LIFE OF MOZART

I HAVE been asked to say a few words by way of welcome to the translation of Jahn's Life of Mozart, and I do so with pleasure. The book has been long familiar to me, and I regard its appearance in an English dress as an event in our musical history. It will be a great boon to students and lovers of music, and it shows how much the study of music has advanced among us when so large and serious a work is sufficiently appreciated to repay the heavy expense attendant on its translation and publication. The book itself is what the Germans call an "epoch-making work." The old biographies of musicians, such as Forkel's Life of Bach (1802) and Dies's of Haydn (1810), are pleasant gossipy accounts of the outward life of the composers; but they concern themselves mainly with the exterior both of the man and his productions, and there is a sort of tacit understanding throughout that if the reader is a professional musician he will know all about the music, if he is an amateur it is altogether out of his reach. Characteristic traits and anecdotes there are in plenty, but as to how the music was made or came into being, what connection existed between it and the circumstances or surroundings of the composer, what relation it had to that of his predecessors or contemporaries, how far the art was advanced by the labours of this particular composer or player—all that is outside the province of the book. Schindler's Life of Beethoven (Münster, 1840—a much smaller book than it afterwards became) was hardly more PREFACE. than this, and in addition is so deformed by want of method and by faults of style as to be very uninviting to the reader. A step in the right direction was taken in Moscheles' English translation (or rather adaptation) of Schindler (1841). Moscheles' residence in London had shown him that there was even then a public outside the professional musician to whom such works would be interesting, and he accordingly took pains, by inserting musical examples and other means, to make his edition attractive to this class. But the inherent defects of the original work prevented more than a moderate success.

The first real attempt at a biography of a composer that should interest all classes was the work of an Englishman. Edward Holmes was not only a musician, but a cultivated man with a good literary style, and his Life of Mozart, including his Correspondence (1845), was very nearly all that such a book should be. It was derived from original sources, it was full and yet condensed, it blended admirably the portrait of the man with the portrait of the musician, it contained for that time a considerable amount of musical illustrations, and lists of the works; and in addition to this it was written in a style attractive to the amateur, and even to the ordinary reader. It was largely read, and has long since been out of print.* More than this, it extorted praise from a German writer, and that a German should praise any English work on a musical subject is indeed an event. The terms of warm commendation in which Jahn mentions it in his introduction are in striking contrast to

* A new edition, with notes by Ebenezer Prout, B.A., was
published in 1878 by Novello, Ewer & Co.

PREFACE.

those which he employs over some other German works. He calls it an "interesting and readable biography," "a trustworthy and, as far as was then possible, exhaustive account... the most trustworthy and serviceable that could be produced by skilful use of the materials generally accessible" (pp. ix., x.). In fact, it has been said with truth that whole pages may be found in which the two works are so closely alike that the one might be thought to be a translation of the other, the probability being that both Holmes and Jahn were borrowing from the same sources.

Jahn himself enjoyed even higher advantages for his task than Holmes had done. He was not only a thorough practical musician, a careful and sympathetic critic, and a learned musical bibliographer, but he was a skilled littérateur; an adept in philology and archaeology and in the history of art and literature; the author of many original works on these subjects, and of innumerable editions of the classics, ancient and modern; and imbued with the true spirit of patient investigation and accurate research. His position, and the esteem in which he was held throughout Germany, gave him command of all the materials necessary for his work, even of the most private kind. How he entered on his task, with what true modesty and determination he pursued it, from its first suggestion, during the funeral of Mendelssohn in 1847, down to its completion in 1855,* may be seen from his own interesting and characteristic introduction (pp. i.-xxiv), as well as the pains which he took to revise his work for the second edition,** twelve years later,

* W. A. Mozart, von Otto Jahn (Leipzig, 1856-59). 4 vols.,
8vo.
** Zwcite durchaos umgearbeitete Auflage (Leipzig, 1867). 2
vols., royal 8vo.

PREFACE.

and utilise the additional information acquired in the interval (pp. xxv.-xxviii.).

The book which is the result of this combination of toil, intelligence, ability, knowledge, and affectionate devotion, could only have been successful by the addition to these qualities of a remarkable amount of literary tact and skill. The plan of the work is one which few English authors could by any possibility adopt. It is immense; at first sight its plan is bewildering. The book is not a Life of Mozart so much as an Encyclopaedia of musical art and biography. It opens with a minute account of Mozart's father, and of his method and his works, amounting to sixteen pages. Not only have we the narrative of the life of Mozart himself from his cradle to his grave in the smallest particulars, with a detailed examination of each work—in the case of the operas, both text and music, amounting in single operas to forty, fifty, and even ninety pages—but we have the history of the rise and progress of each branch of music that Mozart touched—and he touched them all—up to the date of his life. Witness the long notices of the Opera, the Oratorio, and Church music, and the chapter on Instrumental music in Vol. I.; the account of the French Opera, and of Lully, Rameau, Gluck, and Piccinni, in Vol. II. We have also full accounts of the social and musical condition of the various cities visited by Mozart, such as Paris, Mannheim, Salzburg, Munich, and Vienna; and biographical notices, longer or shorter, of every person with whom Mozart came into contact, or whom his biographer has occasion to mention.

Such a work may well be called an Encyclopaedia; and to have steered through this ocean of material as Jahn has PREFACE. done, never losing the thread of the narrative, and maintaining the interest in the hero throughout, implies no ordinary tact and skill; for the book is remarkably readable, and there are few pages which are not enlivened by some anecdote or lifelike touch. Nor is it less remarkable for accuracy than for the other qualities already mentioned. The writer has used it constantly for many years, and has never yet discovered a mistake of any moment. Perhaps it would have been better if the secondary treatises of which we have spoken had been relegated to Appendixes; but this is directly opposed to the German method, and we must accept the work as we have it. There are indeed already nineteen Appendixes to the original work, as follows i. Family documents. 2. Marianne Mozart. 3. Testimonials, eulogistic poems, articles, &c. 4. Dedications. 5. Mozart's letters on his journeys. 6. Text of his church music. 7. Arrangements and adaptations of ditto. 8. His cousins. 9. Mozart as a comic poet. 10. Mozart and Vogler. 11. A letter of Leopold Mozart's. 12. Mozart's letters on the death of his mother. 13. The choruses for "King Thamos." 14. The text of "Idomeneo." 15. Alterations in that opera. 16. Mozart's letters to his wife. 17. The Requiem. 18. Mozart's residences in Vienna. 19. Portraits. Of these it has been considered necessary to retain only Nos. 2, 7, and 19, which form Appendixes 1, 2, and 3 of the present edition. Another has been added: namely, a classified list of the whole of his works, according to the complete edition now in course of publication, with the references to the invaluable Catalogue of Köchel. With these exceptions the English translation is exactly in accordance with the German original.

PREFACE.

A word of special praise is due to Miss Townsend, the translator, who has performed her laborious task with great accuracy and intelligence, and has established an additional claim on the gratitude of the student by her exhaustive Index, in which the original work is very deficient.

The new branch of musical literature, founded by Holmes and Jahn, already shows some considerable monuments. Passing by the voluminous and accurate thematic catalogues of Mozart by the Ritter von Köchel (1862), of Weber by Jahns (1871), and of Beethoven and Schubert by Nottebohm (1868 and 1874), works which properly belong to a separate department of the subject—we already possess the Life of Handel by Chrysander (vol. i., 1858; II., 1860; III., 1867), that of Beethoven by A. W. Thayer (vol. i., 1866; II., 1872; III., 1879), that of Haydn by C. F. Pohl (vol. i., 1875; II., 1882)—all three still in progress—and that of Bach by Spitta (vol. i., 1873; II., 1880). But these laborious and conscientious works, while they rival and even surpass Jahn in their wide range and the manner in which they embalm every minute particular relating to the subject, are far behind him in lucidity, and in the ease with which he handles his vast materials. In these respects, as might be expected from his literary position, Otto Jahn stands hitherto quite alone.

GEORGE GROVE.

February 23, 1882.

INTRODUCTION.

To Professor Gustav Hartenstein.

MY DEAR FRIEND,—I have little doubt that the afternoon of November 7, 1847, is as fresh in your memory as in my own. We had assembled in the Johan-niskirche to accompany the remains of Mendelssohn on their last sad journey, and by chance (for I had not been long in Leipzig, and my acquaintance with you was slight) we walked side by side in the long line of mourners. From grief at the early loss of a master, whose cultivation, self-discipline, and endeavours after the good and the beautiful had exercised a truly beneficial influence over the art of our age, our grave talk turned to the more particular consideration of music in itself, and to the great masters of the past! This led us to the interchange of many ideas, and to a conviction of our unanimity of principle and sentiment on most subjects. Thus, for instance, we coincided in our experience that at a certain period of our mental development Mozart's music had seemed cold and unintelligible to our restless spirits, ever soaring into the unknown, and incapable of appreciating a master whose passions in their workings are not laid bare to view, but who offers us perfect beauty victorious over turbulence and impurity. Turning to him again in later years, we are amazed alike at the wondrous wealth of his art, and at our former insensibility to it. For my own part, I confided to you how, after severe illness, which had debarred me from music for many years, it was Mozart who first gave me courage and interest to turn to it again. We agreed, also, that minds which are able to receive and appreciate art for its own sake, must yield themselves captive to Mozart, but without sacrificing their freedom to recognise all that is grand and beautiful elsewhere.

LIFE OF MOZART.

This conversation was the beginning of a more constant intercourse, leading to a friendship founded on such close agreement of principle in all matters of importance as to render it indissoluble: I have ever since, in joy or sorrow, been assured of your hearty sympathy and support.

I should be perfectly justified in offering you this book as a testimony of my love and gratitude, even if its contents concerned you less. But music has ever played so important a part in our intercourse, whether I sat beside you at the piano, or stood behind your chair, or we wandered into talk; so great a share in the book belongs to you, who have ever urged me forward with the work, sometimes (I may acknowledge it now) even unmercifully, that I can offer it in its completed form to none with more pleasure and confidence than to yourself.

And now you must give me leave to lay before you much that is on my mind concerning it. Let me imagine that I have come as of old to you and your wife for comfort and encouragement, and prepare for a long talk.

You are aware, my dear friend, how this biography originated, and how it has gradually increased to an extent which has alarmed even myself. Occupied at first only with the biography of Beethoven, I soon saw that it would be impossible to do full justice to his great and original creations without a clear survey of the life and works of Mozart, the pioneer of the musical future, as whose natural heir Beethoven attained his pre-eminent position in the history of music. The exposition would have been too comprehensive for an introduction, and I determined to arrange the ill-digested and unreadable mass of biographical material which Nissen had collected into a readable treatise on the life of Mozart, to serve as a foundation for the observations which I meant to deduce therefrom. With this end in view, I gradually amassed so large a store of materials for the story of his life and the appreciation of his works, that there rose before me the duty of erecting a new structure upon a new foundation. But before I proceed to specify the sources whence I have drawn my materials, INTRODUCTION. allow me to glance over all the biographies of Mozart hitherto published, so far as they are known to me.

Soon after Mozart's death there appeared a biographical article upon him in Schlichtegrolls Nekrolog for 1791. This is precise and trustworthy so far as it relates to the period of his childhood, and rests on the testimony of his sister; but the notices of his later years are superficial; and the judgment passed upon him as a man rests upon a preconceived and unfavourable opinion which then prevailed in Vienna partly on professional grounds, and which took such deep root that even at the present day I know not if I shall succeed in establishing the truth. It was not surprising that Mozart's widow, in order to stop the circulation of such injurious representations, should buy up an impression of this article which appeared under the title of Mozart's Life (Jos. Georg Hubeck: Gratz, 1794).

A biography which appeared the same year in Sonnleithner's Vienna Theater-Almanach (p. 94) is only an abridgment of the article in the Nekrolog; and a French translation was made by Beyle, under the noms de plume of Bombet and Stendhal, as "Lettres sur Haydn suivies d'une vie de Mozart" (Paris, 1814). An English translation of the article appeared in London, 1817, and a revised French version in Paris, 1817.

A "Life of the Imperial Kapellmeister Wolfgang Gottlieb Mozart, compiled from original sources by Franz Niemet-schek" (Prague, 1798), is founded partly on communications by the family, especially the widow, partly on personal acquaintance with Mozart: I have made use of the second edition of this work (1808). Unfortunately it does not enter into details so much as might be wished, particularly in its later portions; but all that this excellent, well-informed, and devoted friend records of Mozart is trustworthy and accurate.

Something more was to be expected from Friedrich Rochlitz, who busied himself for a considerable time in writing a biography of Mozart. He had become acquainted with him during his stay in Leipzig in 1789, and moving much in musical circles with Doles and Hiller, he was so charmed with the genius and amiability of the master, LIFE OF MOZART. that he even then carefully noted whatever appeared remarkable in their interviews.

When he afterwards proposed to prepare a life of Mozart, both the widow and the sister supplied him with anecdotes and traits of character, and the widow further (as I gather from their letters) allowed him to make use of Mozart's correspondence.

Some of the anecdotes and particulars supplied by the widow and sister or resulting from his own observation were published in the "Allgemeine Musikalische Zeitung" (A.M.Z., Vol. I., pp. 17,49,81,113,145,177,480; Vol. II., pp. 450, 493, 590), and Rochlitz often alluded in later issues to his acquaintance with Mozart; but there it remained, and I have failed to discover why he abandoned his idea of a biography. When Nissen's biography appeared he complained that he had not been called into counsel by Mosel, and was of opinion that "the widow must have changed very much in her old age, if she was not proved to have acted shabbily in this affair" (Vienna, A.M.Z., 1848, p. 209). I set on foot investigations as to whether Rochlitz had left behind any records or communications which, springing from now exhausted sources, might be of service to me in my work. This led to a discovery which, painful as it is to me to cast a slur on the memory of an otherwise deserving man, I must yet, in the interests of truth, reveal; I could not fail to observe that those particulars of Mozart's life which Rochlitz gives as the result of his own observation or as narrated to him by Mozart, are peculiar to himself in form and colouring, and that many of the circumstances which he relates with absolute certainty are manifestly untrue. I sought to account for these facts as slips of memory or the result of that kind of self-deception which confounds a logical inference with a fact springing from it. But my search led to the further discovery of a parallel (also printed in the A.M.Z.) between Mozart and Raphael, giving a detailed account of the circumstances of Mozart's marriage, and with express reference to Mozart's own narrative of the affair which Rochlitz was supposed to have written down the same night. Now for the period which is here treated of, that INTRODUCTION. is, between 1780 and 1783, Mozart's entire correspondence is preserved, and any error upon essential points is, as you will readily grant, impossible. All the statements of Rochlitz as to time, place, persons, and events are completely false. You will remember my consternation at this unwelcome discovery; no poetical license could account for it; unpleasant as it is, I consider it my duty to expose the affair, partly that it may teach caution, and partly that tedious and vexatious discussion may be avoided, should the narrative in question ever be printed.

These anecdotes from the A.M.Z., together with the information of Schlichtegroll and Niemetschek have formed the chief material for the more or less complete accounts of Mozart which afterwards appeared; what was added consisted partly of anecdotes, generally badly authenticated and often ill-turned, such as gain currency among artists, and partly of phrases, or turns of speech which, as Zelter says, every one makes for himself. I must not spare you the enumeration of some of the works of this class.

Cramer's "Anecdotes sur Mozart" (Paris, 1801), is a mere translation of the anecdotes; some of them, together with a general account, are also given by J. B. A. Suard,

"Anecdotes sur Mozart," in his "Mélanges de Littérature", (Paris, 1804), Vol. II., p. 337, as well as by Guattani, in the "Memorie Enciclopediche Romane" (Rome, 1806) Vol. I., pp. 107, 134. A work of more pretension is "Mozarts Geist. Seine kurze Biographie und äthetische Darstellung seiner Werke. Ein Bildungsbuch für junge Tonkünstler" (Erfurt, 1803). Zelter asked Goethe to tell him who was the author of this "short biography half dedicated to Goethe," which was "neither short nor aesthetic, nor a good likeness of the man," and was not a little surprised to learn that Goethe knew nothing either of the work or its author ("Correspondence," Vol. I., pp. 56, 67,65). It was, however, by J. E. F. Arnold, of Erfurt, whose subsequent publication, "Mozart und Haydn. Versuch einer Parallele" (Erfurt, 1810), was scarcely calculated to draw a more favourable expression of opinion from Zelter.

Of no greater intrinsic value are Hormayr's statements: LIFE OF MOZART. in the "Austrian Plutarch" (VII., 2, 15; Vienna, 1807), or Lichtenthal's "Cenni biografici intorno al celebre Maestro Wolfgango Amadeo Mozart" (Milan, 1816). I have not been able to procure the "Elogio' storico di Mozart del Conte Schizzi" (Cremona, 1817). The articles in Gerber's "Tonkünstlerlexicon" are carefully compiled, but not complete; and "Mozarts Biographie," by J. A. Schlosser (Prague, 1828; third edition, 1844), is a compilation altogether wanting in judgment.

An unsuspected wealth of fresh resources was brought to light by the "Biographie W. A. Mozarts," by G. N. v. Nissen. Leipzig, 1828 (with an appendix). In order to estimate this book justly, and to make a right use of it, it is necessary to ascertain how and whence it proceeded, a task of considerably more difficulty than merely mocking and railing at it.

Nissen, who came to Vienna, after Mozart's death, as a Danish diplomatist, became acquainted with his widow, and interested himself in her unprotected condition. He had a great turn for business matters, and was fond of arranging papers, writing letters, and even copying, without understanding what it was that he was occupied about. He therefore willingly undertook to put Mozart's effects in order, to assist the widow in all her business arrangements, and to carry on her correspondence. A long series of letters which he wrote in her name show him to have been a well-meaning, sensible man, somewhat over-circumstantial in his style of writing. After his marriage with Mozart's widow he felt it his duty to labour with the same conscientious care for his memory as he had formerly done for his property, and he employed the leisure of his remaining years, which were spent at Salzburg, in carrying out this design.

We ought to own ourselves deeply indebted to him, for without his care the most important documents and traditions would have been hopelessly lost. Mozart's sister was then living at Salzburg; her recollections, and those of his wife, afforded an abundance of characteristic traits, and the carefully preserved papers and family correspondence, were a rich mine of authentic documents.

Besides a number of separate deeds, letters, and memoranda, he had at his disposal: Leopold Mozart's letters to Hagenauer during the journey to Vienna (September, 1762, to January, 1763); during the great journey (from June, 1763, to November, 1766); during the Vienna journey (September, 1767, to December, 1768); letters both of the father and son to their family during the Italian journey (December, 1769, to March, 1771; from August 13, 1771, to December, 1771; from October, 1772, to March, 1773); from Vienna (July, 1773, to September, 1773); from Munich (December, 1774, to March, 1775); Wolfgang's and his mother's letters home, together with the answers of Leopold and his daughter during the journey to Paris (September, 1777, to January, 1779); Wolfgang's correspondence with his father and sister during his journey to Munich and residence in Vienna. Wolfgang's letters come down to 1784, his father's to 1781.

Nissen possessed both the industry and the goodwill to turn these treasures to account; unhappily these qualities do not suffice for such an undertaking. Not to mention that he has no idea of adaptation or of description, he had neither taste nor cultivation in music, nor tact to distinguish what was trivial from what was important; nor was he capable of accurately conveying an idea. Having had at my service a portion of the documents made use of by him, I have been able to check him, and to form an idea of his mode of proceeding. He is never dishonest, never alters with intent to deceive; but he deals with his documents in the most summary manner possible. He seldom gives them entire, but only so much of them as he considers of interest. Unfortunately he is no judge either of what is musically important nor psychologically interesting, and thus his selection is often singularly unhappy. He was influenced, too, by consideration for distinguished living personages, and by the prejudices of his wife, who naturally wished many family circumstances to remain untouched; his sins, however, are always those of omission. But silence, by obscuring the connection of events, and by concealing the motives of actions, may be as prejudicial as actual LIFE OF MOZART. misstatement to historical accuracy, and the sufferer by a too tender consideration for the feelings of others is invariably the person whose character it is attempted to depict. Fortunately, for the most important years of Mozart's life from 1777 onwards, I have been able myself to make use of the family correspondence; you will see what a different conception I have thereby been enabled to form of this period. It is of less importance, but nevertheless a drawback, that Nissen has thought good to alter the details of style and expression in many of the letters. Neither father nor son were in need of such emendations, both writing clearly and shrewdly, and with an individuality all their own; but even were this not the case, and Nissen the man (which he was not) to correct their defects, such an effacement of individual character would remain altogether inexcusable.

Had Nissen confined himself to the publication of the letters and extracts, together with such information as he could gather from Mozart's wife and sister, or from other credible witnesses, he would have done posterity important service. But in attempting more than this he verified the saying of Hesiod that "the whole is less than the part." Many manuscripts, newspapers, journals, &c., treating of Mozart's professional doings, had been preserved among the family archives; not content with these, Nissen has taken incredible pains to collect whatever else had been written concerning Mozart; he has then copied out all that appeared to him important, and has arranged these extracts categorically as seemed to him good, putting together, for instance, all that related to one particular work; finally, he has huddled together these heterogeneous fragments without design, connection, or explanation. If this confused and ill-proportioned mass is to be made use of at all, it must be separated into its component parts, and these must be restored to their proper place and connection; it may fairly be taken for granted that where any idea or judgment is expressed, Nissen is not speaking in his own person. He has, however, simplified the task of restoring each fragment to its proper position by a catalogue of the INTRODUCTION. writings in which Mozart is mentioned; and although some documents made use of by him have since disappeared,

I have been able in almost every case to discover his authorities. In most cases these are of little value; but among much that is worthless, there are here and there communications resting on family traditions, which Nissen has tacitly appropriated with but slight alterations; it is undoubtedly desirable to be able to appeal to the original in such cases, but for the most part they speak for themselves, and are seldom of importance.

The statements I have made were necessary for the proper use of Nissen's work; but you must not, therefore, imagine that I am unjust towards him. True the mass of printed matter is enough to drive one to absolute despair; but when it is remembered that a large proportion of the documents he embodies have since dissappeared, we must be grateful to the man who has enabled us to take so comprehensive a glance into an artist's life, and who has laboured with unselfish reverence for Mozart's memory, while a succeeding generation did not think it worth while even to preserve the documents which Nissen made use of.

It must not be lost sight of either, that Nissen did not see his work through the press; he died on March 24, 1826, before it was put in hand, and it is quite possible that he would have improved it in many ways upon final revision.

It is significant that although all were agreed that Nissen's book was unreadable without alteration and adaptation, no writer in Germany undertook the task, and that it was left to foreigners to turn the treasure to account. Fétis undertook

it in his "Biographie Universelle des Musiciens," IV., p. 432 (Brussels, 1840), VI., p. 222 (2nd edit., Brussels, 1864), so far as it could be done within the narrow limits of a general work of the kind.

But the obvious task of compiling an interesting and readable biography by means of an orderly arrangement of the really interesting portions of Nissen's materials was first undertaken by Edward Holmes, in his "Life of Mozart, including his Correspondence" (London, 1845).

Holmes has arranged the essential portions of the LIFE OF MOZART. correspondence with intelligence and discrimination, and has connected them by a narrative built upon previous notices; he has thus produced a trustworthy and, as far as was possible, an exhaustive account of Mozart's life. Holmes has, moreover, made use of André's published Catalogue of Mozart's Works, and the indications there given of their date of appearance. He undertook a journey through Germany to inspect the original manuscripts in André's possession, and to collect stray oral traditions. He took care to make himself acquainted with musical literature, and the result is a work which must be considered as the most trustworthy and serviceable biography that could be produced by a skilful employment of the materials generally accessible. Holmes has not attempted to draw from hitherto unknown sources; he neither carries his researches to any depth, nor offers any original opinions or explanations.

The letters of both Mozarts, father and son, were edited by J. Goschler in a spirit which is indicated clearly enough by the title of his book, "Mozart; Vie d'un Artiste Chrétien au XVIII. siècle." Paris, 1857.

Alexander Ulibichefï proceeded from quite another point of view in his work, "Nouvelle Biographie de Mozart, suivie d'un aperçu sur l'histoire générale de la musique, et de l'analyse des principales ouvres de Mozart" (Moscow, 1843), in three parts, which is generally known in Germany in the translations of A. Schraishuon (Stuttgart, 1847), and of L. Gantte (Stuttgart, 1859). The enthusiastic reverence of the author for Mozart speaks from every page, and involved many years of study and many real sacrifices; but this must not blind our judgment as to the intrinsic value of his work. I do not fear your reproaching me in the words of the old proverb about the kettle reproving the pot, if I express myself freely as to what I consider the weak points of this book. Ulibicheffs main object has been a critical and aesthetic analysis of Mozart's later works, on which his fame mainly rests, and which bear the most perfect impress of his genius. The author's observations, therefore, are confined to a definite portion of Mozart's compositions—the best known, because the greatest—and any idea of extending INTRODUCTION. them does not seem to have occurred to him. Anything further in his works is meant to serve only as a foundation for those observations. He does not fail to perceive that the greatness of perfected genius can only be apprehended by a knowledge of the gradual stages of its achievement, and that, since Mozart takes his place in the history of music by something more than mere chance, the whole process of musical development is necessarily incorporated in his progress.

Ulibicheff is content to extract all that seems to point to his conclusions from Nissen's account of Mozart's development. He makes up for his reticence in this direction by expatiating freely on the general history of the art. In fact, his review of the whole history of music results only in the observation that since any exceptional phenomenon is the sum and crown of all that has gone before, therefore the development of modern music in every direction, from Guido of Arezzo, onwards, has its raison d'etre in the production of Mozart, who is to be considered as its perfect expression.

No one knows better than yourself, my friend, the false conclusions to which this exaggeration of an idea, true and suggestive in itself, has led. The partiality of enthusiasm and dilettantism join issue here. It needs no great penetration to discover that Ulibicheffs epitome of the history of music is not the result of impartial research, or of a practical knowledge of even the more important works of past ages, but that it is compiled from a few easily recognised works with the express object of demonstrating that all that has gone before has its end and consummation in Mozart. An author who can seriously maintain that the great masters of counterpoint, Palestrina, Bach, and Handel were only called into being in order that the Requiem might be produced, an author who can only grasp and develop the idea of natural progress up to a certain point and no further—that author has surely mastered neither the idea of progress, nor the nature of the art, nor the work of the master whom he seeks to honour. Such a partial and exclusive appreciation of any artist may satisfy individual taste, for which it is proverbially impossible to account; but scientific investigation, LIFE OF MOZART. which can always be accounted for, seeing that it proceeds from a rational basis, rejects it at once and altogether. You will, I know, agree with me that the critic who, like Ulibicheff, depreciates Beethoven in order to maintain Mozart on his pedestal, does not understand Mozart. The distortion and exaggeration of such an idea leads further to the neglect of those clues to a right understanding of Mozart's development which exist in the circumstances of his life, in his youthful works, and in the conditions of his age and surroundings. These had all direct effect upon his genius, and, in so far as they are disregarded, our conception of the man and the artist will be defective.

I am, of course, far from denying that Uübicheff has brought to the performance of his task considerable power of delicate aesthetic analysis, together with much spirit and ingenuity. But his analysis of particular works does not start from artistic form, the specific basis of all works of art; he never seeks to demonstrate how the universal laws of art, under certain conditions, govern all concrete forms according to the individuality of the artist (a difficult task in music, but still essential to its true understanding); instead of this he contents himself with giving us his own reflections on the various compositions he analyses, and the feelings and ideas which they suggest to himself. Such reflections are pleasant and entertaining when they proceed from a clever and cultivated mind; but they are usually more characteristic of the author than of his subject, and are mainly satisfactory to those who fail to grasp the substance of a work of art, and are fain to content themselves with its shadow.

Uübicheff invariably displays both intellect and cultivation, but it is the cultivation of a man of the world, not that of a musician, which has no bias of enthusiasm or dilettantism; his remarks seldom reach the root of the matter, and are often deceptive in their brilliancy, thus accomplishing little for a better appreciation of his subject.

Do not be alarmed, my dear friend, at the invidious position in which I place myself and my work by my want of reserve as to others. My cause is that of knowledge, and I must have a clear understanding as to my powers, INTRODUCTION. and the means at my disposal, for accomplishing the task before me; least of all would I appear to deprecate censure on my own work by sparing it to that of others. You are aware that music has, from my youth up, occupied a large share of my time and thoughts, so much so, that my elders were in the habit of shaking their heads and auguring ill for my philological studies. They may have been right; I must at any rate acknowledge that music has ever been to me quite as serious a study as philology, and that I have striven to acquire such a thorough and scientific knowledge as should give me an insight into its nature and mechanism.

I considered it therefore as a duty to myself to turn to account the labour that had occupied a good share of my life, and I embraced with eagerness the opportunity of dedicating my researches to the great masters, to whom I owed so much. I believed myself justified in considering that a representation of the life and works of a great master offers so many sides, and makes so many demands, that only united forces can prove themselves fully equal to the task. If, therefore, I was obliged, perforce, to leave much that was essential to the musician by profession, my greater practice in scientific method might advance the undertaking in other and not less important directions. Consoled by these reflections, I set to work.

The task I proposed to myself was a thorough investigation of the sources available for a trustworthy and exhaustive account of Mozart's life, with special reference to all that was calculated to affect his moral and musical development in the general conditions of his time, and in the local and personal circumstances which influenced him; and, in addition, a history of his development as an artist, and a characterisation of his artistic performances as comprehensive as a thorough study and appreciation of his compositions could make it. No side of this task could be treated altogether independently, both the researches and the remarks resulting from them, touching now one, now the other; in the biography as in the individual, the artist and the man are indissolubly united

I soon became painfully aware of the insufficiency of my LIFE OF MOZART. materials, and the scattered additions to Nissen's collection which came in from time to time were but scanty gleanings; it was essential to reach the original sources. My journey to Vienna in 1852 was undertaken, as you know, chiefly with the object of collecting such traditions of Beethoven as might remain there; I did not hope to find much which might lead to a closer knowledge of Mozart.

Living testimony as to his life, person, or circumstances was almost extinct, little of what I learnt was from impressions at first hand, and it was generally necessary to guard against such communications as the result of book knowledge distorted by verbal transmission.

Nevertheless, my visit was an instructive one even as concerned Mozart. Widely different as was the Vienna of 1852 from the Vienna of 1780 to 1790, yet much was gained by actual observation and impressions, which could not be given by books, and which operates more in the colour and tone of the whole representation that in any precise details.

Intercourse, also, with accomplished friends led to much which would otherwise have remained untouched.

My valued friend Karajan in particular, with his musical knowledge and his intimate acquaintance with Vienna, rendered my stay in that city as instructive as it was agreeable. He had a good opportunity of experiencing how much trouble one is capable of giving to a friend who is always ready with explanations, and willing to enter on the driest search into matters of detail, if he can thereby help forward another. At the Imperial Library I found not only the different manuscripts of the Requiem which serve as the surest testimony on the much debated question of its authorship, but many other important manuscripts and rich material of all kinds, my access to which I owe to the unfailing courtesy of the custodian, A. Schmid.

But the most important aid came from Aloys Fuchs. With extraordinary perseverance he had collected every writing that in any way related to Mozart, and with a disinterested liberality, rare among collectors, he placed at my service all that he possessed and all that he knew. INTRODUCTION. His chronological catalogue of all Mozart's works, published and unpublished, was of the greatest service to me, as well as the long list of documents, newspapers, journals, and pamphlets, which he had either in the original or copies.

I sometimes regretted, however, that the collection was made more in the spirit of a collector than in the interests of science; so that, for example, he has scarcely ever noted the source of his extracts; but much was brought to my notice which would scarcely otherwise have occurred to me, much trouble was spared, and a number of Mozart's letters were made known to me for the first time. I was unfortunately prevented from thoroughly examining Fuchs's valuable collection of Mozart's compositions in their different editions and copies; my time was short, and I hoped to be able to avail myself of a future opportunity for doing so. This hope was frustrated by the death of Aloys Fuchs a few months after I left Vienna. It has been a painful feeling to me not to be able to express my gratitude for so much friendly service by offering to him the book in which I know he would have taken pleasure.

The greatest service which he rendered me, however, was the intelligence that all that were preserved of Mozart's letters had been presented to the Mozarteum in Salzburg by the Frau Baroni-Cavalcabo, to whom they were bequeathed by Mozart's son Wolfgang. In November of the same year I repaired, therefore, to Salzburg. I here found the only remains of that complete correspondence which Nissen had edited, viz., the letters between 1777 and 1784, just as he had made use of them; fortunately they embraced the most important period of the biography. A cursory glance convinced me that Nissen had been not only inexact and arbitrary in his selections in matters of detail, but that he had altogether suppressed the most important events affecting the proper understanding of the period. Here, then was much to be done; but it was richly worth the trouble. Through the kind assistance of the secretary of the Mozarteum, Dr. v. Hilleprandt, and of the custodian, Jelinek, I was enabled to give my whole attention to the work. I collated the letters printed by Nissen, like an LIFE OF MOZART. old schoolman, copying them entire or making voluminous extracts. One may boast of one's industry, and I can offer an unimpeachable witness of mine in old Theresa at the Golden Ox, who afterwards forgot my name, but remembered me as the professor who sat in his room for more than three weeks writing from morning to night. Fortunately, it was bad weather, or it would have been too hard a trial, even for a professor, to sit in his room all day at Salzburg. But the usually hateful task of transcription was on this occasion a real enjoyment. I could fancy myself in intercourse with the man himself as I lived his life again letter by letter.

I could realise the emotions of joy or sorrow which had prompted his words, the impressions which they had made on the recipients, and even the variations in the handwriting grew to have their own significance. It is my most earnest wish that some breath of this feeling may have passed into my own performance, but it would scarcely be possible to' reproduce the inspiration which contact with the letters awoke in myself.

On the completion of this task, I made researches for any of Mozart's compositions which might still remain in Salzburg; I failed, however, to discover any. Although Mozart's sister, his widow, and her sister had lived in Salzburg within the last ten years, it had occurred to no one to make inquiries concerning their great countryman, or to preserve to posterity the rich treasures of family tradition which encircled his whole life; I found, when I inquired, that all was as completely forgotten, as irrecoverably lost as his grave. Nor had anything further been preserved in the way of family papers and documents. (After the death of Mozart's eldest son Carl, all that he possessed of letters—written during the journeys of 1762 to 1775—and other documents, were placed in the Mozarteum.)

Treasure such as that correspondence I could scarcely expect to excavate elsewhere; but through the kindness of friends and well-wishers many letters have been placed at my disposal which have added to the interest, more particularly of Mozart's later years. I have no doubt that many INTRODUCTION. documents are still hidden in autograph collections and elsewhere; perchance my book may open the eyes of the possessors to the true value of their treasures, and I shall consider it as a rich reward of my labours if they aid in bringing to light any such relics of Mozart.

Assistance of another kind, not less important than the foregoing, came from André's collection. It is well known; that the Hofrath André purchased from Mozart's widow the entire collection of Mozart's original manuscripts, of printed and unprinted works, and this collection, with the exception of a few pieces disposed of at an earlier date, was preserved in Frankfort entire, in the possession of André's heirs, as denoted by a "Thematic Catalogue of the original manuscripts by Mozart in the possession of Hofrath André" (Offenbach, 1841). Leopold Mozart carefully preserved all Wolfgang's youthful works, and at his death they came into the son's possession: although not by any means so careless about his compositions as he has been represented, he, nevertheless, lost or gave away a considerable number. After his death, however, it was found that his works previous to his residence in Vienna had been preserved almost entire, and by far the greater number of those of later years. André's collection contains further the enumeration, in Mozart's own handwriting, of his works from his earliest years in almost unbroken succession to his death. The more important and greater number of his compositions previous to 1780 are still unprinted, and many of the printed ones are so carelessly edited that a comparison with the original is indispensable. The importance of André's collection is manifest, and it is probable that none of equal value, historical and artistic, exists for any other great master, whatever be his art. (Unhappily, the apprehension that Germany could conceive no worthier or more lasting way of honouring Mozart than by the erection of statues and busts has been fulfilled, and Mozart's manuscripts have already been in great measure dispersed.)

Convinced that a review of Mozart's musical development would be impossible without an exhaustive knowledge of his youthful works, I repaired to Frankfort in the summer LIFE OF MOZART. of 1853, in order to examine this remarkable collection. The brothers Carl and Julius André granted me ready access to it, and kindly prepared me an apartment in their house, where I had full liberty to study the MSS. and make what notes and extracts I pleased; a task which occupied five weeks. As it proceeded, I could not but feel that the most accurate notices could not give the fresh impression of the actual work. Here again, the brothers André came to my aid, displaying throughout a warmth of interest in my work, and a liberality which I could not have ventured to expect; they provided me, as my work progressed, with each particular manuscript on which I was engaged, so that my remarks could be grounded on the actual examination of every composition. Without the confidence and aid of these gentlemen, my book could not have succeeded in attaining that wherein I place its essential value. It is owing to their courtesy and kindness that I may boast, not only of a perfect acquaintance with all Mozart's works, with few and unimportant exceptions, but also of having enjoyed the singular happiness and advantage of studying the greater number of them in his own handwriting.

You will perceive, my dear friend, that all this led, of necessity, to fresh disclosures, to a fuller and more accurate insight into that which had hitherto been only partially known; and you will further take for granted that I, as a "philolog," would not neglect such researches into the literature of my subject as should bring together the scattered materials available for my task. But you must keep in mind that musical literature is not so accessible as philological; and that many expedients, which lighten our labours in the latter path, are wholly wanting in the former. I am, therefore, far from flattering myself that I have even approached a complete study of the literature of my subject. I only aimed at such a study so far as it concerned main principles; for to become acquainted with, or even to quote, everything that has been thought, dreamt, or raved concerning Mozart's music was as far from my intention as from my desire. I was more than satisfied with what came in my way of this kind in the course of my reading, and my INTRODUCTION. readers will be more than satisfied with what I offer them of it by way of example.

My first aim, then, was the verification and authentication of facts, and their unbiassed statement, so far as this was of interest. The written or authentic verbal traditions of Mozart and his family were here my chief dependence, and, except where some special authority is adduced, Nissen's correspondence forms the basis of my narrative. But since it was my wish to bring together all that appeared of lasting interest, and to dispense with Nissen's collection, for all readers who do not desire to search and prove for themselves, I have, therefore, quoted verbally from the letters wherever it was feasible, and have not hesitated to displace them where it answered my purpose in the narrative. I have in every case indicated the letters by their date, without mentioning whether they have been printed by Nissen or not. (They may be readily referred to in the careful collection of L. Nohl, "Mozarts Briefe": Salzburg, 1865.)

I must remark, by the way, that my version cannot be verified by Nissen, since his is neither accurate nor entire; and in order to avoid any misunderstanding, I may also mention, that besides the collections referred to above, many single letters of Leopold and Wolfgang Mozart have come to hand, to which I was able to make more exact reference. As a matter of course, I have made use of originals whenever they were to be had, and of Nissen's version only when they were wanting. From you, my dear friend, I need only request confidence in my scrupulous honesty as to these matters, and I have hope that my book may inspire the reader with a belief in the accuracy of my rendering. It need scarcely be said that I have not made the slightest alteration in the style and expressions of the letters. I have only taken a few liberties with the orthography in order not to distract the reader's attention unnecessarily from the characterisation. I have accurately indicated any reference to authorities other than the letters.

It has been my aim to represent, not only what immediately concerns Mozart, but also the time in which he lived, his circumstances, and the persons with whom he came in LIFE OF MOZART. contact, so far as all these affected the development of his genius. And here again I found the need of trustworthy information. Well informed as we may be on the history of literature and culture during the latter half of the eighteenth century, yet our information as to musical events and persons is meagre and obscure, and we know least of those regions which are of the greatest interest in the history of music. I doubt not that an historian, occupied with the study of this age, would discover much that has escaped me of interest, although I have heard even such complain of the poverty of material.

I have striven with a certain amount of zeal to bring together all that appeared to render my narrative more graphic and lifelike, and have not refrained from adducing my authorities, partly for the sake of accuracy, partly to point the way to those who find the subject of interest. I have gone even further than this, and have added to the names of many persons, principally musicians, of whom mention had to be made, a short notice of their life and sometimes an epitome of their performances. It is probable that the minority of my readers will already have such facts in their minds, and they are essential to a clear perception of the whole work: I have been anxious to spare them the trouble of continual reference to a biographical dictionary.

I have confined myself to the accessible and, of its kind, excellent Dictionary of Musicians by Gerber and Fétis, but my own investigations, leading me into the detailed history of this time, have not seldom supplied additional data for such notices; I remark this not to depreciate the merit of those works, but that it may not be supposed that my statements can always be verified by a reference to accessible authorities.

You may perhaps smile at the zeal of the "philolog" betraying itself in such minute particulars. Be it so. I hold to my craft, and occasionally you will not find it amiss that I do so.

I may remark besides, not to you, but to those who hold in horror notes, digressions, quotations, and references as the merciless weapons of pedantry, that they need not for this INTRODUCTION. reason at once reject my book. I have striven so to write that the text is complete in itself and requires no notes for its comprehension; and those who do not desire the information they contain, may contentedly pass them over. On the other hand, I hope that you will uphold my opinion that the application of the scientific method even to these researches, cannot but be to their advantage. This is perhaps most strikingly evident in the chronological notification of each separate work.

We are well supplied with chronological information as to Mozart's compositions. From 1784 onwards we possess his own carefully compiled thematic catalogue which André has edited (Offenbach, 1805 and 1828).

On earlier compositions the data is generally correctly given with the autograph signature, and the list of authentically dated works comprises by far their greater number. But not quite all; the autograph is wanting to many, and they are not all dated. It thus becomes necessary to resort to classification resting on the external evidence of paper and handwriting, and the internal evidence of style and technical treatment, as well as on the testimony of witnesses.

Hofrath André compiled for his own use a chronological catalogue coming down to the year 1784, of which I have made use. It contains many suggestive remarks, and did me good service, although, of course, it could not spare me my own investigations, by means of which I have, in most cases, come to a solution of my difficulties. The catalogue which I have compiled with considerable pains will, I hope, recommend itself by its brevity, clearness, and trustworthiness. I was obliged to give up the idea of noting what had been already printed, where, and how often; to do this with completeness and exactitude would require an amount of time and study which it was out of my power to bestow.

The treatment of historical facts, both in detail and as a whole, has its own secure and beaten path. Its final object is truth, and my sole concern has been to discover and set forth the truth. No consideration for others has led me to conceal what was essential or important for the due understanding of Mozart as a man and an artist; neither have I LIFE OF MOZART. been tempted to silence on points which were to his disadvantage. Public opinion on his achievements as a fully developed artist is firmly established, and is perhaps only susceptible of modifications of detail and degree; but my work is the first attempt that has been made towards a correct judgment of Mozart as a student and as a man. It has been a pleasure to me to find that as I proceeded, my admiration, esteem, and love for Mozart were constantly on the increase; but not on any account would I have my representation of his character considered in the light of an apology. It is my firm conviction that injustice is done to great men by concealing or slurring over their failings; we serve them best by seeking to make them understood just as they were.

An attempt to lay Mozart's individuality before the reader seemed hardly complete without some presentation of his outward appearance. You will find, therefore, in this book, the charming picture of Mozart as a boy, engraved from the portrait in oils, painted in Verona in 1770; also the characteristic portrait from the family group in the Mo-zarteum at Salzburg, which was painted in 1780, and an engraving of Tischbein's portrait, painted at Mayence in 1790. I have thought it right, further, in a work which is intended to transmit traditions, to preserve the well-known profile of Posch's medallion, which served as a model for all early portraits, more and more unlike in every copy, and yet always like. Various fac-similes of Mozart's handwriting are also given, and I do not fear that you will find out of place a portrait of his father, also taken from the Salzburg family picture.

May I add one word on the musical criticism contained in my work? I am quite aware that it must stand on its own merits, and I am only anxious to express my full consciousness of the difficulty of my undertaking. That the substance of a musical work cannot be verbally represented, and that its effect on the hearer is incapable of being reproduced by description, least of all by a climax of high-sounding adjectives, admits of no dispute. Properly speaking, as Schumann once wished for the musical critic, when a INTRODUCTION. composition is discussed, there should be singers and instrumentalists ready at hand to perform it. But this being scarcely feasible, we are driven to a verbal attempt at reproducing the essence of the work. Such an attempt can only succeed by starting from artistic form, and showing how its laws and types, its technical conditions, its manifold application and development, are all represented in the most individual modifications. A general idea of the work, however, is all that can be arrived at by this means; the immediate impressions made upon the mind by its performance cannot be reproduced; neither can the attempt to express in words the artistic frame of mind which finds its expression in the forms of the work be altogether successful, and it is impossible to apprehend the degree in which the artistic mood imbues the artistic form otherwise than by observation of the work itself.

Descriptions of musical works, therefore, since music cannot, like painting, borrow analogies from visible nature, must remain mere approximations of the original; they become more definite in proportion as they fall in with the reader's own experiences, and find in these analogies and, as it were, precedents for the new ideas it is sought to convey. The main difficulty consists in the fact that among a large circle of readers (which I know you wish for me) the degrees of musical cultivation to which appeal may be made are necessarily very varied. It would be impossible, on this account, to treat the subject in the purely technical manner which would be the shortest and most convenient were musicians only addressed; neither can every separate point be treated from its very beginning, without a presupposition of some knowledge and comprehension on the part of the reader. There only remains then, as it seems to me, such a consideration of musical form from varied points of view, and proceeding in varied directions, yet always with reference to some particular case, as shall bring into play the reader's special musical experiences and assist him to a true understanding of the subject. If he should be struck with only one particular point and should feel it become a reality for LIFE OF MOZART. him, he will henceforward have a clue to the mastery of the rest. To this end I hope that my historical survey of the development of musical forms, and my general observations concerning the laws of the art, may tend. And here I must remark that I have had no intention of providing the technical musician with a theoretical analysis of separate works, but that my characterisation has been limited by the position of its object in the whole representation. I leave you to judge, my dear friend, how far, under these difficult circumstances, I have succeeded in expressing myself clearly and forcibly; I can only affirm with confidence that all that I have said has been realised and experienced by myself.

The sympathy and assistance of my honoured friend Hauptmann has been a source of great gratification to me during the publication of my book. I do not desire to impose upon him any share of responsibility in it, by thanking him for the care with which he has overlooked the author as well as the compositor; but you will understand how I have been encouraged and refreshed during my labours by continual proofs of his friendly sympathy, and how sorely I miss my pleasant personal intercourse with him.

The hour is late, my dear friend, later than it was our wont to separate after our musical revels, which, in the opinion of your amiable wife, often lasted far too long.

Farewell, and accept my book with the same cordial sympathy and indulgence which I have hitherto found so invaluable.

OTTO JAHN.

Bonn, November 30, 1855.

INTRODUCTION TO THE SECOND EDITION.

MY DEAR FRIEND,—I can scarcely describe to you the depression of spirits with which I laid aside my pen at the close of my foregoing letter to you. When I looked at the thick volume before me, which had grown so wonderfully under my hands, and reflected that several others were to follow, I felt a misgiving amounting to certainty that my work was ill-planned, badly executed, or altogether out of place. I should not have believed any one who had prophesied the result that was actually to follow. The gradual conviction that I had been mistaken, that the book was a success beyond anything I had dared to expect, the many proofs I received of acknowledgment and sympathy, were my best encouragement to apply my whole energies to the completion of my arduous task.

When it became necessary to prepare a second edition, I rejoiced at the prospect of revising the whole work in the light of my acquired experience, and hoped that this labour of love would recompense me for all my pains. In this expectation I was, however, deceived; the revision, which I now lay before you, assumed the proportions of a heavy task, requiring the exertions of all my powers for its accomplishment.

The gloom of the last few years cast its shadows even over my work, as you, who seek and recognise the living author behind his words, will not fail to discover; I trust that you will also find traces of the conscientiousness with which I have striven to perform my appointed task.

You will agree with me in thinking that it would have been unadvisable to subvert the whole design of the book in substance and form, and that I must content myself with such improvements in matters of detail as would bring me LIFE OF MOZART, somewhat nearer to the end I had in view. It was, of course, my first endeavour to rectify such errors and remove such blemishes as had been observed either by myself or others, and I then proceeded to turn to account all the materials that had come to hand for the completion or enrichment of my narrative. I had become the fortunate possessor of copies of Mozart's complete correspondence, so far as I know it to exist. If, as I trust was the case, the extracts already before the public had been found useful and trustworthy, there could be no doubt that the completed version would render my narrative more accurate and lifelike. In addition, I had now Mozart's entire compositions, either autograph or copied, so that I could confirm my account and my criticism of each work by direct reference.

Besides these efficient materials for the confirmation of my main authorities, I had received numerous separate communications, partly from friends to whom I owe much gratitude, partly from publications of the last ten years bearing upon my subject, some of which have been of great service to me.

The most important aid, both to myself and to the readers of this edition, has been afforded by Ludwig v. Köchel's "Chronologischthematisches Verzeichniss sammtlicher Tonwerke W. A. Mozarts" (Leipzig, 1862). The necessity for such a catalogue had so strongly impressed me that I had resolved on compiling it myself, when I fortunately learned that Köchel was at work upon it. I was speedily convinced that it was in far better hands than mine, and it gave me genuine pleasure to afford it such assistance as was in my power. Unexampled assiduity, sparing neither sacrifice nor exertion, has produced a work which, from the completeness of its research and the accuracy of its execution, may serve as a model. A few addenda and corrections were indeed unavoidable: Kochel has himself indicated some (Allg. Mus. Ztg., 1864, p. 493), and you will find two or three trifling ones in my book. The fact that Köchel's catalogue contains a complete chronological and biographical account of all Mozart's compositions freed my book from all the notices and references found necessary INTRODUCTION. in corroboration of my statements. A reference to the number in Köchel's catalogue became, in most cases, sufficient; and I was able also to omit notices of errors in the published works which Köchel had remarked upon. These, as far as the great operas are concerned, will soon be rendered still more superfluous by the projected new edition of the scores from the autograph originals. Köche's friendship, which I regard as the greatest gain of our common labours, has aided and supported me throughout the preparation of this edition. I will not attempt to enumerate all that he has communicated, verified, and brought into agreement for me: he knows the amount of his aid and of my gratitude. Sonnleithner, Karajan, Pohl, Jul. André, have been equally obliging in satisfying my demands and inquiries. Special thanks are due to them if my book attains that accuracy of detail, wherein I place its chief value. I may claim to have made tolerably exhaustive use of all that has been published concerning Mozart during the last ten years, but you will scarcely expect me to enumerate all my corrections and improvements. It has been my aim to retain all that had been proved good in my work, while making such additions as served to place my subject more clearly and fully before my readers.

If a perusal of my second edition should leave you with the impression that the task of revision and correction has been an easy one, I shall, whatever my convictions to the contrary, congratulate myself on having approached the object which I have kept steadily in view.

Accept my book, then, in its new dress, with the old spirit of friendship, and gladden the heart of its author once more by the sympathy he has never yet found wanting.

OTTO JAHN.

Bonn, March 6, 1867.

TRANSLATOR'S NOTE.

CONSIDERABLE doubt has existed in the mind of the translator as to the proper English equivalent for the word "clavier" throughout this work. Clavier is a generic term in German, and is used to denote any keyed instrument, whether harpsichord, clavichord, or pianoforte. Mozart's compositions for the clavier are equally available for all these instruments, and in his early years he performed indifferently on the harpsichord or clavichord. His first introduction to the pianoforte was at Augsburg, in 1777, and he did not become familiar with the instrument until after his settlement in Vienna in 1781. It has been thought best, therefore, to leave the word clavier untranslated up to this date, after which it is translated pianoforte, whether it is applied to Mozart's performances or to his compositions.

It has not been thought advisable to give in the English edition of the work all the Appendixes which appear in the German. Many of them are of interest only in the original, others have already been translated among Mozart's correspondence. Those which seemed likely to interest the English reader have been translated. The musical Appendixes have all been omitted as bulky and unnecessary.

The only part of Herr Jahn's work against which the charge of incompleteness can fairly be brought is the Index; an entirely new one has therefore been made for the English edition, and will, it is hoped, be found minute and accurate.

LIFE OF MOZART.

CHAPTER I. — CHILDHOOD

WOLFGANG AMADE MOZART came of a family belonging originally to the artisan class. We find his ancestors settled in Augsburg early in the seventeenth century, and following their calling there without any great success.[1] His grandfather, Johann Georg Mozart, a bookbinder, married, October 7, 1708, Anna Maria Peterin, the widow of another bookbinder, Augustin Banneger. [2] From this union sprang two daughters and three sons, viz.: Fr. Joseph Ignaz, Franz Alois (who carried on his father's trade in his native town), and Johann Georg Leopold Mozart, born on November 14, 1719, the father of the Mozart of our biography. [3] Gifted with a keen intellect and firm will he early formed the resolution of raising himself to a higher position in the world than that hitherto occupied by his family; and in his later years he could point with just elation to his own arduous efforts, and the success which had crowned them, when he was urging his son to the same steady perseverance.

When Wolfgang visited Augsburg in 1777, he gathered many particulars of his father's youth which refreshed the recollections of Leopold himself. We find him writing to his son (October 10, 1777) how, as a boy, he had sung a cantata at the monastery of St. Ulrich, for the wedding of the Hofrath Oefele, and how he had often climbed the broken steps to the organ loft, to sing treble at the Feast CHILDHOOD. of the Holy Cross (November 29, 1777). He afterwards became an excellent organist: a certain Herr von Freisinger, of Munich, told Wolfgang (October 10, 1777) that he knew his father well, he had studied with him, and "had the liveliest recollections of Wessobrunn where my father (this was news to me) played the organ remarkably well. He said: 'It was wonderful, to see his hands and feet going together, but exceedingly fine—yes, he was an extraordinary man. My father thought very highly of him. And how he used to jeer at the priests, when they wanted him to turn monk.'" This last must have been of peculiar interest to Wolfgang, who knew his father only as a devout and strict observer of the Catholic religion. But Leopold remembered the days of his youth, and wrote to his wife (December 15, 1777): "Let me ask, if Wolfgang has not of late neglected to go to confession? God should ever be first in our thoughts! to Him alone must we look for earthly happiness, and we should ever keep eternity in view; young people, I know, are averse to hearing of these things; I was young myself once; but God be thanked, I always came to myself after my youthful follies, fled from all dangers to my soul, and kept steadily in view God, and my honour, and the dangerous consequences of indulgence in sin."

Long-continued exertions and self-denial laid the foundation of Leopold Mozart's character in a conscientious earnestness and devotion to duty in great things as in small; they had the effect also of rendering his judgment of others somewhat hard and uncompromising. This is observable in his relations as an official, and as a teacher, and in his dealings on matters of religion. He was a strict Catholic, and feared nothing so much for his children as the influence which a prolonged stay in Protestant countries might exert on their faith; he remarked with surprise that his travelling companions, Baron Hopfgarten and Baron Bose, had often edified him with their discourse, although they were Lutherans (Paris, April 1, 1764).

When in London, he became acquainted with the excellent violoncellist Siprutini, son of a Dutch Jew, who had broken loose from Judaism and "was content to believe in L. MOZART'S CHARACTER. one God, to love Him first, and his neighbour as himself, and to live an honest life"; L. Mozart gained an acknowledgment from him that of all the Christian creeds the Catholic was the best, and was not without hope of converting him altogether (September 13, 1764).

He fulfilled all the duties which the Church requires of her children with conscientiousness and zeal; we find him ordering masses to be said, buying relics, &c., whenever occasion offers.

The strictly orthodox, almost ascetic, rules of life which the reigning archbishop, Sigismund, followed and enforced in his court and in all Salzburg must have had the effect of deepening this side of L. Mozart's character; while the greater freedom in church matters enjoyed under Sigis-mund's successor, Hieronymus, was not without its influence, evinced by his becoming late in life a freemason. There can be no doubt that L. Mozart was a man of genuine piety, which stood firm amid strong temptations and the most trying circumstances. It was in accordance with his education and position in life that this piety found no better justification and expression than those provided by his Church. His performance of his duties to God and the Church was undertaken in the same rigorous spirit which characterised him in all the relations of life. But he was too sensible not to remonstrate with his daughter when she chose rather to endanger her health than to be absent from mass (July 28, 1786). He was entirely free from superstition, and when some one wrote to him of a ghost-story he declared that "it must be only an hysterical illusion of the maid-servant." Again, he had "invariably found that begging sisterhoods were the signs of much moral degradation concealed under the cloak of hypocrisy" (December 16, 1785). It would be a great mistake to consider the elder Mozart as a narrow-minded bigot. United to a shrewd, clear intellect, for the cultivation of which he made extraordinary efforts, he possessed a decided turn for raillery and sarcasm. His painful endeavours to work himself free of his petty surroundings, his habit of looking beyond the narrow horizon which encircled him, encouraged in him a cynical CHILDHOOD. turn of mind. It grew to be a settled conviction with him that selfishness is the only motive of human action on which we can safely reckon, and which, therefore, we must strive to turn to account: a belief in disinterested philanthropy or friendship is a folly which seldom goes unpunished. Nor should we have any faith in an innate love of truth. "Take it as an universal truth," he writes (October 6, 1785), "all men tell lies, and add to the truth, or take away from it, just as it suits their purpose. Especially must we believe nothing which, if known, would add to the reputation of the speaker or flatter his interlocutor, for that is sure to be false." This distrust of mankind he sought to implant in his son, but with very little success. Nor did his gloomy views of life stifle, even in himself, all emotion and sentiment. His theory, as so often happens, went farther than his practice. When Leopold Mozart analysed the conduct of men, his criticism was sharp and cutting, but he was always ready with counsel and assistance when they were needed. Notwithstanding his piety he expressed bitter contempt for the priesthood and priestcraft: he had occasion to know both intimately. He was never dazzled by the distinctions of birth and position. He judged those nearest and dearest to him, not excepting his beloved son, as severely as the rest of the world. It had the most wholesome effect on the development of Mozart's character and genius that his father, who loved him as only a father can love, who justly estimated and admired his artistic genius, was never dazzled by it, never ignored nor concealed his weaknesses, but warned and blamed him, and strove to bring him up with a conscientious fidelity to duty.

Leopold Mozart was aware that the education of his son was the highest and greatest task of his life; but this absorbing care did not narrow his breadth of sympathy, nor lessen his consideration for others bound to him by natural ties; he proved himself always a devoted friend as well as, for one of his means, a liberal benefactor.

The exertions which it had cost him to attain to even a moderate position, the unceasing thought which he was obliged to take for the supply of his daily needs gave him L. MOZART'S EARLY LIFE. a high appreciation of the value of a secured worldly position, and as he became gradually convinced that his son was not likely to attach the same importance to this, he strove the more by his wisdom and experience to help to secure it for him. This care for economical details has been unjustly condemned. We may grant that a somewhat exaggerated anxiety increased by the hypochondria of old age was the natural result of the struggle with narrow circumstances which he had carried on all his life; but this is far more than counterbalanced by the singular union of general and of musical culture, of love and severity, of just judgment and earnest devotion to duty, which Leopold Mozart developed in the education of his son. Without them, Wolfgang would certainly not have been the man he became by their help.

We have no detailed information of L. Mozart's youthful life. His recollections of his position at Augsburg are bitter and sarcastic. Even with his brothers and sisters, whom he accused of having turned the weakness of their mother to his disadvantage, he had no close or intimate connection, although they had never any scruples in applying for his support.

"When I thought of your journey to Augsburg," he writes to Wolfgang (October 18, 1777), "Wieland's 'Abderiten' always occurred to me. One ought to have the opportunity of seeing in its naked reality that of which one has formed an ideal conception."

After passing through school life in his native town, he went to Salzburg to study jurisprudence. The monastery of St. Ulrich belonged to the community of the Benedictines, which had founded and still partly maintained the university of Salzburg;[4] this connection may have given Leopold a reason for going thither. But as he did not obtain employment, he was constrained to enter the service of Count Thurn, Canon of Salzburg. From his youth up, he had cultivated his musical talent with assiduity, and was a CHILDHOOD. thoroughly practical and well-informed musician. He had chiefly maintained himself in early youth by his singing, and afterwards by giving lessons, and had gained considerable reputation as a violinist, so much so that Archbishop Leopold took him into his service in the year 1743. He afterwards became court composer and leader of the orchestra, and in 1762 was appointed Vice-Kapellmeister by Archbishop Sigismund.

The pay of the choir was scanty, though their duties were heavy. Leopold Mozart submitted to these demands with his accustomed conscientiousness, and Schubart points him out as the man whose exertions had placed music in Salzburg on its then excellent footing.[5] His official position necessitated his appearing as a composer; in this respect, too, he was indefatigable, and won for himself an honourable reputation.

A list of his compositions compiled in 1757, no doubt by himself, gives an idea of his industry as a composer.[6] We find a large proportion of church music. A Mass in C major is in the library at Munich, Julius André possesses a Mass in F major, the Credo of a "Missa brevis" in F major lies before me; a "Missa brevis" in A major is preserved in the cathedral of Salzburg, together with the Offertory, "Parasti in conspectu meo," three Loretto Litanies (in G, F, and E flat major), and a Litany "De venerabili" in D major, composed in 1762. This last, a carefully finished work, was sent by L. Mozart in December, 1774, to Munich, together with a grand Litany by his son. It is written for solos, chorus, and the usual small church orchestra of the day, and shows throughout the learning of a musician skilled in the use of traditional forms. The harmony is correct, the disposition of the parts skilful, and the contrapuntal forms are handled boldly; nor does the composer fail to introduce regular, well-worked-out fugues in the proper places; "Cum Sancto Spiritu," and "Et L. MOZART'S COMPOSITIONS. vitam venturi sæculi" in the Mass, "Pignus futuræ gloriæ" in the Litany.

But there is no originality or inventive power either in the compositions as a whole, or in isolated passages. Leopold Mozart's sacred music gives him a right to an honourable place among contemporary composers, but to no higher rank. Schubart, who prefers his church music to his chamber music, says justly, that his style was thorough, and showed great knowledge of counterpoint, but that he was somewhat old-fashioned.[7] When Wolfgang was busy composing church music with Van Swieten at Vienna, he wrote to his father (March 29, 1783): "Some of your best church music would be very useful to us; we like to study all masters, ancient and modern, so please send us some as soon as possible." But to Wolfgang's regret this request was refused, for his father was quite aware of the change of taste in such music that had taken place since his day.

Nothing certain is known of twelve oratorios composed according to custom for Lent,[8] nor of "a host of theatrical pieces, as well as pantomimes."[9]

L. Mozart was an industrious instrumental composer. He enumerates upwards of thirty serenades, "containing instrumental solos," and a long list of symphonies, "some only quartets, others for all the usual instruments"; of CHILDHOOD. these, eighteen are thematically catalogued,[10] and one in G major is by mistake attributed to Wolfgang, and printed in score. Very curious are the "Occasional Pieces" which are characteristic of the times, in their odd instrumental effects, and somewhat heavy touches of fun. Among these are a pastoral symphony with shepherds' horns and two obbligato flutes; a military piece with trumpets, drums, kettle-drums, and fifes; a Turkish and a Chinese piece; a pastoral, representing a rural wedding, and introducing lyres, bagpipes, and dulcimers; during the march, after each huzza, there was a pistol-shot, after the custom of rural weddings, and L. Mozart directed that whoever could whistle well on his fingers, was to whistle during the huzzas.

But the musical "Sledge Drive" seems to have gained most applause; a pianoforte arrangement was afterwards printed, the effect being heightened by the accompaniment of five differently toned harness-bells. The following programme was printed by L. Mozart, for a performance of the Collegium Musicum in Augsburg, December 29, 1755:—

MUSICAL SLEDGE DRIVE.

Introduced by a prelude, consisting of a pleasing andante and a splendid allegro.

Then follows:

A prelude, with trumpets and drums.

After this:

The Sledge Drive, with the sledge-bells and all the other instruments.

After the Sledge Drive:

The horses are heard rattling their harness.

And then:

The trumpets and drums alternate agreeably with the oboes, French horns, and bassoons, the first representing the cavalcade, the second the march.

After this:

The trumpets and drums have another prelude, and

The Sledge Drive begins again, but stops suddenly, for all the party dismount, and enter the ball-room.

Then comes an adagio, representing the ladies trembling with cold. L. MOZART'S COMPOSITIONS. The ball is opened with a minuet and trio.

The company endeavour to warm themselves by country-dances.

Then follows the departure, and, finally:

During a flourish of trumpets and drums, the whole party mount their sledges and drive homewards.

In consequence of the performance of these occasional pieces in Augsburg, L. Mozart received the following anonymous letter:

"Monsieur et très cher ami!

"May it please you to compose no more absurdities, such as Chinese and Turkish music, sledge drives, and peasant weddings, for they reflect more shame and contempt on you than honour, which is regretted by the individual who herewith warns you and remains,

"Your sincere Friend.

"Datum in domo verae amicitice."

Leopold Mozart was not a little annoyed by this act of friendship, which he was inclined to ascribe to the Kapellmeister Schmidt or to the organist Seyffert. It need scarcely be said that this "programme-music" is innocent either of originality or of instrumental colouring. Short characteristic pieces, such as Couperin and Rameau wrote, were composed by L. Mozart, in common with Eberlin, for a kind of organ with a horn stop, which had been erected by Joh. Roch. Egedacher on the fortifications above the town. Once a month, morning and evening, a piece was played on this instrument; in February it was the Carnival, in September a hunting song, in December a cradle song.[11]

Besides all this, L. Mozart wrote many concertos, particularly for the flute, oboe, bassoon, French horn, or trumpet (one of these is in Munich), innumerable trios (he offered a flautist, named Zinner, in Augsburg, fourteen trios for flute, violin, and violoncello), and divertimenti for various instruments,[12] marches, minuets, opera-dances, &c. Three clavier CHILDHOOD. sonatas are printed,[13] of which Faiszt remarks that they might well be the work of Leopold's great son, so strong is their similarity in form and spirit.[14] is compositions were for the most part only in manuscript, as was almost all the music of that day.[15] By way of practice in engraving, he engraved three trio sonatas himself in 1740, and revived the old accomplishment in 1778, when he engraved some variations for his son.

In later years he composed little or nothing; his position in Salzburg was so little to his mind that he did not feel himself called on to do more than his duty required; besides, the education of his children engrossed his whole time, and when his son had come forward as a composer, he would on no account have entered into competition with him.[16] L. Mozart was proud of the estimation in which his works were held abroad, as the following extract from a letter to his friend Lotter shows:

November 24, 1755.

I may tell you in strict confidence that I have received a letter from a distant place inviting me to become a member ——— don't be alarmed—or—don't laugh —— a member of the Corresponding Society of Musical Science.[17] Potz Plunder! say I. But do not tell tales out of school, for it may be only talk. I never dreamt of such a thing in my life; that I can honestly say.

But the elder Mozart acquired his chief reputation as a musician by the publication in 1756 of his "Attempt towards a Fundamental Method for the Violin."[18] This work was L. MOZART'S VIOLIN METHOD. spread abroad in numerous editions and translations, and was for many years the only published instruction on the art of violin-playing; proof enough that it rendered important service in its day, as far as technical knowledge was concerned. What makes the book still interesting to us is the earnest, intelligent spirit which speaks from it, and shows us the man as he was. He sought to impart to his pupils a sound, practical musical education; they were not only to practise their fingers, but were always clearly to, understand what they had to execute and why: "It is dispiriting to go on playing at random, without knowing what you are about" (p. 245); a good violinist should even be practised in rhetoric and poetry to be able to execute with intelligence (p. 107). He insists strongly that the pupil should not advance until he is quite able for what he has to learn: "In this consists the gravest error that either master or pupil can fall into. The former often lack patience to wait for the right time; or they let themselves be carried away by the pupil, who thinks he has done wonders when he can scrape out a minuet or two. Often, too, the parents or guardians of the beginner are anxious to hear him play some of these imperfect tunes, and think, with satisfaction how well their money has been spent on the lessons. How greatly they are mistaken!" (p.57, cf. 121.)

The study is not to be made too easy or simple; the learner must exert himself and work hard. Thus he writes at the beginning of the exercises (p. 90): "These are the passages for practice. The more distasteful they are, the better I shall be pleased; I have striven to make them so"; that is, to guard against their being played from memory.

The same ability is displayed in his principles of taste.

He exacts above all a "straightforward, manly tone"; "nothing can be more absurd than to seem afraid even to grasp the violin firmly; or just to touch the strings with the bow (held perhaps with two fingers), and to attempt such an artistic up-bow to the very nut of the violin that only a note here and there is heard in a whisper, without any idea what it means, it is all so like a dream" (p. 101). CHILDHOOD. Simple, natural expression is the highest aim of the violinist, so that the instrument may imitate as far as possible the art of song (p. 50); "who does not grant that to sing their music has been the aim of all instrumentalists, because they have ever striven after nature?" (p. 107.)[19] He is severe on performers who "tremble upon every long note, or cannot play a couple of bars simply without introducing their senseless and ridiculous tricks and fancies" (p. 50). They are blamed the more as they are for the most part wanting in the necessary knowledge where to bring in their ornamentation without involving errors in the composition (pp. 209, 195). Other faults of the virtuoso are equally severely dealt with, such as the tremolo of the player "who shakes away on every note as if he had the ague" (p. 238), or the constant introduction of the so-called "flageolet tones" (p. 107), or the alternate hurrying and dragging of the "virtuoso of imagination." "Many," says he (p. 262), "who have no conception of taste, disdain to keep uniform time in the accompaniment of a concerted part, and strive to follow the principal part. That is accompanying like a bungler, not like an artist. It is true that in accompanying some Italian singers, who learn everything by heart and never adhere to time or measure, one has often to pass over whole bars to save them from open shame. But in accompanying a true artist, worthy of the name, not a note must be delayed or anticipated, there must be neither hurry nor dragging, so that every note may have proper expression, otherwise the accompaniment would destroy the effect of the composition. A clever accompanist should also be able to judge of the performer. He must not spoil the tempo rubato of an experienced artist by waiting to follow him. It is not easy to describe this 'stolen time.' A 'virtuoso of imagination' often gives to a semiquaver in an adagio cantabile the time of half a bar, before recovering L. MOZART'S VIOLIN METHOD. from his paroxysm of feeling; and he cares nothing at all for the time: he plays in recitative."

Technical instruction and skill are to him only the means to a higher end. The performer must be capable of expressing all the pathos of the piece before him, so as to penetrate to the souls and stir the passions of the audience (pp. 52, 253).[20] As the most important requisite to the violinist for attaining this, he indicates the stroke of the bow (p. 122) as "the medium by the judicious use of which we are able to communicate the pathos of the music to the audience." "I consider," he adds "that a composer attains his highest aim when he finds a suitable melody for every sentiment, and knows how to give it its right expression." "Many a second-rate composer," he says (p. 252), "is full of delight, and thinks more than ever of himself when he hears his nonsensical music executed by good artists, by whose artistic expression even such miserable trash is made intelligible to the audience."

It is plain that he was a sworn enemy to smatterers and pretenders. Thorough technical study and an intellect trained to clear and rational thought he considered absolutely indispensable to a true artist. He grants, indeed, that genius may atone for the want of learning, and that a man highly gifted by nature may lack the opportunity of studying his art scientifically. But this does not detract from the main proposition nor make his demands less just.

The extracts given above illustrate the principles and the views with which L. Mozart undertook the musical education of his son, and these being united to a correct appreciation of the freedom and indulgence due to great natural powers, it must be acknowledged that no genius could have been trained under happier auspices!

This work, so remarkable for the age, met with suitable recognition. Marpurg, to whose judgment L. Mozart had CHILDHOOD. submitted it in his preface, speaks of it as follows: [21] "The want of a work of this kind has been long felt, but hitherto in vain. A thorough and skilled performer, a sensible and methodical teacher, a learned musician, a man possessing all those qualities which singly command our respect, are here to be found united in one individual—the author. What Geminiani did for the English nation, Mozart has accomplished for the German, and their works are worthy to live side by side in universal approbation."

After this it is not surprising that the first of the critical letters on music which were published under Marpurg's direction at Berlin in 1759 and 1760 should be addressed to L. Mozart, with the declaration that the society which proposed to address each letter to some person of distinction, could not make a fitter commencement than with him. Schubart says,[22] "He gained great reputation through his 'Method,' which is written in good German, and with admirable judgment. The examples are well chosen, and the system of fingering not in the least pedantic; the author doubtless inclines to the school of Tartini, but he permits greater freedom in the management of the bow." Zelter expresses himself in the same spirit:[23] "His 'Violin Method' is a work which will be of use as long as the violin is an instrument. It is well written, too."

The praise of the author's style of writing is characteristic and well deserved; it was then a far rarer distinction among artists than at present. L. Mozart's style is sharp and clear; his sarcastic turn of mind is so prominent that he apologises for it in the preface, although it is not unusual in the musical literature of the time. Both in this book and in his letters he proves himself a man who has not only acquired cultivation by intercourse with the world and by travel, but who is well acquainted with literature, has read with taste and discernment, and has well-defined and judicious opinions L. MOZART'S POSITION IN SALZBURG. both on aesthetic and moral subjects. He addressed to the poet Gellert a letter so full of veneration that Gellert replied in the warmest terms, as the following extract will show:—

I should be insensible, indeed, if the extraordinary kindness with which you honoured me had left me unmoved, and I should be the most ungrateful of men if I could have received your letter without acknowledgment. I accept your love and friendship, my dear sir, with the same frankness with which they are offered. Do you, indeed, read my works and encourage your friends to do the same? Such approbation, I can truly say, was more than I could have dared to hope from such a quarter. Does my last poem, "Der Christ," meet with your approval? I venture to answer myself in the affirmative. To this I am encouraged by the subject of the poem, your own noble spirit, as unwittingly you display it in your letters, and by my consciousness of honest endeavour.

Baron von Bose presented "the little Orpheus of seven years old," when in Paris, with Gellert's songs, recommending him to borrow their irresistible harmonies, "so that the hardened atheist may read and mark them, may hear them and fall down and worship God." Perhaps this gift gave occasion to the letter. Wolfgang informs his sister at a later date, from Milan, of the death of Gellert, which took place there.

With this amount of cultivation, and the pretensions consequent on it, it is not surprising that Leopold Mozart felt himself isolated at Salzburg. He had his duties to perform at court, and the more contemptible their remuneration was, the more he and the other officials were made to feel their dependent position. He was employed as a teacher in most of the families of rank at Salzburg, for his instruction was justly considered as the best that could be had; but this did not imply any degree of friendly intimacy. He was too proud to ingratiate himself with them by flattery or obsequiousness, although, as a man of the world, he knew how to moderate his satirical humour, and was always affable and well-bred. He seems to have had little intercourse with his colleagues. This was partly owing to circumstances, but partly also to their want of musical proficiency or mental cultivation, joined to their looser, less earnest mode of life. CHILDHOOD. The social relations of the Mozart family were, however, cheerful and unconstrained; their intercourse with their friends had more of innocent merriment than of intellectual enjoyment. "The Salzburg mind," says Schubart,[24] "is tuned to low comedy. Their popular songs are so drolly burlesque that one cannot listen to them without dying of laughter. The clownish spirit[25] shines through them all, though the melodies are often fine and beautiful." This tendency would scarcely please so serious and critical a man as L. Mozart, whose humour was caustic, but not broad, and who appears to have entered with constraint into the ordinary tone of conversation.

On November 21, 1747, Leopold Mozart married Anna Maria Pertlin (or Bertlin), daughter of the steward of the Convent of St. Gilgen. "To-day is the anniversary of our wedding," wrote L. Mozart (November 21, 1772); "it is, I believe, exactly twenty-five years since we were struck with the good idea of getting married, or rather it had occurred to us many years before. But good things take time."

They were reputed the handsomest pair of their time in Salzburg, and their existing portraits do not contradict this. Frau Mozart was, as far as she can be represented by letters and descriptions, a very good-tempered woman, full of love for her family, but in no way distinguished; and the often verified experience that great men owe their gifts and their culture principally to their mothers was not proved to be true in the case of Mozart. She submitted willingly to the superiority of her husband, and left to his care and management with absolute confidence all that lay outside the sphere of the actual housekeeping. The possession by WOLFGANG'S MOTHER AND SISTER—HIS BIRTH. each of those qualities necessary for the happiness of the other lay at the root of the heartfelt love and affection which bound them to each other and to their children, and the latter were provided with the surest foundation for their moral culture in the influence of a pure and harmonious family life. They were deeply attached to their cheerful, happy-tempered mother; but that she failed in authority was clear when she accompanied her son in his ill-considered visit to Paris. In spite of her better judgment she was unable either to control his impetuosity or to withstand his endearments.

Though far inferior to her husband in cultivation, she was not without understanding, and had a turn for the humorous, which characterised her as a native of Salzburg. In this respect Wolfgang was her true son.

Of seven children resulting from this union, only two survived: a daughter, Maria Anna (called Marianne or Nannerl in the family), born July 30, 1751, and a son Wolfgang, born January 27, 1756.[26] His birth almost cost his mother her life, and her lingering recovery occasioned much anxiety to her friends.

The daughter showed so decided a talent for music, that her father early began to give her lessons on the clavier. This made a great impression on her brother, then but three years old; he perched himself at the clavier, and amused himself by finding out thirds, which he struck with much demonstration of delight; he also retained the more prominent passages in the pieces which he heard. In his fourth year his father began, in play, to teach him minuets and other pieces on the clavier; in a very short time he could play them with perfect correctness and in exact time. The impulse to produce something next awoke in him, and in his fifth year he composed and played little pieces, CHILDHOOD. which his father then wrote down.[27] A music-book which was intended for Marianne's exercises, and preserved by her as a precious relic, was in 1864 presented by the Grand Duchess Helene to the Mozarteum in Salzburg.[28] It contains minuets and other little pieces, and further on longer ones, such as an air with twelve variations, and is partly filled with passages by the composers Agrell, Fischer, Wagenseil, &c., of increasing difficulty, for the purpose of instruction, in the handwriting of the father and his musical friends. Wolfgang learned from this book. The following note is appended by his father to the eighth minuet: "Wolfgangerl learned this minuet in his fourth year." Similar remarks occur repeatedly; e.g., "This minuet and trio were learned by Wolfgangerl in half-an-hour, at half-past nine at night, on January 26, 1761, one day before his fifth year." They are simple, easy pieces in two parts, but requiring an independence of the hands, not possible without a degree of musicial comprehension which is surprising in so young a child.

The first of Wolfgang's compositions have his father's superscription: "Di Wolfgango Mozart, May 11, 1762, and July 16, 1762," little pieces modelled on those he had practised, in which of course originality of invention cannot be looked for; but the sense of simple melody and rounded form so peculiar to Mozart are there already, without any trace of childish nonsense.

The book went with them on their travels, and Mozart used the blank pages to write down pieces, which afterwards appeared in the first published sonatas (1763).

Most of the anecdotes of Mozart's childhood which testify to his wonderful genius, are contained in a letter from SCHACHTNER. Schachtner, which is here given entire, as the direct testimony of a contemporary.

Joh. André Schachtner (died 1795) had been court trumpeter at Salzburg from 1754, for which post a higher degree of musical attainment was necessary then than at the present day. He was not only a skilled musician, but displayed considerable literary cultivation, which he had obtained at the Jesuit school of Ingolstadt. The translation of a religious drama, "The Conversion of St. Augustine" from the Latin of Father Franz Neumayer, gained him the somewhat ambiguous praise of Gottsched, who writes: "We may even say that he wrote good German, nay, almost that he wrote good German poetry."[29] We shall find him later acting as librettist to Mozart.

He was intimate in Mozart's home, and his warm attachment is proved by the following interesting letter, written soon after Mozart's death to his sister.[30]

Dear and honoured Madam,—

Your very welcome letter reached me, not at Salzburg, but at Hammerau, where I was visiting my son, who is coadjutor in the office of Oberwesamtmann there.

You may judge from my habitual desire to oblige every one, more especially those of the Mozart family, how much distressed I was at the delay in discharging your commission. To the point therefore!

Your first question is: "What were the favourite amusements of your late lamented brother in his childhood, apart from his passion for his music?" To this question no reply can be made, for as soon as he began to give himself up to music, his mind was as good as dead to all other concerns,[31] and even his childish games and toys had to be accompanied by music. When we, that is, he and I, carried his toys from one room into another, the one of us who went empty-handed had always to sing a march and play the fiddle. But before he began to CHILDHOOD. study music he was so keenly alive to any childish fun that contained a spice of mischief, that even his meals would be forgotten for it. He was so excessively fond of me—I, as you know, being devoted to him—that he used to ask me over and over again whether I loved him; and when in joke I sometimes said "No," great tears would come into his eyes, so tender and affectionate was his dear little heart.

Second question: "How did he behave to great people when they admired his talent and proficiency in music?" In truth he betrayed very little pride or veneration for rank,[32] for, though he could best have shown both by playing before great people who understood little or nothing of music, he would never play unless there were musical connoisseurs among his audience, or unless he could be deceived into thinking that there were.

Third question: "What was his favourite study?" Answer: In this he submitted to the guidance of others. It was much the same to him what he had to learn; he only wanted to learn, and left the choice of a field for his labours to his beloved father.[33] It appeared as if he understood that he could not in all the world find a guide and instructor like his ever memorable father.

Whatever he had to learn he applied himself so earnestly to, that he laid aside everything else, even his music. For instance, when he was learning arithmetic, tables, stools, walls, and even the floor were chalked over with figures.[34]

Fourth question: "What particular qualities, maxims, rules of life, singularities, good or evil propensities had he?" Answer: He was full of fire; his inclinations were easily swayed: I believe that had he been without the advantage of the good education which he received, he might have become a profligate scoundrel—he was so ready to yield to every attraction which offered.

Let me add some trustworthy and astonishing facts relating to his fourth and fifth years, for the accuracy of which I can vouch.

Once I went with your father after the Thursday service to your house, where we found Wolfgangerl, then four years old, busy with his pen. SCHACHTNER'S LETTER. Father: What are you doing?

Wolfg.: Writing a concerto for the clavier; it will soon be done.

Father: Let me see it.

Wolfg.: It is not finished yet.

Father: Never mind; let me see it. It must be something very fine.

Your father took it from him and showed me a daub of notes, for the most part written over ink-blots. (The little fellow dipped his pen every time down to the very bottom of the ink-bottle, so that as soon as it reached the paper, down fell a blot; but that did not disturb him in the least, he rubbed the palm of his hand over it, wiped it off, and went on with his writing.) We laughed at first at this apparent nonsense, but then your father began to note the theme, the notes, the composition; his contemplation of the page became more earnest, and at last tears of wonder and delight fell from his eyes.

"Look, Herr Schachtner," said he, "how correct and how orderly it is; only it could never be of any use, for it is so extraordinarily difficult that no one in the world could play it."

Then Wolfgangerl struck in: "That is why it is a concerto; it must be practised till it is perfect; look! this is how it goes."

He began to play, but could only bring out enough to show us what he meant by it. He had at that time a firm conviction that playing concertos and working miracles were the same thing.

Once more, honoured madam! You will doubtless remember that I have a very good violin which Wolfgangerl used in old times to call "Butter-fiddle," on account of its soft, full tone. One day, soon after you came back from Vienna (early in 1763), he played on it, and could not praise my violin enough; a day or two after, I came to see him again, and found him amusing himself with his own little violin. He said directly: "What is your butter-fiddle about?" and went on playing according to his fancy; then he thought a little and said:

"Herr Schachtner, your violin is half a quarter of a tone lower than mine, that is, if it is tuned as it was, when I played on it last."

I laughed at this, but your father, who knew the wonderful ear and memory of the child, begged me to fetch the violin, and see if he was right. I did, and right he was, sure enough!

Some time before this, immediately after your return from Vienna, Wolfgang having brought home with him a little violin which some one in Vienna had given him, there came in one day our then excellent violinist the late Herr Wentzl, who was a dabbler in composition.

He brought six trios with him, composed during the absence of your father, whose opinion on them he came to ask. We played these trios, your father taking the bass part, Wentzl playing first violin, and I second.

Wolfgangerl begged to be allowed to play second violin, but your father reproved him for so silly a request, since he had never had any CHILDHOOD. instruction on the violin, and your father thought he was not in the least able for it.

Wolfgang said, "One need not have learnt, in order to play second violin," whereupon his father told him to go away at once, and not interrupt us any longer.

Wolfgang began to cry bitterly, and slunk away with his little violin. I interceded for him to be allowed to play with me, and at last his father said: "Play with Herr Schachtner then, but not so as to be heard, or you must go away at once." So it was settled, and Wolfgang played with me. I soon remarked with astonishment that I was quite superfluous; I put my violin quietly down, and looked at your father, down whose cheeks tears of wonder and delight were running; and so he played all the six trios. When we had finished, Wolfgang grew so bold from our applause that he declared he could play first violin. We let him try for the sake of the joke, and almost died of laughter to hear him play, with incorrect and uncertain execution, certainly, but never sticking fast altogether.

In conclusion: Of the delicacy and refinement of his ear.

Until he was almost ten years old, he had an insurmountable horror of the horn, when it was sounded alone, without other instruments; merely holding a horn towards him terrified him as much as if it had been a loaded pistol. His father wished to overcome this childish alarm, and ordered me once, in spite of his entreaties, to blow towards him; but, O! that I had not been induced to do it. Wolfgang no sooner heard the clanging sound than he turned pale, and would have fallen into convulsions, had I not instantly desisted.

This is, I think, all I can say in answer to your questions. Forgive my scrawl, I am too much cast down to do better.

I am, honoured Madam,

With the greatest esteem and affection,

Your most obedient Servant,

Andreas Schachtner,

Court Trumpeter.

Salzburg,

24 April 1792

CHAPTER II. EARLY JOURNEYS

It was in January of the year 1762 that L. Mozart first turned to account the precocious talent of his children in an expedition to Munich. Their visit extended over three weeks, and both Wolfgang and his sister were summoned to play before the Elector, and were well received everywhere. Their success encouraged their father to a bolder attempt, and on September 19, of the same year, they set out for Vienna.[1]

Their journey was made by easy stages. At Passau they remained for five days, at the request of the Bishop, who wished to hear the boy-prodigy, and having done so, rewarded him with—one ducat! Thence they proceeded to Linz. Canon Count Herberstein travelled with them, and Wolfgang's distress at seeing an old beggar-man fall into the water impressed him so much that, as Bishop of Passau, in 1785 he reminded L. Mozart of it. At Linz they gave a concert, under the patronage of Count Schlick, Governor-General of the province. Count Palfy, a young nobleman who was paying his respects to the Countess Schlick on his way through Linz, heard from her such a glowing account of the boy-prodigy that he left his travelling-carriage at the door of her residence and went with her to EARLY JOURNEYS. the concert; his amazement was unbounded. From Linz they continued their journey by water. At the Monastery of Ips, while their travelling companions, two Minorite monks and a Benedictine, were saying mass, Wolfgang mounted to the organ-loft, and played so admirably that the Franciscan friars, and the guests they were entertaining, rose from table and came open-mouthed with astonishment to listen to him.

On their arrival at Vienna, Wolfgang saved his father the payment of customs duties. He made friends with the custom-house officer, showed him his harpsichord, played him a minuet on his little fiddle, and—"That passed us through!" Throughout the journey Wolfgang showed himself lively and intelligent, readily making friends, especially with officials; his engaging manners attracted as much love as his playing excited admiration.

The fame of the two children had preceded them to Vienna. Count Schlick, Count Herberstein, and Count Palfy had raised expectation to the highest pitch, and the children were assured of a good reception at court and among the nobility, who vied with each other in their devotion to everything connected with art.

The imperial family took more than a passive interest in musical affairs.[2] Charles VI. was an accomplished musician, and used to accompany operatic or other performances at court upon the clavier,[3] playing from the figured bass, according to the custom of conductors at the time. He caused his daughters to study music, and the future Empress Maria Theresa displayed at an early age both taste and talent. In 1725, when only seven years old, she sang in an opera by Fux, at a fête given in honour of her mother, the Empress Elizabeth. It was in allusion to this that she once, joking, told Faustina Hasse that she believed herself to be the first VIENNA, 1762—WAGENSEIL. of living virtuose.[4] In 1739 she sang a duet with Senesino so beautifully that the celebrated old singer was melted to tears.[5] Her husband, Francis I., was also musical, and gave his children a musical education.[6] The Archduchesses appeared frequently in operatic performances at court, acquitting themselves "very well for princesses."[7]

The Emperor Joseph sang well, and played the harpsichord and the violoncello.

Anecdotes of Mozart's genius had excited much interest at court, and on September 13, before he had even solicited the honour, L. Mozart received a command to bring his children to Schönbrunn. A quiet day was chosen, that the children might be heard without fear of interruption. Their playing surpassed all expectation, and they were afterwards repeatedly summoned to court. The Emperor took special delight in the "little magician" and enjoyed inventing new trials of skill for him. He jestingly told him that playing with all his fingers was nothing; playing with one finger would be true art; whereupon Wolfgang began to play charmingly with only one finger. Another time he told him that it would be true art to play with the keyboard covered; and Wolfgang covered the keys with a cloth, and played with as much decision and vivacity as if he could see them. This tour de force was often repeated on subsequent occasions, and always received with great applause.

But music was, generally speaking, a serious matter to Wolfgang, and even at court he refused to play except before connoisseurs. Once, seeing himself surrounded by a fashionable assemblage, he said before he began: "Is Herr Wagenseil here? Let him come; he knows something about it." (Georg Christoph Wagenseil—born in Vienna, 1688; died, 1779)—was a pupil of Fux, and one of the first EARLY JOURNEYS. clavier-players and composers of his time: he taught the Empress and afterwards her children.[8] The Emperor moved aside to let him come near Mozart, who exclaimed: "I am going to play one of your concertos; you must turn over for me." At court, as elsewhere, Mozart was a bright, happy child. He would spring on the Empress's lap, throw his arms round her neck and kiss her, and play with the princesses on a footing of perfect equality. He was especially devoted to the Archduchess Marie Antoinette. Once, when he fell on the polished floor, she lifted him from the ground and consoled him, while one of her sisters stood by: "You are good," said Wolfgang, "I will marry you." The Empress asked him why? "From gratitude," answered he; "she was good to me, but her sister stood by and did nothing."[9] The Emperor Joseph reminded him in after years of his playing duets with Wagenseil, and of Mozart's standing in the antechamber among the audience, calling "Pfui!" or "Bravo!" or "That was wrong!" as the case might be.[10]

The favour of the court was further displayed in substantial honours and rewards. In addition to a gift of money Marianne was presented with a white silk court dress, belonging to one of the Archduchesses, and Wolfgang with a violet coloured suit, trimmed with broad gold braid, that had been made for the Archduke Maximilian. His father had his portrait painted in this magnificent attire. As might have been expected, the children became the rage in society; "all the ladies fell in love with the lad." The music-loving Prince von Hildburghausen, Vice-Chancellor Count Colloredo, Bishop Esterhazy, all invited the Mozarts; and before long they were indispensable at every fashionable assembly. They were generally carried to and fro in the carriage of their entertainers, and received many handsome presents of money and trinkets. This prosperous course SECOND JOURNEY, 1763. was, however, suddenly interrupted by an attack of scarlet fever, which kept Wolfgang in bed for a fortnight. The dangerous part of his illness was soon over, and the greatest sympathy was everywhere expressed for him; but the fear of infection was then very great, and the interest taken in his convalescence was accompanied by considerable reluctance to his society.

An invitation from the Hungarian magnates induced L. Mozart, although he had already exceeded his leave of absence, to undertake an expedition to Pressburg on December 11. The weather was very unfavourable, and made the return journey through roadless Hungary not a little dangerous. Their stay in Vienna was not much further prolonged, and early in January, 1763, they found themselves once more in Salzburg.

Having once tested the powers and popularity of his children, Leopold Mozart could not settle contentedly in Salzburg again, and he soon determined on the bolder venture of making their talents known beyond Germany. Paris was his ultimate goal, but he intended to exhibit the children at any of the German courts which did not lie too far out of their way. The class from which at the present day the musical public, properly so called, is drawn was then altogether uncultivated; and even where there were no courts, as in the imperial towns, the nobles and rich merchants kept up similar distinctions of rank.

L. Mozart lays complacent stress upon the fact that throughout their tour, their intercourse was confined to the nobility and distinguished persons, and that both for their health's sake and the reputation of their court, they were obliged to travel noblement. Being summer, therefore, the travellers avoided the capitals and visited the country seats to which, at this season, the courts were wont to repair.[11] EARLY JOURNEYS. The journey began on June 9, and not prosperously; for in Wasserbrunn the carriage broke down, necessitating the delay of a whole day. "The last new thing is," writes the father, "that in order to pass the time we went to look at the organ, and I explained the pedal to Wolferl. He set to work to try it on the spot; pushed aside the stool, and preluded away standing, using the pedal as if he had practised it for months. We were all lost in astonishment. What has caused others months of practice comes to him as a gift of God." Wolfgang performed on the organ constantly throughout the journey, and was, his father says, even more admired as an organist than as a clavier-player.

Arrived at Munich on June 12, 1763, they proceeded at once to Nymphenburg, the summer residence of the Elector. Here the introduction of the Prince von Zweibrücken gained them a favourable reception, and they played repeatedly before the Elector and Duke Clement; it is specially mentioned that Wolfgang executed a concerto on the violin with cadenzas "out of his own head." Here they fell in with two travellers from Saxony, the Barons Hopfgarten and Bose, with whom they formed a cordial friendship, cemented during their stay in Paris. At Augsburg they took up their abode for a fortnight with the Mozart family, and gave three concerts, at which the audience were almost exclusively Lutherans. The Salzburg "Europàische Zeitung" (July 19, 1763) reports from Augsburg, July 9:—

The day before yesterday, Herr Leopold Mozart, Vice-Kapellmeister at Salzburg, left this place for Stuttgart, with his two precocious children. The inhabitants of his native town have fully appreciated the privilege accorded them in witnessing the manifestation of the marvellous gifts bestowed by Providence on these charming children; they recognise also how great must have been the paternal care, the result of which has been the production of a girl of eleven and, what is still more incredible, a boy of seven years old as ornaments to the musical world. The opinion pronounced on these prodigies by a correspondent from Vienna, which will be found on another page, enthusiastic as it appears, will be confirmed by all musical connoisseurs.

At Ludwigsburg, the summer residence of the Wurtemburg court, they did not succeed in obtaining audience of the Duke, although they had brought introductions from LUDWIGSBURG, 1763—JOMELLI. Canon Count Wolfegg, both to the Master of the Hunt, Bar. v. Pölnitz, and to Jomelli. L. Mozart was inclined to ascribe this to the influence of Jomelli, who figured as Kapellmeister from 1754 to 1768,[12] with a salary of 4,000 fl. (more correctly 3,000 fl.), the keep of four horses, fuel and lights, a house in Stuttgart and another at Ludwigsburg, and 2,000 fl. pension for his widow. Leopold Mozart announces all this to Hagenauer, with the question: "What do you think of that for a Kapellmeister's pay?" He maintained that all native artists had to suffer from Jomelli's influence, who spared no trouble to drive Germans from the court and to admit none but Italians; this was the more possible, as he was in high favour with the Duke.

He and his countrymen, of whom his house was always full, were reported to have said that it was incredible that a child of German birth could have such musical genius, and so much spirit and fire. Ridete Amici! he adds. Granted, however, that musical taste in Ludwigsburg had been thoroughly Italianised by Jomelli's influence and position,[13] there is no doubt that this account of him is prejudiced and exaggerated. Metastasio pictures him as courteous and affable,[14] and in Stuttgart he had the reputation of giving all due credit to German artists,[15] so that L. Mozart's accusation is probably without much foundation. He himself acknowledges that Jomelli's unlimited power had been principally the cause of the excellence of musical performances in Ludwigsburg; though here again, Schubart complains that the orchestra was spoilt by the numerous amateur members who could not agree, and who were fond of introducing ornamentations in their separate parts, quite out of character with the whole.[16]

Of the really superior amateurs who were then at EARLY JOURNEYS. Ludwigsburg L. Mozart mentions only Tartini's pupil, P. Nardini (died 1793) who "was unsurpassed in taste, purity, and delicacy of tone, but not by any means a powerful player."

From Ludwigsburg they proceeded to Schwetzingen, and presenting recommendations from the Prince von Zweibrücken and Prince Clement of Bavaria, were well received by the Elector Palatine Karl Theodor. On July 18 the court assembled to hear them from five to nine o'clock; the children set all Schwetzingen in commotion, and the electoral household were enchanted with them. L. Mozart praises the admirable flute-playing of Wendling, and speaks of the orchestra as the best in Germany, being entirely composed of young men of good birth, who were "neither tipplers, nor gamblers, nor miserable ragamuffins" (a hit at Salzburg), and who were as estimable in their private as in their professional capacity. He goes on to inform pious Frau Hagenauer, that since they left Wasser-burg they had found no holy water, and rarely a crucifix in their bedrooms, and that they found it difficult to procure fast-day meals: "Everybody eats meat, and perhaps so have we, without knowing it. After all, it is no fault of ours!"

Making an excursion to Heidelberg, Wolfgang played the organ in the Church of the Holy Spirit, and so astonished his audience that the Dean ordered his name and the particulars of his visit to be inscribed as a memorial of it on the organ. Unfortunately no trace of the inscription remains.

At Mayence, owing to the illness of the Elector, Joseph Emnrerich (von Breidtbach), they could not appear at court, but made 200 florins at three concerts. Here they met the singer, Marianne de Amicis, who was returning with her family from London.

At Frankfort, which they went out of their way to visit, Mozart's first concert, on August 18, was so successful that they decided on giving three more. The newspaper announcement, of August 30, 1763, shows what an astonishing performance was offered to the public. It runs as follows:[17]— FRANKFORT, COBLENZ, COLOGNE. The universal admiration excited in the minds of the audience by the astounding genius of the two children of Herr L. Mozart, Kapellmeister at the Court of Salzburg, has necessitated the threefold repetition of the concert which was announced to take place on one occasion only.

In consequence, therefore, of this universal admiration, and in deference to the desire of many distinguished connoisseurs, the next and positively the last concert will take place this evening, Tuesday, August 30, in the Scharfischen Saal, on the Liebfraoenberge.

The little girl, who is in her twelfth year, will play the most difficult compositions of the greatest masters; the boy, who is not yet seven, will perform on the clavecin or harpsichord; he will also play a concerto for the violin, and will accompany symphonies on the clavier, the manual or keyboard being covered with a cloth, with as much facility as if he could see the keys; he will instantly name all notes played at a distance, whether singly or in chords on the clavier, or on any other instrument, bell, glass, or clock. He will finally, both on the harpsichord and the organ, improvise as long as may be desired and in any key, thus proving that he is as thoroughly acquainted with the one instrument as with the other, great as is the difference between them.[18]

Here, too, Goethe heard him. "I saw him as a boy, seven years old," he told Eckermann, "when he gave a concert on one of his tours. I myself was fourteen, and I remember the little fellow distinctly with his powdered wig and his sword."[19]

At Coblenz, Mozart was presented to the Elector of Treves, Johann Philipp (von Walderdorf), by Baron Walderdorf and the Imperial Ambassador, Count Bergen, and appeared at court on September 18. He was also frequently invited by the Privy Councillor and Imperial Knight von Kerpen, whose seven sons and two daughters all either sang or played some instrument. At Bonn, the Elector of Cologne, Maximilian Freidrich (Count of Konigseck-Rothenfels), being absent, they only remained long enough to see and admire the splendours of the residential palace; the magnificent beds, the baths, the picture galleries, concert halls, decorations, inlaid tables, chairs, &c.; also the numerous curiosities at Poppelsdorf and Falkenlust. At Cologne, on the other hand, they only note the "dingy cathedral." At Aix, the Princess Amalie, sister EARLY JOURNEYS. to Frederick the Great, and a zealous lover and patroness of music, was taking the waters. She endeavoured to persuade L. Mozart to take his children to Berlin, but he would not alter his plans.

"She has no money," writes the practical man. "If the kisses she bestows on my children, particularly on Master Wolfgang, were each a louis d'or, we should be well off; as it is, neither our hotel bill nor our post-horses can be paid with kisses." At Brussels, where Prince Charles of Lorraine, brother of the Emperor Francis I., resided as Governor and Captain-General of the Austrian Netherlands, they were delayed some time, but succeeded in giving a grand concert.

Thence they proceeded direct to Paris, where they arrived on November 18, and were kindly received and hospitably entertained by the Bavarian ambassador, Count von Eyck. His wife was a daughter of the high chamberlain at Salzburg, Count Arco. Mozart was furnished with introductions to the most distinguished persons then in Paris; but all these were worth nothing, L. Mozart writes, in comparison with one letter given to him by a merchant's wife at Frankfort, and addressed to Grimm. Friedrich Melchior Grimm, the pupil and disciple of Gottsched,[20] had lived in Paris since 1749. As secretary to Count Friesen, and afterwards to the Duke of Orleans, he had admission to the highest circles of society. His amiable disposition and the important share he took in the literary struggles of the encyclopedists gained him a still more exalted position as a sort of literary and artistic arbiter. His judgment on musical matters was eagerly sought after, and, as it came within his special province to bring to light anything out of the common way, he was of all others most fitted to appreciate Wolfgang's performances. He had genuine sympathy with his countrymen, too, and could understand such a nature as L. Mozart's. He had not yet been created baron and ambassador, was still active and energetic, and exerted all his personal and literary influence for the Mozart family. Leopold ascribes PARIS—1763-64, GRIMM, MDME. DE POMPADOUR. all their subsequent success to this "powerful friend." "He has done everything—opened the court to us, managed the first concert, and is going to manage the second. What cannot a man do with sense and a kind heart? He has been fifteen years in Paris, and knows how to make things fall out as he wishes."

Their first object was the introduction at court. The most important personage at that time at Versailles was, of course, Madame de Pompadour. "She must have been very beautiful," writes L. Mozart to Madame Hagenauer, "for she is still comely. She is tall and stately; stout, but well proportioned, with some likeness to Her Imperial Majesty about the eyes. She is proud, and has a remarkable mind." Mozart's sister remembered in after days how she placed little Wolfgang on the table before her, but pushed him aside when he bent forward to kiss her, on which he indignantly asked: "Who is this that does not want to kiss me?—the Empress kissed me."[21] The King's daughters were much more friendly, and, contrary to all etiquette, kissed and played with the children, both in their own apartments and in the public corridors. On New Year's Day the Mozart family were conducted by the Swiss guard to the supper-room of the royal family. Wolfgang stood near the Queen, who fed him with sweetmeats, and talked to him in German, which she was obliged to interpret to Louis XV. The father stood near Wolfgang, and the mother and daughter on the other side of the King, near the Dauphin and Madame Adelaide.

Once having played at Versailles, they were sure of access to the most distinguished society.[22]A small oil painting, now in the Museum at Versailles, shows little Wolfgang at the clavier in the salon of Prince Conti, the centre of an assemblage of great people. Finally, having established their EARLY JOURNEYS. position in private society they gave two great concerts (on March 10 and April 9, 1764) in the rooms of a certain fashionable M. Felix, who had built a little theatre for private representations. The permission to give these concerts was a favour obtained with difficulty, as they infringed the privileges both of the Concert Spirituel and of the French and Italian theatres. The result was in every respect a brilliant success. Marianne Mozart played the most difficult compositions of the musicians then living in Paris, especially of Schobert and Eckart, with a precision and correctness that could not have been surpassed by the masters themselves.

Schobert was a native of Strasburg, cembalist to the Prince de Conti; as a composer he was famous for his grace and fire, especially in allegros,[23] but as a man he was not all he should have been, according to L. Mozart. He was a false flatterer, his religion was à la mode, and his envy was often so ill-concealed as to excite ridicule. Eckart, on the contrary, was a worthy man, and quite free from jealousy; he had come from Augsburg to Paris in 1758, and was highly esteemed as a clavier-player and teacher.

Wolfgang's performances on the clavier, organ, and violin, extraordinary as they were, were thrown into the shade by the proofs he gave of almost incredible musical genius.[24] He not only accompanied at sight Italian and French airs, but he transposed them [prima vista].

At that time, accompanying meant more than the playing of prepared passages for the piano or clavier; it involved the choice at the moment of a fitting accompaniment for the FIRST PRINTED COMPOSITIONS. several parts of the score, or the supplying of harmonies to the bass.

On the other hand, the simplicity of the harmony, and the adherence to certain fixed forms, gave to such exercises facilities not afforded by the license and want of form of modern music. Grimm relates in his correspondence a truly astonishing instance of the boy's genius. Wolfgang accompanied a lady in an Italian air without seeing the music, supplying the harmony for the passage which was to follow from that which he had just heard. This could not be done without some mistakes, but when the song was ended he begged the lady to sing it again, played the accompaniment and the melody itself with perfect correctness, and repeated it ten times, altering the character of the accompaniment for each. On a melody being dictated to him, he supplied the bass and the parts without using the clavier at all; he showed himself in all ways so accomplished that his father was convinced he would obtain service at court on his return home. Leopold Mozart now thought the time was come for introducing the boy as a composer, and he printed four sonatas for the piano and violin, rejoicing at the idea of the noise which they would make in the world, appearing with the announcement on the title-page that they were the work of a child of seven years old. He thought well of these sonatas, independently of their childish authorship; one andante especially "shows remarkable taste." When it happened that in the last trio of Op. 2, a mistake of the young master, which his father had corrected (consisting of three consecutive fifths for the violin), was printed, he consoled himself by reflecting that "they can serve as a proof that Wolfgangerl wrote the sonatas himself, which, naturally, not every one would believe." The little composer dedicated his first printed sonatas (6, 7, K.), to the good-natured Princesse Victoire, both she and her sisters being very fond of music. The next (8,9, K.), were dedicated to the amiable and witty Comtesse de Tessê, lady-in-waiting to the Dauphiness.

Grimm had written a dedication in Mozart's name, in which both he and the Dauphiness were well touched off. FIRST JOURNEY. To L. Mozart's vexation she declined it as too eulogistic, and a simpler one had to be substituted.

The prodigies were overwhelmed with distinctions, complimentary verses, and gifts. M. de Carmontelle, an admirable amateur portrait painter, made a charming picture of the family group;[25] it was engraved by Delafosse at Grimm's instigation.

The unprecedented success of the two children was the more significant since musical culture was not nearly so predominant in Paris as in most of the German courts. "It is a pity," says Grimm, "that people in this country understand so little of music."

L. Mozart notes the standing war between French and Italian music, and the position which Grimm took up on the side of the Italians served to confirm him in his preconceived opinions. According to him none of the French music was worth a groat; in church music all the solos and everything approaching to an air, were "empty, cold, and wretched, in fact French." But he did justice to the choruses, and lost no opportunity of letting his son hear them.[26] In instrumental music the German composers, among them Schobert, Eckart, and Hannauer, were beginning to make their influence felt, so much so that Le Grand[27] abandoned the French style and composed sonatas after German models. The revolution to be wrought by Gluck, was as yet, indeed, not to be foreseen; but L. Mozart hoped that in ten or fifteen years the French style would be extinguished.

On April 10, 1764, the Mozart family left Paris. At Calais, Marianne notes in her diary, "how the sea runs away and comes back again." Thence they crossed to Dover in a small vessel, the packet being over full, and were very sea-sick; an experienced courier, whom they had brought with them from Paris, arranged the journey direct LONDON, 1764-65. to London.[28] They were heard at court on April 27, and their reception surpassed all expectation. "The favour shown to us by both royal personages is incredible," writes L. Mozart; "we should never imagine from their familiar manner that they were the King and Queen of England. We have met with extraordinary politeness at every court, but this surpasses them all. A week ago we were walking in St. James's Park; the King and Queen drove past, and although we were differently dressed, they recognised us, and the King leant out of the window smiling and nodding, especially towards Wolfgang."

George III. was a connoisseur and passionate admirer of Handel's music, and Queen Charlotte sang and played; both had German taste, and gave special honour to German artists, as Jos. Haydn found in later years.[29] The Mozarts were summoned to court on May 19, and played before a limited circle from six to ten o'clock. Pieces by Wagenseil, Bach, Abel, and Handel were placed by the King before the "invincible" Wolfgang, who played them all at sight; he surpassed his clavier-playing when he sat down to the King's organ; he accompanied the Queen in a song, a flute-player in a solo, and, finally, he took the bass of an air by Handel and improvised a charming melody to it. None took more interest in the young musician than the Queen's music-master, Joh. Christian Bach,[30] the son of Sebastian Bach, settled in London since 1762, and the author of several popular operas and numerous pianoforte compositions. He looked upon his art after an easy careless fashion; but his kindness and goodwill won Wolfgang's heart for ever. He liked to play with the boy; took him upon his knee and went through a sonata with him, each in turn playing a bar with so much precision that no one would have suspected two performers. He began a fugue, which Wolfgang took up and completed when Bach broke off. FIRST JOURNEY. At last L. Mozart thought the time had come to introduce to the public "the greatest wonder of which Europe or the world can boast," as the grandiloquent announcement ran. Not without due calculation, the concert was fixed for June 5, the King's birthday, which was sure to bring a large public to London. The speculation succeeded, and L. Mozart "was terrified" by taking one hundred guineas in three hours—a satisfactory sum to send home. On the 29th Wolfgang played at a concert given at Ranelagh Gardens, with a charitable object, and "astonished and delighted the greatest connoisseurs in England." This prosperous career was, however, temporarily cut short; Leopold Mozart was seized with dangerous inflammation of the throat, and retired with his children to Chelsea, where they remained seven weeks before his cure was completed. During this time Wolfgang, out of consideration for his father, left his instrument untouched; but he set to work to write orchestral symphonies, and his sister tells[31] how he said to her, sitting near: "Remind me to give something really good to the horn." The horn was at that time a favourite instrument in England, and in many of Wolfgang's youthful compositions it has a prominent part. The first symphony, in E flat major (1 K.), in the three usual movements, has many corrections which the boy made, partly to improve the instrumentation, partly to moderate the too rapid transition to the principal theme of the first movement. Originality is scarcely to be expected, but it is something that a due regard to form and continuity should be everywhere apparent. He worked so diligently that at the next concert it was announced that all the instrumental pieces were of Wolfgang's composition. Three symphonies (17,18,19, K.), in B flat major (with two minuets, the instrumentation not quite complete), in E flat major (with clarinets, instead of oboes, and bassoons), and in D major (Londra, 1765), which all fall within the London visit, show marked progress. The subjects are better defined, the disposition of the parts is freer and more orchestral, and some instrumental effects LONDON, 1764-65. begin to be heard. On October 29, they were in town again, and invited to court to celebrate the fourth anniversary of the King's accession. As a memento of the royal favour, L. Mozart printed six sonatas for piano and violin or flute, composed by Wolfgang, and dedicated to the Queen on January 18, 1765, which dedication she rewarded with a present of fifty guineas.[32] The opening of the Italian Opera House on November 24, 1764, had no small influence on Wolfgang's genius; here, for the first time, he heard singers of note. Giovanni Manzuoli (born in Florence, 1720),[33] whose singing and acting were then exciting the London public to the highest enthusiasm,[34] became acquainted with the Mozart family, and gave Wolfgang lessons in singing. His voice was, of course, a boyish treble; his style that of an artist. The following year, in Paris, Grimm declared that he had so profited by Manzuoli's instruction as to sing with extreme taste and feeling, notwithstanding the weakness of his voice. Thus early did Mozart acquire, as if by natural instinct, all the requisites for a great composer which are, to most men, the result of years of painful study.

During Lent, he enjoyed the opportunity of hearing Handel's Oratorios, but we hear nothing of any special influence which they may have had on his mind; indeed, he knew little of Handel in later years, until Van Swieten made him acquainted with his works.

LIFE OF MOZART

By Otto Jahn

Translated From The German By Pauline D. Townsend.With A Preface By George Grove, Esq., D.C.L.

In Three Volumes. Vol. I.London:1882.

VOLUME I.

INTRODUCTION.

INTRODUCTION TO THE SECOND EDITION.

TRANSLATOR'S NOTE.

LIFE OF MOZART.

CHAPTER I. — CHILDHOOD

MUSICAL SLEDGE DRIVE.

CHAPTER II. EARLY JOURNEYS

Translated From The German By Pauline D. Townsend.
With A Preface By George Grove, Esq., D.C.L.

In Three Volumes. Vol. I.
London:
1882.