Mozart: A Life in Letters: A Life in Letters (41 page)

I now have so much to do, what will it be like in winter? – I think I told you in my last letter that the Duc de Guines, whose daughter is my composition pupil, plays the flute exceptionally well and that she herself is a magnificent harpist; she has plenty of talent and genius and, in particular, an exceptional memory as she plays all her pieces–200 in fact – by heart. But she doubts very much whether she has any gifts as a composer, especially as regards thoughts – ideas; – but her father – who, between the two of us, is far too much in love with her – says that she certainly has ideas, adding that it’s simply timidity and that she has too little faith in her own abilities. We’ll see. If she has no ideas or thoughts – and at present she doesn’t have any at all–it’ll all be in vain, for – God knows – I can’t give her any. Her father’s aim isn’t to make a great composer of her – she’s not,
he says
, to write operas, arias, concertos or symphonies, but only grand sonatas for her instrument and mine. I gave her her 4th lesson today, and as far as the rules of composition and harmony are concerned, I’m quite pleased with her – she added quite a good bass to the first minuet that I set her. She’s now starting to write in 3 parts. It starts off very well, but she soon gets bored, and I can’t help her; I can’t go on to the next stage yet. It’s too soon, even if there really were genius here, but unfortunately there isn’t – everything will have to be done with art. She simply doesn’t have any ideas. Nothing comes. I’ve tried everything possible with her; I even had the idea of writing out a very simple minuet and seeing if she could write a variation on it. – But it was a waste of time – all right, I thought, she simply doesn’t know how to begin – so I started to write a variation on the first bar and told her to continue in the same vein and keep to the idea – in the end it went fairly well. When she’d finished, I told her to start something of her own – only the leading voice, the melody – well, she thought about it for a whole quarter of an hour – but nothing came. So I wrote down 4 bars of a minuet and said to her: Look what a fool I am; I’ve started a minuet but can’t even complete the first
section; would you mind finishing it off for me; she thought it would be impossible; but finally, after a great deal of effort, something emerged; I was pleased that she’d produced something for once. She then had to complete the minuet – I mean just the leading voice. But for her
homework
I told her just to change my 4 bars and write something of her own – invent a different beginning – the harmony could be the same, only the melody should be different. Well, I’ll see tomorrow what’s come of it. – I think I’ll soon be receiving the libretto for my opera
en deux actes
. I’ll first have to show it to the director, Monsieur de Vismes, to see if he’ll accept it. But there’s no doubt that he will, as Noverre suggested it, and de Vismes owes his position to Noverre. Noverre will also be presenting a new ballet, for which I’ll write the music.
⁶
Rodolphe – the horn player – is in the king’s service and a very good friend of mine. He has a thorough understanding of composition and writes very well. He has offered me the post of organist at Versailles, if I’ll accept it. It pays 2000 livres a year, but I’d have to spend 6 months at Versailles and the other 6 in Paris or wherever I like. But I don’t think I’ll accept it. I must be advised by my good friends here. 2000 livres isn’t such a vast sum. In German money, of course, but not here. It amounts to 83 louis d’or and 8 livres a year, of course, or, in our own money, 915 florins and 45 kr. – that would be a lot, of course, but here it amounts to only 333 thalers and 2 livres – and that’s not much. It’s frightening how quickly a thaler disappears here. It doesn’t surprise me that people think so little of a louis d’or here as it’s worth very little. 4 such thalers, or 1 louis, which is the same thing, are spent in no time. Adieu for now. Keep well. I kiss your hands 1000 times and embrace my sister with all my heart. I am your most obedient son

Wolfgang Amadè Mozart

Best wishes to all our friends, especially to Herr Bullinger.

My Dear Husband,

Your letter of 29 April has reached us safely, and we’re delighted to see from it that you and Nannerl are both well, your news amused us greatly. I’m heartily sorry, of course, to hear about Sandl Auer but hope that by now she’ll have recovered her wits. As for Sigerl Haffner,
¹
I burst out laughing as I know the girl, she was a good friend of our Nandl, who proved such a disappointment, and often came to see her, they’re still friends, she’s a brewer’s daughter from Uttendorf, but she can’t be more than 26, she just looks older as she was worn out working for the colonel. If he’s married her, he’s made a charming match, God bless him he’s no reason to be jealous as no one could possibly fall for her. We hear very little about the war here, but I can well believe what you say about the king of Prussia trying to form alliances, but it’ll be hard as Russia can’t easily commit itself because of the Turks, and the Turks are bent on war. The Swedes certainly can’t do so as the king of France has 30, 000 Swedish auxiliaries and pays them 12 million livres a year. And Denmark, too, is out of the question as its whole army consists of some 30, 000 men, which would empty the country, and do you think they’re not afraid of France, which is fully occupied leading the king of Prussia by the nose for the edification of all the other powers? That’s why he doesn’t attack, otherwise he’d never wait so long as he’s always been the aggressor and not thought things over for so long. Here the whole city is behind the emperor, except perhaps for the Lutherans, and not even all of them, some are behind him as he made himself very popular during his stay here.
²
Something for Nannerl: tell her she should get hold of a smart walking stick, it’s the height of fashion here for all women – except maids – to take their sticks with them not only when they go to church but also when visiting, walking, wherever they go, but only in the street, of course, not when driving,
no one goes out on foot without a stick because it’s so slippery here, especially when it’s been raining, some time ago a woman twisted her ankle and when a doctor said it would be better if women used sticks, it immediately became the fashion. Otherwise it’s indescribably expensive here a lb of good butter costs 30 or 40 sous, and even the poorer quality, which you can’t eat, is 24 sous. A lb of beef is 10 sous, veal 12 to 14 sous, a shoulder of lamb 3 livres, a young chicken 3 livres, the wine is expensive and of poor quality, having all been watered down by the landlords here, it’s even more expensive than it was when we were in England. You can’t buy more with a louis d’or than you can with a Bavarian thaler in Germany, and with a thaler you can’t buy more than you can with 24 kr. back home, everything is as expensive again as it was last time. For the rest, we’re well, praise and thanks be to God, and only wish you were both here. I shan’t forget to be bled, but I must first find a good barber. It’s no longer as common as it used to be, just as all fashions change. Best wishes to Herr Cornet Antretter,
³
we were sorry to hear that Herr Bullinger was ill but we’re pleased that he’s now better, best wishes to him and to my dear Sallerl, what’s she doing, does she still think of me, Wolfgang and I often speak of her, how often we talk about our acquaintances in Salzburg when we’re sitting together over our supper in the evening.

Addio
, keep well, both of you, I kiss you many 10, 000 times and remain your faithful wife

Marianna Mozart

All conceivable good wishes from us to all our good friends, greetings to Tresel.

[Mozart’s postscript]

I’m bearing up, praise and thanks be to God, though often enough there’s neither rhyme nor reason for what I do – I feel neither hot nor cold – I take little pleasure in things; what cheers me up most of all and keeps me in a good mood is the thought that you, dearest
Papa, and my dear sister are well – that I am an honest German – and that even if I may not always say what I want, I may at least think it. But that’s all. Yesterday was my 2nd visit to see the envoy of the Palatine Electorate, Count von Sickingen – I’d already had lunch there with Herr Wendling and Herr Raaff – I don’t know if I’ve already told you, but he’s a charming gentleman and a true connoisseur of music, of which he’s inordinately fond.

I spent 8 hours completely alone with him. We were at the keyboard morning and afternoon until 10 in the evening, playing through all kinds of music, praising, admiring, analysing, discussing and criticizing it. He has around 30 opera scores.

I must tell you that I had the honour of seeing a French translation of your violin method. I think it must have been translated at least 8 years ago. I was in a music shop, buying a set of sonatas by Schobert for a pupil of mine. But I’ll return there soon and have a closer look in order to be able to send you a more detailed description. I didn’t have enough time the other day. Farewell. I kiss your hands 1000 times and embrace my sister with all my heart.
Mes compliments à tous mes amis, particulièrement à Monsieur Bullinger
.

WoAMozart

My dear wife and son,

I’ll start with a wedding as I don’t know if I’ve already told you that
Nicoladoni
, who’s in partnership with Herr Spängler and who used to be married to Spängler’s daughter, has just married
Nannerl Gschwendtner
.
¹
It took place at the Eizenberger-Hof.
²
Huber
, the
currier
, suffered a fall last winter and was almost fully recovered when
he fell again as he was still too weak to walk. He now has to use 2 crutches and can’t take a bath as one of his legs is withered. But otherwise he’s hale and hearty and walks past our gate on his 2 crutches. The
statuarius’s mother
,
³
old peasant woman, has died. Haffner’s
⁴
heirs and in-laws have agreed neither to the wedding nor to the sale of the property at Seeburg. Herr Triendl
⁵
wouldn’t be opposed to the latter, but he only wants to buy it because of Lucretia in order to stay in Seeburg and be close to his cook, who’s with her sister in
Trum
. So Haffner intends to wait another 3 years until he’s no longer a ward of court:
⁶
and he’ll then bang his foolish head against the wall. – Meanwhile a lot can change. The amateur concerts are still taking place every Sunday in Lodron’s hall. The 2 Lodron girls have already played 3 times each, on each occasion it was music that I gave them as they couldn’t have managed a single one of the pieces that they’d studied during 5 years with the late Herr Adlgasser. Little Leopold Arco
⁷
has also played 3 times. They were all a credit both to me and to themselves, Fräulein von MÖlk played once after Nannerl had had several lessons with her. Mlle Villersi
⁸
was also invited to play, Countess Lützow had Wolfg.’s concerto
⁹
copied out for her some time ago, and Spitzeder worked through it with her. Thinking she could play it, she rehearsed it with the violins in her room; Herr Bullinger was also there; and they all said – and she herself agreed – that she played it appallingly badly. She then came to our house in tears and asked us to show her how it should be played, postponing her appearance for a fortnight and in the end learning to play it so well that she was the greatest possible credit to herself. She’s now having lessons with Nannerl and comes here so that the parlourmaids at the Langenhof don’t know about it as Spitzeder is
still seeing her. The count and countess
¹⁰
know. The countess now regrets her whim and doesn’t know what to do with the girl, who in 5 whole years has learnt absolutely nothing. The Lodron girls played again on 7 June, the
elder
gave a superb performance of the concerto by Lucchesi.
¹¹
Sigerl Robinig has already played twice, the first time Wolfg.’s piece in B flat (I think) from the graduation music, the second time another easy little concerto – he played it more than passably, only the cadenzas were terribly Pinzgerish.
¹²
– Did I tell you that last carnival little
Perchtl
opened a coffee-shop in the Linzergasse near Rosenwirth and that it’s doing a roaring trade as he makes good coffee? –
The evening of the 7th
.
Your letter of 29 May reached us on the 7th
and we were delighted to read that both of you are well, praise be to God, we too are well, thank God: only occasionally am I overcome by a sense of melancholy when I think how far away we are from each other and wonder when – or if – I shall ever see you again.––I must seek to banish these sad thoughts through work –– and through manly fortitude and leave it to God’s will. I never doubted that everything would be very expensive and, indeed, more expensive than it was last time in Paris as the same is happening everywhere, year in, year out. It’s an infallible rule that
where there’s lots of money, everything is expensive; but where everything is cheap, there’s less money
. Nannerl intends to start
a fashion for women’s walking sticks
next winter as it’s slippery to walk here, – fans are unsuitable in winter and yet women are used to having something in their hands. – The war? – Yes, what about it? – It’s still the same: nothing but the most terrifying preparations! – And meanwhile one courier after another reporting negotiations. – Today we get reliable
news of an agreement – and tomorrow equally reliable news that no agreement is possible. Among the many reasons for this delay may be the no slight wish to delay the affair – as far as is possible – until the
harvest is over and the crops have been brought in
, because both armies and the whole nation would be exposed to a terrible famine, and Prussia in particular has a far less adequate supply of foodstuffs than Austria, with all its hereditary dominions, especially Hungary.
¹³
Moreover, Prussia has sown a certain amount of discord between the house of Austria and the elector of the Palatinate,
¹⁴
so that the elector wants to make an exception of some of the places included in the agreement and is most displeased, as a result negotiations have started between the ministers in Munich, with Count Seinsheim at their head, and the imperial ambassador Baron Lehrbach,
¹⁵
and all these matters will be laid before the imperial diet at Regensburg. The fortress at Eger
¹⁶
is being constantly reinforced, and in general the best possible arrangements are being made not only to ensure the availability of all that the Austrian troops need but to obtain everything as cheaply as possible. The Austrian monasteries have even been selling their wine at a fixed and
very cheap price
, and this is then passed on to the army. – So we must await the outcome with patience – may God grant us peace! I also told you some time ago that the elector won’t be leaving Munich in the foreseeable future. – God knows when the Mannheimers will see him again: if things pass off peacefully, there’s no doubt that he’ll spend most, if not all, his time in Bavaria.