Mozart: A Life in Letters: A Life in Letters
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5. The theatrical high season around the feast of the Ascension.
6. Here Mozart refers also to Weber’s eldest daughter, Josepha. There were four sisters in all.
7. Anna Lucia de Amicis; the arias are all from Lucio Silla ; the bravura aria is ‘Ah, se il crudel’.
8. Father Dagobert (Joseph Clemens Benedikt) Stamm (1724-?) was the brother of Maria Cäcilia Weber.
9. Franz von Heufeld, director of German plays in Vienna 1773–5, had written to Leopold from Vienna on 23 January 1778 to say that the emperor was not about to engage a composer in light of the fact that both Antonio Salieri (1750-1825) and Gluck were already in his service and that he did not approve of Leopold’s idea to appeal directly to Joseph II; he recommended, instead, that Mozart compose a German opera and submit it to the court for consideration. Heufeld also declined to write a letter of recommendation to the queen of France. See Deutsch, Documentary Biography, 169–71.
1. Paul Rothfischer (1746–85), violinist.
2. From K279–284.
3. Count Maximilian van Eyck, the Bavarian ambassador in Paris.
4. At this point it had been decided that Mozart’s mother would return to Salzburg and that Wolfgang would go on to Paris. Leopold therefore had reasonable expectations that he might not see Wolfgang again.
5. Leopold lists some twenty-five names including the writers Denis Diderot (1713-84), Voltaire and Madame d’´pinay (1726-83), the Duc de Chartres (1747-93) and other luminaries.
6. Founded in 1725, it was the longest-standing independent concert series in Paris.
7. K222.
8.K358, composed late 1773 or early 1774, and K381, composed in the summer or fall of 1772.
9. K179.
10. Possibly the last movement of the sonata K309.
11. Wife of Archbishop Colloredo’s personal physician, Silvester Barisani.
12. Their son, Francesco.
1. Apparently this song was part of the child Mozart’s bedtime ritual; it is reproduced in Georg Nikolaus Nissen, Biographie W. A. Mozarts (Leipzig, 1828), 35.
2. Margarethe Kaiser, see letter 55.
3. The Wallerstein musicians Anton Janitsch (1753-1812), violinist, and Joseph Reicha (1746-95), violoncellist, had visited Leopold Mozart in Salzburg in January 1778, when they presumably gave Leopold this account of Mozart’s visit to Wallerstein the previous autumn.
4.K309.
5. Aloysia.
6. Antonia Bernasconi, see letter 15, n. 8; the librettist Raniero de’ Calzabigi (1714-95) was closely associated with Gluck.
7. Elisabeth Teyber was a member of a well-known family of musicians (see List); the actress Vittoria Tesi (1700-1775).
8. Prince Hildburghausen, see letter 1, n. 13; nothing else is known of this incident.
9. It is unclear which of two singers Leopold refers to here: Anna Maria Elisabeth Schindler (1757-79) or Katharina Schindler (1753-88).
10. Baron Johann von Fries (1719-85), banker active at the Salzburg court.
11. Michele dall’Agata was an impresario in Venice. Leopold had negotiated an opera contract for Wolfgang with him in 1771. For reasons that are unknown, the opera was never composed.
12. See letter 24, n. 4.
13. Cecilia Davies.
14. ‘one must have stage presence’.
15. This presumably refers to the growing crisis over the Bavarian succession, which led to war between Austria and Prussia (July 1778–September 1779).
16. Johann Julius Hummel (1728-98), publisher, had published the first editions of Mozart’s keyboard variations K24 and 25 and the accompanied sonatas K26–31 in 1766.
17. Friedrich Schwindl (1737-86), violinist and composer; Francesco Zappa (fl. 1763-88), Milanese violoncellist and composer; Francesco Pasquale Ricci (1732-1817). The Mozarts had met Schwindl in Brussels in 1763 and Ricci in The Hague in 1765 or 1766.
18. ‘either Caesar or nothing’; i.e. all or nothing.
19. Archbishop Colloredo.
20. This was part of Joseph II’s ongoing efforts to take over church property in Austria; he put his plan into effect in 1783 on the death of the ruling prince-bishop of Passau, Cardinal Leopold Ernst von Firmian.
21. The archdiocese of Salzburg received considerable income from local salt mines.
1. K307 (‘Oiseaux, si tous les ans’) or K308 (‘Dans un bois solitaire’); both songs were composed in Mannheim between the end of October 1777 and early March 1778.
2. Two important figures in Salzburg society. Antonie, Countess Lützow (née Czernin, 1750-1801) was a niece of Archbishop Colloredo and the wife of Major General Johann Nepomuk, Count Lützow (1742-1822); Mozart composed the piano concerto K242 for her. For Antonia Maria, Countess Lodron (née Arco), see List.
3. In Mozart’s letter of 7 February 1778; according to Briefe v. 488, these were ‘Alla selva, al prato’, ‘Aer tranquillo’, ‘Barbaro, oh Dio?’ and ‘L’amerò, sarò costante’ from Il re pastore.
4. Anton Willibald, Count Waldburg zu Wolfegg und Waldersee.
5. K33h (lost).
6. The archbishop’s summer residence, south of Salzburg.
1. Here Mozart obliquely refers to his own family’s situation in Salzburg.
2. Presumably ‘Ah, se il crudel’ from Lucio Silla.
1. From Ferdinand Dejean.
2. In fact, Mozart completed only two quartets, K285 and K285b (the authenticity of the flute quartet K285a is not certain and K298, usually associated with Dejean’s commission, probably dates from 1786 or 1787) and one concerto, K313. The arrangement for flute of the oboe concerto K314 is possibly not by Mozart; if it is, however, it may have been intended for Dejean as well.
3. Possibly this is a reference to the quartets K155–160, composed in Italy in 1772 or 1773; it is not known, however, whether these were written on commission for an Italian patron.
4. There was to all intents and purposes no music publishing in Vienna at this time; the majority of music was distributed in handwritten copies, by music dealers or on private subscription. During the 1780s, Mozart twice tried to sell his works by private subscription; see letters 109, 131, the commentary preceding letter 163 and letter 174.
5. Jean d’Alembert (1717–83), mathematician and writer.
1. Karl Heinrich Joseph, Count Sickingen zu Sickingen, Palatine ambassador at Paris 1777–91; Baron Otto von Gemmingen-Hornburg (1755–1836), diplomat and author at Mannheim.217;s estate in 1791.
2. These works are K80 (originally composed in three movements, Mozart added a fourth sometime between 1773 and 1775), K174, K179.
3. K242.
4. Therese Pierron (b. 1761) was the step-daughter of Anton Joseph Serrarius; Mozart composed the accompanied sonata K296 for her.
5. K294.
6. ‘Truly written by a master.’
7. Fridolin Weber.
8. ‘Accept, my friend, the works of Molière in token of my gratitude and think of me sometimes’; presumably the German translation of Molière’s works by Friedrich Samuel Bierling, published at Hamburg in 1752; volumes three and four of this edition were among the books listed in the inventory of Mozart’s estate in 1791.
9. The War of the Bavarian Succession.
10. Anton Willibald, Count Waldburg zu Wolfegg und Waldersee.
11. 19 March; Clermont-en-Argonne, outside Metz.
1. K297a; for further details, see below.
2. Joseph Legros (1730–93), tenor and director of the Concert Spirituel 1777–91.
3. Jean-Georges Noverre (1726–1810), dancing master and choreographer active at Vienna, Milan and Paris.
4. The writer Louise-Florence d’Épinay (née Tardieu d’Esclavelles, 1726–83) was noted for the brilliance of her salon; she had earlier had a liaison with the philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–78), and at this time was living with Baron Grimm.
5. Adrien-Louis Bonnières de Souastre, Duc de Guines (1735–1806), governor of Artois.
6. K299.
7. See below and n
. 10.
8. Mozart’s choruses for the Miserere (a setting of Psalm 51) are lost.
9. Francçois-Joseph Gossec (1734–1829), composer and from 1778 chorus director at the Académie Royale.
10. Mozart’s plans to write an opera on Alexandre et Roxane never materialized.
11. Victoire Jenamy (1749–1812), pianist and daughter of Jean-Georges Noverre; Mozart composed the concerto K271 for her in January 1777. Until recently, Jenamy’s identity was unknown; in the literature she is traditionally called ‘Jeunehomme’, a name invented by the French scholars Théodore de Wyzewa and Georges de Saint-Foix.
12. K297B; although this work is lost, it may survive, at least in part, in the similarly (but not identically) scored KAnh. C14.01.
13. Jan Václav Stich (1746–1803), known as Punto.
1. K243. Neither Adlgasser’s nor Michael Haydn’s Litany can be identified with certainty.
2. Francesco Ceccarelli (1752–1814) was a castrato at Salzburg cathedral; the Golden Salve formed part of the liturgy performed at Salzburg during the afternoon of Easter Sunday, the Regina Coeli is K127. Michael Haydn had recently married the soprano Maria Magdalena Lipp (1745–1827).
3. In the event, Ceccarelli remained at Salzburg for ten years.
4. ‘Little fool’.
5. For an engraving of Count Lodron’s residence, see Deutsch, Bildern, 269.
6. Sigmund, Count Lodron, see List.
7. Georg von Bapius, court councillor and amateur musician.
8. Gottlieb von Weyrother (1713–1816), court official.
9. Giovanni Battista Gussetti (1744–89), Salzburg businessman and amateur musician; Michael, Count Althan, a student at the Salzburg Benedictine University.
10. ‘at the back of the seconds’.
11. Siegmund Christoph, Count Zeil (1754–?), nephew of the bishop of Chiemsee; Friedrich Franz Joseph, Count Spaur (1756–1821) had succeeded his uncle Ignaz Joseph Spaur (see letter 27, n. 4) as canon of Salzburg.
12. ‘to open the amateur concert’.
13. Maddalena Laura Sirmen (1745–1818), who had been a pupil of the violinist and composer Giuseppe Tartini (1692–1770).
14. ‘after another symphony’.
15. ‘a case reserved for trial by the pontiff alone’; i.e., for use only in the archbishop’s presence.
16. Rochus Egedacher (1714–85) was the most prominent keyboard builder in Salzburg.
17. Aloisia and Giuseppina Lodron.
18. ‘for his travelling expenses’.
19. ‘I’ve not yet received the contract from Naples; but I hope to resolve the affair on my arrival, I’m leaving on Maundy Thursday; meanwhile I’d like to ask a favour of you.’
20. ‘This is to send me Bach’s 6 concertos etc etc. Sgr Hamm has asked me to do him this kindness etc etc. – They don’t dare to write to you themselves etc.’ Presumably this refers to Johann Christian Bach and possibly the keyboard concertos op. 1 of 1763 or op. 7 of 1770;in 1772, Mozart had arranged three of Bach’s keyboard sonatas (op. 5, nos. 2, 3 and 4) as concertos, K107.
21. Presumably Carl Stamitz (1745–1801), active chiefly at Paris and London.
22. Probably K287.
23. The court position held by Gottlieb von Weyrother.
24. Maria Anna Constantia Barisani, daughter of the archbishop’s physician, Silvester Barisani; she died in December.
25. Leopold uses Klavier here, by which he presumably means ‘piano’ specifically rather than ‘keyboard’, as he goes on to make an implicit distinction with Flügl (‘harpsichord’).
26. Francesco Ceccarelli.
27. A reference to the Russian-Turkish War of 1768–74. Now that Russia is at peace, Leopold fears it will side with Prussia against Austria in the event of war over the Bavarian succession.
1. Zygmontofscky, of whom nothing more is known, gave a concert at the Salzburg town hall on 31 May 1777.
2. Élisabeth-Louise de La Rochefoucauld, Duchesse de Chabot (1740–86).
3. Louise-Marie-Thérèse-Bathilde d’Orléans, Duchesse de Bourbon (1750–1822), was the daughter of the Duc d’Orléans.
4. ‘O yes, Monsieur, you’re right.’
5. ‘a deep silence’.
6. ‘Oh, he’s a true prodigy, it’s unbelievable, it’s amazing.’
7. Giuseppe Maria Cambini (1746–1825), violinist and composer.
8. ‘what a great mind!’
9. Franz Joseph Heina (1729–90), horn player. He established a publishing house with his wife, Gertrude, in 1773; between 1778 and c. 1783 he published the first editions of Mozart’s piano variations K179, 180 and 354, the divertimento K254 and the piano sonatas K309–311.
1. Marie Antoinette.
2. The build-up to the War of the Bavarian Succession; hostilities did not actually break out until July, when Prussia invaded Bohemia (see letter 88).
3. It was widely believed that England and France would go to war as a result of France’s support for the North American colonies during the War of Independence (1775–83).
4. A garrison town near Salzburg.
5. A tight-bodiced dress with a looped-up skirt to reveal a decorative underskirt.
6. In the event, Mozart wrote parts of the ballet, Les petits riens K299b, see letter 87.
1. Siegmund Haffner the younger.
2. When he visited Paris as Count Falkenstein in April 1777 (see letter 49, n. 2).
3. Siegmund von Antretter.
1. Nannerl Gschwendtner (1746–82) was the sister of Joseph Franz Xaver and Vital Gschwendtner; Franz Anton Spängler (1705–84) was a Salzburg merchant.
2. An all-purpose venue used for balls, wedding feasts and parties located outside the town.
3. Maria Hagenauer.
4. Siegmund Haffner the elder, who had died in 1772.
5. Siegmund Haffner the elder’s son-in-law.
6. Siegmund Haffner the younger would cease to be a ward of court when he was twenty-five.
7. Count Arco’s nephew (1764–1832).
8. Daughter of Casimir Villersi (?–1776), former tutor to Archbishop Colloredo.
9. K246.
10. Possibly Count Kuenburg and his wife, Friederike Maria Anna. Their daughter was Theresia (1769–1805). The Langenhof was the palace of the Kuenburg family, now Siegmund-Haffner-Gasse 16.
11. Andrea Lucchesi (1741–1801), music director at Bonn from 1774; the concerto may be Lucchesi’s keyboard concerto in F major, published at Bonn in 1773.
12. Although Briefe v. 526 suggests Mozart’s ‘graduation music’ may be K287, it is more likely to have been either the andante second movement or the allegro fourth movement of the serenade K203 of August 1774; the concerto is unidentified. Andreas Pinzger (c. 1742–1817) was a court violinist in Salzburg.
13. The war came to be known as the Kartoffelkrieg (Potato War) because of the lengthy manoeuvres by both armies to obtain food supplies and deny them to the enemy.
14. Karl Theodor had made an agreement, on becoming elector of Bavaria, to cede Lower Bavaria to Joseph II in exchange for the Austrian Netherlands; this was fiercely opposed by Prussia.
15. Franz Siegmund Adalbert, Count Lehrbach, hunting master for the Austrian Innviertel region and a court official in Salzburg.
16. The town of Eger, now Cheb, is about 150 km west of Prague, on the border with Germany.
17. The daughter of the Duc de Guines.
18. Maria Franziska, Countess Wallis, who was the sister of Archbishop Colloredo, see List.
19. Unidentified.
20. Königgrätz, modern-day Hradec Kra´lové in the Czech Republic; its bishop was Joseph Adam, Count Arco.
21. Ferdinando Giuseppe Bertoni (1725–1813), a student of Padre Martini, later served as music director at St Mark’s, Venice; Luigi Gatti (1740–1817), second music director at the Reale Accademia, Mantua, was appointed music director at Salzburg in 1783.
22. Anton Theodor, Count Colloredo-Mels und Waldsee, archbishop of Olmütz 1777–1811, was the cousin of Ar
chbishop Hieronymus Colloredo.
23. Mozart’s mass cannot be identified with certainty; prior to his visit to Mantua in January 1770 he had written four such works: K49 (1768), K139 (1768), K65 (1769) and K66 (1769).
24. Theresia Maria Josepha von Arco (1740–?), daughter of Count Arco; Hasse is unidentified.
25. Maria Judith Lipp, Michael Haydn’s sister-in-law. Apparently he had been considered as a possible successor to Adlgasser as court and cathedral organist.
26. Joseph Marini, court confectioner 1772–6.
27. The Dutch translation of Leopold Mozart’s Gründliche Violinschule was published in Haarlem in 1766 (see letter 12) and an unauthorized French translation, Méthode raisonée pour apprendre à jouer du violon, by Valentin Roeser, in Paris in 1770. Roeser is presumed to be the composer of twelve duos and a caprice published with the treatise.