Mozart: A Life in Letters: A Life in Letters
Page 53
10 Sept. I’ve just received your letter and see that you’re already provided with a parlourmaid. – On the one hand, I’m glad as the seccatura I’ve had with these wenches is now over; and I’ll tell the soldier’s daughter that you’ve found someone else as this one is really no good, – but if we still need to look round for another one, I’ll need to know very soon: but I don’t think you’ll have any difficulty finding one.
But I’m surprised that the days are now getting almost too short for you to write a letter every week, the last of which was undated, or for you to read the newspapers. I’ve no objections to the way you arrange your day, except the 3 hours spent playing the piano from 2 till 5 and then only 1 hour for walking.
The weather here has been uninterruptedly fine and I’d have come and paid you a surprise visit if I hadn’t received instructions from the archbishop to prepare a list of the entire court music staff and their salaries etc. and now have to wait and see what happens next. Hearty congratulations to my son on being bled. It was high time that you visited Strobl: how could you keep postponing it in such fine weather?
– And St Wolfgang?3 – – I’m almost prepared to wager that I’ll get to St Wolfgang before my daughter: – O you stay-at-homes, you’ll soon be nestling up against the stove! – I’m always out and about by 5 and never return before the Angelus, and on the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary I set off for Mülln at 2, from there I went to see the administrator, then to Maxglan and returned at 7 via the Neutor. Meanwhile we’ve had target practice on the 5th and there’ll be another one on the 12th, the day after tomorrow. We’ll be continuing till Michaelmas. – But I don’t know what will happen after that. For now, I’m being well looked after: but Veronica4 is definitely going to Lofer, though she’ll remain to do the cooking until you leave, and only then will she return home as she’s in no hurry to do so. – I’m sending by post the machine and all that goes with it. Also an apron that Thresel, the town clerk’s daughter, brought. And the old burnt bodice. There’s still an old green one here.
Mme Zezi5 has returned the jewels: everyone likes them – only the bride wanted something jingly-jangly to hang down more at the front instead of the drops. She’s now taken it to the fair at Bozen and hopes to find some jingly-jangly jewels there. The wedding should already have taken place, but she asked for it to be held in Salzburg in October or November or even postponed until the new year; she doesn’t seem to be impressed by her bridegroom’s jingle-jangle. Meanwhile I’ve taken custody of the trinkets, as Mme Zezi says she may have changed her mind by the time she returns. Keep well and be happy, I am ever my dear son’s and dear daughter’s honest father
Mozart
The Schiedenhofens are still in Triebenbach. The Hagenauers, Sallerl Joly, Monsieur d’Ippold,6 the company of marksmen, Captain Hermes of the Grenadiers from the Kapuzinerberg etc etc. all send their best wishes, especially Herr Marchand in his last letter. Bologna7 in particular would come out to see you if I could come with him, – but he’s afraid of travelling and in any case doesn’t really have time as he can travel to Munich with the empty coaches that will then be bringing back the merchants, and they’re coming at the end of next week.
On my way back here I lost the key to the little trunk that was in my room in St Gilgen – unless I left it behind in my room, perhaps on the small wardrobe.
I kiss the children and hope that Fräulein Nannerl will study hard, just like Wolfg.8 Addio!
146. Leopold Mozart to his daughter, 19 November 1784, Salzburg
To mark his name day, my son1 gave a small concert, at which some of his pupils performed and, in addition, Baron Bagge2 from Paris amused the company with a violin concerto: There was so much laughter! he writes, and goes on: I’ve received my sister’s letter and hope that in the meantime she’ll have received mine too. Presumably he means the letter to me. I expect you already know that we’ve 2 new stewards. We’d got only 4 left to carry the canopy during Hours, as the others had either gone to meet their maker or were invalids and cripples, so the prince was forced to look for a couple of young lads to bear the heavy burden of the canopy.3 Cajetan Antretter has already been a trainee at the court council for some time and it was high time he was given something. And so he received motu proprio his certificate as steward, together with 15 florins and the salutary reminder to make himself worthy of further high favours by assiduously attending council meetings. Young Anton Mehofer, who married Joseph Capeller’s daughter and who’s long held some other post that I can’t remember, received a similar certificate, but I don’t know if he also got any extra; meanwhile they both had to pay 25 florins tax on their character references. – Thurner, the army paymaster, was buried some time ago. Die Entführung aus dem Serail was fairly well staged on the 17th. It received the greatest applause and 3 numbers were repeated: by 5 o’clock it was impossible to get into the lower part of the theatre, and it was completely full at the top by a quarter past. The Plaz children and their governess, Katherl, had to sit right at the front of the stalls. It’ll be performed again on Sunday the 21st: after that they’ll probably take it off for 5 weeks. The whole town is pleased with it. Even the archbishop was kind enough to say: it’s really not bad. I hear they took in 181 florins. The aria with obbligato instruments4 was played by Stadler on the violin (which is easy), Feiner on the oboe, Reiner on the flute and Fiala on the cello, and it went very well. Herr Cassel had been asked to play the flute: he came to the first rehearsal but told Stadler the next day that he’d not be coming any more and that they should find someone else as rehearsing was too boring for him; everyone, even the nobility, took this very amiss. Conversely, Herr Fiala not only played but even refused to accept a fee, saying that he’d done it as a favour for Herr Schmidt5 and more especially as a favour for Herr Mozart.6
The postman has just arrived. The seat prices for the opera weren’t raised, only the subscription was suspended.
Gretl sang admirably and was much applauded by the elector, who spoke to her afterwards, and also by Maestro Prati etc.7 You know that people had been waiting to see who’d be the seconda donna as Lisel Wendling refused to play the seconda donna to Madame Lebrun, especially because on this occasion she’d such an insignificant part with 2 very short and worthless ariettas. But since Lisel Wendling saw no hope for her daughter,8 she herself took on this worthless part so that Gretl couldn’t steal a march on her and in that way prevented Gretl from appearing at the electoral opera and enhancing her own reputation. Meanwhile she’s9 sent her daughter and husband to Paris. I’ve not heard a word about Bologna, except that when Pacchierotti10 was there, I’m told he was again ill and had to be bled. I have to reply to a long letter or, rather, 2 letters from Marchand, but since I can write only a little at each sitting, I’ll have to devote a whole week to it in order to deal with everything properly. I’m supposed to go to Munich– I’m supposed to go to Vienna and God knows where else. Oh! If only I were my own master! I’d soon pack up and leave. As soon as I know about the post, I’ll ensure that the glass carrier has something to take with her.11
The boxes that I sent you must of course be returned as I always need boxes when sending things. The one containing the pears belongs in any case to Herr d’Ippold. Now that the weather’s turned colder, I’ve bought 6 lbs of good-quality beef and am having it boiled at home. Of the chickens that I’ve been fattening up, I occasionally get one roasted at the local inn; and this works very well; I’ll have the last one the day after tomorrow. And so half my food comes from the inn, the other half I provide myself: if I’ve got something in the house, I get it prepared there. What I usually send for is some soup and a sausage at midday, or cabbage, sometimes with a liver sausage, maybe lights or tripe or calves’ feet or preserved meat – most of this I usually keep back for the evening, when Tresel boils up some of the soup or else boils a piece of my beef or gets something from the landlord or cooks some rice or barley that I’ve bought myself, as everything that comes from the inn has wit
hout exception had vinegar added. In short, I live a soldier’s life – if I have something, I eat it, day in day out. Patience! – –
If I can’t find the Haydn variations,12 I can always get a copy of them from Count Leopold Arco. – Baron Rechberg13 is no longer coming but is going to Strasbourg instead. – There was no tempo marking on the score of the concerto in G,14 so I didn’t add one. –
Baron Bagge is, of course, a very old fool. At his concerts in Paris he always scraped away at the first violin, occasionally playing the flute in the most wretched manner imaginable: only in old age has he hit on the mad idea of wanting to play concertos and making himself look foolish. – As for the war that’s currently being waged in the theatre, there’s nothing in the least edifying about it, it involved only that troublemaker Herr Reinike, who then stirred up Mattausch and Litter.15 Everything’s now calm again.
It’s a few weeks now since Frau Schörkhofer sent me this cook. – As far as I know, she’s from Kammer, is neatly dressed, with a golden Linz mob cap; she limps – one of her legs must be shorter than the other – but she certainly walks down the street quickly enough. She’s not old, – but nor is she very young. At least she’s not at all pretty: but not exactly ugly either: in her dress she’s neat and tidy. I’ll speak to Frau Schörkhofer and tell her everything. That she should be corrupted is hardly a danger: no one will be placed in temptation’s way by this woman.
I feel exactly the same about the war as my son:16 I read the newspapers every day and always look at the map of Holland; but I’m not making any plans. Count Weissenwolf has been enlisted and has already left for his regiment, which is one of those that’s supposed to be going to the Netherlands. Buon viaggio! – I must close now and get to bed. I kiss you and the children with all my heart and am ever your honest father
L. Mozart
Hanchen17 has written both to me and Herr Hagenauer. The Schiedenhofens didn’t return from Triebenbach until last Saturday evening. I’ll drop round tomorrow, they weren’t at home when I called yesterday.
147. Leopold Mozart to his daughter, [after 21] November 1784, Salzburg
I’m writing this in advance of a possible visit from the woman who transports the glass. The opera1 was performed again on Sunday to the greatest possible acclaim, it’s now becoming so popular that the whole town is praising it and describing it as the most wonderful work. Herr Haydn sat behind the keyboard in the orchestra; of course everyone kept asking him his opinion, and he said: this opera needed only to have an orchestra of 60–70 persons and the necessary intermediary instruments, namely, clarinets and english horn, whose parts had to be played on violas here – only then would you hear what an admirable work it is. He couldn’t have been more pleased. – The opera will not be taken off till Christmas, when there’ll be 2 more performances. Countess Gundacker2 said that the more she’s seen the opera, the more she’s liked it. Blonde’s duet with Pedrillo and her own aria were again repeated: the drinking song Vivat Bacchus even had to be repeated 3 times. – All who’ve seen it in Vienna are unanimous in saying that the acting at the theatre here is better – it’s livelier and more natural and the whole performance is more committed than in Vienna. Much the same has been said by Count von Eltz and the 2 Barons Fechenbach, who’ve seen it in Berlin, Mainz and Mannheim.3 The latter are the brothers of Baron Fechenbach, who’s now dean of Mainz cathedral and who was with us in Lyons4 with Baron Wayer and Canon Schultheiss. – At his Excellency’s supreme command, Herr Haydn was supposed to write an opera for these people: and on the prince’s orders Herr Schmidt had to submit all the German opera texts he could find in order for them to be examined, but unfortunately nothing suitable could be found. Both Haydn and Schmidt were extremely pleased at this. Herr Schmidt said: if I’m to do myself credit, I can’t rehearse a new work in under 4 weeks, as we always have 3 other works to rehearse every week. And Herr Haydn said he couldn’t toss anything off that would be a credit to him; he said that at some later date he’d prefer to write an Italian opera for the archbish. – – But he knows that this is a long way off as there’s no one here to sing it: – at least one foreign female will first have to be begged to come here. So these plans are all currently in the air! And nothing has been decided.
I sent for Frau Schörkhofer and discussed the matter in detail with her, examining it in its entirety. I can honestly say that I’m sorry that I’m saddled with old Tresel, she’d have made an excellent servant as I need one who’s good at sewing in order to repair my cuffs and other things and I’ve often no one or have to pay through the nose. I’ve thought about it a lot and think that my son may know her foster-parents and may even have dined with them. He’s the manager of the brewery at Schörfling near Kammer: because he and his wife have no children, they agreed to foster this child, as her own father, a dissolute man, had run off and abandoned her and her brother, who was taken in by his godfather, a potter. Her foster-mother would now like her to find a job somewhere else and thinks that it would help her to make her way in the world if she didn’t stay in Schörfling. Since she’s been here, Countess Engl has been sending her mob caps to stitch as she used to make them for her previously; she also had to sew mob caps for Baroness Rehlingen here. Frau Schörkhofer says she’s not very quick at stitching mob caps but that they couldn’t be neater or prettier etc. and that she’s a methodical, tidy, God-fearing person, I’ve noticed her in church at Holy Trinity. The prison governor’s wife wants to employ her as a cook, but she doesn’t want to work there – and she’s quite right – to work as a prison cook doesn’t sound very nice. Nor does she want to cook for a member of the clergy – because of the malicious gossip – and once again she’s right. – She’s not worried about the pay, because, as far as I can see, her foster-parents are providing her clothes: there’s only one difficulty – namely, the fact that the work is very hard; for although – according to Frau Schörkhofer – she thinks that she can do everything, Frau Schörkhofer feels, as I do, that she won’t be able to carry wood and water, not least because she limps a little, having been crippled as a child, with the result that one leg is slightly withered and shorter than the other. To tell the truth, I’ve spoken only once to this person – and then only briefly: but she struck me as a quiet, rather shy but a very clean and capable person. –