Mozart: A Life in Letters: A Life in Letters (32 page)

And who told you that you’d have to go through the forest of Spessart to get from
Würzburg to Mannheim
as the
Spessart
is near
Aschaffenburg
, between
Fulda and Frankfurt
? – – This is no doubt some other trick that Herr Beecke has played on you.
Aschaffenburg
and
Würzburg
are 10 miles apart. – It may be that one drives past the forest on the right-hand side for some hours as one approaches Mannheim. But there’s nothing near Würzburg, whether you’ve been there or not.

NB
: I’ve another observation to make about any journey that you may choose to make from
Weilburg
to
Koblenz
, namely, that the road is across country and will be safer than the one from
Mainz
to
Koblenz
, which is too near the Rhine. I now want to know all your other plans,
I’d never have suspected that my own dear wife wouldn’t have given me the occasional accurate account of your travelling expenses, as I’ve twice asked about Albert’s bill and should also have been told about the bill
from the landlord of the Lamb
etc. etc. But I’m not allowed to know about all your expenses.
And so I must askMama to write me a confidential letter on this point – I don’t want a wordy explanation but would just like to see from the landlord’s bill how people have been treating you and where all the money has gone
. We must now give serious thought to the ways and means of getting you out of the present situation, of travelling as economically as possible and of making sensible arrangements, but at all events you must let me know at once what may be to our detriment or advantage.
On no account
must you
sell
the chaise. May God keep both you and me well. Nannerl and I kiss you many 100, 000, 000 times. I am your own husband and father

Mzt

Count Czernin
⁴
has asked me to give you his best wishes. There was a rumour not only that the archbishop will be sending Haydn
⁵
to Italy but that he had already wanted to send him to Bozen with Triendl.
⁶
But Herr Triendl excused himself. I beg you, my dear Wolfg., consider everything and don’t always write about things when they’re already over and done with. Otherwise we’ll all be unhappy.

Mon très cher Père
,

Nothing’s to be hoped for from the elector at present. Two days ago I attended the concert at court in order to get an answer. Count Savioli was clearly avoiding me, but I went over to him: when he saw me, he shrugged his shoulders. What, I said, still no reply? – – I’m sorry, he said, but unfortunately no. – –
Eh bien
, I said, the
elector could have told me so before now. Yes, he said, but he wouldn’t have come to a decision even now if I’d not urged him to do so and pointed out that you’d been sitting around here for so long, getting through all your money at the inn. It’s that that annoys me too most of all, I retorted. It’s not very nice; but I’m most obliged to you, Count – he’s not called Your Excellency – for having so actively championed my cause, and I wonder if I could ask you to thank the elector on my behalf for his kind, if belated, reply. And I assured him that he’d never have regretted taking me on. Oh, he said, I’m more certain of that than you think. I then told Herr Wendling of the decision, he turned bright red and said very heatedly: we must find ways and means; you must remain here, for at least 2 months, until we can go to Paris together. As soon as Cannabich gets back from hunting tomorrow, we can discuss the matter further. With that I left the concert and went straight to see Madame Cannabich. While going there, I explained all this to the treasurer, who had left with me and who is a most excellent person and a good friend of mine. You can’t imagine how angry he became.

As soon as we set foot in the room, he interrupted me, saying: well, here’s someone who’s been treated by the court in its usual wonderful way. So nothing has come of it? said Madame.––I told them everything. They then told me about all manner of similar tricks played on people here. When Mlle Rosa – who was 3 rooms away, just dealing with the laundry – had finished, she came in and said: Is it convenient to you now? – It was time for her lesson. I’m at your command, I said. But, she said, we must have a really sensible lesson today. I agree, I retorted, as we can’t go on for much longer. Why’s that? – Why is that? – – Why? – She went over to her Mama, who told her. What? she said. It’s true – – I don’t believe it. Yes, yes, it’s true, I said. Then, adopting a very serious expression, she played my sonata.
¹
Believe me, I couldn’t stop crying. By the end, mother, daughter and treasurer were all in tears as she was playing the very sonata that’s the favourite of the whole household. Listen, said the treasurer, if the Herr Kapellmeister – they never call me anything
else here – goes away, he’ll make us all cry. I must say that I’ve got some very good friends here, it’s in circumstances like these that you get to know who they are; they’re friends not just in words but in deeds.

Just listen to the following.

The next day I went to have lunch at Wendling’s as usual. He said to me: our Indian – he’s a Dutchman, a man of independent means, a lover of all the sciences and a great friend and admirer of mine – is a really exceptional individual.
²
He’ll give you 200 florins if you’ll write 3 little, easy and short concertos and a couple of quartets for the flute. Through Cannabich you’ll get at least 2 pupils, who’ll pay well; you can write duets for keyboard and violin here and have them engraved by subscription. You can dine with us both at midday and in the evening. You can have self-contained quarters at the privy councillor’s;
³
it won’t cost you anything. And we’ll find some inexpensive accommodation for your mother for the 2 months it takes for you to write home and explain all this; Mama will then travel home and we’ll go to Paris. Mama is happy with this, all that remains is your own agreement, of which I’m already so certain that if we had to leave straightaway, I’d go to Paris without waiting for an answer; for one can expect nothing more from so sensible a father who has always been so concerned for his children’s welfare. Herr Wendling, who sends you his best wishes, is a close friend of our own close friend, Herr
Grimm
. He told him a lot about me when he was here. It was after he’d left us in Salzburg. I’ll write to him as soon as I receive a reply to this letter. I was told by a stranger whom I met at table here that he’s now in Paris. As we shan’t be leaving before 6 March, I’d also ask you, if possible, to contact Herr Mesmer or someone else in Vienna and arrange for me to receive a letter for the queen of France:
⁴
– but only if it can easily be done! – – otherwise it’s not really very important, although it’s true that it would be
preferable. This is also something that Herr Wendling advised me to do. I imagine that what I’ve written will seem strange to you as you’re in a town where one’s used to having stupid enemies and weak or simple-minded friends who, because they are dependent on their miserable livelihood in Salzburg, continue to fawn on their superiors and as a result live from day to day. You see, that’s the reason why I’ve been writing such childish nonsense and jokes and why I’ve said nothing sensible, as I was waiting to see how things would turn out here in order to spare you any annoyance and protect my good friends, whom you may now blame for what has happened, even though they are innocent, and whom you may accuse of acting in an underhand way, although this is certainly not the case. I already know who is the cause! But I’ve been obliged by your letters to tell you the whole story. But I beg you not to upset yourself over this, it is God’s will. Consider only this all too certain truth that it is not always possible to do all that one is minded to do. One often thinks that something would be very good and that something else would be very bad and wicked, but when it happens, one often discovers the opposite. I must go to bed now. I’ve got enough to write during the next 2 months: 3 concertos, 2 quartets, 4 or 6 keyboard duets, and I also plan to write a big new mass
⁵
and present it to the elector. Adieu. Please reply at once to all these points. I kiss your hands 100, 000 times and embrace my sister with all my heart. I am your most obedient son

Wolfgang Amade Mozart

Baron Dürnitz
⁶
wasn’t in Munich when I was there. I’ll write to Prince Zeil
⁷
on the next post day in order to expedite matters in Munich. If you too were to write to him, I should be most grateful. But short and to the point. Just don’t grovel, that’s something I can’t
bear. One thing is certain: if he wants to, he can certainly arrange it, for all Munich told me so.

[
Maria Anna Mozart’s postscript
]

You want to know how much we’ve spent on our journey, we’ve already told you what Albert’s bill came to, in Augsburg it came to 38 florins, Wolfgang told you that we’d made a loss of 24 florins, but he didn’t include the expenses incurred on the concert, which came to a further 16 florins, nor did he include our landlord’s bill, so that by the time we reached Mannheim we’d no more than 60 florins left, if we’d left again after a fortnight, there’d have been very little left. Travelling expenses have gone up as everything has become so expensive, it’s not like it used to be, you’d be surprised. As for Wolfgang’s journey to Paris, you must decide soon whether you’re in agreement, at this time of the year there’s nothing that can be done anywhere except in Paris. Monsieur Wendling is an honest man, whom everyone knows, he’s travelled widely and has been to Paris more than 15 times, he knows it like the back of his hand, and our friend Herr von Grimm is his best friend, too, and has done a lot for him. So you can decide, whatever you want is all right by me. Herr Wendling has assured me that he will be a father to him, he loves him like a son and he’ll be as well looked after as if he were with me. As you can imagine, I don’t like to let him go nor do I want to travel home on my own, it’s such a long way: but what’s to be done? To undertake such a long journey to Paris is difficult for someone of my age, and also too expensive. It’s easier to pay a quarter of the total than to pay for everything as you’d have to if you were on your own.

I’ll write more next post day, today I’ve a headache and think I may be coming down with a cold. It’s very cold here, I’m so frozen I can hardly hold the pen. Wolfgang has gone out to look at some rooms, the cheaper ones are very difficult to find here, but there’s no shortage of expensive ones.

Tell Nannerl that people don’t wear jackets here except indoors. Out of doors, it’s mostly cloaks and polonaises, the bonnets are much
prettier than in Salzburg and very different, too, their hairstyles incomparable, not raised up at the front, the women dress with great taste. If it weren’t so far, I’d have sent her a bonnet and a tippet.
Addio
. Keep well. I kiss you both many 1, 000, 000 times and remain your faithful wife

Maria Anna Mozart

To all our good friends especially Monsieur Bullinger, Mistress Sallerl, Katherl Gilowsky, the Antretters, Hagenauers, Robinigs, Frau von Gerlichs, the Schiedenhofens, Mölks, Mistress Mitzerl, Herr Gött,
⁸
Mistress Sandl,
⁹
and Tresel all conceivable good wishes.

A little kiss to Pimperl.

Mon très cher Fils
,

The news contained in your letter of the 10th concerning the unfavourable outcome of the matter in hand did not find me unprepared as I’d already predicted as much to Herr Bullinger and your sister and never imagined that it would turn out any differently. You too will have gathered this from each and every one of my letters. That I’d have preferred a different outcome is quite true, as you could then still have undertaken other journeys from time to time. You’ll also have found that in all my letters I had my eyes fixed firmly on Paris. I must now write more fully. You know that for many years our patience was sorely tested in Salzb.: and you know how often you and I wanted to leave. You’ll also recall the objections I raised, objections that made it impossible for us
all
to leave Salzb.; you now have proof of this – the great expense of travelling and the fact that one’s income is so little or at least insufficient to defray those costs,
especially with an entire family. At that time I couldn’t let you travel on your own, you know that you weren’t used to sorting things out on your own, not used to doing this and that without the help of others – you were largely unfamiliar with different currencies and knew nothing whatever about foreign ones and you didn’t have the least idea about packing and about the many needs that arise when one’s travelling. I often pointed out to you that – even if you were to remain in Salzb. until a couple of years after you’d turned twenty – you’d lose nothing because in the meantime you’d have a chance to get a taste of other useful sciences, to develop your intellect by reading good books in various languages and to practise foreign tongues. I also pointed out that even if a young man can look down on all his teachers, he will still not gain the respect that he deserves: this takes a certain number of years; and until he reaches 20, his enemies and persecutors and those who envy him know that the basis of their censure and of the objections they raise to him can be attributed to his youth, his lack of years, his
lack of status
and his inexperience. Do you doubt that such things were not brought to
the elector’s
attention with regard to
your teaching his children
? – Moreover, I am no more a lover of
grovelling
than you are, and with regard to Munich you’ll remember that I told you not to
demean yourself
: and all these attempts to persuade a group of 10 people to arrange things so that you could stay on there seemed to me to involve
too much grovelling
. You were persuaded to stay by kind-hearted and well-meaning friends; yet these are straw fires that flare up quickly – and end in smoke: it was well meant! It’s true that I’d like you to have a post, but only one like Munich or Mannheim or else one in which – importantly – you wouldn’t be prevented from making the occasional journey. In my view, not a lifetime appointment
per decretum
. If you had such a post even for only a couple of years, you’d be able to travel to France and Italy. One acquires more prestige and respect etc. by virtue of the
length of time
you spend in a post and by the title that you hold as composer to an elector etc. You already know this. That’s also my thinking on Munich. As long as you’re looking for a fixed-term post, it’s
certainly not grovelling
, as you’re merely looking for a chance to show what you can already do and know how to do,
as there are people at every court who try to prevent this because time and opportunity are needed to show oneself in the right light. – Let’s come now to your journey to Paris. – I wish you were already there: that was very much my concern during your disastrously long stay in Mannheim. It’s entirely natural that the gentlemen
¹
with whom you’re to travel to Paris don’t want to let you leave without them: they need a
fourth
person; and where will they find a
fourth
person like you? That Herr Wendling is your friend, that he means well, that he knows Paris and will take the best possible care of you – none of this do I doubt for a moment. Nor do I doubt that he’ll try to ensure that you find some means of supporting yourself in Mannheim between now and March – after all, he’s keen to have your company: there’s a reason for every friendship. If this Dutch gentleman
²
gives you 200 florins, you can survive in Mannheim, especially if you dine with Herr Wendling. Supposing that Mama spends 3 florins a week on food, that makes 12 florins a month, or could Herr Cannabich or – for all I care – Herr Wendling – not feed her for 4 florins a week? That would be 16 florins a month – and what might a room cost for a month? – If you get the 200 florins from the Dutchman and if the two of you spend 50 florins a month, that makes 100 florins in two months: but if you were also to get a couple of pupils, you’d still have more than 100 florins left, and how can the two of you spend 50 florins a month if you have free board? – In short, all this is fine by me: the only thing
I won’t have
is for you to live with some anonymous privy councillor and for Mama to live on her own. As long as Mama remains there, you should remain with her.
You should not and must not
leave Mama to mope on her own or to be abandoned to other people as long as she is with you and you are with her: however small the room, there’ll still be space for a bed for you. – And why not find a larger room straightaway? It will cost only a few florins more, but that doesn’t matter for a couple of months, whatever it costs it will still be barely half of what you had to pay at the inn.