Mozart: A Life in Letters: A Life in Letters (33 page)

If only you’d done what I told you to do in Augsburg and on repeated occasions since then, namely, to
look round for a private apartment in Mannheim
, you’d have saved a lot of money as you could then have eaten whenever you wanted or made more appropriate arrangements for this – especially as both of you or at least one of you often ate out. Yes – who’d have thought that we’d stay there for so long? – Who?–– I not only thought it, I knew it. If only you’d taken Munich as your yardstick and looked at a calendar, you’d have discovered, after only a few words of enquiry, that it’s impossible to obtain a hearing in less than a week and that by the time you’ve received your present – and until you can put forward the proposal that you have in mind – until you receive an answer to it – then pack all your belongings together again – and say goodbye to all your good friends and the acquaintances that you’ve just made and finally get away – another 3 or 4weeks will have passed without your knowing where they’ve gone. As a result, you could have taken an apartment on a weekly basis or even for a month, and even if you’d paid for an extra week, you’d still have emerged the winner. Mama should think back to our earlier travels. I never put up at inns when I suspected that we’d be staying for any length of time: Paris, London, Vienna etc., even
Brünn
etc. are all places where we
simply don’t
know the inns or, if we do, only as temporary accommodation. You’ll no doubt appreciate that Mama can’t leave Mannheim at present, now that the coldest weather is setting in; also I have to work out the easiest and most convenient way of getting her back. Meanwhile be sure that you stay with her and look after her, so that she lacks nothing, just as she cares for you in turn. But if the Indian’s 200 florins turn out to be no more than another straw fire that has gone up in flames in the first flush of friendship and already turned to smoke, then you should pack up and go: but if I’m wrong, you should get down to work as soon as possible: and you’d also do well to write a large-scale new mass for the elector; and so you’ll have to plan your time carefully during these next 2 months:
Best of all would be for you to write to
Prince
Zeil
. Tell him that
you are certainly not demanding that the elector take you on
permanently and
per decretum but that he might like to take you on
for a couple of years in order to give you the opportunity and
privilege of serving him and affording him proof of your talent. I’ll write again next post day. You must also write to Herr von Grimm, as I shall too. Herr Bullinger etc. etc. and all our good friends send their best wishes. Nannerl and I kiss you millions of times. I am your solicitous father

Mzt

Please give our good wishes to the whole of the Cannabich and Wendling households.

[
Postscript to Maria Anna Mozart
]

My Dear Wife,

I’ve replied above to the main matter concerning the journey to Paris with Herr Wendling: if it’s true about the 200 florins, then I’d like you and Wolfg. to remain together; but if there’s a problem here and insufficient certainty, you should pack everything together and go to Mainz at once. As soon as you arrived in Mannheim, you should have sought the help of young Herr Danner or someone similar and looked round for a private apartment without delay. You should have done this without listening to any of the objections that others may have raised: after all, I wrote and told you this often enough; but, to our detriment, you didn’t do so. You say that you wrote to inform me of Albert’s bill. I received
not a word
! I saw from your letters that both of you tossed them off in a hurry late at night, when you were both half asleep and that as a result you wrote down only the first thing that came into your heads: in short, you yourself don’t know what you wrote; and I bet you rarely read any of Wolfg.’s letters to me. My God! What prize specimens you are! – – I can well believe that your expenses have gone up with the general increase, but postal charges are still the same; and I’d already worked out that you’d spent a lot. In a word, if you’d read my letters properly, you’d have known what needed to be done even if you’d arrived penniless in Mainz. But that’s how things are! No one has
worked
more against Wolfg.
than Vogler
. I said so long ago to Herr Bullinger and Nannerl. If it’s true that you’ve received 200 florins from the Dutchman, I must consider how to get you back home, for it can’t be now, it
would be too cold for you now, as the cold is at its worst around Christmas and Twelfth Night: and how? In our chaise? – – On your own?––It must be given some thought. If only you were in Augsburg! Do you think Wolfg. will now take charge of his affairs? – I hope he’ll have got used to this and that his head won’t always be full of music. Keep well. I am your old husband

Mzt

The wretched actors arrived from Vienna 2 days ago.
Peringer
the clockmaker has died suddenly.

My Dear Wife and Dear Wolfg.,

We wish you both a very happy New Year! I pray to God that 1778 may bring us more contentment than the year that has just ended, we hope for this from God’s grace and mercy and from the talent, hard work and skill but especially the good heart of our dear Wolfgang, who will undoubtedly do everything to win glory, honour and money in order to save us and to prevent his father from being exposed to the scornful contempt and ridicule of certain persons whom I may not name but whose ridicule would undoubtedly be the death of me. His good fortune and fame will be our sweetest revenge, and indeed we have already had a foretaste of it. Count Starhemberg called on Count Arco while he was being bled. The conversation turned to Adlgasser’s death.
¹
Count Arco
: You’re stuck, aren’t you? – Young Mozart would have done you good service.
Count Starhemberg
: Yes, it’s true, he could have been a bit more patient.
Count Arco
: What, be patient? Don’t make me laugh! Who
could have predicted this sudden death? – – And even if they had done, what would you have given him
in addition to his shitty florins
? He’s done well to leave! People treated him abominably for long enough.
Count Starhemberg
: Yes, I must admit that he was very badly treated: everyone must admit that he’s the finest keyboard player in Europe. But he could still have been more patient.
Count Arco beside himself with anger
! Shit, yes! He’s doing very well in Mannheim, he’s found some good companions with whom he’s going to Paris, you’ll never get him back, it serves you right! The same will happen to Hagenauer!
²
Count Starhemberg
: The latter will now be receiving a salary from the start of the New Year.
Count Arco
: That’ll be nice, but even so: you’ve messed him around for long enough and led him by the nose. The conversation then turned to me, with Count Starhemberg claiming that he thought it
impossible to find a better teacher than me
. You’ll notice that Count Arco kept saying ‘you’ = Count Starhemberg and the rest of the company, in order not to have to name the prince and out of political expediency to shift the burden of guilt to his cronies on the other side of the river. As for Hagenauer, he’ll be going to Gurk with Prince Auersperg, the bishop of Gurk,
³
to design a building for him there. If the archbishop’s decision turns out badly, he’ll not object but he won’t be coming back.

I was just about to say myself that in future you should write only once a week; there’s not enough to write about at present to justify a letter each post day, and letters are so expensive. If I’ve anything to say, I’ll continue to write each post day, if not, you won’t hear from me on some post days, but I’ll always indicate this in the following letter.

I now have a lot of letters to write in any case as I’ve decided to activate a whole host of people in Vienna so that, if it’s still possible, I can obtain a letter of recommendation from the Viennese court to the queen of France.

Although you’ll have received the fullest account in Mannheim of
the critical state of the elector of Bavaria’s health,
⁴
I’m none the less copying out the report that I received from Munich dated 24 Dec. It reads:

Until now most of the intrigues and confusions at our court have been due to the Italian nation, and now it looks as though we are to lose His Excellency the Elector to them, too. Prince Gonzaga has a niece who has been studying for many years at the convent at Nymphenburg but who has been ill for most of that time; as a result the prince tookher to Italy, where, much against her old uncle’s wishes and intentions, she fell in love. And so he forced her to return with him to Munich, and the elector was obliged to make her a lady-in-waiting.

She’d been there, entirely against her will, for only a short time when she contracted smallpox of the worst possible kind. The doctors may not have realized what it was at the beginning, but the main point is that the Italians kept it a secret and covered it up for so long that in the end she had to stay at the Residence. – Normally everyone has to leave at the slightest sign of smallpox, and this includes even the courtiers and officers, who have to stay away from the court for 6 to 8 weeks if anyone in their household catches smallpox. Meanwhile they all spoke about this Marchesa Riva in the most painfully sympathetic tone in the elector’s presence, until the elector finally expressed a certain apprehension and even spoke about it himself: indeed, they were so thoughtless that on occasion they even took the elector past the staircase where her room was situated and where her staff were preparing her meals. – And so it was on the 9th of Decemb. that the elector suffered his first attack, including a headache. On the 10th the master of hounds tookhim hunting, and they remained away for 6 hours when the weather was extremely cold. In the evening there was the vigil for the Empress Amalia; once again they tookhim past the invalid’s room to the church of the Theatines, where he spent another hour in the cold. He’d suffered a severe shockwhile out hunting, when his postilion, who
was in charge of his relay horses, almost sankinto the bog with all 4 horses before his very eyes. – On the 11th he fainted on the privy, his headache got worse and his face turned all red, like a rash. He had to stay in his room – he was given some mild medication and told he was suffering from measles. He was still well on the 12th, 13th and 14th, but on the 15th things got so bad that his personal physician, Dr Sänfftel, told him to stay in bed. From then on things got progressively worse. They were reluctant to call off the plays in order not to alarm even further the general public, which was in any case already dismayed by events. This also explains why no public prayers were arranged until the Augustinian Fathers finally held a votive service on the 17th, and this was followed by others, with 3, 4 or 5 votive services held in the different churches by all the staff-officers – and every social class – indeed, by all the guilds and craftsmen, so that it’s impossible to describe the grief, the packed churches, the sight of people weeping and praying. The night of the 19th to the 20th and 21st was the most critical. On the night of the 20th to the 21st he was already close to death, and if his personal valet and his assistant equerry, Baron Segesser, who were with him all the time, hadn’t been present, we’d no longer have an elector. Others thought he was asleep, but these two men didn’t wait for the doctor on duty to run and fetch his personal physician, but instead decided to seize the elector and shake him violently, bringing him round and causing him to vomit, producing nothing but matter from his mouth, throat and nose. Since then the situation has improved; but we’re not yet out of danger
:

God will stand by us! He’s covered all over in pustules, but, thank God, they’re benign; but he’s in indescribable pain and the swelling has made him unrecognizable, while the whole of his back is sore from lying in bed. The electress is constantly at his side, apart from the few hours when she sleeps. Wotschitka was obliged to stay with the elector night and day and has now been struck down in turn, it’s thought that he too will get smallpox. It’s fortunate that the minister, Count
Berchem
,
⁵
didn’t die before the elector’s own eyes. He called
on the elector at a quarter to 3 on the 18th – then went home. Prince Zeil, Count Nogarola and Father Wigand dined with him, together with his wife and daughter and Lauretta Minuzzi. He tucked into the soup, and during the meat course he seized Prince Zeil’s hand and said: God, I feel ill, collapsed in his arms and was dead. Father Wigand from Waldsassen pronounced general absolution as fast as he could: so far the elector knows nothing of his death but has simply been told that he’s ill etc. –

My good friend, whom you already know, began his letter:
I’d have written to you long ago but I wanted to wait until our opera
⁶
had gone into rehearsal: so far, however, we’ve rehearsed only the first act, which is fairly easy and written in an extremely insipid style; at that point our prima donna, Madame Marggetti
– no doubt he means Marchetti –
fell so ill that she’s still at death’s door and they’ve written to Signora Flavis. I should add that in terms of his art and personality Herr Monza is exactly as you described him to me
. Here, then, you have the latest news from Munich. He also sent me his New Year greetings and 1000 good wishes to the two of you and asked me to let him know where you are and how things are going. – The verger at St Michael’s and the town chaplain
⁷
have both suffered strokes, both were saved by prompt help, including bleeding etc.: but one wonders for how long. – It’s just a stay of execution. They’re both old, and the town chaplain likes his glass of wine. Who do you think has been made organist at Holy Trinity? – – Herr Haydn!
⁸
Everyone finds it funny, he’s an expensive appointment. He drinks a quart of wine after every litany and sends Lipp,
⁹
who’s also a heavy drinker, to take the other services. – Herr Spitzeder is to teach keyboard to the choirboys until the matter has been properly decided. The players opened on St Stephen’s Day
¹⁰
with a beautiful piece,
Sophie, or The
Just Prince
.
¹¹
The theatre was so full that more than 60 people had to be turned away, but it was so badly performed that yesterday –
Sunday
– there wasn’t a living soul in the gallery and even the stalls were half empty. It’ll look even worse today. Yesterday Nannerl had supper with Hagenauer as I was in the chapel. I collected her at a quarter to 11. Pimperl is still in the best of health, although she’s in heat, although not too badly. She doesn’t leave the house, and no dogs are allowed in. Herr Deibl
¹²
calls in every week to enquire after you and to give you his best wishes. We now kiss you a million times, the sheet is full. I am your old