embarked upon, Nannerl fell ill in Holland of a pulmonary disease that was so serious as to have her last rites given in danger of death. Fortunately, she recovered and Leopold then wrote to his trusted friend, Hagenauer, to have 6 masses celebrated in thanks at the various churches of Salzburg. The following month, again in Holland, Wolfgang fell ill with a sort of typhoid fever and after his recovery, Leopold ordered 9 masses of thanks to be celebrated, (3 more than those dedicated for the recovery of his daughter).
We can say that Leopold concentrated his "investment" of time, energy and expectations upon his son, younger and possibly more gifted; who knows if Nannerl would have contributed the same results as her brother if she had been as sustained and supported as him. In a letter from Wolfgang to his sister, we understand that she, too, was an active composer, but the correspondence of Leopold makes no mention of any compositions or creative activity of his daughter, which in any case were never attained. The artistic-creative level of Nannerl remains, at present, an unresolved mystery.
The second reason for the preferential treatment, typical of that epoch, had much to do with being a female. In that era, it was a common and undisputed school of thought that females were inferior and Leopold Mozart was no different in this way. In a letter dated 12 February 1756 to the publisher Lotter of Augsburg, Leopold complains of the delay in the printing of his book "Scuola di Violino", and writes: "Ah, if only Mrs. Lotter were able to arrange the typeface as well as she was able to deliver a male infant to the midwife instead of a half note. Oh, I know that my book would have been ready a long time ago" (the half note is the equivalent to a female infant rather than a male infant). Noteworthy is the consideration, equally common, that women were not able to reach excellence in art and that it was unsuitable for a woman of public morality to make her mark, living between continuous travels and encounters of all types. The objective was to be modest and find a good match to create a family which was seen as a priority compared to artistic talent.
As a matter of fact, Nannerl sacrificed her own career looking after her father after her mother's death, remaining subordinate to his wishes to the point that she even renounced her true love to the Captain of the Court Major Franz Armand d'Ippold, who had asked for her hand in marriage without first getting permission from her father, Leopold. She did, many years later, marry a widow with children much older than her who was well-received by her father.
It is interesting to note that the "musical relations" involved not only the male aspects of the families, but the female, as well. As Leopold Mozart, and later Wolfgang, were on friendly terms with Eberlin (organist and later Kapellmeister) and Adlgasser (Court Organist), their respective daughters were friends with Nannerl. In her diary, for example, she writes that on 26 September 1777, Waberl Eberlin paid her a visit and Viktoria Adlgasser styled her hair.
Having become too "old" to be a "child prodigy", she was relegated to Salzburg with her mother while her brother and father embarked on the three formative journeys to Italy. Then, later on, when Wolfgang went on his umpteenth journey to Munich and Paris accompanied by his mother (Leopold did not receive permission to take leave from work), she stayed behind in Salzburg with their father. No doubt, Maria Anna would remember for the rest of her life, with regret, the successes of her youth and the concerts at the European Courts where she performed solo and coupled with her brother. She continued to give piano lessons in order to contribute to the family budget and was copyist for her brother and father's music as was necessary for their travels.
The notations in her diary entries, before she married, though embellished with French middle class expressions with international pretensions such as "comedie, en visite, etc.", still convey a sense of sadness in the way she describes how her days passed between the death of a person, the arrival of an elephant in Salzburg or of a "dog doctor", combined with encounters with her friends who styled her hair, had a coffee together, accompanied her to the market, played cards or went range shooting...and of course, she looked after her father and the family dog, a fox terrier called Miss Pimperl, also known as Bimbes, as Wolfgang writes from Vienna in August 1773. On 3 September 1777, she writes in diary, that her day is limited to brushing her hair alone, mass at 10:30, the purchase of a string for her nightgown and a walk with a friend.
The bond with her brother, which was very strong in infancy and childhood, abated as Wolfgang matured. They grew even farther apart after his departure for Vienna in 1781, and especially after their father's death. In the letters that were discovered after Leopold's passing, it appears that Wolfgang, apart from his words regarding the circumstances, was principally interested in his part of the inheritance and was worried that there were not sufficient pecuniary calculations. In fact, once the assessment was finalized, he asked that payment be made in Viennese currency rather than Salzburg currency, giving him an advantage in the monetary exchange.
In 1784, at 33 years old (a decidedly advanced age for a girl to find a husband in that epoch), Nannerl married Johann Baptist von Berchtold zu Sonnenburg, fifteen years her senior and twice widowed with five children, who later had another three with her. Her husband descended from a family of recent and minor nobility. It appears that he wasn't a kind man, making married life less than happy for Maria Anna who also had the responsibility of raising her husband's children from his former marriages. After having refused all of his daughter's suitors, Leopold married her off out of convenience in exchange for 500 florins from von Bertchold as a "Morgengabe", (a promise sealed according to the German tradition made upon the morning after the wedding) and as praetium virginitatis (the price of the virginity of the bride).
After the wedding, Maria Anna moved to her mother's birthplace of St. Gilgen, just a few hours' carriage ride from Salzburg where her husband conducted his business as magistrate and where, in 1792, he obtained the title of Baron. We should clarify, however, that the noble titles of that era did not carry the weight and prestige of previous times. Titles were easily bestowed and were often purchased by well-to-do families who had become affluent.
Moreover, it should be remembered that Count Arco, famous for having dismissed Wolfgang Mozart with a kick in the seat of his pants, was indeed of noble lineage, but was nothing more than an official person in charge of ceremony and "Grand Master of Cooks" of the Prince-Archbishop (he governed the cooks, the servants...and the musicians). After the death of her husband in 1801, Maria Anna moved back to Salzburg where she resumed her activity as a piano teacher. In her last years, she became blind and died in 1829 at the age of seventy-eight.
Wolfgang's father
Johann Georg Leopold Mozart (1719 -- 1787) Born in the German city of Augsburg from the second marriage of Johann Georg Mozart, an artisan bookbinder, to Anna Maria Sulzer, who came from a family of textile workers that had moved to Augsburg from Baden-Baden. The Mozart family tree can be traced back three centuries to the Bavarian Swabia, geographically situated west of Munich, which comprised the surroundings of Augsburg and reached what are today's borders of Austria. Leopold's ancestors were farmers, bricklayers and craftsmen (textiles and bookbinders) who relocated from the Augsburg countryside to the city.
Leopold was the first born to Johann Georg Mozart and Anna Maria Sulzer. They had eight children of which only five survived from infancy. Unlike his siblings, who continued working in the family business as bookbinders, Leopold was intended to pursue a career in the clergy by his godfather, Johann Georg Grabher, Dean of the Duomo of Augsburg who noted his strong studious talents. Upon finishing elementary school, he was enrolled in 1727 at the Gymnasium which required a six year course of study. Leopold completed the program two years later than the established six years (it is not clear if the reason was due to illness or resistance to discipline and attitude toward the priesthood), though he did graduate in 1735 magna cum laude. In accordance with the times, we can assume that his cultural level was certainly superior to that of the average citizen. The Jesuit school was, in fact, recognized by the city and neighboring regions for its level of culture, so much so, that the children of the noble and upper-classes attended the institution.
The school curriculum foresaw multi-year courses in Latin and Greek, Philosophy, Logic, as well as Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Theology and Rhetoric. During Leopold's years of study, he also underwent a musical formation related to singing (he was a singer in religious ceremonies and theatrical exhibitions), keyboard instruments (organ and harpsichord) and the violin. It appears that he participated in various scholastic performances and in eight theatrical plays as an actor and singer.
It is important to highlight that in that epoch, instrumental education was not disassociated from the elements of composition, in consideration of the fact that the best instrumentalists were put to the test of their capacity to improvise. In order to accomplish this, they had to acquire at least the basics that would allow them to be proficient in moving on a harmonic series and to variate melodies by modulating within the closest keys. After the Gymnasium, Leopold was enrolled at the St. Salvator Lyceum of the Jesuits (a two or three year program), but upon the death of his father, he suspended his studies before the end of the first year.
At that point, he could have followed in his father's footsteps in the family bookbinding business or return to his studies and conclude his sacerdotal training. He was not, evidently, inclined toward either and decided to leave Augsburg (abandoning his widowed mother and younger siblings) and move to Salzburg where he enrolled in the local Benedictine University to study Philosophy and Law where he initially did well (he earned his Baccalaureate in Philosophy with magna cum laude in his Logic Exam on 22 July 1738). His enrollment documentation is on the registry at the Salzburg University: 7 December 1737, personal information, location of origin, previous studies, enrollment tax. The impoverished and meritorious students were exempt from the university enrollment tax. Leopold paid an enrollment tax of 45 kreutzers, a higher fee compared to the other students on the same list, who payed 30 or 40 kreutzers.
So he began his studies in Philosophy, a two-year course that included Logic, Ethics, and Physics (the Philosophy course was mandatory for all students, after which they could choose a final specialization of study: Theology, Law, Medicine). On 22 July 1738, during the stately ceremony held at 8 o'clock in the Great Hall of the University, the Baccalaureates (a sort of "pre" degree) were proclaimed in the order of their scores. Leopold ranked 49th out of 54 students; he was not the most brilliant graduate.
Something, however, led him astray from his university engagements (possibly musical studies, his true passion? Or had he met the woman who was to become his wife? Probably both of these elements had an impact on him) and in 1739 he was expelled from the university for a lack of commitment and poor attendance. He reappears later in the role of valet de chambre with the job of violin musician for Count Johann Baptist von Thurn-Valsassina and Taxis, Canonical of the Cathedral. During those years of study and musical insight and depth, not to mention being self-taught as we have no mention of his teachers' names (with the exception of some probable supervision from his acquaintance, Eberlin, who was the organist for the Court and then Kapellmeister), he composed his first works: the six Church and Chamber sonatas op. 1, dedicated to his "master", a commonly used expression that in that epoch.
He also challenged himself in the composition of singer; vocal pieces with soloists and a chorus accompanied by an organ and numerous instruments. The ambition and the perseverance were not lacking if three years later, in 1743, Leopold Mozart was hired as fourth violin in the orchestra of the Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg, Leopold Anton Freiherr von Firmian. Thanks to this post, initially without a salary, eventually guaranteed a regular income and even if he was not wealthy, he was able to marry Anna Maria Pertl in 1747. The violinists were also interrelated with the violin and piano teachers to the young members of the chorus of the Cathedral, an experience that proved useful for future teaching abilities: the instruction provided for his own children and his drafting methods for the violin, which beheld its first edition in 1756, the year of Wolfgang's birth. His career seemed to be progressing at a good pace.
In 1758, he was promoted to second violin in the Princely Orchestra and Composer of the Court with an average annual salary of 400 guldens (florins). And finally, in 1763, the Prince Archbishop Siegmund Christoph von Schrattenbach, to which he had dedicated his text "A Treatise on the Fundamental Principles of Violin Playing", nominated him Vice-Kapellmeister. To give an idea of the relative salaries of the musicians in that period, imagine that in 1759, when Franz Joseph Haydn was at the service of Count von Morzin, he earned 200 florins annually and in 1761, when he served Prince Hesterhazy as Vice-Kapellmeister, he earned 400 florins annually.
It was in 1763 that Leopold began requesting long paid leaves of absence to take his children on tour in the role of child prodigies. He dedicated his life to musical education and to the success of his children, glorifying himself and maybe excessively proud toward the Salzburg community for his early success (which was by him abundantly emphasized in his letters that he attentively sent to his employer and fellow citizens).
The humiliation of not succeeding in obtaining the coveted position of Kapellmeister transformed his personality into that of a perpetually suspicious man, always ready and waiting to complain about real or presumed intrigues that would threaten him or his children. Conversely, the arrogance in which he expressed himself as too sure of himself and his opinions, rendered him unpopular to many, both in Salzburg and in the European Courts where he spent time. This character trait was evidently passed on to his son, who often behaved haughtily toward the other musicians, regarding without exception, all of them, as inferior to him.
Leopold Mozart: man, musician, teacher, father
The man
The ambitious character and his justifiably human element of envy distinguished Leopold as a man who was perpetually dissatisfied with his condition, which may possibly be due to the influence of the characteristic attributes of the Suevians, who were described as moody while at the same time obstinate in their pursuit of attaining their goal, not to mention crafty (and of this craftiness, especially in business, we find ample testimony in the epistolary of which we will examine in the following chapters of this book). His cultural formation which was reasonably born from the Age of Enlightenment, allowed him a glimpse of a potential reality made up of hypocrites who supported the weak and the worthy.
Life's reality, exposed and often lived unhappily like an insult to the artistic propositions offered by the Mozart family, saw him arouse enthusiasm for the great praise, the gifts and the honors received. But also to gradually assess the distance between promises made by the nobility and the relative decisions, among them the sudden infatuation for his children's' extraordinary gifts (especially that of Wolfgang) and the likewise abrupt about-face of a shallow aristocracy, ever ready to welcome the "newest arrival" which over-shadowed whoever was in the limelight (especially if, like Wolfgang, one was not able to manage the delicate balance of the relations with he who felt superior by privilege).
He was certainly, as reported by many, a man "who was difficult to feel a fondness for" and "of a sarcastic spirit", even if he had many friends that spent time with him and who held him in high esteem. No doubt they had the patience to listen to his repetitive recriminations against whoever did not recognize the merits that he believed to possess. Dominikus Hagenauer, son of a friend and the Mozart's landlord of their apartment in Getreidegasse, writes in his diary upon the occasion of the death of Leopold: "He was a man of great intelligence and wisdom (...) who in his own homeland had the misfortune of being the victim of persecution and was appreciated less by us than in other great European cities". These words seem to resonate with the complaints of Leopold, as well as the descriptions of his astounding successes (according to him naturally, given that his word was often not confirmed by witnesses) during the course of his journeys. Descriptions, it should be remembered, that were included in the letters sent to Hagenauer's father (and re-proposed who knows how many times upon return from his travels) that were destined to be disseminated, as expressly arranged by Leopold Mozart to the Salzburg people until they reached the Archiepiscopal throne.
In truth, even outside of Salzburg, Leopold Mozart did not always receive testimony of a kind character. In a letter from Vienna written by the musician Johann Adolph Hasse in September 1769, we find a description which is, all in all, quite favorable: "a man spirited, crafty and masterful...he is refined and courteous as are his children", though the term "crafty" may possibly not be the most flattering interpretation. A year later, Hasse revises his opinion in a letter from Naples (where Leopold and Wolfgang were staying during the course of their first journey to Italy): "The father? From what I gather, he is in any case constantly dissatisfied, even while here, he made the same complaints; he is a bit too devoted to his son and does, therefore, do his best to spoil him".
Leopold's subtle inclination to rebellion, likewise criticized in Wolfgang's character, was witnessed by those who knew him, such as his classmate from youth, Franziskus Freysinger, who remembers him as "a good and honest man", and also with quite a lot of admiration for "how he made fun of the priests regarding their vocation (the priesthood -- A/N)". The rebellious character and probably a bit of impudence in his youth seem to reflect in his records from the Dean at the University of Salzburg that cite his expulsion for having attended his lessons only once or twice, noting that the young Leopold "received his sentence and walked off as if he were indifferent".
The choice to abandon his family and his birthplace after the death of his father (possibly an escape from responsibility and authority?) combined with the shame fallen upon the family members due to his expulsion from the University and the choice to follow a career as Chamberlain and Court Musician were surely not unrelated to his future relations with his mother. He testifies to the fact that she refused him his dowry in the amount of the rather large sum of 300 florins, as she had alternatively done on the occasion of the weddings of his siblings.
We will talk more about this later, as well as the lies written over the same period of time for the request for income by the state of Augsburg and for a permit to marry. Within the letters of the epistolary, we find more than one topic. His widowed mother (who had a cantankerous and quarrelsome personality much like her son) and his siblings survived, at any rate, without particular problems related to his radical choice. Only one of his brothers wrote in request for the occasional loan, which was either granted against his will or refused by Leopold, in less than a Christian manner.
His religious ideals, seeing as we have reached this topic, were ever present in his letters (let us not forget that he lived in a religious princedom and was completely dependent on the benevolence of the Archbishop, his "master"). He certainly respected the concepts of his faith rather than what they truly represented. We find the outbursts of his mindset as proof within the epistolary where he reveals disdain of anyone who wore a cassock, as well as in the episode of the publication in 1753 of an anonymous allegation against two members of the Salzburg clergy.
Leopold was summoned to the magistrate of the Cathedral, accused of being the author of the offensive pamphlet (let us not forget that he lived in a police state where monitoring and informing were efficient) and was forced to apologize in order to avoid prison, while the pamphlet was ripped to shreds in front of him.
This episode, combined with his irritable personality, may have had something to do with the difficulty he faced in building his career, given that on many occasions, others were chosen over him for positions to which he aspired. Concerning his faith, his invocation of God and the desire in which he filled his letters appear somewhat methodical, more like the acceptance of a zealous faith relative to how much the society expected of a good Christian. The fact that he had paid to have masses celebrated upon the occasion for the recovery from illness, as well as gaining favor for the successful outcome of Wolfgang's compositions appears to have been more of a utilitarian attitude (which was certainly common in those times, as it is today) than an act of deeply felt faith.
Personal prayers would have been sufficient rather than delegating others to reach his objectives. Why did he have the masses celebrated in Salzburg when he could have had them done in the locations where he was residing, at least on those occasions when he was in Catholic regions? Could it have been one way of showing off his religious devotion to the citizens? Regarding his "Christian" habit of telling lies and embellishing reality to his advantage is testified by numerous true facts of his life, such as giving younger ages of one or two years of his children during their presentations as "child prodigies" or presenting himself as Kapellmeister while abroad when he was only the Vice.
One last example shows us how since his youth, Leopold had no second thoughts about lying or twisting the truth to his advantage whenever it was convenient for him. In 1747, Leopold was 28 years old and necessitated renewal for his citizenship in Augsburg from the City Council (those who moved away were obliged to renew this permit every three years) and the authorization to reside in Salzburg and to marry (even if he was already married before sending his request and without the permission of his mother, who was never to forgive him) all while keeping citizenship in his birthplace.
Well, in his request he told a series of lies, claiming that his father was alive and well (he had already passed away) and that he had recently moved to Salzburg to continue his studies at the Benedictine University (in truth, he had gone to Salzburg ten years earlier by his own will and against his mother's wishes and had furthermore already suspended his studies). Moreover, he claimed to have endorsements by the Princely Archiepiscopal Court (which he did not possess) and maintained having married the daughter of a wealthy citizen (as we have seen, his wife came from an anything but wealthy family). But we will further discuss this aspect related to his lies and manipulation of the truth, based on what emerges in the epistolary.
To complete the description of Leopold Mozart, we shouldn't forget about his cultural interests. During the course of his travels, he never missed an occasion to visit monuments, museums, works of art in private palaces of which he talks about in the epistolary (the Sistine Chapel in Rome, the paintings by Rubens in Brussels, etc.). He was also interested in the scientific progress of his epoch, staying informed by attending the experimental demonstrations offered by the University of Salzburg to the courtiers, as well as purchasing instruments such as a microscope. He was also interested in pharmacology, so much so, that he brought a collection of powders and recipes with him on his trips to heal the most common diseases, curing himself and his children, unless the severity of the disease didn't require the intervention of a "medicus". If he wasn't able to administer the therapy himself, he would communicate by letter, going into detailed description and at great length to explain to Wolfgang (who was in that period in Munich with his mother) how to cure a phlegmy cough.
The musician
While Leopold's musical formation seems to be rather solid in relation to his instrumental profile (thanks to his studies as a youth at the Jesuit schools in his birthplace in Augsburg), there appears to be no evidence of his attendance with teachers of composition with the exception of his friend and mentor, Johann Ernst Eberlin, who was the organist of the Court from 1727 and Kapellmeister from 1749. This information leads us to believe that his studies were predominantly self-taught with the possible occasional supervision of Eberlin and suggestions from a few friends or acquaintances in the musical circle of Salzburg. Self instruction was, in any case, quite common in that epoch. Antonio Lolli, who appears to have stopped over in Salzburg on his tour, was a self-taught violinist, but this did not stop him from being considered a virtuoso of the instrument, obtaining prestigious and well-paid charges, such as violinist at the Stuttgart Court where he earned an annual salary of 2,000 florins, which was later increased to 2,500. Based on comparison, we should remember that in 1750 Leopold Mozart, as he himself writes in a letter to his daughter, as a violinist in the Court Orchestra and instrument teacher to the children's chorus of the Cathedral earned a monthly salary of 29 florins and 30 kreutzers, which amounts to approximately 360 florins a year. This "tradition" of self-taught virtuosi were not limited to Lolli, since just a few decades later, we had "the" virtuoso par excellence of the violin, Niccolò Paganini, self-taught violinist and guitarist.
Without a doubt, the most useful instruments for Leopold Mozart to learn from, as was for other musicians from that epoch, were the manuscripts of the active composers in Salzburg as well as from abroad, and which were requested by Leopold from his connections in other cities. Maybe we should remember the scores from Antonio Vivaldi's concerts that Johann Sebastian Bach transcribed in order to study them, and it was thanks to those studies that he was able to reach the musical summits of the 6 Brandenburg Concertos? The tendency of obtaining scores from other composers (more or less legally) continued in the case of Leopold, as well as following Wolfgang's compositional formation, keeping up to date with the fashionable styles of the times.
In this epoch, we have many examples of amateur musicians, often of a religious formation, who composed for the necessity of their circle of friends or for work performances. Defining them as amateurs, in some cases, did not impede them from composing in less than an all together pleasurable and fashionable style of the times. The musical simplification that occurred in the transition from Baroque to Galant music rendered compositional musical activity available to more people. To get an idea, just compare the complex polyphonic architecture of Johann Sebastian Bach with the much more simplistic compositions of the musicians of the Salzburg Court, such as Eberlin and Adlgasser.
During his years at the school of Jesuits in Augsburg, Leopold did have instruction in singing, organ and violin with some basic rudiments of musicality (just enough to complete an accompaniment on numbered basses or to create simple harmonic structures for improvisations with simple frequency modulations). In that epoch, orchestra musicians were supposed to know how to play several instruments in order to comply with the various requirements of the sacred and profane. Clearly, though with a few exceptions, such a custom meant that the quality of playing instruments was not always particularly brilliant (an example being Schachtner, a family friend, who was a trumpeter in the Court Orchestra, but who is also described as a violinist and cellist). Leopold, and later his son Wolfgang, played keyboard (harpsichord, and later piano and organ), string instruments (violin and viola) and were able to execute vocal musical compositions. Nannerl's preparation, on the other hand, was focused on keyboard and singing.
In a famous portrait painted in 1763 by Louis de Carmontelle in Paris, we see one of the one of the instrumental formations in which the Mozart "prodigious children" performed during one of their promotional journeys: Wolfgang at the harpsichord, Nannerl singing, Leopold on the violin. The variety of instruments that many performers were meant to know how to play also indicates the inadequate compensation that troubled many of the musicians from that epoch. Many were forced to seek out employment outside of their profession.
Among the friends of the Mozart family, there was, for example, a certain Fink who was a Court trumpeter and organist; to make ends meet, he worked as a vintner at the Ai 3 Mori Inn. Another Salzburg musician, the horn player Ignaz Leutgeb and friend of Wolfgang, who upon returning to Vienna after a falling out with Leopold, asked Wolfgang's father for a loan to open a small shop that sold cheese.
Now let us go back and have a look at Leopold as a composer. His first compositional work was a collection of 6 church and chamber sonatas with three instruments (two violins and a bass), published at his expense in 1740 when he was 21 years old and dedicated to Count Johann Baptist Thurn, President of the Chapter of the Salzburg Cathedral, where he was employed as a Chamberlain and Musician. His subsequent compositional endeavors were two cantatas composed for the Easter season, written respectively in 1741 and 1743 and were quite probably performed at the Princely Court where Leopold Mozart had evidently been appointed by Count Thurn, as well as a scholastic opera entitled "Antiquitas personata" (History personified, or rather, Ancient History up till the Birth of Christ), composed in 1742 and performed at the small student auditorium at the University.
Once hired at the Court, his compositional activity (besides that of executive and educational duties) became legitimate and prolific, enough to enable him to "cover" the civil and religious requirements of the Court, as well as to create music for the Collegium Musicum of Augsburg, where he sent his compositions entitled "Passeggiata in slitta" ("A Sleigh Ride"), "Nozze contadine" ("Country Wedding") and "Sinfonia pastorale" ("Pastorale Symphony"). He composed a relevant number of musical works, many of them masses and church music, pieces for the keyboard, various Symphonies and Divertimenti, concerts and all types of music for festive occasions. Among the interesting facts, we can cite the series of 12 pieces that Leopold Mozart wrote (in collaboration with his friend, Kapellmeister Eberlin) for the pipe organ situated in the fortress that overlooks Salzburg from the hilltop.
Leopold, nevertheless, did not remain mentally closed within the limited confines of the provincial Salzburg. Besides his contacts in his native Augsburg, he cultivated epistolary relations with German musicians and music lovers from Leipzig (Lorenz Mizler) and Berlin (Friedrich Marpurg), as well as with various publishers such as Hulrich Haffner from Nuremburg (who, at his own expense, he had commissioned to print his first published opera, the Six Sonatas Trio dedicated to Count Thurn, and had also published three of his Sonatas for the harpsichord in Italian style) and Gottlieb Immanuel Breitkopf from Leipzig (who inserted numerous compositions of Leopold into his catalogue).
After the birth of Wolfgang, it was true that he dedicated a lot of time to the formation of his prodigious children and the rest of his time to his work related commitments, but he still continued for a long period to compose. He gave up only when he realized, irremediably, that his compositions were outdated and behind the times. And certainly, the production in continual evolution of his son did not contribute to improving his appreciation of his own past work. The fact was, in any case, that Leopold's musical "style" influenced his son, combined with the many other ideas that the young man encountered over time, adopted from other artists and then finally, he came into his own, transforming every note written by him into sublime Mozartian perfection.
The teacher
As a teacher, it is necessary to acknowledge Leopold Mozart's reliable ability which was first acquired in his role as a singing and instrument teacher to children at the Princely Chapel and later, refined in the elaboration of his book, "Violinschule" (A Treaty on the Fundamental Principles of Violin Playing) which was published for the first time in 1756 (the year of Wolfgang's birth) and reprinted in 1769 and again in 1787 (the year of its author's death). The method, published at Leopold's expense by the publisher, Johann Jakob Lotter of Augsburg, had already been widely distributed throughout Europe and was translated into Dutch (1766) and French (1770), as Leopold proudly wrote in his epistolary years later.
Other various editions had been re-proposed over successive historical periods, right up to the present, as its structural and methodological coherence was, and remains, very useful to understanding the execution and expressive techniques of that epoch. The method, in fact, covers every aspect of execution techniques from that era of the transition from Baroque to Classicism and is simple, clear and complete, with relative examples of the positions, use of the bow, phrasing, interpretations of the grace notes, etc. Moreover, as complement to the book and in pointing out the author's desire to be thorough, it has a concise synthesis of the history of music and a basic dissertation on the rules of solfège.
The author's intention was that "Violinschule" was to be utilized by violin teachers and to those students who, while gifted, did not have the economic means to pay for private lessons; hence, the coherence of the method, its clear and concise language and the explicated examples of all the aspects of importance, not only for a correct execution of the music, but also for a precise expressive and communicative interpretation of the music that was to be carried out. The project of realizing a method for the violin gave us a Leopold Mozart who, at thirty-six years old, was well aware of the world of music of his time and of the new demands that were being proposed. His epistolary contacts with musicians and German musical critics were testimony that his ambition went beyond his career that was leading him to the Salzburg Court.
Even before Wolfgang's birth, later driving him to dedicate all of his efforts toward his son's achievements, his ambition was to leave a long lasting mark in the world of music, but it is significant that he chose to do this through the means of an instructional method. This tells us that he was aware of his organizational and methodology abilities, while possibly emphasizing that he did not have particular ambitions to go down in history as a composer (admitting, at least to himself, to not being gifted enough to compete not only with the Italian composers, but with his local competitors for the title of Kapellmeister of the Court).
In any case, the choice to write a method for the violin was consistent with the times and gave results to a well thought out plan, given that in that epoch, the choice for available aspiring musicians was not what it is today. In the radius surrounding Germany, there were two principle methods for learning an instrument: that of Johann Joachim Quantz for the flute, with some mention of the violin (1752), and that of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach for keyboard instruments (1753). As we can see, there was not an abundance of opportunity and, at least in the Germanic area, there was no specific method for the violin.
In England, a few years previous (1748 -- 1751), there was the Italian composer and violinist Francesco Saverio Geminiani (Lucca 1687 -- Dublin 1762) who had published three books on learning the violin. And previous to that, Giuseppe Tartini (Piran 1692 -- Padua 1770), celebrated violinist and composer, as well as a talented acoustics theorist and scholar (well-known for his "Devil's Trill Sonata" and for the theorization of the famous "combination tone" - additional tone or tones that are artificially perceived when two real tones are sounded at the same time). The Italian teacher had written various works such as "A letter from the late Signor Tartini to Signora Maddalena Lombardini: published as an important lesson to performers on the violin", "Traité des agréments de la musique -- Treatise on ornaments in music" and the method "Lezioni pratiche del violino - Practical Lessons of the Violin".
Tartini's operas were well-known by Leopold Mozart and took it upon himself to "borrow" some of the important parts, even the above-mentioned examples in their entirety (but transposed in another key to camouflage the origin) without citing the name of the author and only occasionally mentioning "a famous Italian violinist". The Mozartian epistolary tells us that Leopold was always very scrupulous with every detail regarding the distribution of his method and for bringing in the best profits. Later, we will talk about the difficulties related to the technical and financial problems of publishing the method and how arduous it was to manage the distribution of the book with sellers and to receive payment for the sales (a job that, in his absence, was delegated to his wife under extremely precise instructions).
Here, we have an example of what he wrote to his wife on 7 January 1770 from Verona during his first journey to Italy with Wolfgang: "Has no letter from Mr. Lotter yet arrived (the publisher from Augsburg who printed billable copies of Violinschule -- A/N) regarding the punctual receipt of money?". And later in the same letter: "Has Mr. Breitkopft from Leipzig (another music publisher -- A/N) not yet written to say whether he has received the 100 books? Have the books been sent to Vienna and has Mr. Graeffer (a bookseller -- A/N) confirmed their arrival?". "...prepare 12 copies of Violinschule and send them to the bookseller Joseph Wolf in Innsbruck. You should attach a brief letter stating something like: 'These are 12 copies of Violinschule which my husband, from Verona, told me to send to you. You may sell them on commission at 2 florins and 14 Tyrolese kreutzers per copy, and pay my husband 1 florin and 45 kreutzers per copy sold'".
Leopold Mozart also proved to be an attentive teacher to both of his children, preparing first Maria Anna and later Wolfgang, with a Notebook containing a certain number of brief compositions for the keyboard chosen by artists from that epoch (nearly always omitting the name) and was put in ascending order of difficulty. The initial amazement, and the father and musician's pride who realized that such an extraordinary talent was being produced (a state of mind stimulated for Wolfgang but not felt in the past for the equally talented Nannerl) are highlighted in the writings added to the legacy of pieces that the boy had learned bit by bit. It is almost like reading a prophesy of information being left to future readers, giving proof of his son's precocious abilities: "Wolfgangerl (term of endearment) has learned in half an hour this four-handed minuet, at half past nine in the evening on 26 January 1761, the day before his birthday". With Wolfgang's early attempts at composing, the Notebook also became enriched with little minuets created and performed at the keyboard by the boy and transcribed by the father.
Naturally, when the two prodigious children's "promotional" travels began, they never missed an opportunity for learning from various perspectives: singing lessons from famous performers (such as those had by Wolfgang in London from the celebrated Giovanni Manzuoli), learning about composing at encounters with prominent musicians (from, again in London, Johann Christian Bach and many other composers they met on their Italian journey). Moreover, besides the confined world of music, a smattering of foreign language was acquired (some French, English, Italian -- necessary for the operas, some Latin -- useful for sacred music), but most importantly, a lot of music heard in the academies, in the concert halls and in the well patronized theaters. We can say: on a daily basis, by the Mozarts.
The father
It is beyond a shadow of a doubt that Leopold had a systematic and powerful influence over the entire life of his son, not only during his childhood, but well into his formative years (the period in which he had total "control" of Wolfgang's activities), continuing into the subsequent stages, specifically during their separation (his journeys to Munich and Paris and his move to Vienna), always with growing difficulty in making his son, who had grown unruly with his new born liberty, listen to him. The scholastic formation of Leopold Mozart was superior to the average citizen of that epoch which explains why he personally looked after his children's cultural education, as well as musical (particularly that of his son). In fact, there is no evidence that the Mozart children had ever attended any scholastic institutions, probably because once the father had realized that there were two talented children in the household, he decided to orient his own life and that of his offspring toward their development of child prodigies as soon as possible. To his credit, he did have the knowledge as father and musician, the duty to develop his children's' talent to the best of his ability, as he writes in a letter on 10 November 1766: "God who has been too generous with me, a miserable human being, and has given my children such talent that even if it were not my paternal duty, I would still be obliged to sacrifice everything for their best upbringing". In a later letter from 1777, he reiterates the concept "take advantage of talent: it is the Gospel itself that teaches us this". The child prodigies had to be nurtured before they aged, though, which would otherwise reduce the wonder and amazement that their talent would provoke from the public.
This is how Leopold expresses himself in a letter to his friend and publisher, Lotter from Augsburg in May of 1768: "...or maybe I should remain in Salzburg, awaiting with bated breath for a better chance, and watch Wolfgang grow (...) until Wolfgang reaches the age and development in which his merits would no longer be an object of wonder?"
The first journeys of the child prodigies had the double purpose of "earning revenue", especially Wolfgang, familiarizing him with Europe while simultaneously giving them the opportunity to grow and develop musically through encounters with influential composers, singers and instrumentalists. When they had outgrown their childhood, though, Leopold Mozart's focus changed. He needed to find an allocated position for Wolfgang at the Salzburg Court (his primary goal) with the hope of a subsequent position at the more prestigious courts.
Having a vision of the world, such as the acceptance of different roles in society's class and the necessity and convenience of ingratiating himself to anyone who might have a positive influence on their projects was also one of Leopold's deep and enduring influences; for the compliant Nannerl (who accepted the role of daughter and predestined wife, being married off by her father to an older man), as well as the favored Wolfgang. Leopold Mozart's habit of "being in the good graces" of every noble person who he encountered during his travels, surely assimilated by his son without the relational and scheming abilities of his father, was reiterated many times to an already grown Wolfgang in issued recommendations by letter.
In any case, if we expand our vision, we realize that almost all musicians of that epoch followed the same rules: ingratiating themselves to the powerful in order to obtain favors or career advancements. To give just one example of how diffused and widely practiced these rules were, we can cite Giovan Battista Sammartini (or San Martin, as was the correct written French version of the father's last name), who in building his career in Milan, always went to great pains to consort with and be praised by the families who had political, economic and social control in that epoch. Thanks to the aid of his noble supporters, and undoubtably to his abilities, he became the Musical Dominus of Milan for a few decades and was even nominated as Kapellmeister at the Royal Ducale of the Court, while simultaneously in the principle small town churches (an impressive 14 concurrently!). Now, let us return to Leopold and his recommendations.
Here are a few examples:
"If you go over the allotted time in your lessons with the younger students (reference is made to the Prince Palatine of Mannheim's natural children and to those of his mistress, A/N), then you have every chance of being praised by the Constituent Prince and it is certainly not necessary to tell you that you need to become close friends with the governess" (letter dated 8 December 1777).
"In Mannheim, you did very well to ingratiate yourself to Mr. Cannabich (Conductor of the Court", A/N) (letter dated 12 February 1778).
"It is very advantageous that you obtained the kindness of the Countess von Paumgarten (mistress of the Constituent Prince, A/N). Slowly but surely, you will no doubt, be paying visits to the Count Seinsheim (Minister of the Court of Mannheim, A/N) and to the wife of the President. (letter dated 20 November 1780).
Leopold was also generous toward his son related to compositional activities, with the intent of directing him toward the composition of pieces according to the requested style being commissioned, or at least according to what was fashionable in that epoch and in the various Courts. Always the pragmatist, Leopold knew the fickle European public, and desired that Wolfgang's music was to be the appropriate music, in the appropriate moment and for the appropriate public. Not being up to date could mean being condemned to oblivion (it was therefore, necessary to always be informed of any innovation in the field of music), but to be too modern could mean being condemned to incomprehension. Of these recommendations, most certainly lavished in abundance during the entire period of the formation and cohabitation with Wolfgang, we have a pretty good outline of the period in which Leopold was in Salzburg while his son was traveling: "While you are working, I suggest that you think not only of the musical public, but also the non-musical public; you know, for every ten true experts, there are always one-hundred ignorant people. Therefore, do not forget the so-called people of the masses who also invoke unrefined ears " (11 December 1780).
Composers also had to worry about keeping good relations with the musicians of the orchestra employed to execute their music, or suffer a punishment of superficial performances, if not downright boycotting. Here, we also have the experience of the father who comes to the rescue of his son, who we know (and a fact of which Leopold was well aware) was not exactly diplomatic in human relations. In a letter sent to Munich before the performance of the opera Idomeneo, Leopold wrote to his son: "Try to keep the entire orchestra in good humor, to praise them and keep them on your good side. (...) ...even the worst violinist is quite sensitive when you commend him face to face and will become enthusiastic and eager, and this kind of courtesy will not cost you more than just a few words. ...because you will need friendship and zeal from the entire orchestra when the opera will go on stage". (letter dated 25 December 1780). So, in the end, after an entire lifetime that he believed to have sacrificed for the success of his son (and we can acknowledge this to be true), Leopold is subjected to the disgrace, survived by him and of which he had never recovered, the multiple rebellions of his son: the discharge from his musical appointments in Salzburg, the choices made with his own free will during the course of his journey to Munich and Paris with his mother, the move to Vienna, his marriage to Constanze which was decided without his father's prearranged consent...
It is safe to say that there was plenty to make Leopold think that he had been let down by an ungrateful son, oblivious to the sacrifices made by a father for his child (let us not forget this father's wholly seventeenth century mentality). And in the letters during the years of their distance, which diminished over time as the communication between the Mozart father and son waned, Leopold never missed a chance to point this out to the rebellious Wolfgang: "...I have always thought that you should consider me more of a friend than father. You have ample proof of the fact that in my lifetime, I have looked after your fortune and your pleasure more than my own. I would have believed that you would have asked for my suggestions, seeing as I am a better judge of things and at finding the best way to proceed. (...) You will not abandon your father, will you?" (letter dated 20 July 1778). Wolfgang, on the other hand, in his letters responding to his father's recommendations, did everything possible to calm him, portraying himself as respectful of the teachings he received (then doing exactly as he pleased) and disguising his decisions with motives in order to gratify his father (who did not believe a word, knowing how to read between the lines). One example of this text and subtext we see in a letter from Wolfgang to his father, sent from Mannheim, after which his journey to Paris with the singer Aloysia Weber (of whom Wolfgang was infatuated), faded due to the latter's unavailability to entrust his fortune (and his heart) to the dreamer of Salzburg.
Later, in previous letters, having praised her musical and character traits, Aloysia and the hypothetic travel companions of the Parisian adventure, the flautist Wendling and the oboist Ramm, in a letter dated 4 February 1778, justify the relinquishment of the Parisian adventure due to the fact that one (Wendling) was without religion and the other (Ramm) was a philanderer. We shall see later, following the Mozartian epistolary, other examples that will assist us in better understanding the personalities of the Mozart family and the subtle relations between them in conjunction with important events.
