THE MOZART FAMILY.
(From the painting by Van de la Croce, 1780,
in the Mozart Museum.)
With the exception of a two months' visit to Vienna, Mozart remained at home for the rest of the year and for nearly the whole of the following one, composing almost incessantly and in nearly every style. To this period belong two of his best Masses—those in F and D—the fine Litaniœ Lauretanœ in D, four symphonies, six quartetts, concertos for various instruments, serenades, divertimenti, and smaller pieces of all kinds. In the course of the year 1774 Mozart received a commission to write a comic opera for Munich for the Carnival of 1775, and in December of that year he went there with his father. The opera which he had to write was La Finta Giardiniera, the libretto of which had already been set to music by Piccinni in 1770 and Anfossi in 1774. The first performance took place on January 13, 1775, with a success which the composer described the next day in a letter to his mother:
"My opera was produced yesterday, and had, thank God! such success that I cannot possibly describe to mamma the noise and commotion.... At the close of every air there was a terrible noise with clapping and shouting 'Viva maestro!' ... I and my father afterwards went into a room through which the whole Court pass, and where I kissed the hands of the Elector, the Electress, and others of the nobility, who were all very gracious. His Highness the Bishop of Chiemsee sent to me early this morning with congratulations on my success."
Very interesting is the following extract from Schubert's "Teutsche Chronik":
"I have also heard an opera buffa by the wonderful genius Mozart; it is called La Finta Ciardiniera. Flames of genius flashed forth here and there; but it is not yet the quiet fire on the altar which rises to heaven in clouds of incense—a perfume sweet to the gods. If Mozart is not a plant forced in a hot-house, he must become one of the greatest musical composers that has ever lived."
In the music of La Finta Giardiniera a great advance on any of Mozart's previous operas is to be seen. Not only is there a richness of melodic invention worthy to compare with that of his later and greater works, but there is more organic unity in the music as a whole. Though some of the airs now appear unduly spun out, it must be remembered that long solos were the fashion of the day. The orchestra is treated with more independence than hitherto, and the score abounds with beautiful effects of colouring, though in most numbers but few wind instruments are employed. The great duet toward the close of the third act and the elaborate finales which conclude the first and second acts are admirable, and might be inserted into Figaro without producing too strong a feeling of incongruity.
Among those who witnessed the triumph of Mozart's opera was the Archbishop of Salzburg, who was at the time on a visit to the Elector of Bavaria. Though he did not himself hear the work, he was congratulated upon it by the members of the Court, and, as Mozart records, "was so embarrassed as to be unable to make any reply except by shaking his head and shrugging his shoulders."
Returning to Salzburg in March, 1775, Mozart remained there for nearly three years—probably the least happy of his life. The entire want of appreciation showed him by the tyrannical Archbishop rendered his position most irksome. Though the final rupture did not come till later, he was subjected to constant indignities, while the remuneration he received was ridiculously disproportionate to the services that he rendered, both as composer and performer. Yet his activity in production never ceased. The catalogue of the compositions he produced during these years is nearly as astonishing for the large number of masterpieces it contains as for the variety of style that it shows. Nearly a hundred works, including four symphonies, fifteen serenades and divertimenti, ten concertos for various instruments, six sonatas for clavier, six Masses, the grand Litany in E flat, a number of smaller works for the Church, the opera Il Rè Pastore, many songs, some with orchestra, others with piano, bear witness no less to his industry than to the fecundity of his genius. Many of these works were written for performance at the Archbishop's palace, at which concerts were frequently given; but the Archbishop, though fully knowing what a treasure he had in Mozart, not only never paid him for any of his compositions, but insulted him by contemptuous remarks about them, thinking this the best means of keeping the young master from asking for an advance in his salary, which, it should be said, amounted at this time to about £15 sterling per annum! On one occasion, as we learn from a letter written by Leopold to Padre Martini, the Archbishop went so far as to tell Wolfgang that he knew nothing about his art, and that he ought to go to Naples to study. It became more and more evident that there was no prospect of the young man's obtaining an honourable and remunerative post at Salzburg. It was therefore decided that Wolfgang should make another tour, in the hope of obtaining a better appointment. But when he applied for leave of absence that he might earn some money as an addition to his small salary, the Archbishop refused with the ungracious remark that "he could not suffer a man going on begging expeditions." Wolfgang thereupon tendered his resignation, which the Archbishop angrily accepted.
As it was impossible for Leopold to accompany his son on this journey—the Archbishop having refused him leave of absence—Wolfgang's mother went with him. They left Salzburg on September 23, 1777, for Munich, where they stayed till October 11, Wolfgang hoping either to find a post there or to obtain a commission to write an opera. From Munich they went to Augsburg, where Mozart gave a concert which brought him much glory but very little profit.