Mozart: A Life in Letters: A Life in Letters (70 page)

Mozart

The bell was tolled for Louise Robinig at 7 o’clock this morning,
the 24th
, announcing that she was close to death.

Little Leopold is well, he’s just having some soup, Heinrich is off to the consistory for the service, and I have to attend Vespers at half past 8 in the cathedral.

An
assessor consistorii
from Augsburg, a young cleric who’s the son of
Dr Baader
of Munich, is here to practise at the local consistory – the elector of Trier is paying for him. He preached in the cathedral last Saturday. The sermon lasted a
good half hour
and as people were leaving, they were laughing to themselves as no one had understood a word. His voice wouldn’t even fill my dining room, and the
common people
who were standing, open-mouthed, beneath the pulpit and who might have heard him, didn’t understand what he was saying.
I, Berhandsky
, and
Eyweck
were standing together beneath the pulpit and understood everything of course: but, I said, it’s an excellent speech for learned listeners, but not a sermon, more of a rough
sketch
or
outline
, allowing you to make two wonderfully executed sermons out of two parts made up of nothing but the ends of his sentences: that’s just how it was. Tomorrow, God willing, I’ll hear Herr Rieger, who gave such a good sermon last year, and, in heaven’s name, what a crowd there’ll be on the 24th, when Herr Hübner
⁹
preaches. But he has a good voice.

It’s not at all surprising that so many people were at the Casino as it’s possible to take out a subscription
for your whole family
for only a ducat, so that there are often 4, 5 or more people from a single household there for this sum. Prof. Steinhauser is always there with 4 people. Private tickets at 36 kreuzers are available only for amateurs who pay on the door and who sometimes come and sometimes don’t. – I should add that this music at the Casino is very popular. The university professors are all assiduous attenders. Most of the town’s businessmen and councillors are also subscribers. Privy Councillor Hermes invariably comes with 5 or 6 other people, and so on etc.

On 20 April, Mozart completed
Le nozze di Figaro,
his first operatic collaboration with the poet Lorenzo Da Ponte, based on Beaumarchais’ subversive comedy
Le mariage de Figaro
(completed in 1781 but not staged in Paris until 1784). Both Da Ponte and the Irish tenor Michael Kelly, who sang the roles of Don Curzio and Don Basilio, say in their memoirs that the idea for the opera was Mozart’s, although Joseph II had forbidden the play to be performed in Vienna. It was a sequel to Beaumarchais’
Le barbier de Séville
(‘The Barber of Seville’, 1775), which Paisiello had already turned into a successful opera,
Il barbiere di Siviglia
(premiered at St Petersburg in November 1782 and first given at Vienna in 1783). Mozart and Da Ponte’s
Le nozze di Figaro
opened on 1 May and received nine performances; Mozart was paid 450 florins for its composition. Shortly before he completed
Figaro,
Mozart also composed the A major and C minor piano concertos K488 and 491.

Dearest Friend, –

The music you asked for will be going off tomorrow by the mail
coach,
¹
– you’ll find at the end of this letter the amount due for copying. – It’s entirely natural that some of my pieces should be sent abroad – but these are pieces that I’m deliberately sending out into the world – I sent you only the themes as it was possible that they hadn’t reached you yet. But the works that I’m keeping back for myself or for a small circle of music lovers and connoisseurs – with the promise
not
to let them out of their hands – can’t possibly be made known abroad as they’re not even known here; – this is the case with the 3 concertos that I have the honour of sending to His Highness; in this case I was obliged to add to the cost of copying a small honorarium of 6 ducats for each concerto, with the request that His Highness does not let these concertos out of his hands. – The concerto in A
²
includes 2 clarinets. – If you don’t have these at your court, a skilful copyist should transpose them to a suitable key; the first can then be played by a violin, the second by a viola. – As for the proposal that I took the liberty of making to your worthy prince,
³
I first need to know what kind of works His Highness would prefer or find most useful and how many of each genre he would like to have each year, which I’d like to know in order to be able to make my calculations. – Please lay my request at His Highness’s feet and inform him of my wishes. – And now, my dearest friend! – Companion of my youth! – As I have naturally often been in Ricken
⁴
these many years and yet never had the pleasure of meeting
you there, my greatest wish would be that you should visit me in Vienna or that I may visit you in Donaueschingen. – The latter, forgive me, would almost be preferable as I should then not only have the pleasure of embracing you but also have the privilege of paying my respects to your most gracious prince and recalling even more vividly the many favours that I received at your court during my younger years,
⁵
favours that I shall never forget as long as I live. – Awaiting an early reply and in the flattering hope of perhaps seeing you once again in this world, I remain ever your most obedient friend and servant

Wolfgang Amadè Mozart

Invoice The 3 concertos
, without keyboard parts.   fl.   kr.
109 sheets @
8 kr
.   14   32
The 3 keyboard parts
.   
33½ sheets @ 10 kr.   5   35
Fee
for the 3 concertos.    
18 ducats
@
4 fl. 30 kr
.   81   –
The 3 symphonies
   
116½ sheets at 8 kr.   15   32
Customs
and
carriage
   3   –

Total
:
119 fl. 39 kr.

Mozart and Constanze’s third child, Johann Thomas Leopold, was born on 17 August 1786. He lived only three months, and died on 15 November. When Leopold wrote the following letter to Nannerl, he was still unaware of his grandson’s death.

Little Leopold is well!

And I? – Somewhat better since I shat out the 67th year of my life after drinking a laxative on my birthday;
¹
and I was so tempted to drive out to St Gilgen on the 15th, who knows what sometimes cures a man. I have to joke about it so that I don’t get depressed. I had to reply to one of your brother’s letters today,
²
it tookme a lot of time to write it
and so I can write only very little to you, – it’s late, I also want to go to the theatre today, as I can now get in
free
, and I’ve just finished my letter to Vienna. That I had to express myself
very forcefully
you can well imagine as he suggested nothing less than that I should take charge of
his 2 children
³
while he goes off on a tour of Germany and England in the middle of next carnival etc. – I’ve given him a piece of my mind and promised him the next instalment of my letter with the next post. Herr Müller, that good and honest maker of silhouettes, praised
little Leopold
to your brother, which is how he found out that the child is staying here, something I’d never told him: that’s how he or his wife hit on the idea. Of course it would suit them down to the ground – they could go off and travel at their convenience – they could die – – they could even remain in England – – and I’d have to go running after them with the children or chase up the payment for the children that he’s offering me for them and for the maids to look after them etc. –
Basta!
My excuse is forceful and instructive if he cares to make use of it. –

After the play at around 10 o’clock

Do give my thanks to
Nannerl
⁴
for her kind wishes, she wrote very nicely.

Heinrich
sends his best wishes: – has he not asked my son to send him
Ariadne auf Naxos
?
⁵
– – –

Frau Feyerl, the baker’s wife, has died.

I’m sending you herewith a bit of childish nonsense to make you laugh, on one side it’s in the original Swabian – and on the other it’s written out in an intelligible form. Please send it back soon, it’s not mine. Also a book
by Wieland
,
⁶
which you should read if you have a chance.

Wolfgang
⁷
came to congratulate me and was so pleased that he couldn’t stop telling me about it. They also had an amazing Martinmas banquet with cakes, pastries, game, capons and wine etc. etc. –

The postman didn’t bring me the box, he’ll have taken it to Wolfgang. I’ve already had a new one made.

The 18th, at half past 7 in the morning.

Tresel has gradually managed to beg several lbs of candles that I’ll send with the glass carrier, assuming the woman doesn’t call too late, generally she says that she’s leaving within the hour. What can one do then? Often I wasn’t even at home. – And can one then write anything? If I’ve got time today or tomorrow, I’ll write in advance just in case the woman comes on Monday.

I’m sending you herewith the measurements of
little Leopold’s bed
.
The whole piece of thread
gives the
length
, whereas the
width
is from one knot to the other. This is the inside measurement of the bedstead. The mattress shouldn’t be any smaller but should in fact be somewhat larger because it will inflate when it’s full and will then be too narrow and too short. I hope to receive it soon as the cradle is very dangerous.
I hope you’re keeping well! I kiss you both with all my heart, give my best wishes to the children. I am ever your honest father

Mozart

Herr Bullinger is here, he sends you his kind regards and wishes he could have seen you, but he can’t get away, he’s staying with the dean of the cathedral and will be leaving for Munich next week to take up his new post as tutor. There was a great to-do in Munich, the elector travelled to Mannheim
at 4 in the morning of the 11th
as a courier had brought news that the electress was close to death. – But she’s now better.
⁸
Vogler’s opera,
Castor and Pollux
,
⁹
will be performed after all as all the music has now arrived.

Leopold sends you a kiss. Nandl and Thresel kiss your hands, my best wishes to Lenerl.

Early in 1787 Mozart and Constanze made a visit to Prague, where Mozart had been invited to direct a performance of
Le nozze di Figaro.
He also gave a concert that included a new symphony (‘Prague’ K504), and received a commission from the impresario Pasquale Bondini for a new opera for the following autumn. The Mozarts returned to Vienna about 12 February, and on 24 March they moved to Landstrasse 224 (now 75 and 77).

Dearest Friend,
¹
–

I’ve finally found a moment to write to you; – I’d planned to write
four letters to Vienna as soon as I arrived, but in vain! – I was able to manage only one – to my mother-in-law – and even this was only half written. – My wife and Hofer
²
had to finish it.

No sooner had we arrived – at 12 o’clock midday on Thursday the 11th – than we were rushed off our feet in order to be ready for lunch at 1. After the meal old Count Thun
³
regaled us with some music that was performed by his own people and that lasted around 1½ hours. – This was
real entertainment
of a kind that I could enjoy every day. – At 6 I drove with Count Canal
⁴
to what’s known as the Bretfeld Ball, where the most beautiful women of Prague habitually gather, – that would have been something for you, my friend! – I can just see you running – no, hobbling – after all these beautiful girls and women! – I didn’t dance or spoon with them. – First, because I was too tired, and the latter because of my ingrained diffidence; – but I was happy to watch all these people leaping around in sheer delight at the music of my Figaro which has been turned into nothing but contredanses and German dances; – here they talk of nothing but – Figaro; nothing is played, sung or whistled except – Figaro: no opera is as well attended as – Figaro and nothing but Figaro; a great honour for me, no doubt. – But to come back to my order of the day. As I got home late from the ball and was in any case tired and sleepy from my journey, it was entirely natural that I should have a long lie-in the next morning; and so it was. – As a result the whole of the next morning was again
sine linea
;
⁵
– after lunch the count’s music must never be forgotten, and as a very good pianoforte had been put in my room that very day, you can easily imagine that I wouldn’t leave it unused and untouched that evening and that it would go without saying that we’d play a little quartet
in
caritatis camera
⁶
– ‘and the beautiful ribbon we have too’
⁷
and that in this way the whole evening would again be spent
sine linea
; and so it was. – Well, for all I care, you can complain to Morpheus, but this god has been very propitious to us both in Prague; – what the cause may have been I don’t know; but suffice it to say that we both slept very well. – Even so, we were able to get to Father Ungar’s
⁸
by 11 o’clock for a worm’s-eye view of the Imperial and Royal Library and General Seminary; – by the end our eyes were nearly popping out of our heads and we thought we could hear a little stomach aria in our insides, so it was good that we were able to drive to Count Canal’s for lunch; – the evening came as a surprise to us sooner than you perhaps imagine; – enough, it was time to go to the opera. – We heard
Le gare generose
.
⁹
– As far as the performance is concerned, I can’t tell you anything definite as I chattered a lot; quite why I chattered contrary to my usual custom is no doubt because of that. –
Basta
; this evening was again wasted
al solito
¹⁰
– not until today was I lucky enough to find a moment to be able to enquire after the wellbeing of your dear parents and the whole of the Jacquin household. – I hope and pray with all my heart that you are all as well as we are. – I must frankly admit that – although I’m enjoying all possible courtesies and honours here and although Prague is indeed a very beautiful and pleasant place – I’m really longing to be back in Vienna again; and, believe me, the main reason for this is undoubtedly
your
house. – When I think that on my return I shall enjoy only briefly the pleasure of your valued company and shall then have to forgo this pleasure for such a long time – perhaps for ever – only then do I really feel the friendship and respect that I cherish for your entire house; – farewell now, dearest friend, dearest HinkitiHonky! – That’s your name, just so that you know. On our journey here we
devised names for all of us, here they are:
I
: Pùnkitititi. –
My wife
: SchablaPumfa.
Hofer
: Rozka-Pumpa.
Stadler
: Nàtschibinìtschibi.
Joseph my servant
: Sagadaratà.
My dog Gauckerl
: Schamanuzky. –
Madame Quallenberg
: Runzifunzi. –
Mlle Crux: PS. Ramlo
: Schurimuri.
Freystädtler
: Gaulimauli.
¹¹
Please be so kind as to inform the latter of his name. – Adieu for now. My concert is at the theatre next Friday, the 19th; I’ll probably have to give a second one, which will
unfortunately
prolong my stay here.
¹²
Please give my regards to your worthy parents and embrace your brother – who could be called Blatteririzi – 1000 times for me. – I kiss your sister
¹³
– Signora Dinimininimi – 100,000 times and ask her to practise hard on her new pianoforte – but this reminder is unnecessary – as I must admit that I’ve never had a pupil who was as hard-working and as enthusiastic as she is – and I’m certainly looking forward to continuing my lessons with her according to my modest abilities. – By the way, if she wants to come tomorrow, I’ll certainly be at home at around 11 o’clock. –