About the time that Wolfgang returned home, December, 1771, Sigismund, the Archbishop, died, and Hieronymus ruled in his stead. He was a man of mean and tyrannical spirit, and his reputation had preceded him, so that when he arrived in Salzburg he was received in gloomy silence. Nevertheless there were festivities, and Wolfgang wrote "Il sogno di Scipione," a composition unworthy of his pen. It was in this same year, 1772, that Dr. Charles Burney received a letter from a correspondent, saying that the lad was still a pianoforte virtuoso of great merit, but that as a composer he had reached his limit; and the writer then moralized over musical precocities, comparing them to premature fruits. Yet at this same epoch, Wolfgang wrote the celebrated Litany "de venerabile." In November he visited Milan again to compose and put on the stage the opera "Lucio Silla." There were many obstacles before and even during the representation; but the success of the work was unquestioned. This was the last opera written by Wolfgang for Italy. The impresarios were willing and eager; but the Archbishop was reluctant in granting even ordinary favors to his servant. And here is the end of the first period of Mozart's musical career.
ROOM IN WHICH MOZART WAS BORN.—No. 9 GETREIDEGASSE, SALZBURG,—THIRD FLOOR.
This and an adjoining room form at present the Mozart-Museum in which are deposited all original family pictures, busts, autographs, compositions, letters, etc. Also, the spinet and grand piano used by Mozart in his later years.
The next five years were passed without material change in the circumstances of the family. There was a trip to Vienna during the absence of Hieronymus; and in December, 1774, Wolfgang, having obtained permission from the Archbishop, who did not dare to offend the Elector of Bavaria, went to Munich to write or to finish and bring out an opera-buffa, "La finta giardiniera," which had been ordered by Maximilian III., who in earlier years was much interested in the child. The opera was produced with brilliant success, Jan. 13, 1775, and his dear sister was present to share in the joy of the composer. After Mozart's return to Salzburg, Hieronymus received a visit from the Archduke Maximilian, the brother of Marie Antoinette. It no doubt occurred to him that one of his servants, who was paid, by the way, about $5.50 a month, was not earning his wages; and so Mozart was requested to write an opera, "II re Pastore," in honor of the imperial guest. This was performed in April, 1775, and this year and the next were years of great fertility: music for the church, violin concertos, divertimenti, serenades, organ sonatas, etc. He worked at the violin to please his father, who had a high opinion of his ability in this direction; and besides, one of his duties was to play at the court, a duty that he detested. In spite of all this work, these days in Salzburg dragged along, sad and monotonous. The social life of the town was slow and stupid. Risbeck and other travelers have given us curious details. "The sovereign," writes one, "goes a-hunting and to church; the nobles go to church and hunt; the tradespeople eat, drink and pray; the rest pray, drink and eat." No wonder that he shot sarcastic arrows at his fellow townsmen. He poked fun at a lover of his sister who gaped at everything he saw in Munich, "so that one could easily tell he had only seen Salzburg and Innsbruck." He was never tired of telling of a Salzburgian who complained that he could not judge Paris satisfactorily, "as the houses were too high and shut off the horizon." "I detest Salzburg and everything that is born in it. The tone and the manners of the people are utterly unsupportable." He avoided society. Sundays, to be sure, with a few of his own age, he played at pea-shooting; and he was fond of going occasionally to balls. Nor did he associate willingly with the musicians. His father hated the Italians in the orchestra; and the German musicians were so fond of their cups that when Leopold went to Mannheim he was surprised at the sobriety of the orchestra. He spent most of his time at home, fond of a canary bird and a dog, teasing his sister about her lovers, adoring his father and mother. Finally the father and son plucked up courage and asked Hieronymus for a leave of absence. It was refused, with the remark that he did not wish one of his servants going about begging from town to town. With his father's permission Wolfgang then sent a letter asking for his dismission. The vanity of the archbishop was hurt, and he was furiously angry; "After all," he said, "it is only one musician the less." As Leopold could not leave the town, he confided his son to the protection of the mother, and after a sorrowful leave-taking the two started on their journey Sept. 23, 1777. In the anxiety of the moment, the father forgot to give the boy his blessing.
MOZART'S FAVORITE CONCERT PIANO, AND SPINET OR SMALL CLAVICHORD,
now on exhibition at the Mozarteum, in Salzburg.
The piano was used by Mozart during the last ten years of his life. It has five octaves and was made by the celebrated Anton Walter. Its value was estimated, after Mozart's death, at 80 florins (about $25) and it probably sold for less. It came into the possession of Hummel, the composer and pianist, and finally to the Mozarteum.
The spinet has five octaves and was used in composing the Magic Flute, Titus and The Requiem.
In the background is seen the large painting of the Mozart family, by Carmontelle.
And now began the struggles of his life, struggles that only ended with a premature death. They went first to Munich, but there was nothing there. The intendant of the theatre, a broker in music, would not accept Wolfgang's proposition to furnish four operas a year for a ridiculously small sum of money; and there was no other opening. Then a visit was made to Wolfgang's uncle in Augsburg. Here he was kindly received. He became intimate with Stein, the instrument-maker, and gave pianoforte lessons to his daughter. He swore lasting fidelity to his own cousin. When he left, there was an exchange of portraits, and afterward the cousins corresponded vigorously for a time. The next stopping place was Mannheim, which was called "the paradise of musicians." The orchestra fostered by the musical Elector Karl Theodore was probably without a rival in Europe. It was of unusual size. There were eleven first violins, eleven second, four violas, four 'cellos, and four double basses; two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets (instruments rarely used in those days), four bassoons, two horns, and trumpets and drums. The conductor was Cannabich, a man of knowledge and of temperament. The performances of this orchestra were celebrated by all the critics of the time. Burney compared the piano and forte to different colors used by painters. Schubart wrote that the forte was a thunder-storm, the crescendo a cataract, the diminuendo like the purling of a crystal stream, the piano like a breath of spring. And Burney, again, compared the orchestra to an army of generals equally prepared to direct the campaign and to fight. With these men Mozart became intimate. Here also he knew the famous singers, Dorothea Wendling, Franciska Danzi and Anton Raaff. Here too he met the famous Abbé Vogler, the teacher in future years of Weber and Meyerbeer, whom he disliked to the point of hatred. He sneered at his theoretical books, he called him "charlatan" and "humbug." A harsh verdict, and one not fully deserved, although this Vogler was truly an eccentric person, who boasted that he could make a composer in three weeks and a singer in six months. Now, certain members of the orchestra were engaged for concerts in Paris, and they begged Mozart to go with them, saying that Paris was the only town where such a composer would be appreciated and could make his fortune. At first he embraced their views and tried to convince his father that the plan was for the best. When everything seemed favorable, Leopold was astonished by the receipt of letters from Wolfgang, saying that he had abandoned the project, and at the same time giving ridiculous reasons for the change. The truth was that the boy was in love.
Fridolin Weber, a man of good family and of education, was the prompter and the copyist of the Mannheim theatre. Poor as he was, he had cultivated the talents of his daughters. They were five in number. The second, Aloysia, was fifteen, distinguished for her beauty and superb voice. She and Mozart went together to the chateau of the Princess of Orange,—and they loved each other. She sang for the Princess and he played, and the letters written by Wolfgang to his father show more than a musician's interest in Aloysia. For her he wrote a passionate aria, choosing Metastasio's lines "Non so d'onde." This love making was stopped by a sensible and kindly letter from Leopold, and the boy and his mother set out for Paris. There were tears, and presents. Aloysia gave her lover two pairs of mittens which she had worked, and Fridolin added a roll of music paper and a copy of Molière. But Aloysia was piqued and never forgave Wolfgang for his obedience to his father.