Chapter XIX: Paris, 1778 (2)

singers,[29] Grimm hailed the auspicious day on which Caribaldi, Baglioni, and Chiavacci appeared in Piccinni's "Finte Gemelle" (June n, 1778).[30] It is therefore quite conceivable that he renounced all interest in Mozart's artistic future as soon as he was convinced of his falling off from purely Italian notions, and it is interesting to us to have so clear an indication that even thus early in his career Mozart had set himself in opposition to the Italian school. He had long since learnt all that it had to teach, and he fully recognised the fact that it was his mission to carry on the reform set on foot by Gluck and Grétry, at the same time retaining all that was valuable in the Italian teaching.

A confirmation of this is found in a later expression of opinion made by Mozart to Joseph Frank, who found him engaged in the study of French scores, and asked him if it would not be better to devote himself to Italian compositions; whereupon Mozart answered: "As far as melody is concerned, yes; but as far as dramatic effect is concerned, no; besides, the scores which you see here are by Gluck, Piccinni, Salieri, as well as Grétry, and have nothing French but the words."[31] This view was confirmed by his stay in Paris, a stay quite as fruitful for his artistic development as that at Mannheim had been. Grimm's accounts show that Mozart had opportunities for hearing the operas of numerous French composers. Besides Gluck's "Armide" which was still new, "Orpheus," "Alceste," and "Iphigenia in Aulis," which had been revived, Piccinni's "Roland," Grètry's "Matroco," "Les Trois Ages de l'Opéra," and "Le Jugement de Midas" were given, as well as Philidor's "Ernelinde," Dezaide's "Zulima," Gossec's "Fête du Village," Rousseau's "Devin du Village." Added to these were Piccinni's Italian opera "Le Finte Gemelle," and doubtless many others of which we know nothing. It may well excite wonder that Mozart's letters to his father describe

{PARIS, 1778.}

(58)

none of the new artistic impressions which he must have received in Paris. But, apart from the fact that personal affairs naturally held the first place in his home correspondence, it must be remembered that abstract reflections on art and its relation to individual artists were not at that time the fashion, and were besides quite foreign to Mozart's nature. His aesthetic remarks and judgments whether they treated of technical questions or of executive effects, are mostly founded on concrete phenomena. The practical directness of his productive power, set in motion by every impulse of his artistic nature, prevented his fathoming the latest psychical conditions of artistic activity, or tracing the delicate threads which connect the inner consciousness of the artist with his external impressions, or analysing the secret processes of the soul which precede the production of a work of art. He does not seem any more actively conscious of the effect wrought upon him by the works of others. Some men's impressions of a great work are involuntary, and they seek later to comprehend the grounds of their enjoyment; others strive consciously to grasp the idea of the work and to incorporate it into their being; but to the man of creative genius alone is it given to preserve his own totality while absorbing all that is good in the works of other artists.

Without ever losing his own individuality, an artist of true genius absorbs impressions from nature and from other works of art than his own, and constructs them anew from his inner consciousness. He accepts and assimilates whatever is calculated to nourish his formative power, and rejects with intuitive right judgment all that is foreign to his nature. Just as in the production of a true work of art invention and labour, inspiration and execution, willing and doing, are inseparably interwoven, so in the consideration by a genius of the works of other men and other ages, delighted appreciation is combined with criticism, ready apprehension collects materials for original work in its truest sense; it is a natural process, which perfects itself in the mind of the artist without any conscious action on his part.

Therefore the judgment that one artist pronounces on

{RESULT. OF STAY IN PARIS.}

(59)

another is not always in perfect accord with the influence which has been brought to bear on himself by that other. The deeper the influence penetrates into the roots of an artist's inner being, the more will it become part and parcel of his productive powers, and the consciousness of any outside influence will be rapidly lost. It remains for future historical inquirers to ascertain and define the influence of the intellectual current of the age on the individual, and the mutual action on each other of exceptional phenomena.

Small as the visible results of Mozart's stay in Paris might be, and far as he remained from the object with which he had undertaken the journey, it yet enabled him, with great gain to his progress as an artist, to free himself from the Italian school, after such a thorough study of its principles as convinced him of the value of the element of dramatic construction which lay concealed in it. It may indeed be considered as a fortunate circumstance that no sooner had this conviction taken root in him than he turned his back on party disputes and left the place which was of all others the least fitted to encourage the quiet steady progress of genius.

L. Mozart had other and very different reasons for wishing to shorten Wolfgang's stay in Paris as much as he had hitherto desired to prolong it. With his wife's death he had lost the assurance that Wolfgang's life in Paris would be of no detriment to his moral nature. Indulgent as she had been to her son, in this respect her influence was unbounded; and now it might be feared that Wolfgang's easy-going nature would lead him into bad company. Grimm's account convinced him that Wolfgang had no prospects of success in Paris, the less so as he took no pains to conceal his dislike of the place. His dearest wish at this time was to be appointed Kapellmeister to the Elector of Bavaria; he hoped thus to be able to improve the position of the Weber family, and to claim Aloysia as his own. The project was not disapproved of by his father (who, however, was told nothing of the last item); on the contrary, he wrote to Padre Martini describing the state of affairs, and earnestly

{PARIS, 1778.}

(60)

requesting him directly and through Raaff to gain the Elector for Wolfgang; this the Padre readily undertook. As for Raaff, his friendship for Mozart and the interest which he took in Aloysia Weber were incentives enough for exertion, and Mozart had other influential friends among the musicians, besides being able to count on the support of Count Sickingen.

In Munich especially, where there was no German operatic composer of merit--Holzbauer being too old to have much influence--the need of a kapellmeister and composer was strongly felt; but the circumstances were very unfavourable. After it had been finally decided that the court should be removed from Mannheim to Munich, and all had been prepared for the move, threatenings of war threw everything into confusion again. Wolfgang felt this a heavy blow to the interests of the Webers, concerning whom he writes to his father (July 31, 1778):--

The day before yesterday my dear friend Weber wrote to me, among other things, that the day after the Elector's arrival it was announced that he intended to take up his residence at Munich. This news came like a thunderbolt to Mannheim, and the joy which had been testified by the illuminations of the day before was suddenly extinguished (p. 404). The court musicians were all informed that they were at liberty to follow the court to Munich, or to remain in Mannheim with their present salary; each one was to send in his written and sealed decision to the Intendant within fourteen days. Weber, whose miserable circumstances you know, wrote as follows: "My decayed circumstances put it out of my power to follow my gracious master to Munich, however earnestly I may wish to do so." Before this happened there was a grand concert at court, and poor Mdlle. Weber felt her enemies' malice; she was not invited to sing--no one knows why. Immediately afterwards was a concert at Herr von Gemmingen's, and Count Seeau was present. She sang two of my songs, and was fortunate enough to please, in spite of the wretched foreigners (the Munich singers). She is much injured by these infamous slanderers, who say that her singing is deteriorating. But Cannabich, when the songs were over, said to her, "Mademoiselle, I hope that you will go on deteriorating after this fashion! I will write to Herr Mozart to-morrow, and acquaint him with your success." As the matter now stands, if war had not broken out, the court would have removed to Munich; Count Seeau, who positively _will have Mdlle. Weber_, had arranged everything so as to take her, and there was hope that the circumstances of the whole family would improve in

{PROSPECTS IN SALZBURG.}

(61)

consequence. But now the Munich journey is no more talked of, and the unfortunate Webers may have to wait here long enough, their debts growing heavier day by day. If I could only help them! My dear father, I recommend them to you with my whole heart. If they had only 1,000 florins a year to depend upon!

Thereupon his father reminds him that his anxiety about the Webers is unbecoming, as long as he does not bestow the same care on himself and his own family (August 27, 1778). Besides there was no prospect for him in Munich at present, and his father therefore wished him to remain in Paris, at all events until the matter was decided.[32]

In the midst of this uncertainty a favourable prospect opened in Salzburg itself. Since Adlgasser's death it had become more and more evident at court that Wolfgang's recall would be of all things most advantageous; it was signified to L. Mozart through Bullinger that, as he doubtless wished to retain his son near him, the court would be prepared to give him a monthly salary of fifty florins as organist and concertmeister, and he might look forward with certainty to being made kapellmeister; but the Archbishop could not make the first advances. Bullinger duly performed his mission, but L. Mozart, who well knew the perplexity the Archbishop was in, required that the proposition should be made direct to him. So, therefore, it was obliged to be; and the diplomatic skill, "worthy of a Ulysses" as Wolfgang says, with which L. Mozart contrived to hold his ground and to avail himself of his strong position in an interview with the canon, Count Joseph Stahremberg, is minutely described by himself (June 29, 1778):--

When I arrived no one was there but his brother the major, who is staying with him to recover from the fright into which he has been thrown by Prussian powder and shot. He told me that an organist had been recommended to him, but he would not accept him without being sure that he was good. He wished to know if I was acquainted with him--Mandl, or some such name, he did not remember what. "Oh, you stupid fellow!" thought I; "is it likely that an order or a request should be received from Vienna with reference to a candidate whose

{PARIS, 1778.}

(62)

name is not even mentioned." As if I could not guess that all this was by way of inducing me to mention my son! But not I! no, not a syllable. I said I had not the honour of knowing any such person, and that I would never venture to recommend any one to our prince, since it would be difficult to find any one who would altogether suit him. "Yes," said he, "I cannot recommend him any one; it is far too difficult! Your son should be here now!" "Bravo! the bait has taken," thought I; "what a pity that this man is not a minister of state or an ambassador!" Then I said, "We will speak plainly. Is it not the case that all possible measures were taken to drive my son out of Salzburg?" I began at the beginning and enumerated every past circumstance, so that his brother was quite astonished, but he himself could not deny the truth of a single point, and at length told his brother that young Mozart had been the wonder of all who came to Salzburg. He wanted to persuade me to write to my son; but I said that I would not do so--it would be labour in vain, for that unless I could tell him what income he might expect, my son would laugh at the proposition; Adlgasser's salary would be totally insufficient. Indeed, even if his Grace the Archbishop were to offer him fifty florins a-month, it would be doubtful whether he would accept it. We all three left the house together, for they were going to the riding-school, and I accompanied them. We spoke on the subject all the way, and I held to what I had said; he held to my son as the only candidate for him. The fact is, that the Archbishop can hear of no other good organist who is also a good clavier-player; he says now (but only to his favourites) that Beecké was a charlatan and a buffoon, and that Mozart excels all others; he would rather have him whom he knows than some one else highly paid whom he does not know. He cannot promise any one (as he would have to do if he gave a smaller salary) an income by pupils, since there are but few, and those are mine, I having the name of giving as good lessons as any man. Here then is the affair in full swing. I do not write, my dear Wolfgang, with the intention of inducing you to return to Salzburg, for I place no reliance on the words of the Archbishop, and I have not yet spoken to his sister the Countess;[33] I rather avoided the opportunity of meeting her; for she would take the least word as consent and petition. They must come to me, and if anything is to be done, I must have a clear and advantageous proposal made, which can hardly be expected. We must wait, and hold fast to our point.

Wolfgang, who disliked Salzburg more even than Paris, at first took no notice of all this. But the death of the old kapellmeister Lolli, coinciding with that of his mother, brought

{MOZART'S DISLIKE OF SALZBURG.}

(63)

matters in Salzburg to a crisis, and under the circumstances L. Mozart was more than ever convinced that Wolfgang should have a good position there. Good old Bullinger was again employed as a mediator to reconcile Wolfgang to the idea. He wrote to his young friend that he would be wronging his family by refusing so advantageous a position as that now offered to him, and that life might be endurable even in so small a place as Salzburg. He mentioned casually that the Archbishop intended engaging a new singer, and hints that his choice might be turned towards Aloysia Weber. Thereupon Wolfgang wrote candidly to Bullinger (August 7, 1778):--

You know how hateful Salzburg is to me!--not alone on account of the unjust treatment received there by both my father and myself--though that in itself is enough to make one wish to wipe the place clean out of one's memory. But even supposing that things turned out so that we could live _well_--living _well_ and living _happily_ are two things, and the latter I should never be able to do without the aid of magic--it would be against the natural order of things! It would be the greatest pleasure to me to embrace my dear father and sister, and the sooner the better; but I cannot deny that my joy would be doubled if the reunion took place anywhere but in Salzburg. I should have far more hope of living happily and contentedly.

He goes on to explain that it is not because Salzburg is small that he dreads returning to it, but because it offers no field for his talent, music being but little esteemed there; he remarks with bitter satire how the Archbishop pretends to seek with much parade for a kapellmeister and a prima donna, and in reality does nothing.

Soon after his father gives him further information as to the position of affairs (August 27, 1778):--

I have written to you already that your recall here is desired, and they beat about the bush with me for a long time without getting me to commit myself; until at last, after Lolli's death, I was obliged to tell the Countess that I had addressed a petition to the Archbishop, which, however, simply appealed to his favour by drawing attention to my long and uncomplaining services. The conversation then turned upon you, and I expressed myself as frankly upon all necessary points as I had previously done to Count Stahremberg. At last she asked me whether you would come if the Archbishop were to give me Lolli's post, and you Adlgasser's, which, as I had already calculated, would bring us in

{PARIS, 1778.}

(64)

together one thousand florins a year; I could do nothing else but answer that I had no doubt that if this happened you would consent for love of me, especially as the Countess declared that there was not the least doubt that the Archbishop would allow you to travel in Italy every second year, since he himself had said how important it was to hear something new from time to time, and that he would furnish you with good letters of introduction. If this were to happen, we might reckon securely on one hundred and fifteen florins a month; and, as things now are, on more than one hundred and twenty florins. We should be better off than in any other place where living is twice as dear, and, not having to look so closely after money, we should be able to think more of amusement. But I am far from thinking the affair a certainty, for I know how hard such a decision will be to the Archbishop. You have the entire goodwill and sympathy of the Countess, that is certain; and it is equally certain that old Arco, Count Stahremberg, and the Bishop of Konigsgratz, are all anxious to bring the matter to a conclusion.

But there are reasons, as is always the case; and, as I have always told you, the Countess and old Arco are afraid of my leaving also. They have no one to succeed me as a clavier-teacher: I have the name of teaching well--and, indeed, the proofs are there. They know of no one; and, should a teacher come from Vienna, is it likely that he would give lessons for four florins or a ducat the dozen, when anywhere else he would have two or three ducats? This sets them all in perplexity. But, as I have said before, I do not reckon on it, because I know the Archbishop. It may be true that he sincerely wishes to secure you; but he cannot make up his mind, especially when it concerns _giving_.

Probably Wolfgang counted on this fact, and refrained on that account from treating the matter seriously. Just at this time his discomfort in Paris was lightened by a pleasant event. His old London friend Bach, (Vol. I., p. 39), had been invited to write an opera ("Amadis") for Paris. "The French are asses, and always will be," remarks Wolfgang thereupon (July 9, 1778); "they can do nothing themselves, but are obliged to have recourse to foreigners. Bach came to Paris to make the necessary arrangements, and Wolfgang wrote (August 27, 1778):--

Herr Bach has been in Paris for the last fortnight. He is going to write a French opera. He has come to hear the singers; then he goes back to London, writes the opera, and returns to put it on the stage.[34] You may imagine his joy and mine at our meeting. Perhaps mine is

{SUMMONS TO SALZBURG.}

(65)

more sincere, but it must be acknowledged that he is an honest man, and does people justice. I love him, as you know, from my heart, and have a high esteem for him. As for him, he does not flatter or exaggerate as some do, but both to myself and others he praises me seriously and sincerely.

Bach had introduced Wolfgang to the Marshal de Noailles,[35] and the latter had invited them both, as well as Bach's "bosom friend" Tenducci (Vol. I., p. 41), to St. Germain. There they spent some pleasant days together, and it need hardly be said that Mozart composed a scena for Tenducci, with pianoforte, oboe, horn, and bassoon accompaniment, the instruments being taken by dependents of the Marshal, chiefly Germans, who played well.[36]

Meanwhile the time for decision drew near. The Salzburg authorities had made a definite proposal to L. Mozart, as he had wished, and he wrote to his son in a way which hardly left him a choice (August 31, 1778):--

You do not like Paris, and I scarcely think you are wrong. My heart and mind have been troubled for you until now, and I have been obliged to play a very ticklish part, concealing my anxiety under the semblance of light-heartedness, in order to give the impression that you were in the best of circumstances and had money in abundance, although I well knew to the contrary. I was very doubtful of gaining my point because, as you know, the step we took and your hasty resignation left us little to hope from our haughty Archbishop. But my clever management has carried me through, and the Archbishop has agreed to all my terms, both for you and myself. You are to have five hundred florins, and he expressed regret at not being able to make you kapellmeister at once. You are to be allowed to act as my deputy when the work is beyond me, or I am unfit to do it. He said he had always intended to give you a better post, &c.; in fact, to my amazement, he made the politest apologies. More than that! he has given five florins additional to Paris,[37] so that he may take the heaviest duties, and enable you to act as concertmeister again. So that

{PARIS, 1778.}

(66)

we shall get altogether, as I told you before, an income of one thousand florins. Now I should like to know whether you think my head is worth anything, and whether or not I have done my best for you. I have thought of everything. The Archbishop has declared himself prepared to let you travel where you will, if you want to write an opera. He apologised for his refusal last year by saying that he could not bear his subjects to go about begging. Now Salzburg is a middle point between Munich, Vienna, and Italy. It will be easier to get a commission for an opera in Munich than to get an official post, for German composers are scarce. The Elector's death has put a stop to all appointments, and war is breaking out again. The Duke of

Zweibrücken[38] is no great lover of music. But I would rather you did not leave Paris until I have the signed agreement in my hand. The Prince and the whole court are wonderfully taken with Mdlle. Weber, and are absolutely determined to hear her. She must stay with us. Her father seems to me to have no head. I will manage the affair for them if they choose to follow my advice. You must speak the word for her here, for there is another singer wanted for operatic performances.

He was now so sure of the affair that he concluded his letter with the words, "My next letter will tell you when to set off."

L. Mozart was not mistaken in his son; however great the sacrifice it entailed upon him, he prepared to yield to the will of his father. "When I read your letter," he answered (September 11, 1778), "I trembled with joy, for I felt myself already in your embrace. It is true, as you will acknowledge, that it is not much of a prospect for me; but when I look forward to seeing you, and embracing my dearest sister, I think of no other prospect." He did not conceal from his father his repugnance to the idea of a residence at Salzburg, on account of the want of congenial society, the unmusical tone of the place, and the little confidence placed by the Archbishop in sensible and cultivated people. His consolation was the permission to travel, without which he would hardly have made up his mind to come. "A man of mediocre talent remains mediocre whether he travels or not; but a man of superior talent (which I cannot without hypocrisy deny myself to be) becomes bad if he always remains in the same place." The possibility that Aloysia Weber might come to Salzburg

{ENCOURAGEMENT FROM L. MOZART.}

(67)

filled him with joy; for, indeed, if the Archbishop really wanted a prima donna, he could not have a better one. He is already troubled by the thought "that if people come from Salzburg for the Carnival, and 'Rosamund' is played, poor Mdlle. Weber will perhaps not please, or at least will not be judged of as she deserves, for she has a wretched part--almost a _persona muta_--to sing a few bars between the choruses" (Vol. I., p. 403). "When I am in Salzburg," he continues, "I shall certainly not fail to intercede with all zeal for my dear friend; and in the meantime I earnestly hope you will do your best for her--you cannot give your son any greater pleasure." He begs for permission to take Mannheim on his way home, in order to visit the Webers.

L. Mozart, knowing how deep and well-founded an antipathy Wolfgang had for Salzburg, sought to convince him that he would find himself in a much better position there now than formerly. "Our assured income," he wrote (September 3, 1778), "is what I have written to you, and your mode of life will not come in the way of your studies and any other work. You are not to play the violin at court, but you have full power of direction at the clavier." This was an important point to Wolfgang, and his father recurs to it again (September 24, 1778):--

Formerly you were really nothing but a violinist, and that only as concertmeister; now you are concertmeister and court organist, and your chief duty is to accompany at the clavier. You will not think it any disgrace to play the violin as an _amateur_ in the first symphony, since you will do it in company with the Archbishop himself, and all the court nobility. Herr Haydn is a man whose musical merit you will readily acknowledge--should you stigmatise him as a "court fiddler" because, in his capacity as concertmeister, he plays the viola in the smaller concerts? It is all by way of amusement; and I would lay a wager that, rather than hear your compositions bungled, you would set to yourself with a will."

He consoles him also by reminding him that the concerts at court are short, from seven o'clock to a quarter past eight, and that seldom more than four pieces are performed--a symphony, an aria, a symphony or concerto, and another aria (September 17, 1778). Since the

{PARIS, 1778.}

(68)

payment of their debts did not press, they could pay off annually a few hundred gulden, and live easily and comfortably. "You will find amusement enough here; for when one has not to look at every kreutzer, it makes many things possible. We can go to all the balls at the Town-Hall during the Carnival. The Munich theatrical company are to come at the end of September, and to remain here the whole winter with comedies and operettas. Then there is our quoit-playing every Sunday, and if we choose to go into society it will come to us; everything is altered when one has a better income." But the father knew that the point on which Wolfgang would be most open to persuasion was not the prospect of Salzburg gaieties, but that of a union with his beloved Mdlle. Weber; and he goes on to speak on this subject too. Not only does he say, "You will soon be asked about Mdlle. Weber when you are here; I have praised her continually, and I will do all I can to gain her a hearing," but he continues: "As to Mdlle. Weber, you must not imagine that I disapprove of the acquaintance. All young people must make fools of themselves. You are welcome to continue your correspondence without interference from me. Nay, more! I will give you a piece of advice. Every one knows you here. You had better address your letters to Mdlle. Weber under cover to some one else, and receive them in the same way, unless you think my prudence a sufficient safeguard."

The paternal permission to make a fool of himself was calculated to hurt the lover's tenderest feelings, and he does not disguise that this is the case in narrating a proof of the genuine attachment of the Webers for him. "The poor things," he writes (October 15, 1778), "were all in great anxiety on my account. They thought I was dead, not having heard from me for a whole month, owing to the loss of a letter; they were confirmed in their opinion because of a report in Mannheim that my dear mother had died of an infectious illness. They all prayed for my soul, and the dear girl went every day to the church of the Capucins. You will laugh, no doubt? but not I; it touches me; I cannot help it." About the same time he received the news

{ALOYSIA WEBER AT MUNICH.}

(69)

that Aloysia had obtained an operatic engagement at Munich with a good salary,[39] and he expresses the mingled feelings with which he heard it simply and truly:--

I am as pleased at Mdlle. Weber's, or rather at my dear Aloysia's appointment as any one who has taken such a warm interest in her affairs was sure to be; but I can no longer expect the fulfilment of my earnest wish that she should settle in Salzburg, for the Archbishop would never give her what she is to have in Munich. All I can hope for is that she will sometimes come to Salzburg to sing in operas.

This turn in affairs must have strengthened Mozart's secret wish to obtain an appointment under the Elector of Bavaria, and his determination to do all he could towards this end on his journey through Mannheim and Munich, and to "turn a cold shoulder" on the Archbishop. His father had nothing to oppose to such a project except the uncertainty of its prospects; he sought, therefore, to convince Wolfgang that his only right course now was to accept the certainty offered to him, and to keep Munich in view for a future time. He gave him definite instructions on the point (September 3, 1778):--

Since the Electoral Court is expected in Munich on September 15, you can speak yourself to your friend Count Seeau, and perhaps to the Elector himself on your journey through. You can say that your father wishes you to return to Salzburg, and that the Prince has offered you a salary of seven or eight hundred florins (add on two or three hundred) as concertmeister; that you have accepted it from filial duty to your father, although you know he has always wished to see you in the electoral service. But, N.B., no more than this! You may want to write an opera in Munich, and you can do so best from here; it cannot fail to be so, for German operatic composers are very scarce. Schweitzer and Holzbauer will not write every year; and should Michl write one, he will soon be out-Michled. Should there be those who throw doubts and difficulties in the way, you have friends in the profession who will stand up for you; and this court will also bring out something during the year. In short you will be at hand.

It was now quite necessary that Wolfgang should leave Paris; and in anticipating what he had to expect in Salzburg, he began to feel what he was leaving in Paris. He

{PARIS, 1778.}

(70)

was angry with Grimm, who desired that he should be ready for his journey in a week, which was impossible, since he had still claims on the Duc de Guines and on Le Gros, and must wait to correct the proofs of his sonatas, and to sell the compositions he had with him.[40] He had no small desire to write six more trios, for which he might expect good payment. Grimm's evident wish that he should go, and his offer to pay the journey to Strasburg (which seemed to the father a proof of friendship) was considered by Wolfgang as distrust and insincerity. Grimm no doubt wished to be relieved of the responsibility he had undertaken as soon as possible, and may have offended his _protégé_ by too open an expression of his desire; but there is no doubt that he acted according to the mind of the father, and in the sincere opinion that the unpractical and vacillating young man required decided treatment. But Wolfgang was so firmly convinced that his departure from Paris was premature, that he wrote to his father from Strasburg (October 15, 1778), that it was the greatest folly in the world to go to Salzburg now, and only his love to his father had induced him to set aside the representations of his friends. He had been praised for this, but with the remark that--

If my father had known my present good circumstances and prospects, and had not believed the reports of certain false friends, he would not have written to me in a way that I could not withstand. And I think myself that if I had not been so annoyed in the house where I was staying, and if the whole thing had not come upon me like a thunderbolt, so that there was no time to consider it in cool blood, I should certainly have begged you to have a little more patience, and to leave me in Paris; I assure you I should have gained both money and fame, and been able to extricate you from all your embarrassments. But it

{STRASBURG, 1778.}

(71)

is done now. Do not imagine that I repent the step, for only you, my dear father, only you can sweeten for me the bitterness of Salzburg, and we shall do it--I know we shall; but I must frankly own that I should come to Salzburg with a lighter heart if I did not know that I was to be in the service of the court. The idea is intolerable to me.

In the meantime business was wound up, the mother's property and the heavy baggage was sent direct to Salzburg; and on September 26 Wolfgang left Paris, having gained much experience but little satisfaction, as depressed and out of humour as he had entered it.

FOOTNOTES CHAPTER XIX.

[Footnote 1: [Goudard] Le Brigandage de la Musique Italienne (Amsterdam, 1780) is directed against Italian musicians, but includes in this category "Le Général Gluck et son Lieutenant-Général Piccinni et tous les autres noms en _ini_."]

[Footnote 2: Histoire du Théätre de l'Opéra en France, I., p. 164. Fétis, Curios. Hist, de la Mus., p. 325. Burney gives a detailed account of a "Concert Spirituel" at which he was present in 1770 (Reise, I., p. n).]

[Footnote 3: Nothing is known of this music, so far as I am aware; Mozart does not seem to have kept it himself, and therefore did not bring it to Salzburg.]

[Footnote 4: This Sinfonie Concertante is lost beyond recovery. Mozart sold it to Le Gros, and kept no copy; he must have thought he could write it again from memory; but apparently cared the less to do so as there were no virtuosi in Salzburg able to perform the symphony.]

[Footnote 5: L. de Lomenie, Beaumarchais, II., p. 89. Dutens, Mém., II., p. 59. Madame du Deffand, Lettr., III., p. 172, 297.]

[Footnote 6: Madame du Deffand, Lettr., IV., p. 107.]

[Footnote 7: The Dauphin was born on December 11, 1778.]

[Footnote 8: Madame de Genlis, Mém., I., p. 288.]

[Footnote 9: She married M. de Chartus (afterwards Duc de Castries) in the summer of 1778, with a dowry from the King, and died in childbirth (Madame du Deffand, Lettr., IV., p. 52).]

[Footnote 10: Jos. Frank narrates in his Reminiscences (Prutz, Deutsch. Mus., II., p. 28):]

[Footnote 11: The Duchesse de Chabot, daughter of Lord Stafford, mentioned as an acquaintance by Grimm and Madame Epinay (Galiani, Corr. inéd., II., p. 305).]

[Footnote 12: She was the daughter of the Duke of Orleans, sister to the then Duc de Chartres, the future Egalité. A short time previously a duel, of which she was the occasion, between the Duc de Bourbon and the Comte d'Artois, had made a great stir (Du Deffand, Lettr., IV., p. 28. Grimm, Corr. Litt., X., p. 1.)]

[Footnote 13: That is on his first visit to Paris. The Duchess entered a convent in her fifteenth year, and remained there several years (Genlis, Mém., III., p. 84).]

[Footnote 14: "Cf. Madame de Genlis, Mém., I., p. 289; II., p. 185.]

[Footnote 15: Grimm, Corr. Litt., IX., p. 174.]

[Footnote 16: Noverre's ballet "Les Petits Riens" was given in June, 1778 (in Italian by Italian singers), and was praised by Grimm, but without mention of the music (Corr. Litt., X., p. 53). This composition has also been irrecoverably lost.]

[Footnote 17: The imposing effect of the simultaneous attack of a fine orchestra was the occasion of this catchword. Raaff told Mozart of a piquant _bon mot ä propos_ of the term. He was asked by a Frenchman, at Munich or some other place: "Monsieur, vous avez été ä Paris?" "Oui." "Est-ce que vous étiez au Concert Spirituel?" "Oui." "Que dites-vous du premier coup d'archet? avez-vous entendu le premier coup d'archet?" "Oui, j'ai entendu le premier et le dernier." "Comment, le dernier? qui veut dire cela?" "Mais oui, le premier et le dernier, et le dernier même m'a donné plus de plaisir."]

[Footnote 18: Mozart speaks in a later letter (September 11,1778) of two symphonies which had been much admired, and of which the last was performed on September 8. With this agrees his assertion (October 3, 1778) that he had sold to Le Gros two overtures (i.e., symphonies) and the Sinfonie Concertante. There are no further traces of this symphony.]

[Footnote 19: Mozart has made considerable abbreviations in the first movement of this symphony, while working oat the score in the manner described above.]

[Footnote 20: Süddeutsche Mus. Ztg., 1857, No. 44, p. 175.]

[Footnote 21: The father writes to Breitkopf (August 10,1781): "The six sonatas dedicated to the Elector Palatine were published by M. Sieber, in Paris. He paid my son for them fifteen louis neuf, thirty copies and a free dedication."]

[Footnote 22: A fac-similé of the letter to Bullinger will be found at the end of the third volume.]

[Footnote 23: Mémoires et Correspondance de Madame d'Epinay (Paris, 1818). Cf. Grimm, Corr. Litt., XI.,? 468. Madame de Genlis, Mém., III., p. 99. Sainte-Beuve, Causeries du Lundi, II., p. 146.]

[Footnote 24: Grimm's letter to L. Mozart, which the latter forwarded to his son (August 13, 1778), runs as follows: "Il est _zu treuherzig_, peu actif, trop aisé ä attraper, trop peu occupé des moyens qui peuvent conduire ä la fortune. Ici, pour percer, il faut être retors, entreprenant, audacieux. Je lui voudrais pour sa fortune la moitié moins de talent et le double plus d'entregent, et je n'en serais pas embarrassé. Au reste, il ne peut tenter ici que deux chemins pour se faire un sort. Le premier est de donner des leçons de clavecin; mais sans compter qu'on n'a des écoliers qu'avec beaucoup d'activité et même de charlatanerie, je ne sais s'il aurait assez de santé pour soutenir ce métier, car c'est une chose très fatiguante de courir les quatre coins de Paris et de s'épuiser ä parler pour montres. Et puis ce métier ne lui plaît pas, parcequ'il l'empêchera d'écrire, ce qu'il aime par-dessus tout. Il pourrait donc s'y livrer tout ä fait; mais en ce pays ici le gros du public ne se connaît pas en musique. On donne par conséquent tout aux noms, et le mérite de l'ouvrage ne peut être jugé que par un très petit nombre. Le public est dans ce moment si ridiculement partagé entre Piccinni et Gluck que tous les raisonnements qu'on entend sur la musique font pitié. Il est donc très difficile pour votre fils pour réuissir entre ces deux partis. Vous voyez, mon cher maître, que dans un pays où tant de musiciens médiocres et détestables même ont fait des fortunes immenses, je crains fort que M. votre fils ne se tire pas seulement d'affaire."]

[Footnote 25: Cf. the account 'by Sainte-Beuve, Causeries du Lundi, VII., p. 226; II., p. 158.]

[Footnote 26: Merck, Briefe, II., p. 282.]

[Footnote 27: Madame de Genlis, Mèm., IV., p. 3.]

[Footnote 28: Jacobs, in Hoffmann's Lebensbilder ber. Humanisten, p. 15.]

[Footnote 29: Grimm, Corr. Litt., X., pp. 37, 112, 162. La Harpe, Corr. Litt., II., p. 249.]

[Footnote 30: Grimm, Corr. Litt., X., p. 52.]

[Footnote 31: Prutz, Deutsches Museum, II., p. 28.]

[Footnote 32: Both the father and son, especially the former, follow closely the course of political and military events, and communicate them to each other.]

[Footnote 33: The Archbishop's sister, Marie Franziska (b. 1746), who had married Oliver, Count von Wallis, had a residence assigned her in the archiépiscopal palace, and kept up a sort of regal state.]

[Footnote 34: Grimm, Corr. Litt., X., p. 236.]

[Footnote 35: There were two Marshals of the name, the Duke and the Count de Noailles: I do not know which of the two is here meant. The first was the father of the Countess de Tessé, Mozart's early patroness (Vol. I., p. 35), and, like her, was interested in literature and art (Lomenie, Beaumarchais, I., p. 206).]

[Footnote 36: Tenducci must have taken this composition with him to London. Burney (Barrington's Miscellanies, p. 289) praises it as a masterpiece of invention and technical execution (Pohl, Mozart und Haydn in London, p. 121).]

[Footnote 37: Anton Paris was the third court organist in Salzburg.]

[Footnote 38: The heir-apparent, afterwards King Max I.]

[Footnote 39: Aloysia received a salary of 1,000 florins, her father 400 florins, together with 200 florins as prompter, as Mozart afterwards learnt at Mannheim.]

[Footnote 40: He hoped to sell his three pianoforte concertos (238, 246, 271, K.) to the engraver of his sonatas for ready money, and if possible his six difficult piano sonatas (279-284 K.). Whether he succeeded or not I do not know, but they do not seem to have been engraved. His father advised him to insure his connection with the Parisian publishers for the future. In a letter to Breitkopf (August xo, 1781), he mentions Trois airs variés pour le clavecin ou fortepiano, engraved by Heyna, in Paris. These are the variations on Fischer's Minuet (179 K.); on an air from Salieri's "Fiera di Venezia," "Mio caro Adone" (180 K.), mentioned in a letter to his father (December 28,1778); and on "Je suis Lindor," from Beaumarchais' "Barbier de Seville" (354 K.).]