Mozart: A Life in Letters: A Life in Letters (71 page)

But it’s now time to close, isn’t it? – You must have been thinking that for some time. – Farewell, best of men! – How I value our friendship – long may it last! – Write to me soon – but soon – and if you’re too idle to do so, send for Satmann and dictate the letter to him; – but it never comes from the heart as much as when one writes oneself; – well, I’ll see whether you’re as much my friend as I am yours. Ever your

Mozart

P.S.: In the event of your writing to me, address your letters to
Count Thun’s Palace
.

My wife sends her very best wishes to the whole of the Jacquin household, as does Herr Hofer.

N. B.: On Wednesday
¹⁴
I’ll see and hear Figaro here – if I’ve not gone deaf and blind by then. – Maybe I’ll do so only after the opera– – –

That little Leopold is well you’ll have been told by the bailiff and his wife, who safely delivered the letter with the 5 florins 40 kreutzers and the music. I gave them 2 books by Muratori
¹
and threw in the programme for the concert at the Casino. I hope they don’t get the books dirty. – This
Vanschenz
²
played with so much expression both at the rehearsal at my own house and later in the quartets at court that we all thought we’d hear him give an outstanding concert yesterday, not least because it was the first time he’d played in public and the concerto was by a composer none of us had heard of: but we were all very disappointed. He played horribly badly and proved hopelessly inept. In short, not a single person applauded, quite the opposite, they all turned up their noses in their displeasure. And the hall was packed! –

On the Wednesday before Carnival Sunday the ball here was absolutely full as there were more than 470 people there. On Carnival Sunday there were some 320 and on Monday, too, around 315 etc.
The faro
³
bank lost so much that they no longer felt like holding another one in the Casino as they did last year. I hope to God this nonsense will end of its own accord and that young people won’t be tempted to gamble.

On Tuesday evening two days ago His Grace was left
50 ducats
lighter. At half past 6 on Monday evening I received a note from
Mme Storace
, the Viennese theatre singer, announcing that she’d arrived at the
Trinkstube
. I found her with her mother, who’s English (the daughter was born in England), and also the Viennese theatre tenor O’Kelly, who’s also English, another Englishman whom I didn’t know but who’s probably the
cicisbeo
⁴
of mother or daughter, her brother Maestro Storace and a little Englishman called
Attwood
, who was sent to Vienna 2 years ago specially to have lessons with your brother.
⁵
Madame Storace had a letter of introduction from Countess Gundacker Colloredo, and so she had to be
heard
and
well treated
, as she’s returning to the theatre in Vienna after a year-long stay in London. From 10 till 2 on Tuesday morning I galloped round the town to show them this and that. We didn’t get our midday meal till 2. In the evening she sang 3 arias and they left for Munich at
12 o’clock at night
. They had 2 carriages, each with 4 post-horses, a servant rode on ahead as courier to order the 8 horses. And their luggage! Their journey must have cost a fortune! They all spoke English rather than Italian. The silliest thing is that my son had sent a letter for me to the house where his pupil Attwood was staying – he’d gone out and Madame Storace’s mother took delivery of it – and was then stupid enough to put it in one of the trunks or possibly even to lose it.
Basta!
The letter couldn’t be found. – I’ll have to write to your brother about it in the morning.

2 March
. As for your brother, I hear he’s back in Vienna, I’d not heard from him since I wrote to him in Prague; I’m told that he made 1000 florins in Prague; that his last boy, Leopold, has died; and that, as I noted, he wants to travel to England but that his pupil
⁶
is first going to make some definite plans for him in London, in other words, he’ll arrange a contract to write an opera or give a subscription concert etc. Madame Storace and the rest of the party will no doubt have been on at him about this, indeed I expect it was these people and his pupil who first gave him the idea of going to England with them. But after I’d written to him in a fatherly way, telling him that he’d earn nothing if he made the journey in summer as he’d arrive in England at the wrong time and that he should have
at least 2000 florins
in his pocket before undertaking such a journey and, finally, that unless he already had a firm engagement in London he’d have to take the risk of suffering hardship at least to begin with, no matter how clever he was – I expect he’ll have lost courage, particularly because it will, of course, be the soprano’s brother
⁷
who’ll be writing an opera this time.

Now a delightful anecdote! Heinrich,
⁸
who’s still running round Munich visiting people, came home on one occasion and said to me in the presence of everyone:
Bologna gave me some news: he asked me if I knew that Frau Aman was pregnant by Petrazani; he’d been told this in a letter
. I replied:
It’s not to Bologna’s credit if he’s spreading such lies about a close friend
. Everyone went very quiet! – How do you like that?–––

I’m sending you herewith 1 lb. of chocolate no. 8 @
2 florins 30 kreuzers
, I paid 10 kreuzers for the almond paste. The rest is all ready and waiting and I’ll make a note of it and hand it over if you send someone for it.

I kiss you with all my heart. Give my good wishes to the children. I am ever your honest father

Mozart

Today was the first time that the weather was warm enough for me to go for a walk.

Vanschenz
has been taken on for only
a year
on 300 florins.

Heinrich
sends his best wishes.

Tresel and Nandl kiss your hands. Best wishes to Lenerl.

Mon très cher Père
,–

It’s most unfortunate that thanks to Madame Storace’s stupidity my letter failed to reach you; – among other things I said that I hoped you’d received my last letter – but as you don’t mention this letter – it was my 2nd one from Prague – I don’t know what to think; it’s entirely possible that one of Count Thun’s servants took it into his head to pocket the postage – but I’d rather pay twice the postage than know that my letters had fallen into the wrong hands, – Ramm and the 2
Fischers
²
– the bass and the oboist from London – came here for Lent. – If the latter played no better when we knew him in Holland than he does now, he certainly doesn’t deserve the reputation that he has. –
But this just between ourselves
. – I was then of an age when I wasn’t capable of forming an opinion – I remember only that I liked him enormously, as did the whole world; – but this is hardly surprising when you think that taste has changed enormously.–
Perhaps he plays according to some older method. – But no! – Not to put too fine a point on it, he plays like a wretched pupil – young
Andrß
,
³
who was taught by Fiala,
plays
a thousand times better – and then there are his
⁴
concertos – of his own composition – every ritornello lasts a quarter of an hour – then the hero enters, lifting one leaden foot after another and then banging on the floor with each in turn – his tone is entirely nasal – and his held notes are like a tremulant on an organ. Could you ever have imagined this scene? – Yet it’s nothing but the truth – but a truth that I’m telling no one but
you
. – I’ve just this minute received news that has come as a great blow – not least because I’d assumed from your last letter that, praise be to God, you were feeling well; – but now I hear that you’re very ill! I don’t need to tell you how much I long to receive some reassuring news from you; and I’m sure that I shall – even though I’ve made a habit of always imagining the worst in all things – when looked at closely, death is the true goal of our lives, and so for a number of years I’ve familiarized myself with this true friend of man to such an extent that his image is not only no longer a source of terror to me but is comforting and consoling! And I give thanks to my God that He has given me the good fortune of finding an opportunity – you understand what I mean – of realizing that death is the
key
to our true happiness. – I never go to bed without thinking that – young as I am – I may no longer be alive the next morning – and yet no one who knows me can say that I’m sullen or sad in my dealings with them – and for this blessing I give daily thanks to my creator and with all my heart wish that all my fellow creatures may feel the same.
⁵
– I’d already expressed my views on this point in the letter that Madame Storace packed away with her luggage, views occasioned by the sad death of my dearest and best friend, Count von
Hatzfeld
⁶
– he was just 31 – like me – I don’t feel sorry for him – ite these lines, you’re feeling better; but if, contrary to all expectation, you’re not better, I would ask you by...... not to conceal it from me but to tell me the plain truth or get someone else to write to me, so that I may hold you in my arms as fast as is humanly possible; I entreat you by all that is sacred to us. – But I hope that I shall soon receive a comforting word from you, and in this pleasant hope I and my wife and Carl kiss your hands 1000 times. I am ever your most obedient son

W. A. Mozart

Leopold Mozart died on 28 May.

Dearest Sister,

You can well imagine how distressed I was by the sad news of our dearest father’s sudden death, as the loss affects us both equally. – – As it’s impossible for me to leave Vienna at present – which I’d do if only to have the pleasure of embracing you – and as it would hardly be worth coming simply to sort out our late father’s effects, I must confess that I’m entirely of your opinion with regard to a public auction; but I shall first wait to see an inventory in order to be able to choose one or two items from it; – but if, as Herr von d’Ippold
¹
tells me, there’s a
dispositio paterna inter liberos
,
²
I first need to know about this before I can make any further arrangements; – – I’m now awaiting an exact copy of it and after a brief perusal of its contents I’ll inform you of my opinion at once. – Please ensure that the enclosed letter is handed to our good and true friend Herr von d’Ippold; – as he has already proved to be a friend of our family on so many other occasions, I hope that he will again demonstrate his friendship and represent me in any way that’s necessary. – – Farewell, dearest sister! I am ever your faithful brother

W. A. Mozart

P.S.: My wife sends her best wishes to you and your husband, as do I.– –

Here lies my foolish darling who

In life was my pet starling. You

Were taken from me in your prime

And snatched away before your time

And made to feel death’s bitter blow.

The merest thought of it, I know,

Will cause my heart to bleed. So shed

A little tear for him. No shred

Of malice, gentle reader, lay

Within his heart. I’ll only say

He was a rather lively bird,

A dear and playful rogue. No word

Shall I hear said against a friend

Whom none could ever reprehend.

I’ll wager he’s already there

At God’s right hand and that he’ll swear

He’s never known a friend as kind

And selfless as the undersigned.

For when he unexpectedly

Fell off his perch and jilted me,

He didn’t think about the man

Who rhymes as well as any can.

4 June 1787.

Mozart.

Dearest, most beloved Sister,

It didn’t surprise me at all that you didn’t inform me yourself about our very dear father’s sad and, to me, entirely unexpected, death, as I could easily guess the reason. – May God take him to His bosom! – Rest assured, my dear, that if you want a kind-hearted brother to love and protect you, you’ll undoubtedly find one in me, whatever the occasion. – My dearest, most beloved sister, if you were still unprovided for, I’d need none of this. As I’ve thought and said a thousand times, I’d leave it all to you with genuine pleasure; but as it is of no use to you but, conversely, would be of considerable help to me, I consider it my duty to think of my wife and child.

Dearest, most beloved Sister, –

I’m writing at present only in order to reply to your letter – not much, and even this is in a hurry, as I have too much to do. – As both your husband, my dear brother-in-law, whom I ask you to kiss 1000 times for me, and I are keen to conclude this whole matter as soon as possible, I accept his offer, but on one condition, namely, that
he pays me the 1000 florins not in imperial currency but in Viennese currency and, moreover, as a bill of exchange. – I’ll send your husband the draft of an agreement or, rather, of a contract between us next post day, to be followed by 2 original copies, one signed by me, the other to be signed by him. – I’ll send you some new pieces of mine for the piano as soon as I can. Please don’t forget my
scores
.
¹