Mzt
From Verona, Leopold and Wolfgang travelled to Mantua, where Mozart gave a concert At the RoyalAcademofScience, LettersandArts on16 January and they attended a performance of Hasse’s opera Demetrio (1732). They also stopped at Cremona, where on 20 January they heard Valentini’s opera, La clemenza di Tito (1753). They reached Milan on 23 January.
21. Leopold Mozart to his wife, 26 January 1770, Milan
Herr Troger1 has safely delivered your letter of the 12th. We arrived in Milan at midday on the 23rd, and your letter arrived on the 24th and with it your first note which, at my request, Herr Anton von Gummer had gone to fetch from the post office in Bozen and sent on to me. You complain that you’ve not received any letters from me for 3 weeks, but I wrote to you from Verona and Mantua. You ought to have received my first letter from Verona by now as I posted it there on 7 January. The 2nd can’t have reached Salzb. yet as it wasn’t posted in Mantua until the 15th. We left Verona at noon on the 10th and reached Mantua that evening, but I think I’ve already told you this. I wish you could have seen the place where the concert was held, namely, what’s called the Teatrino della Accademia Filarmonica. Never in my whole life have I seen anything more beautiful of its kind; and as I hope that you are assiduously keeping all my letters, I shall describe it to you in due course. It’s not a theatre but a hall with boxes, built like an opera house; where the stage should be there is a raised section for the orchestra, and behind the orchestra is another gallery, like boxes, for the audience. The crowd of people – – the calling, clapping, shouting and the bravo upon bravo – in short, the general shouting and the admiration shown by the listeners is something I cannot adequately describe to you.
I don’t doubt that in the meantime reports both from Rovereto and from Verona and Mantua will have reached you in Salzb. Give my most humble good wishes to Their Excellencies Count and Countess Arco and tell them that we were received with all manner of kindnesses and courtesies at the home of Count Eugenio Arco2 in Mantua. Conversely we did not have the good fortune to obtain an audience with Prince von Taxis. I already wrote to you from Mantua to say that his wife had letters to write. We returned there the next morning, but they’d both gone to church: we went to the church in turn and followed them home in their carriage at a distance of some 50 paces, so that the coachman would have no choice but to see us when he turned round in the courtyard. But when we announced our visit, we were told that the prince now had important business to attend to – – and he was unable to speak to us, we’d have to return on another occasion. The servant’s expression, his trembling voice and half-broken words showed me at once that the prince had no wish to see us; God preserve me from ever disturbing anyone from going about his business, especially when it also means walking great distances or having to hire a carriage. Fortunately we both lost nothing by not seeing each other at close hand (for we saw each other in the distance at the opera), in addition to which I saved myself money going there and saved His Excellency from the fear of being in our debt and having to extend to us any small courtesies for the honours shown to him at the Salzb. court and by the Salz. nobility. I’m writing this simply for your information, not because it grieves me, for I wouldn’t want anyone in Salzb. to think that I had lacked the good manners to visit the prince.
I am again enclosing a poem, this one by a lady by the name of Sigra Sartoretti, who entertained us in Mantua.3 Her servant came the next day and brought us an uncommonly beautiful bouquet of flowers on a beautiful plate, with red ribbons beneath it and 4 ducats entwined in the middle of the ribbons; on top was the poem, a copy of which I am appending.
I can assure you that everywhere I have found the most delightful people and that everywhere we have had our particular favourites who have remained with us until the very last moment of our departure and done everything in their power to make our stay agreeable. Thus it was, for example, with Count Spaur’s household in Innsbruck, Baron Pizzini, Counts Lodron, Cristani, Cosmi etc in Rovereto and Count Carlo Emilei, Marchese Carlotti, Count Giusti, the Lugiati household and especially Herr Locatelli in Verona. Then in Mantua Count Arco’s household and especially a Sigr. Bettinelli4 who, together with his brother and his brother’s wife, was entirely at our service. The wife was really just like a mother to Wolfgangl and we left each other with tears in our eyes. I’m also enclosing the newspaper from Mantua, which we received only when we arrived here in Milan. Among other things you’ll find in it the printed programme of the music performed at the concert, but you must know that neither the concert in Mantua nor the one in Verona was given for money, for everyone is admitted free.5 In Verona only the nobility can attend as it’s they who run it, but in Mantua it’s the nobility, the armed forces and the most prominent members of the community as it’s a foundation set up by Her Majesty the Empress.6 You’ll easily conclude from this that we shan’t grow rich in Italy and that we’ll do well to recover our travelling expenses. These I’ve always recovered: and you can be assured that although there are only 2 of us, our travelling expenses are not small, as we’ve already spent about 70 ducats. But, as I write this, we’ve already been away from Salzb. for 6 weeks, and even if you live à pasto 7 and, moreover, even if you often, nay mostly, don’t lunch at home, then supper, rooms, wood etc. are all so expensive that after 9 to 11 days at an inn you rarely get away with paying less than 6 ducats. I often thank God that I left you at home. First, you’d not have been able to stand the cold. Secondly, it would have cost an astonishing amount of money, and we’d not have been free to live as we do, as we’re now staying at the Augustinian monastery of San Marco ; not that it’s free here, no! but we can live here comfortably and safely and in close proximity to His Excellency Count Firmian.8 We have 3 large guest rooms. In the first room we have lit a fire and dine and receive visitors here; in the second I sleep and we’ve put our trunk there; and in the third Wolfg. sleeps and there we keep the rest of our smaller items of luggage etc.
We each sleep on 4 good mattresses, and every night the bed is warmed, so that Wolfg. always goes to bed happy. We have our own brother, Frater Alphonso, to wait on us and are being very well looked after. How long we’ll remain here, I can’t say. His Excellency the Count has a cold and was very keen to give a concert in his house and invite the Duke of Modena, 9 so I’ve not yet been able to hand over the other letters, as this has to take place first. I think the concert will be next Tuesday or Wednesday as His Excellency is already feeling a little better. I told you that Wolfg. has got red hands and a red face from the cold and fire, but all is now well again. Madame Sartoretti in Mantua gave him a pomade to rub on his hands every evening and in 3 days he was better: he now looks just as he did before. Otherwise we’ve kept well, thank God, and the change of air gave Wolfg. only a cold which he got over long ago. I very much doubt whether we’ll hear Herr Meissner performing in Florence for not only shall we be staying here for some time, but because Turin is so close, we’ll undoubtedly be popping over there.10 We’ll also be staying briefly in Parma and Bologna, and so I don’t think we’ll be in Florence before the start of Lent.
As for the horse, you can sell it or raffle it or give it away, for all I care, I just want it out of His Grace’s stables. The old saddle etc. is in the stables, the court stabler must know where it is.
If it can be sold with the new saddle and bridle, it may be possible to get a better price for it. You can also sell my carriage. It’s not getting any better; and we shan’t be going on any more long journeys. Sell it as best you can, it’s done good service. The harness is still in good condition – when I bought it, it cost only 23 ducats. Talk to people who understand these things. I don’t mind what you do: but before you sell it, it needs cleaning. All the letters that you write in future should be addressed to Monsieur Troger, as you did last time.
Every good wish to all our friends at home and abroad. I am your old honest
L Mzt
We kiss you both 100, 000 times.
22. M
ozart to his sister, 26 January 1770, Milan
I’m heartily glad to hear that you enjoyed yourself so much when you went sledging and hope you find a thousand opportunities to enjoy yourself, so that you may have fun all your life. But one thing annoys me, that you made Herr von Mölk1 sigh and suffer so much and didn’t go sledging with him, so that he could have knocked you over: how many handkerchiefs will he have got through that day, crying because of you? I expect he’d earlier taken an ounce of tartar to empty his hideously unclean body. I’ve no news except that the Leipzig poet, Herr Learned, 2 has died and hasn’t written any more poems since then. Just before starting this letter I set an aria from Demetrio that begins:
Misero Tu non sei:
Tu spieghi il Tuo Dolore;
e se non desti amore;
Ritrovi almen pietà.
Misera ben son io
che nel segretto laccio
amo, non spero e taccio
e l’idol mio nol sà.3
The opera at Mantua was nice, they gave Demetrio, the prima donna sings well, but quietly, and if you don’t see her acting but only singing, you’d think she wasn’t singing at all as she can’t open her mouth but just whines – not that that’s anything new to us. The seconda donna looks like a grenadier guardsman and has a powerful voice too and she doesn’t sing at all badly, considering it’s the first time she’s acted. Il primo uomo il musico sings beautifully, though his voice is uneven, he’s called Caselli. Il secondo uomo is already old, and I don’t like him. He’s called […]4 Tenors: the one called Uttini doesn’t sing badly but as with all Italian tenors it’s a heavy sound, also he’s a very good friend of ours. I don’t know what the other one’s called, he’s still young, but nothing special. Primo ballerino : good. Prima ballerina : good, and people say that she’s not bad-looking, but I haven’t seen her close up, the rest are very ordinary: there was also a grottesco 5 who jumps well but who can’t write like me, like sows pissing.
The orchestra wasn’t bad. In Cremona the orchestra was good, and the first violin is called Spagnoletto.6 Prima donna not bad, already old, I think, not good-looking, acts better than she sings, and is the wife of a violinist who plays in the opera and who’s called Masi. The opera is called La clemenza di Tito.7 Second donna not bad-looking on stage, young, but nothing special. Primo uomo musico Cicognani.8 An attractive voice, and a beautiful cantabile. The other two castratos, young and passable. Tenor: calls himself non lo sò. 9 Has a pleasant manner and looks just like Leroy, who was in Vienna but who’s now with Lehmann. Ballerino primo : good; ballerina prima good but extremely unattractive. There was a female dancer there who didn’t dance badly and who – what a chef-d’œuvre – isn’t bad-looking off stage and on. The others very ordinary. There was a grottesco there, too, who farted each time he jumped. I really can’t tell you much about Milan as we haven’t been to the opera yet, though we’ve heard that it wasn’t a success. Aprile, the primo uomo, sings well, he has a beautiful even voice, we heard him in church, where a great festival was taking place: Madame Piccinelli from Paris, who sang at our concert, is appearing at the opera: Monsieur de Picq, who used to dance in Vienna, is dancing here in Milan.10 The opera is called Didone abbandonata.11 This opera will soon be finishing, and Sig. Piccinni, who’s writing the next opera, is here in Milan: I’ve heard that his opera is called Cesare in Egitto : there are also feste di ballo here: as soon as the opera’s over, the festo di ballo begins: the wife of Count Firmian’s steward is from Vienna, we dined there last Friday, and next Sunday we’ll be dining there again. Farewell, and kiss Mama’s hands a thousand times for me, I remain, true till death, your brother
Wolfgang de Mozart
Baron Hochenthal
Friend of the Counting-House.12
23. Leopold Mozart to his wife, 13 March 1770, Milan
It was impossible for me to write last Saturday as Wolfg. had to compose 3 arias and 1 recit. with violins for the concert that was held yesterday at Count Firmian’s, 1 and I was obliged to copy the violin parts myself and then have them duplicated so that they wouldn’t be stolen. There were over 150 members of the leading nobility present, foremost among whom were the duke, princess and cardinal.2 It has now been decided that, with God’s help, we’ll leave Milan next Thursday, in other words, the day after tomorrow, but as we’re travelling with a coachman and not leaving until midday, we shan’t be in Parma until Saturday morning; you can easily imagine that I’ve an amazing amount of things to do, not least because the whole trunk has been unpacked on account of our long stay here. Another matter also has to be resolved between this evening and tomorrow: they want Wolfg. to write the first opera for next Christmas.3 If this goes ahead, you can be glad because we shall then certainly be home sooner than would otherwise appear to be the case: we have enough on our hands trying to get to Rome by Holy Week. You know that Rome is the one place where you absolutely have to stay. We’ll then move on to Naples, a place so important that even if a contract doesn’t take us back to Milan to write an opera there, some other occasion may well present itself that will detain us there throughout the coming winter.
If the contract is signed, the libretto will then be sent to us, Wolfg. can think the matter over a little, we can take the Loreto4 road and be back in Milan by Advent; and inasmuch as the composer isn’t obliged to stay on after the opera has been staged, we can then return home via Venice and be back within a year. I leave it all to Providence and God’s decree. Could I ask you to offer my apologies to all and sundry and congratulate everyone called Joseph, as this is my most tiring week: you know how difficult, sad and tiring every departure is. In particular I would ask you to give my most humble good wishes and apologies to our Father Confessor.
Please continue as before to address your letters to Herr Troger, who can be relied upon to forward them.
As soon as I’m in Bologna or Florence, I’ll write to you, perhaps also from Parma.
Tomorrow, to mark our departure, we’re dining with His Excellency, who is providing us with letters of recommendation for Parma, Florence, Rome and Naples.5 I can’t tell you how kind His Excellency has been to us throughout our stay. I’d already have written to His Excellency the Chief Steward6 if I’d not had to wait until tomorrow to do so in greater detail. Give my best wishes to all our good friends. Farewell, I kiss you and Nannerl 1000 times and am your old
Mzt
In particular give all conceivable good wishes to Monsieur Selzam from us both.
[ Wolfgang’s postscript ]
Best wishes from me too, I kiss Mama and my sister millions of times and am well, thank God, addio.
Mozart and his father left Milan on 15 March, travelling by way of Lodi (where Mozart composed his first quartet, K80) to Piacenza, Parma, Modena and Bologna, where they arrived on 24 March.
24. Leopold Mozart to his wife, 27 March 1770, Bologna
I wrote to His Excellency the Chief Steward from Parma, and from here I wrote to His Grace and to you on the 24th inst. I await your reply as to whether all these letters have arrived safely. There was a concert yesterday at the home of His Excellency Field Marshal Count Pallavicini, to which His Eminence the Cardinal and leading members of the nobility were invited.1 You know His Excellency Count Karl von Firmian; I’d now like you to get to know Count Pallavicini, too. They are 2 gentlemen who in every respect share the same outlook, the same friendliness, generosity, placidity and particular love and insight into all kinds of knowledge. On Sunday I was privileged to pay my respects to His Excellency Count Pallavicini and to give him His Excellency Count Firmian’s letter; and scarcely had he heard that I was planning to be in Rome by Holy Week when he said at once that he would try to arrange to have the pleasure not just of hearing this extraordinary young virtuoso tomorrow but of affording the same pleasure to the city’s leading aristocrats. I shall not touch on all the circumstances and tell you how we were collected in His Excellency’s carriage and how we were waited upon, but shall say only that about 150 me
mbers of the leading aristocracy were present: the famous Padre Martini2 was also invited, and although he normally never goes to concerts, he did come to this one: it began at around half past seven and went on until half past eleven, because the nobility showed no sign of leaving. Sgr Aprile and Sgr Cicognani sang. We’re leaving the day after tomorrow, Thursday the 29th, and shall be in Florence by Friday evening, remaining there until the 5th, before continuing our journey to Rome, so that, if God places no obstacle in our way, we could be there by midday on the 11th. What pleases me most of all is that we are uncommonly popular here and Wolfg. is admired here even more than in all the other towns in Italy, because many composers, artists and scholars live and work here. He has also been most comprehensively tested here, and this increases his fame throughout the whole of Italy, because Padre Martini is the idol of the Italians and speaks of Wolfg. with such admiration and has done all the tests with him.
We’ve visited Padre Martini on 2 occasions: and on each occasion Wolfg. worked out a fugue for which Padre Martini had written only a few notes of the ducem or guida. We’ve also visited Cavaliere Don Broschi – also known as Sgr Farinelli – on his estates outside the town.3 And we also met La Spagnoletta here as she’ll be the prima donna in the opera that’ll be given in May, replacing Gabrielli, 4 who’s still in Palermo and who has left the people of Bologna in the lurch. Presumably she’ll also leave the people of Milan in the lurch.
We met Sgr Manfredini here – the castrato who called on us in Salzburg while on his way from Russia with Herr Panter of Vienna etc. etc.
A certain old Sigr Abbate Zanardi joins me in sending his good wishes to Herr Andrino. A number of people have been asking about Kapellmeister Lolli. Herr Prinsechi and many other people have enquired about the court statuarius, all send their good wishes along with mine.5 We were at the Instituto and saw the beautiful statues of our court statuarius. What I’ve seen here surpasses the British Museum, for here there are not only unusual objects from the world of nature but everything that comes under the name of science, preserved like a lexicon in beautiful rooms and neatly arranged in an orderly manner: in a word, you’d be amazed etc. I’ll say nothing about the churches, paintings, beautiful architecture and the furnishings of the various palazzos as I’m so tired that I can hardly write any more, it’s past 1 o’clock, Wolfg. has long been snoring and I’m falling asleep as I write.
Mozart: A Life in Letters: A Life in Letters Page 13
