Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus
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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
him.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Posthumous portrait by Barbara Kraft (1819) Basic Information Full name Johann Chrysostom Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Date of birth January 27, 1756(1756-01-27)
Place of birth Salzburg, Archdiocese of Salzburg, Holy Roman Empire
Date of death December 5, 1791 (1791-12-05) (35 years old)
Place of Death Vienna, Holy Roman Empire
Years of activity 1761-1791
Country Austria
Professions composer, organist, pianist
Instruments organ, clavier, violin, viola
Genres symphonic music, opera, chamber music
Awards
Autograph
Audio, photo, video on Wikimedia Commons
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (it.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, IPA [ˈvɔlfɡaŋ amaˈdeus ˈmoːtsaʁt] (i); the full name Johann Chrysostom Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart; 27 January 1756, Salzburg — December 5, 1791, Vienna) is an Austrian composer and virtuoso musician.
One of the most popular classical composers, Mozart had a great influence on the world musical culture.
According to contemporaries, Mozart had a phenomenal musical ear, memory and the ability to improvise.
Unlike many of his contemporaries, Mozart not only worked in all the musical forms of his time, but also achieved great success in them.
Many of his compositions are recognized as masterpieces of symphonic, concert, chamber, opera and choral music.
Along with Haydn and Beethoven, he belongs to the most significant representatives of the Viennese Classical School[1].
Mozart's biography (especially the circumstances of his early death) was the subject of speculation and controversy, formed the basis of artistic fictions and popular "myths".
Content
1 Biography 1.1 Early years (1756-1763) 1.1.1 Childhood and family 1.1.2 First travels
1.2 The Great Journey (1763-1766) 1.3 The First operas 1.4 The Viennese period (1781-1791) 1.4.1 The break with the Archbishop 1.4.2 The first steps in Vienna 1.4.3 The Wedding and marriage 1.4.4 A trip to Salzburg 1.4.5 The peak of creativity 1.4.6 "The Wedding of Figaro" 1.4.7 A trip to Prague.
"Don Juan" 1.4.8 A trip to Northern Germany 1.4.9 Financial difficulties.
"That's what everyone does" 1.4.10 Last year 1.4.11 Illness and death 1.4.12 Funeral
2 Mozart's personality 2.1 Hobbies
3 Pedagogical activity 4 Mozart's Apartments in Vienna 5 Creativity 6 Comments 7 Footnotes and Sources 7.1 Letters
8 Literature 9 References
Biography
Early years (1756-1763)
Childhood and family
The house where Mozart was born.
Now the composer's museum is located there
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born on January 27, 1756 in Salzburg, then the capital of the Archdiocese of Salzburg, in a house at Getreidegasse 9.
His father Leopold Mozart was a violinist and composer in the court chapel of the Prince Archbishop of Salzburg, Count Sigismund von Strattenbach.
Mother Anna Maria Mozart (nee Pertl), daughter of the commissioner of the trustee of the poorhouse in St. Gilgen.
Of the seven children from the Mozart marriage, only two survived: a daughter, Maria Anna, whom friends and relatives called Nannerl, and a son, Wolfgang.
His birth almost cost his mother her life.
It was only after some time that she was able to get rid of the weakness that inspired fear for her life.
On the second day after his birth, Wolfgang was baptized in the Salzburg Cathedral of St. Rupert.
An entry in the book of baptisms gives his name in Latin as Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus (Gottlieb) Mozart.
In these names, the first two words are the name of St. John Chrysostom, which is not used in everyday life, and the fourth one varied during Mozart's life: Lat.
Amadeus, German.
Gottlieb, ital.
Amadeo, which means "beloved of God".
Mozart himself preferred to be called Wolfgang[2].
The musical abilities of both children were manifested at a very early age.
At the age of seven, Nannerl began to receive harpsichord lessons from her father.
These lessons had a huge impact on little Wolfgang, who was about three years old: he sat down at the instrument and could have fun for a long time selecting consonances.
In addition, he memorized individual parts of musical pieces that he heard, and could play them on the harpsichord.
This made a great impression on his father, Leopold.
At the age of 4, his father began to learn small pieces and minuets with him on the harpsichord.
Almost immediately, Wolfgang learned to play them well.
Soon he had a desire for independent creativity: already at the age of five, he composed small plays that his father wrote down on paper The very first compositions of Wolfgang were Andante in C major (K. 1a) and Allegro in C major (K. 1b) for clavier, which were composed between the end of January and April 1761[3].
Andante and Allegro in C major, recorded by Leopold Mozart
Leopold started music notebooks for his children, in which he or his musician friends wrote down various compositions for the clavier.
Nannerl's music book contains minuets and similar small pieces.
To date, the notebook has been preserved in a severely damaged and incomplete form.
Little Wolfgang also studied in this notebook, and his first compositions are also recorded here.
Wolfgang's own music notebook, on the contrary, has been completely preserved.
It contains works by Telemann, Bach, Kirkhoff and many other composers.
Wolfgang's musical abilities were amazing: at the age of six, in addition to the harpsichord, he almost independently learned to play the violin[4].
An interesting fact that speaks about the tenderness and subtlety of his hearing: according to a letter from a friend of the Mozart family, the court trumpeter Andreas Schachtner, which was written at the request of Maria Anna after Mozart's death, little Wolfgang was afraid of the trumpet almost until the age of ten, if he only played it alone without accompanying other instruments.
Even the very sight of the pipe affected Wolfgang as if a gun was pointed at him.
Schachtner wrote: "Papa wanted to suppress this childish fear in him, and ordered me, despite Wolfgang's resistance, to blow in his face; but my God!
I wish I hadnot obeyed.
As soon as Wolfgangerl heard the deafening sound, he turned pale and began to sink to the ground, and if I had continued longer, he would certainly have started convulsions"[5].
Wolfgang loved his father extremely tenderly: in the evenings, before going to bed, his father put him on a chair, and had to sing with him a song invented by Wolfgang with a meaningless text: "Oragnia figa tafa".
After that, the son kissed his father on the tip of his nose and promised him that when he grew old, he would keep it in a glass case and respect it.
Then, satisfied, he would go to bed.
The father was the best teacher and educator for his son: he gave his children an excellent home education; they never went to school in their lives.
The boy was always so devoted to what he was forced to learn that he forgot about everything, even about music.
For example, when I was learning to count, the chairs, walls and even the floor were covered with numbers written in chalk[3].
First trips
Leopold Mozart.
Portrait by Pietro Antonio Lorenzoni
Leopold wanted to see his son as a composer, and therefore, first of all, he decided to introduce Wolfgang to the musical world as a virtuoso performer.
This was required by an unspoken old custom that persisted until the time of Beethoven: whoever wanted to earn a reputation as a composer had to prove himself as a performer.
Hoping to get a good position for the boy and a patron among representatives of famous noble persons, Leopold had the idea of concert trips to the royal and princely courts of Europe.
The time of wandering, which lasted almost ten years, began.
In January 1762, Leopold took his first test concert trip to Munich with his children, leaving his wife at home.
Wolfgang was only six years old at the time of the trip.
All that is known about this trip is that it lasted three weeks, and the children performed before the Elector of Bavaria, Maximilian III[6].
The success in Munich and the enthusiasm with which the performance of Wolfgang and his sister Nannerl was greeted by the audience satisfied Leopold and strengthened his intention to continue such trips.
Soon after arriving home, he decided that the whole family would go to Vienna in the fall.
Leopold had a reason to have hopes for Vienna: at that time it was the center of European culture and arts, and therefore there were great opportunities for musicians there, they were supported by influential patrons.
The remaining nine months before the trip were spent by Leopold on further education of Wolfgang.
However, he did not focus on music theory, in which his son still had a lot to learn, but on all kinds of visual tricks, which the audience of that time valued more than the game itself.
For example, Wolfgang learned to play on a cloth covered keyboard and blindfolded, without making mistakes.
Finally, Leopold took a vacation from the archbishop and went to Vienna with his family on September 18 of the same year.
On the way, they stopped in Linz, where the children gave a concert at the house of Count Schlick.
The concert was also attended by Counts Herberstein and Palfi, great music lovers.
They were so delighted and surprised by the game of the little prodigies that they promised to attract the attention of the Viennese nobility to them[6].
From Linz, on a mail ship on the Danube, the Mozarts went to Vienna.
After making a short stop in Ibs and disembarking, Wolfgang tried to play the organ for the first time in his life in a Franciscan monastery.
When the Franciscan fathers heard the music, they ran to the choirs, and, in the words of Leopold Mozart, "almost died of admiration" when they saw how perfectly the boy played.
On October 6, the Mozarts landed in Vienna[6].
Meanwhile, Counts Herberstein and Palfi kept their promise: arriving in Vienna much earlier than the Mozarts, they told Archduke Joseph about the concert in Linz, and he, in turn, told his mother, Empress Maria Theresa about the concert.
Thanks to this, after arriving in Vienna, my father received an invitation to an audience in Schoenbrunn on October 13, 1763.
While the Mozarts were waiting for the appointed day, they received many invitations to perform in the houses of the Viennese nobles, including the house of the Vice Chancellor, Count Colloredo, the father of Mozart's future patron, Archbishop Hieronymus Colloredo.
The audience was delighted with the performance of Little Wolfgang.
Soon all the Viennese aristocracy was talking about the little virtuoso[7].
Portrait of six year old Wolfgang in a suit presented by the Empress.
Unknown artist, presumably Pietro Antonio Lorenzoni, 1763
On the appointed day, October 13, the Mozarts went to Schoenbrunn, where the summer residence of the imperial court was then located.
The Empress gave the Mozarts such a warm and polite welcome that they felt calm and at ease.
At the concert, which lasted several hours, Wolfgang flawlessly played a wide variety of music: from his own improvisations to works given to him by the court composer of Maria Theresa, Georg Wagenseil.
Emperor Franz I, wanting to see firsthand the talent of the child, asked him to demonstrate all sorts of performing tricks when playing: from playing with one finger to playing on a cloth covered keyboard.
Wolfgang easily coped with such trials, in addition, together with his sister, he played a variety of plays in four hands.
The Empress was fascinated by the little virtuoso's playing.
After the game was over, she sat Wolfgang on her lap and even allowed him to kiss her on the cheek.
At the end of the audience, the Mozarts were offered a treat and an opportunity to explore the palace.
There is a famous historical anecdote related to this concert: allegedly, when Wolfgang was playing with Maria Theresa's children, the little archduchesses, he slipped on the polished floor and fell.
Archduchess Marie Antoinette, the future Queen of France, helped him up.
Wolfgang seemed to jump up to her and said: "You're nice, I want to marry you when I grow up."
The Mozarts visited Schoenbrunn twice.
So that the children could appear there in more beautiful clothes than the one they had, the Empress gave the Mozarts two costumes — for Wolfgang and his sister Nannerl[8].
The arrival of the little virtuoso made a real sensation, thanks to this, the Mozarts received daily invitations to receptions in the houses of the nobility and aristocracy.
Leopold did not want to refuse the invitations of these high ranking persons, since he saw in them potential patrons of his son.
The performances, which sometimes lasted for several hours, greatly exhausted Wolfgang.
In one of the letters, Leopold expresses concern for his health.
Indeed, on October 21, after another speech to the Empress, Wolfgang felt ill, and later came down complaining of pain all over his body.
A red rash appeared, a strong fever began Wolfgang fell ill with scarlet fever.
Thanks to a good doctor, he quickly recovered, but invitations to receptions and concerts stopped coming, because the aristocrats were afraid of catching the infection.
Therefore, Leopold willingly agreed to the invitation that came from the Hungarian nobles, and took the children to Presburg (now Bratislava) [9].
Returning to Salzburg, the Mozarts again stayed in Vienna for a few days, and returned home in the early days of the new year 1763[10].
The Great Journey (1763-1766)
Main article: The Great Journey of the Mozart family
Leopold, Wolfgang and Nannerl.
Carmontel's watercolour.
Paris, 1763-1764
After a break of several months, Leopold decided to continue his concert activities with children.
The purpose of the new trip was chosen Paris — one of the largest music centers in Europe at that time.
Leopold's patron, Prince Archbishop of Salzburg Sigismund von Schrattenbach supported the ambitious project of his subordinate, and gave him a vacation, but he did not expect that Leopold would be absent for more than three years[11].
The family left Salzburg on July 9, 1763.
Having visited many cities and princely courts of Germany along the way, where the Mozarts also gave concerts, they arrived in Paris only on November 18 of the same year.
The fame of the virtuoso children spread quickly, and, thanks to this, the desire of the nobles to listen to Wolfgang's playing was great[12].
Paris made a great impression on the Mozarts.
In January, Wolfgang wrote his first four sonatas for harpsichord and violin, which Leopold gave to print[13].
He believed that the sonatas would make a big sensation: on the title page it was indicated that they were the works of a seven year old child.
The concerts given by the Mozarts caused a great stir.
Thanks to the letter of recommendation received in Frankfurt, Leopold and his family were taken under the patronage of the German encyclopedist and diplomat, Friedrich Melchior von Grimm, who had great connections.
It was thanks to the efforts of Grimm that the Mozarts were invited to perform at the court of King Louis XV in Versailles[14].
On December 24, Christmas Eve, they arrived at the palace and spent two weeks there, giving concerts in front of the king and the Marquise De Pompadour[14].
On New Year's Eve, the Mozarts were even allowed to attend a solemn feast, which was considered a special honor — they had to stand at the table, next to the king and queen[13][14].
In Paris, Wolfgang and Nannerl reached amazing heights in performing skills — Nannerl equaled the leading Parisian virtuosos, and Wolfgang, in addition to his phenomenal abilities as a pianist, violinist and organist, amazed the audience with the art of accompaniment by impromptu vocal aria, improvisation and playing from a sheet[15].
In April, after two big concerts, Leopold decided to continue his journey and visit London.
Due to the fact that the Mozarts gave many concerts in Paris, they made good money, in addition, they were given various precious gifts — enamel snuffboxes, watches, jewelry and other trinkets[13].
Johann Christian Bach.
Portrait by Thomas Gainsborough, 1776
On April 10, 1764, the Mozart family left Paris, and went through the Pas de Calais Strait to Dover on a specially hired ship[16].
They arrived in London on April 23, and stayed there for fifteen months[17].
His stay in England further influenced Wolfgang's musical education: he met outstanding London composers Johann Christian Bach, the youngest son of Johann Sebastian Bach, and Karl Friedrich Abel.
Johann Christian Bach became friends with Wolfgang despite the large age difference, and began to give him lessons that had a huge influence on the latter: Wolfgang's style became freer and more elegant[18].
He showed sincere tenderness to Wolfgang, spending whole hours with him at the instrument, and playing with him together in four hands[19].
Here, in London, Wolfgang met the most famous Italian opera singer castrato Giovanni Manzuolli, who even began to give the boy singing lessons.
Already on April 27, the Mozarts managed to perform at the court of King George III, where the whole family was warmly received by the monarch.
At another performance, held on May 19, Wolfgang amazed the audience by playing from a sheet of pieces by J. H. Bach, G. K. Wagenseil, K. F. Abel and G. F. Handel.
Delighted with the success of his son, Leopold wrote home[20]:
T oh, what he could do when we left Salzburg is just a shadow compared to what he can do now. [ ... ]
It is enough that my girl is one of the most skilled performers in Europe, although she is only twelve years old now, and that my boy, in short, knows everything at his eight year old age that can be demanded from a man of forty[21].
And indeed, having arrived in England as a virtuoso, Wolfgang left it already as a composer[22]: in London, his desire for creativity awakens again, but he writes not only works for harpsichord and violin, but even vocal and symphonic music[23].
This was facilitated by an incident: in July, Leopold became seriously ill, and in order to keep him alone, in August the family moved to a house in the countryside in Chelsea.
Wolfgang was forbidden to play the keyboard, so as not to disturb his father.
Unable to play an instrument, Wolfgang spent more time composing music.
This allowed him to create his first symphony in his life (K. 16, E flat major)[24].
Thus, Wolfgang's technical training advanced so much that he was fluent in the rules and forms of composition.
However, the opinion that Wolfgang has already reached the peak of composing skills is not entirely true: in some cases, Leopold edited his son's compositions and put them in order.
At the end of their more than a year long stay in England, on July 19, 1765, the Mozarts visited the British Museum.
Wolfgang presented the museum with his sonatas printed in London and the manuscript of his madrigal for the text of Psalm No. 46 "God is our refuge" (Eng.
"God is our refuge", K. 20)[25].
The last public performance of Wolfgang and his sister Nannerl in England was more like a circus act than a concert: Wolfgang and Nannerl played a duet for money in a tavern on a cloth covered keyboard[26].
On July 26, 1765, the Mozarts left London, and, yielding to the insistent requests of the Dutch ambassador, who expressed the princess's desire to listen to the game of prodigies, they decided to go to The Hague.
This was not part of the original plans of Leopold, who had to abandon the intention to stop in Italy before returning home[27][26].
Leaving Dover on the first of August, they reached Calais by sea, and reached The Hague only a month later, on September 11, 1765.
In Holland, where the Mozarts spent nine months, Wolfgang wrote another symphony (K. 22, B Flat major) and six sonatas for harpsichord and violin.
In September, Wolfgang played in front of the Royal Court in The Hague.
His first symphonies were also performed there.
The trip to Holland almost turned out to be fatal for the Mozarts: Leopold was ill again, then the children also fell ill; Nannerl fell ill the day after arriving in The Hague and almost died — she began to have typhoid fever, and soon after her recovery, Wolfgang fell ill with typhus.
He was on the verge of death for almost two months, and during the illness he lost weight to the bones[28][26].
Leopold had a great honor in Holland: his book "The School of Violin Playing" was translated into Dutch and published[29].
External images of Mozart's Children's Violin.
Now it is located in the composer's house museum in Salzburg.
In April 1766, more than three years after the start of the journey, the Mozart family set out on the return journey home.
Leopold's vacation was very overdue, besides, the children's frequent illnesses indicated their serious overwork: the children needed rest[30].
On May 10, they arrived in Paris, where their old friend F. M. von Grimm had already prepared an apartment for them.
Grimm noted that since their stay in Paris in 1764, Wolfgang and Nannerl have achieved extraordinary success in music.
However, the public, who appreciated the "miracle of children" more, became indifferent to the already fairly grown up prodigies.
Nevertheless, thanks to the efforts of Grimm, the children were again invited to play at the court in Versailles[31].
Two months later, on July 9, the family left Paris and headed home to Salzburg.
Along the way, they stopped with concerts in Lyon, Geneva and Munich, spending several weeks in each city[26].
At the end of November 1766, the family returned home to Salzburg[32].
The first operas
The results of the trip exceeded all expectations: it brought Leopold and the children a huge success, which they could not even dream of[33].
During the three years of his absence, Wolfgang turned from an ordinary child into a ten year old composer, which shocked the Mozart friends and neighbors[26].
It is not known for certain whether Wolfgang attended school in Salzburg, but it is possible that Leopold taught his children himself: under his guidance, Wolfgang studied reading, writing and arithmetic, history and geography.
Special attention was paid to the study of foreign languages Wolfgang studied Latin, Italian, which he later wrote and spoke fluently, as well as French and, probably, a little English[34][35].
For a long time it was believed that in Salzburg Leopold also studied counterpoint with his son, as evidenced by the preserved music notebook, but later it was found that in fact this notebook belongs to the Viennese period and contains lessons of an adult Wolfgang with some unknown student of his[36].
A painting of the XIX century depicting Wolfgang and his father Leopold playing music.
Artist Ebenezer Crawford
Soon after his return from England, Wolfgang, already as a composer, was attracted to compose music: on the anniversary of the assumption of the dignity by the Prince Archbishop of Salzburg, S. von Strattenbach, Wolfgang composed a laudatory music ("A Berenice ... Sol nascente", also known as" Licenza", K. 70/61c) in honor of his lord.
The performance, timed directly to the celebration, took place on December 21, 1766.
In addition,various marches, minuets, divertissements, trios, fanfares for trumpets and timpani, and other "works for the occasion"were also composed for the needs of the court at different times[37].
The order of the archbishop's court is also connected with the appearance of Wolfgang's first vocal symphonic composition — the German oratorio "The Duty of the First Commandment".
Mozart wrote only the first part of the oratorio, the second and third parts were written by Michael Haydn and Anton Adlgasser, respectively.
A legend is connected with the composition of this oratorio, as if Archbishop Strattenbach, wanting to make sure of Wolfgang's wonderful gift, ordered him to be locked up for a week so that he could not see anyone.
In this imprisonment, Wolfgang had to write an oratorio on poems given to him by the archbishop[37].
However, given the large volume of the score — 208 pages, and a certain amount of musical text written alternately by Wolfgang and Leopold Mozart, this is extremely doubtful.
Anyway, the performance of the first part of the oratorio composed by Mozart took place on March 12, 1767[38].
In May 1767, the premiere of Wolfgang's first musical drama took place — an opera in Latin, now known as "Apollo and Hyacinth", written as a musical interlude, according to tradition, for performance by students of the University of Salzburg at the university theater[39][40].
In the autumn of 1767, the marriage of the daughter of the Empress Maria Theresa the young Archduchess Maria Josepha with the King of Naples Ferdinand was to take place.
This event was the occasion of another Mozart tour to Vienna.
Leopold hoped that the valiant guests gathered in the capital would be able to appreciate the game of his child prodigies.
However, upon arrival in Vienna, Mozart was immediately unlucky: the archduchess fell ill with smallpox and died on October 16.
Due to the confusion and confusion that reigned in court circles, there was not a single opportunity to speak.
The Mozarts were thinking of leaving the epidemic stricken city, but they were held back by the hope that, despite their mourning, they would be invited to the court.
In the end, protecting the children from the disease, Leopold and his family fled to Olomouc, but first Wolfgang and then Nannerl managed to get infected and fell so seriously ill that Wolfgang lost his sight for nine days.
Returning to Vienna on January 10, 1768, when the children recovered, the Mozarts, without expecting it, received an invitation from the Empress to the court[41][42].
Mozart spent the years 1770-1774 in Italy.
In 1770, in Bologna, he met the composer Joseph Myslivecek, who was extremely popular at that time in Italy; the influence of the" Divine Bohemian "was so great that later, due to the similarity of style, some of his compositions were attributed to Mozart, including the oratorio"Abraham and Isaac" [43].
In 1771, in Milan, again with the opposition of theatrical impresarios, Mozart's opera "Mithridates, King of Pontus" (ital. Mitridate, Re di Ponto), which was received by the public with great enthusiasm.
His second opera, Lucius Sulla, was given with the same success (ital. Lucio Silla) (1772).
For Salzburg, Mozart wrote "Scipio's Dream" (ital. Il sogno di Scipione), on the occasion of the election of a new archbishop, 1772, for Munich — the opera "La bella finta Giardiniera", 2 masses, offertory (1774).
When he was 17 years old, among his works there were already 4 operas, several spiritual compositions, 13 symphonies, 24 sonatas, not to mention a lot of smaller compositions.
In 1775-1780, despite worries about material security, a fruitless trip to Munich, Mannheim and Paris, the loss of his mother, Mozart wrote, among other things, 6 keyboard sonatas, a concerto for flute and harp, a large symphony No. 31 D dur, nicknamed Parisian, several spiritual choirs, 12 ballet numbers.
In 1779, Mozart received a position as a court organist in Salzburg (he collaborated with Michael Haydn).
On January 26, 1781, the opera "Idomeneo" was staged in Munich with great success, which marked a certain turn in Mozart's work.
There are still traces of the old Italian opera seria in this opera (a large number of coloratura arias, the part of Idamante written for a castrato), but there is a new trend in the recitatives and especially in the choirs.
A big step forward is also noticed in the instrumentation.
During his stay in Munich, Mozart wrote the offertory "Misericordias Domini" for the Munich chapel — one of the best examples of church music of the late XVIII century.
Viennese period (1781-1791)
Break with the Archbishop
Prince Archbishop of Salzburg Count Jerome von Colloredo
On January 29, 1781, the premiere of Mozart's opera Idomenei took place in Munich with great success.
While Mozart was receiving congratulations in Munich, his employer, the Archbishop of Salzburg, attended the solemn events on the occasion of the coronation and accession to the Austrian throne of Emperor Joseph II.
Mozart decided to take advantage of the archbishop's absence and stayed in Munich longer than expected.
After learning about this, Colloredo ordered Mozart to come to Vienna urgently.
There, the composer immediately realized that he had fallen out of favor.
Having received many flattering reviews in Munich, caressing his vanity, Mozart was offended when the archbishop treated him like a servant, and even ordered that he sit next to the valets during dinner.
As Solomon notes, Mozart may have already decided to leave the service of the archbishop, and was only looking for a suitable excuse to justify his decision: he needed to convince his father and even himself that such a step was a defense of his honor, not personal interests.
Archbishop Colloredo was indeed a stingy, unjust, ignorant ruler, he not only forbade Mozart to perform for his own benefit, but also in every possible way restricted Mozart's access to the homes of noble persons — potential patrons of Mozart[source not specified 204 days].
As a result, the quarrel reached its climax in May: Mozart submitted his resignation, but the archbishop refused to accept it.
Then the musician began to behave pointedly defiantly, hoping to gain freedom in this way.
And he achieved his goal: the following month, the composer was literally kicked in the ass by the archbishop's butler, Count Arco [44].
At the same time, Karl Arko warned the young composer about Vienna — Mozart transmits his words in one of his letters to his father: "Believe me, you are too blinded.
Fame is short here; at first you hear only compliments and earn a lot, all this is true; but for how long?
Only a few months pass, and the Viennese again want something new"[45].
But Mozart only partially agreed with Arco: "...
The Viennese, indeed, are easily disappointed, but this applies only to the theater, and my profession is too much loved for me to be able to resist.
Here is a real kingdom of keyboard music.
Let's even assume that this will happen.
But it will happen only in a few years, certainly not before.
In the meantime, we will win fame and make a fortune for ourselves"[45].
First steps in Vienna
Mozart arrived in Vienna on March 16, 1781.
Already in May, he rented a room in St. Peter's Square, in the house of the Webers, who had moved to Vienna from Munich.
A friend of Mozart and the father Aloisii Fridolin Weber by that time died and Alois married to the actor Joseph Lange (eng.)
Russian., and since at this time she was invited to the Vienna national singspiel, her mother Frau Weber also decided to move to Vienna with three unmarried daughters Josephi (English).Russian., Constance and Sophie (English).industry.
The difficult situation forced her to engage in the delivery rooms for rent, and Mozart was glad to be able to find refuge with old friends.
Soon, rumors reached Salzburg that Wolfgang was going to marry one of his daughters.
Leopold was in a terrible rage; he stubbornly insisted that Wolfgang change his apartment, and received the following answer [46]:
I repeat once again that I have long intended to rent another apartment, and only because of people's chatter; it is a pity that I am forced to do this because of ridiculous gossip, in which there is not a word of truth.
I would still like to know what kind of people they are who can be happy that they are talking like this in broad daylight, without having any grounds for it.
If I live with them, I will marry my daughter! [ ... ]
I also do not want to say that in the family I am also unapproachable with Mademoiselle, to whom I have already been engaged, and I do not talk to her at all, but I am not in love either;
I fool around and joke with her if time allows me (but only in the evenings and if I have dinner at home, because in the morning I write in my room, and after dinner I am rarely at home), like this and nothing more.
If I had to marry everyone I joke with, it could easily happen that I would have 200 wives[46][N 1].
Despite this, the decision to leave Frau Weber turned out to be quite difficult for him.
In early September 1781, he still moved to a new apartment "Auf dem Graben", No. 1775 on the 3rd floor[46].
Baron Gottfried van Swieten.
Portrait by K. Klaviro
Mozart himself was extremely pleased with the reception he received in Vienna.
He hoped to become a famous pianist and teacher, and thus pave the way for his compositions.
However, he immediately realized that the time for his entry into the Viennese musical life was chosen unsuccessfully: at the beginning of the summer, the Viennese nobility moved to their country estates, and nothing could be achieved by "academies", as the author's subscription concerts were called in Vienna[47].
Shortly after arriving in Vienna, Mozart met the patron and patron of musicians, Baron Gottfried van Swieten (English)Russian..
The baron had a large collection of works by Bach and Handel, which he brought from Berlin.
At the suggestion of van Swieten, Mozart began to compose music in the Baroque style, hoping to enrich his own creativity in this way.
Van Swieten's name first appears in Mozart's letters in May 1781; a year later he was already writing: "Every Sunday at 12 o'clock I go to Baron van Swieten, nothing is played there except Handel and Bach.
I am just making a collection of Bach fugues for myself.
Both Sebastian and Emanuel and Friedemann Bach"[P 2].
At the end of July 1781, Mozart began writing the opera" The Abduction from the Seraglio " (German.
Die Entführung aus dem Serail), which premiered on July 16, 1782.
The opera was enthusiastically received in Vienna, and soon became widely distributed throughout Germany.
However, despite the success of the opera, Mozart's authority as a composer in Vienna was quite low.
Of his writings, the Viennese knew almost nothing.
Even the success of the opera "Idomeneo" did not spread beyond Munich[source not specified 204 days].
The Mozart family.
There is a portrait of my mother on the wall.
Artist Johann Nepomuk de la Croce, ca. 1780
In an effort to get a position at the court, Mozart hoped, with the help of his former patron for Salzburg — the younger brother of the emperor, Archduke Maximilian, to become a music teacher of Princess Elizabeth of Württemberg, whose education was taken over by Joseph II[48][K 1].
The Archduke warmly recommended Mozart to the princess, but the emperor appointed Antonio Salieri to this post as the best singing teacher[48].
"For him, there is no one but Salieri!"
— Mozart wrote to his father in disappointment on December 15, 1781[P 3].
Meanwhile, it was quite natural that the emperor preferred Salieri, whom he valued primarily as a vocal composer[48].
Like most Viennese, the emperor knew Mozart only as a good pianist, nothing more.
In this capacity, Joseph II recognized his "decisive talent" [49].
For example, on December 24, 1781, the emperor, who liked to arrange competitions between musicians, ordered Mozart to come to the palace to enter into competitions with the Italian virtuoso Muzio Clementi, who had arrived in Vienna at that time[49].
According to the composer Karl Dittersdorf, who was present there, the emperor later noted that only art prevails in Clementi's playing, and art and taste prevail in Mozart's playing.
Mozart won the competition.
After that, the emperor sent him 50 ducats, which Mozart really needed at that time[49].
Clementi was delighted with Mozart's playing; Mozart's judgment of him, on the contrary, was strict and harsh: "Clementi is a diligent harpsichordist, and that says it all,"he wrote," However, he does not have a single Kreutzer of feeling or taste, in a word, a naked technician " [50].
Despite this, Joseph II (according to Hermann Abert, on the recommendation of Salieri) chose not Mozart, but an ordinary Viennese musician Georg Zummer as a teacher of playing the clavier for the princess[51].
By the winter of 1782, the number of Mozart's students had increased, among which Therese von Trattner, Mozart's beloved, should be noted.
Later, he will dedicate the sonata in C Minor (K. 457) and the fantasy in C minor (K. 475) to Teresa[52].
Wedding and marriage
Constance Mozart.
Portrait by Hans Hassen, 1802
While still living with the Webers, Mozart began to show signs of attention to the middle daughter, Constance.
Obviously, this gave rise to rumors that Mozart rejected.
Nevertheless, on December 15, 1781, he wrote a letter to his father, in which he confessed his love for Constance Weber and informed him that he was going to marry her.
However, Leopold knew more than was written in the letter, namely that Wolfgang had to give a written commitment to marry Constance within three years, otherwise pay annually for 300 florins in her favor.
The main role in the story of the written obligation was played by the guardian of Constance and her sisters Johann Torwart, a court official who enjoyed authority with Count Rosenberg.
Torvart asked his mother to forbid Mozart to communicate with Constance until "this case is not finished in writing. "
Due to a highly developed sense of honor, Mozart could not leave his beloved and signed a statement.
However, later, when the guardian left, Constance demanded a commitment from her mother, and said: "Dear Mozart!
I donot need any written obligations from you, I already believe your words," she tore up the statement.
This act of Constance made her even dearer to Mozart [53][P 4].
Despite such an imaginary nobility of Constance, researchers have no doubt that all these marriage debates, including the termination of the contract, are nothing more than a well played performance by the Webers, the purpose of which was to organize a rapprochement between Mozart and Constance[54].
Despite his son's numerous letters, Leopold was adamant.
In addition, he believed, not without reason, that Frau Weber was playing an "ugly game" with his son — she wanted to use Wolfgang as a purse, because just at that time, huge prospects opened up before him: he wrote "The Abduction from the Seraglio", conducted many concerts by subscription and now and then received orders for various compositions from the Viennese nobility.
In great confusion, Wolfgang called for his sister's help, trusting her good old friendship.
At Wolfgang's request, Constance wrote letters to his sister and sent various gifts.
St. Stephen's Cathedral
Despite the fact that Maria Anna accepted these gifts amicably, her father persisted.
Without hopes for a secure future, the wedding seemed impossible to him [55].
Meanwhile, the gossip became more and more unbearable: on July 27, 1782, Mozart wrote to his father in complete despair that most people already took him for a married man and that Frau Weber was extremely indignant about this and tortured him and Constance to death.
Mozart's patroness, Baroness von Waldstedten, came to the aid of Mozart and his beloved.
She offered Constance to move to her apartment in Leopoldstadt (house No. 360), to which Constance readily agreed.
Because of this, Frau Weber was now angry and intended to eventually force her daughter back to her home.
In order to preserve Constance's honor, Mozart should have married her sooner.
In the same letter, he most insistently begged his father for permission to marry, repeating his request a few days later[P 5].
However, the desired consent was not followed again.
At this time, Mozart vowed to write a mass if he successfully married Constance[56][57].
Finally, on August 4, 1782, the betrothal took place in the Vienna Cathedral of St. Stephen, at which only Frau Weber and her youngest daughter Sophie (English)Russian were present, Herr von Torwart as the guardian and witness of both, Herr von Zetto, the witness of the bride, and Franz Xaver Gilovsky as a witness of Mozart.
The wedding feast was arranged by the Baroness, while a serenade for thirteen instruments was played (K. 361/370a).
It is symbolic that only a day later the long awaited consent of the father came.
On August 7, Mozart wrote to him: "When we were married, my wife and I began to cry; everyone was touched by this, even the priest, and everyone began to cry, because they witnessed the emotion of our hearts"[58][P 6].
During the marriage, the Mozart couple had 6 children, of which only two survived:
Raimund Leopold (17 June — 19 August 1783) Karl Thomas (21 September 1784-31 October 1858) Johann Thomas Leopold (18 October — 15 November 1786) Theresia Constance Adelaide Frederica Marianna (27 December 1787 — 29 June 1788) Anna Maria (died shortly after birth[K 2], December 25, 1789) Franz Xaver Wolfgang (July 26, 1791 July 29, 1844)
Trip to Salzburg
Despite the fact of a happy marriage for both spouses, the dark shadow of his father always fell on the marriage: it seemed as if he had reconciled himself to Wolfgang's marriage, but his hostile attitude towards the marriage remained unchanged and turned into a cruel bitterness.
On the contrary, Wolfgang's innate kindness did not allow him to be annoyed with his father for how long.
However, since then his letters to his father have become increasingly rare and, most importantly, more businesslike[60].
Mozart and Constance on their honeymoon.
Postcard of the XIX century
At first, Mozart still hoped that a personal acquaintance with Constance would help change his father's opinion.
Soon after the wedding, the couple has the idea of going to Salzburg.
Initially, Wolfgang and Constance planned to come there in early October 1782, and then on November 15, for their father's name day.
The first time their calculations were crossed out by the visit of the Russian Prince Pavel, during which Mozart conducted a performance of "The Abduction from the Seraglio", the second time — concerts and pedagogical activities that lasted all winter.
In the spring of 1783, the main obstacle was the expectation of the birth of Kostya.
The child, a boy, was born on June 17, and was named Raimund Leopold in honor of his godfather, Baron Raimund Wetzlar von Plankinstern, a rich Jew and the owner of the previous apartment in which Mozart lived.
The middle name was given to the child in honor of his grandfather, Leopold Mozart.
According to Mozart himself, Raimund was "a poor, plump, fat and cute little boy"[61].
As Wolfgang was getting ready for the road, he was worried whether the archbishop would be able to use his arrival to take revenge, because Mozart had left the service without a formal resignation.
However, to his happiness, Colloredo did not even think about revenge[44].
The young couple set off at the end of July, leaving the newborn child to a paid nurse[K 3], and arrived in Salzburg on July 29[63].
The house where Leopold Mozart's apartment was located in Salzburg
Contrary to Mozart's expectations, Leopold and Nannerl met Constance coolly, although quite politely.
In Salzburg, Mozart was working on a mass in C minor, which he wrote in fulfillment of a vow he had made if he managed to marry Constance[64].
Parts of "Kyrie", "Gloria", "Sanctus" and "Benedictus"were written from the entire mass.
"Credo" remained unfinished, and "Agnus Dei" was not yet written at all.
The premiere of the mass took place on October 26 at St. Peter's Church, where Constance sang the soprano part, written especially for her voice.
In addition, in Salzburg, Mozart met with his librettist for "Idomeneo" Varesco, who, at the request of the composer, sketched the libretto of "L'oca del Cairo" (The Cairo Goose), which Mozart will put to music the opera of the same name that has not been completed[63].
The couple left Salzburg on October 27, 1783.
Despite all the efforts, the main goal of the trip — to change the mood of her father in favor of Constance was not achieved.
Deep down, Constance was offended by this reception and never forgave her father in law or sister in law.
However, Wolfgang also left his hometown disappointed and upset.
On the way to Vienna, on October 30, they stopped in Linz, where they stayed with an old friend of Mozart, Count Josef Thun, after staying here for 3 weeks.
Here Mozart wrote his Symphony No. 36 in C Major (K. 425), which premiered on November 4 at the academy in the Count's house[65].
Peak of creativity
Domgasse 5.
Mozart's apartment was on the second floor
Being at the zenith of his fame, Mozart receives huge fees for his academies and the publication of his works, he teaches many students.
In September 1784, the composer's family settled in a luxury apartment at Grosse Schulerstrasse 846 (now Domgasse 5)[K 4] with an annual rent of 460 florins.
At this time, Mozart wrote the best of his compositions.
Mozart's income allowed him to keep servants at home: a hairdresser, a maid and a cook; he buys a piano from the Viennese master Anton Walter for 900 florins and a billiard table for 300 florins[66].
In 1783, Mozart met the famous composer Joseph Haydn, and soon a cordial friendship was formed between them.
Mozart even dedicates his collection of 6 quartets written in 1783-1785 to Haydn[67].
These quartets, so bold and new for their time, caused confusion and controversy among Viennese amateurs, but Haydn, who was aware of the genius of the quartets, accepted the gift with the greatest respect[68].
Another important event in Mozart's life also belongs to this period: on December 14, 1784, he joined the Masonic lodge "For Charity"[69].
Mozart's piano.
It was on it that the composer played at his famous "Friday" concerts
From February 11 to April 25, 1785, Leopold Mozart came to his son in Vienna.
Although their personal relationship has not changed, Leopold was very proud of the truly fantastic success of his son, who was then at the peak of his creativity[70].
On the first day of his stay in Vienna, on February 11, he visited the Wolfgang Academy at the Melgrube Casino, which was also attended by the Emperor.
There was the premiere of a new, now — one of the most famous Mozart concertos[71], the piano concerto in D minor (No. 20, K. 466), the first in a series of so called "Friday" concerts.
The next day, Wolfgang hosted a quartet evening at his home, to which Joseph Haydn was invited.
At the same time, as usual in such cases, K. Dittersdorf played the first violin, Haydn played the second, Mozart himself played the viola, and I. Vangal played the cello.
After performing the quartets, Haydn expressed his admiration for Wolfgang's work, which brought Leopold great joy: "I tell you before God, as an honest man, your son is the greatest composer I know personally and by name; he has taste, and moreover, the greatest knowledge of composition"[67].
Leopold was also very happy with his second grandson Karl — the first of Mozart's two surviving children, who was born on September 21 of the previous year[67].
Later, presumably in 1787[By 5], the Mozarts will send their son to a prestigious and expensive educational institution in Perchtoldsdorf[73][74][75].
It is important to note that Wolfgang persuaded his father to join the Masonic lodge.
This happened on April 6, and on April 16 he was elevated to the degree of master[76].
"The Wedding of Figaro"
See also: The Wedding of Figaro
Despite the success of Mozart's chamber compositions, his affairs with the opera were not going well.
Contrary to his hopes, the German opera gradually declined; the Italian, on the contrary, experienced a huge rise.
In the hope of getting the opportunity to write an opera at all, Mozart turned his attention to Italian opera.
On the advice of Count Rosenberg, back in 1782, he began searching for an Italian text for the libretto.
However, his Italian operas "L'oca del Cairo" (ital.
"The Cairo Goose", 1783) and "Lo sposo deluso" (ital.
"The Deceived Bridegroom", 1784) remained unfinished[77].
Trying to somehow pave the way for his compositions to the opera stage, Mozart writes many insert arias in operas by other composers.
Lorenzo da Ponte.
Portrait by an unknown artist
Finally, Mozart received an order from the emperor for a new opera.
For help in writing the libretto, Mozart turned to a familiar librettist, the court poet Lorenzo da Ponte, whom he met at the apartment of Baron Wetzlar back in 1783.
As a material for the libretto, Mozart proposed the comedy of Pierre Beaumarchais " Le Mariage de Figaro "(French:"The Marriage of Figaro").
Despite the fact that Joseph II banned the production of comedy at the National Theater, Mozart and da Ponte still started working, and, thanks to the lack of new operas, they won the position[77].
Mozart and da Ponte called their opera "Le nozze di Figaro" (ital.
"The Wedding of Figaro").
In the midst of his work, Mozart received another order for an opera from the emperor.
The reason for such an unexpected order was the intention of Joseph II to hold a competition between his favorites — Mozart and Salieri - to compose a one act comic opera on the theme of "theatrical backstage".
Moreover, Mozart had to compose an opera based on a German libretto (that is, a singspiel) Gottlieb Stefani Jr., and Salieri — to the Italian libretto (that is, the opera buffa) by Giovanni Battista Casti.
In fact, it was a competition between these two opera genres.
Mozart's new opera was called " The Director of the Theater "(German. Der Schauspieldirektor).
Together with Salieri's opera "Music First, and then words", it was staged on February 7, 1786 in the Schoenbrunn greenhouse on the occasion of "A pleasure holiday in honor of the Governor General of the Netherlands".
The victory in the competition was awarded to Salieri.
His opera was more capacious than Mozart's opera, which is why it was much more successful[78].
Probably, the reason for Mozart's failure was his employment in connection with the completion of the "Wedding of Figaro".
Nevertheless, Mozart received from the emperor a fee for the opera — 50 ducats, and Salieri 100 ducats[79].
The old building of the Burgtheater (on the right), where the premieres of all Mozart's operas were held.
The building was demolished in 1888.
On the left is the Mikhailovsky wing of the Hofburg.
Meanwhile, work on the" Wedding of Figaro " continued.
Some sources claim[80] that the opera as a whole was written in 6 weeks, that is, by the end of November 1785, however, this is unlikely: along with its writing, Mozart also worked on piano concertos and the opera "Director of the Theater".
Consequently, the time of work on the "Wedding of Figaro" was stretched.
However, after writing the opera, Mozart faced extremely strong intrigues related to its upcoming rehearsals: the fact is that almost simultaneously with Mozart's "The Wedding of Figaro", the operas of Salieri and Rigini were completed.
Each composer claimed that his opera should be performed first.
Michael Kelly, a friend of Mozart and the performer of the roles of Don Curzio and Don Basilio in The Wedding of Figaro, said that Mozart, having a temper, swore that if his opera did not go on stage first, he would throw the score of his opera into the fire.
Finally, the dispute was resolved by the emperor, who ordered the rehearsals of Mozart's opera to begin[81].
The premiere of "The Wedding of Figaro" took place on May 1, 1786 at the Vienna Burgtheater.
The opera had a good reception, some numbers and arias were repeatedly sung for an encore.
However, the success of the opera cannot be called grandiose: after only nine repetitions, the opera was withdrawn and was not staged until 1789, when the production was resumed by Antonio Salieri, who considered The Wedding of Figaro the best opera by Mozart[82][83].
Thus, Mozart's fame in Vienna as a playwright and opera composer remained small, he had a name only as a good pianist.
The imperial court, which occasionally patronized him, also did not see in him a serious opera composer, such as, for example, Antonio Salieri[84].
On October 18, 1786, Mozart and Constance had their third son, Johann Thomas Leopold, who would live only one month and die on November 15 of the same year.
Interestingly, after Leopold's death, the Mozart couple no longer named their children after their grandfather, however, two girls born in 1787 and 1789 were named after Mozart's mother, Anna Maria[85].
At about the same time, in the autumn of 1786, Mozart, listening to the persuasions of his English friends Thomas Attwood, a pupil of Mozart, Nancy Storas, a soprano singer who played the role of Susanna in "The Wedding of Figaro", and her brother Stephen, was thinking about going to England with the hope of settling at the local court.
Mozart even took a couple of English lessons to refresh his long standing knowledge.
However, his plan failed due to the resistance of his father: Leopold refused to take care of his granddaughters and servants, whom the couple wanted to leave to their grandfather for the duration of the trip.
In addition, he pointed out the straitened financial situation of his son, because for a trip over such long distances, as he points out, it was necessary to have at least 2000 florins[86][87].
Nevertheless, the English prospects were replaced by more promising Prague ones: in Prague, all Mozart's operas were an insane success[88].
A trip to Prague.
"Don Juan"
See also: Don Juan (opera)
Just a few months after the Vienna premiere, in December 1786, "The Wedding of Figaro" performed by Pasquale Bondini's troupe was held in Prague, having a stunning success: the whole of Prague was literally obsessed with opera, the melodies from it were "dragged away" to dance music, they were sung on the street, and even played in taverns.
Thanks to this success, on Christmas Day, 1786, Mozart received an invitation to come to Prague.
Together with Constance, he arrived there on January 11, 1787.
The Couple stayed In Prague until February 8.
Here Mozart was given such a warm and cordial welcome as he had not experienced in Vienna for many years.
In Prague, he was always the center of attention: he and Constance were regularly invited to dinners, receptions and opera performances.
Mozart was especially flattered by the universal love for the "Wedding of Figaro".
On January 14, 1787, he wrote to his friend Gottfried von Jacquin, the son of the famous Viennese botanist Joseph von Jacquin[89]:
[ ... ]
But it was with complete pleasure that I watched all these people, genuinely having fun, rushing around in the dance to the music of my "Figaro", converted into counterdances and German ones.
For here they donot talk about anything except "Figaro", they donot play anything, they donot blow, they donot sing or whistle, except — "Figaro", no opera is visited, except — "Figaro" and forever "Figaro"; of course, it's a great honor for me[P 7]. […]
Mozart was present several times at the performances of "The Wedding of Figaro", and on January 20, he himself, sitting at the harpsichord, conducted the opera.
The day before, on January 19, Mozart gave a concert that was accepted by the pub the face with a stormy ovation.
Finally, he signed a contract with Bondini for 100 ducats to compose a new opera[90].
Bertram's Villa in Prague, where Mozart finished "Don Juan".
Now the composer's museum is located there
After returning to Vienna in February 1787, Mozart began to work on the opera.
Thanks to the success of "The Wedding of Figaro", Mozart considered da Ponte an ideal candidate for a librettist.
Da Ponte suggested the play "Don Juan" as a plot for the libretto, and Mozart liked it.
On April 7, 1787, the young Beethoven arrived in Vienna.
According to widespread opinion, Mozart, after listening to Beethoven's improvisations, allegedly exclaimed: "He will make everyone talk about himself!", and even took Beethoven as his pupil.
However, there is no direct evidence of this.
Anyway, Beethoven, having received a letter about his mother's serious illness, was forced to return to Bonn, having spent only two weeks in Vienna[91].
In the midst of working on the opera, on May 28, 1787, Leopold Mozart, the father of Wolfgang Amadeus, died.
This event so overshadowed him that some musicologists associate the gloom of the music from "Don Juan" with the shock experienced by Mozart[92]
In early October, Mozart arrived in Prague for the second time to direct the rehearsals of the opera.
Mozart liked to visit the Bertramka Villa of the Prague composer Franz Dusek.
Mozart was acquainted with his wife Josepha (English)Russian, a beautiful soprano singer, from Salzburg.
The premiere of the opera "Don Juan" took place on October 29, 1787 at the Estate Theater in Prague.
The success of the premiere was brilliant, the opera, in the words of Mozart himself, was "the most resounding success" [93].
Estate Theater in Prague.
This is the only theater that has been preserved in its original form, where Mozart performed
Mozart returned to Vienna on November 15.
At the end of 1787, on December 1, the Mozarts moved to a new apartment on the corner of Schulterstrasse and Tuchlauben.
On December 7, after the death of Christoph Willibald Gluck, Mozart received the post of imperial chamber composer and musician with an annual salary of 800 florins [94], but his duties were mainly limited to composing dances for masquerades.
A comic opera, based on a plot from secular life, was commissioned by Mozart only once, and it became "Così fan tutte "("Everyone does This", 1790)[95].
Such a payment was approximately equal to the fee for two operas that Mozart could receive.
Given Mozart's previous income, this was quite a bit, but such a payment was the norm for Vienna at that time.
For example, A. Salieri, while in the same position, received only 426 florins 40 kreutzers of annual salary[96].
The famous musicologist John Rice claims that since Mozart's arrival in Vienna, the emperor has given him more patronage than any other Viennese musician, with the exception of Salieri.
On December 27, 1787, Mozart and Constance had their first daughter, Theresia[94].
The production of "Don Juan" in Vienna, which Mozart and da Ponte were thinking about, was hampered by the increasing success of Salieri's new opera "Axur, King of Hormuz", which premiered on January 8, 1788.
Finally, thanks to the order of Emperor Joseph II, who was interested in the Prague success of "Don Juan", the opera was performed on May 7, 1788 at the Burgtheater.
The Vienna premiere was a failure: the audience, who had generally cooled down to Mozart's work since the days of Figaro, could not get used to such a new and unusual work, and in general remained indifferent.
Mozart received 50 ducats from the Emperor for "Don Juan", and, according to J. Rice, during the years 1782-1792, this was the only time when the composer received payment for an opera that was not commissioned in Vienna[97].
Since 1787, the number of Mozart's "academies" has sharply decreased, and in 1788 they stopped altogether — he could not collect a sufficient number of subscribers.
"Don Juan" failed on the Viennese stage, and brought almost nothing.
Because of this, Mozart's financial situation deteriorated sharply.
Obviously, already at this time, he began to accumulate debts, compounded by the costs of treating his wife who was ill due to frequent childbirth.
In June 1788, Mozart settled in a house at Waringergasse 135 "At the three stars" in the Viennese suburb of Alsergrund.
The new move was another evidence of the most difficult money problems: the rent for a house in the suburbs was significantly lower than in the city[98].
Shortly after the move, Mozart's daughter Theresia dies.
Since that time, a series of numerous heartbreaking letters from Mozart with requests for financial assistance to his friend and brother in the Masonic lodge, the rich Viennese merchant Michael Puhberg, begins.
Despite such a deplorable situation, during a month and a half in the summer of 1788, Mozart wrote three, now the most famous, symphonies: No. 39 in E flat major (K. 543), No. 40 in G minor (K. 550) and No. 41 in C major ("Jupiter", K. 551)[99].
The reasons that prompted Mozart to write these symphonies are unknown.
In all likelihood, they were written for new concerts by subscription, but Mozart never managed to organize their performances.
Only one symphony, No. 40 in G minor, was probably performed at concerts conducted by Antonio Salieri in 1791[100].
Since the end of 1788, Mozart has been re arranging and arranging various (mainly spiritual) compositions by J. S. Bach and G. F. Handel at the request of his patron, Baron van Swieten, which he performed in his home circle[101].
Trip to Northern Germany
Main article: Mozart's Berlin Journey
Portrait of Mozart by Doris Stock.
Dresden, 1789
By 1789, Mozart's financial situation was still sad.
The academies that Mozart wanted to conduct did not collect enough subscribers.
In the spring of 1789, Mozart's friend and pupil, Prince Karl Lichnovsky, was going to Berlin on business, offered Mozart a place in his carriage, to which Mozart gladly agreed.
The Prussian king Friedrich Wilhelm II was a great lover of music, and his possible patronage awakened in Mozart the hope of earning enough money to pay off the debts that weighed so heavily on him.
Mozart had no money even for travel expenses: he was forced to ask for a loan of 100 florins from his friend Franz Hofdemel.
The journey lasted almost three months: from April 8 to June 4, 1789.
During the trip, Mozart visited Prague, Leipzig, Dresden, Potsdam and Berlin.
Contrary to Mozart's hopes, the trip was financially unsuccessful: the money earned from the trip was catastrophically small[102].
The story of how in Berlin Mozart received an invitation to become the head of the court chapel of King Friedrich Wilhelm II with a content of 3 thousand thalers, Alfred Einstein refers to the realm of fantasy, as well as the sentimental reason for refusal — as if out of respect for Joseph II.
Friedrich Wilhelm II only commissioned six simple piano sonatas for his daughter and six string quartets for himself[103].
Financial difficulties.
"That's what everyone does"
See also: That's what everyone does
Almost immediately after his return, Mozart began creating quartets for Friedrich Wilhelm II.
Already in June 1789, the first of them was ready — the quartet in D major (K. 575).
There was barely enough money to live on, especially since the attempt to arrange subscription concerts at home failed.
Constance was seriously ill with a calf ulcer.
Her treatment also severely depleted Mozart's purse.
On the recommendation of the attending physician, Dr. Thomas Klosse, Mozart was forced to send his wife to a spa in Baden, which further increased his expenses.
His letters to Puhberg with requests for loans reveal the whole deplorability of his situation: in a letter dated July 12, 1789, Mozart, filled with despair, literally pours out his soul[104]:
Dearest, best friend!
and a venerable fellow
Oh, my God!
I'm in a position that I wouldnot wish on my worst enemy.
And if you, my best friend and brother, leave me, then I will be lost, unhappy, and without any fault of mine, along with my poor sick wife and child.
Recently, when I was with you, I would like to pour out my soul to you, but I didnot have the courage!
I would not have had the courage even now — it is only with a shudder of my soul that I dare to do this in writing — but I would not have dared to do it in writing if I were not sure that you know me, that you are aware of my circumstances and are completely convinced of my innocence regarding my unfortunate, extremely deplorable situation.
Unfortunately, my fate in Vienna is so unfavorable to me that I canot earn anything even if I want to.
I sent out a subscription list for 14 days in a row, and here is the only name on it — Sviten!
<...
> Everything now depends on you, my only friend — are you willing or able to lend me another 500 florins?
<...
>  Thanks to the treatment at the resort, where Mozart periodically visited her, by August Constance had recovered.
Meanwhile, "The Wedding of Figaro"was restored on the Viennese stage and was a great success.
Thanks to this success, Mozart again enthusiastically took up work for the theater: he wrote insert arias in his operas and in operas by other composers.
At the same time, Da Ponte wrote for Salieri a completely original libretto "La scuola degli amanti" (ital. "School of lovers").
Salieri, however, abandoned work on the opera, writing only two numbers.
After that, the libretto came to Mozart with the changed title "Così fan tutte" (ital. "That's what everyone does")[105].
For this opera, Mozart received a fee of 200 ducats.
Its premiere with average success took place on January 26, 1790 at the Burgtheater[106].
Mozart's last house at 970 Rauensteingasse (foreground left), where he died on December 5, 1791.
The building was destroyed in the middle of the XIX century.
Watercolour, ca. 1840
In February 1790, Emperor Joseph II died.
Mozart initially pinned great hopes on the accession of Leopold II to the throne, but the new emperor was not a special music lover, and musicians did not have access to him.
In May 1790, Mozart wrote to his son, Archduke Franz, hoping to establish himself: "The thirst for fame, love of activity and confidence in my knowledge make me dare to ask for the position of second kapellmeister, especially because the very skilled kapellmeister Salieri has never been engaged in the church style[K 6], I have mastered this style perfectly since my youth"[108].
However, Mozart's request was ignored, which greatly disappointed him.
Mozart was ignored and during the visit to Vienna on September 14, 1790, King Ferdinand and Queen Caroline of Naples gave a concert conducted by Salieri, which was attended by the Stadler brothers and Joseph Haydn; Mozart was never invited to play in front of the king, which offended him[ 109].
In the autumn of 1790, Constance was once again treated in Baden.
In light of this, Mozart's financial situation turned out to be so hopeless that he had to leave Vienna from the persecution of creditors in order to improve his affairs at least a little by an artistic journey: on October 9, 1790, the coronation of Leopold II was to take place in Frankfurt am Main, but Mozart was not invited again, and he decided to go at his own expense.
He left Vienna on September 23, and arrived in Frankfurt on September 28.
Despite the fact that Mozart was, in his own words, wanted to "get everywhere" there, he was disappointed — the fees from the concerts were negligible.
In Mozart's absence, Constance moved to a house at 970 Rauensteingasse.
This house became the last dwelling of Mozart.
Returning to Vienna, Mozart stopped in Mainz, Mannheim and Munich[110].
Shortly after his return, the German violinist and impresario Johann Salomon, who came from London, visited Vienna.
He attracted Haydn to write concerts for himself and made him an offer to go to London.
It was agreed with Mozart that after Haydn's return, he would also have to go to England on similar terms, however, due to Mozart's death, this never happened[111].
Friends Mozart and Haydn met for the last time in their lives on the day of Haydn's departure, December 15, 1790.
Mozart's death a year later deeply affected Haydn, and for a long time he could not get rid of the shock caused by it[112].
Last year
Since January 1791, there has been an unprecedented rise in Mozart's work, which was the end of the creative decline of 1790: Mozart composed the only piano concerto for the past three years and the last in a row (No. 27 in B flat major, K. 595), which dates from January 5, and numerous dances written by Mozart on duty as a court musician.
On April 12, he wrote his last quintet No. 6, in E Flat major (K. 614).
In April, he prepared the second edition of his Symphony No. 40 in G minor (K. 550), adding clarinets to the score.
Later, on April 16 and 17, this symphony was performed at charity concerts conducted by Antonio Salieri[113].
After a failed attempt to get an appointment to the post of second kapellmeister — deputy of Salieri, Mozart took a step in another direction: in early May 1791, he sent a petition to the Vienna city magistrate with a request to appoint him to the unpaid position of assistant kapellmeister of St. Stephen's Cathedral.
The request was granted, and Mozart received this position.
It gave him the right to become a kapellmeister after the death of the seriously ill Leopold Hoffman.
Hoffmann, however, outlived Mozart[114].
The so called "Magic Flute Box", where Mozart is believed to have written his opera "The Magic Flute".
The hut has now been moved to Salzburg
In March 1791, Mozart's old acquaintance from Salzburg, theater actor and impresario Emanuel Schikaneder, who was then the director of the theater Auf der Wieden, asked him to save his theater from decline and write for him a German "opera for the people" on a fairy tale plot[115].
Presented in September 1791 in Prague, on the occasion of the coronation of Leopold II by the Czech king, the opera "The Mercy of Titus" was received coldly;
"The Magic Flute", staged in the same month in Vienna at a suburban theater, on the contrary, was such a success as Mozart had not known in the Austrian capital for many years.
This fairy tale opera occupies a special place in Mozart's extensive and diverse activity.
Mozart, like most of his contemporaries, paid a lot of attention to sacred music, but he left few significant examples in this area: except for "Misericordias Domini" - "Ave verum corpus" (KV 618, 1791), written in a completely uncharacteristic style for Mozart, and the majestically sad Requiem (KV 626), on which Mozart worked for the last months of his life.
The history of writing "Requiem"is interesting.
In July 1791, a mysterious stranger in gray visited Mozart and ordered him a "Requiem" (a funeral funeral mass).
As the biographers of the composer have established, it was the messenger of Count Franz von Walsegg Stuppach, a musical dilettante who liked to perform other people's works in his palace with the help of his chapel, buying authorship from composers; he wanted to honor the memory of his late wife with a requiem.[116]
The work on the unfinished "Requiem", stunning for its mournful lyricism and tragic expressiveness, was completed by his student Franz Xaver Susmeier, who previously took some part in the composition of the opera"The Mercy of Titus".
Illness and death
Main article: The Death of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
See also: Requiem (Mozart)
Perhaps the most recent lifetime portrait of Mozart, painted in 1790 in Munich.
Artist Johann Georg Edlinger
In connection with the premiere of the opera "The Mercy of Titus", Mozart arrived in Prague already ill, and since then his condition has been deteriorating.
Even during the completion of the "Magic Flute", Mozart began to faint, he greatly lost heart.
As soon as the "Magic Flute" was performed, Mozart enthusiastically began working on the Requiem.
This work occupied him so much that he was even going to not accept any more students until the Requiem was finished[K 7][117].
After returning from Baden, Constance did everything to keep him from working; in the end, she took the Requiem score from her husband and called the best doctor in Vienna, Dr. Nikolaus Klosse[118].
Indeed, thanks to this, Mozart's condition improved so much that he was able to complete his Masonic cantata on November 15 and conduct its performance.
He told Constance to return the Requiem to him and worked on it further.
However, the improvement did not last long: on November 20, Mozart fell ill.
He began to feel weak, his arms and legs swelled to such an extent that he could not walk, followed by sudden attacks of vomiting.
In addition, his hearing became acute, and he ordered the cage with his favorite canary to be removed from the room — he could not stand her singing[118].
On November 28, Mozart's condition worsened so much that Kloss invited Dr. M. von Sallab, then the chief physician of the Main Vienna Hospital, to a consultation[119].
During the two weeks Mozart spent in bed, he was cared for by his sister in law Sophie Weber (English)Russian. (later Heibl)
, who left behind numerous memories of Mozart's life and death.
She noticed that Mozart was gradually getting weaker every day, besides, his condition was aggravated by unnecessary bloodletting, which were the most familiar means of medicine at that time, and were also used by doctors Klosse and Sallaba [120].
"The Last hours of Mozart's life", a painting by G. N. O'Neill, 1860s.
Klosse and Sallaba diagnosed Mozart with "acute millet fever" (this diagnosis was also indicated on the death certificate)[K 8]; Dr. E. Guldner von Lobes, later the chief physician of Vienna, called this disease "rheumatic inflammatory fever".
According to Guldner, Klosse was afraid of a fatal outcome from the very beginning and told Dr. Sallaba: "Mozart cannot be saved, it is already impossible to contain the complication"[122][123].
"The disease," wrote Guldner in 1824, " took its usual turn and had its usual duration.
Klosse observed and comprehended it so correctly that he predicted its outcome with an accuracy of an hour.
A similar disease attacked a large number of residents of Vienna at that time and for many of them had the same fatal outcome and with the same symptoms as Mozart " [122][124].
In any case, G. Abert believed that Mozart's disease was complicated by a general weakness of the body a consequence of severe diseases suffered in childhood and adolescence and most of them associated with excessive stress, with difficulty, who did not know rest[125].
Subsequently, many medical scientists tried to clarify the diagnosis made by Mozart's attending physicians[9], and they were increasingly inclined to believe that the cause of the composer's death was a chronic illness (joint rheumatism, kidney failure, Schonlein—Henoch disease), complicated by an acute infectious disease, which, in addition to "rheumatic inflammatory fever", could be a streptococcal infection or an upper respiratory tract infection[127][128].
Many doctors believe that the methods of treatment adopted at that time could also be harmful for patients, not only for Mozart[129].
"...death is the true ultimate goal of our life.
Over the past two years, I have become so familiar with this genuine and best friend of man that the image of death for me not only does not contain anything frightening, but, on the contrary, gives a lot of comfort and consolation!
And I thank God for giving me the happiness to understand death as the source of our true bliss."
- V. A. Mozart, letter to his father, April 4, 1787[130].
According to modern researchers, it is no longer possible to more accurately determine the causes of the composer's death[131][132].
W. Stafford compares Mozart's medical history with an inverted pyramid: tons of secondary literature are piled up on a very small amount of documentary evidence[132].
At the same time, the volume of reliable information over the past hundred years has not increased, but has decreased: scientists have been increasingly critical of the testimonies of Constance, Sophie and other eyewitnesses over the years, finding many contradictions in their testimony[132][133].
On December 4, Mozart's condition became critical.
He became so sensitive to touch that edv and he endured his nightgown.
A stench emanated from the body of the still living Mozart, which made it difficult to be in the same room with him.
Many years later, Mozart's eldest son Karl, who was seven at the time, recalled how he, standing in the corner of the room, looked with horror at the swollen body of his father lying in bed[134].
According to Sophie, Mozart felt the approach of death and even asked Constance to inform I. Albrechtsberger about his death before others found out about it, so that he could take his place in St. Stephen's Cathedral: he always considered Albrechtsberger a born organist and believed that the position of assistant conductor should rightfully be his [135].
The same evening, the priest of St. Peter's Church was invited to the patient's bedside.
Late in the evening they sent for a doctor[K 10]; Klosse ordered a cold compress to be made on his head.
This affected the dying Mozart so much that he lost consciousness.
From that moment on, Mozart lay flat, randomly delirious.
At about midnight, he sat up in bed and stared fixedly into space, then leaned against the wall and dozed off.
After midnight, at five minutes to one, that is, on December 5, death occurred[139].
Already at night, Baron van Swieten appeared at Mozart's house, and, trying to comfort the widow, ordered that she move in with friends for a few days.
At the same time, he gave her urgent advice to arrange the burial as simply as possible: indeed, the last debt to the deceased was paid in the third class, which cost 8 florins 36 kreutzers and another 3 florins for the hearse.
Soon after van Swieten, Count Deim arrived and took off Mozart's death mask.
"To dress the gentleman," Diner was called early in the morning.
People from the funeral brotherhood, covering the body with a black cloth, carried it on a stretcher to the work room and placed it next to the piano.
During the day, many friends of Mozart came there to express their condolences and to see the composer again[139].
The controversy surrounding the circumstances of Mozart's death continues to this day, despite the fact that more than 220 years have passed since the composer's death.
A huge number of versions and legends are connected with his death, among which, thanks to the "little tragedy" of A. S. Pushkin, the legend about the poisoning of Mozart by the most famous composer at that time, Antonio Salieri, was especially widespread[140].
Scientists studying Mozart's death were divided into two camps: supporters of violent and natural death.
However, the absolute majority of scientists believe that Mozart died naturally, and any versions of poisoning, especially the version of Salieri's poisoning, are unprovable or simply erroneous[141].
Funeral
Mozart's Cenotaph is the most famous "burial" of St. Mark's Cemetery
On December 6, 1791, at about 3 o'clock in the afternoon, Mozart's body was brought to St. Stephen's Cathedral.
Here, in the Cross Chapel adjacent to the north side of the cathedral, a modest religious ceremony was held, which was attended by Mozart's friends van Swieten, Salieri, Albrechtsberger, Susmeier, Diner, Rosner, cellist Orsler and others[142][K 11].
The hearse went to the cemetery of St. Mark, in accordance with the regulations of that time, after six o'clock in the evening, that is, already in the dark, without an escort[143] The date of Mozart's burial is controversial: sources indicate December 6, when the coffin with his body was sent to the cemetery, but the regulations forbade burying the dead earlier than 48 hours after death[144][145][K 12].
Contrary to popular belief, Mozart was not buried in a canvas bag in a mass grave with the poor, as was shown in f
