Mozart: A Life in Letters: A Life in Letters (45 page)

Wolfgang Amadè Mozart

My Dear Wife and Son,

In order not to miss your name day,
¹
my dear wife, I’m writing to you today, even though the letter will no doubt arrive a few days early. I wish you a million joys in being able to celebrate it once more and ask Almighty God to keep you well on this day and for many years to come and allow you to live as contented a life as is possible in this inconstant world theatre. I’m absolutely convinced that for you to be truly happy you need your husband and daughter. God in His unfathomable decree and most holy providence will do
what is best for us. Would you have thought a year ago that you’d be spending your next name day in Paris? – – However incredible this would have seemed to many people then, although not to ourselves, it is possible that with God’s help we may be reunited even before we expect it: for my one concern is that I am separated from you and
living so far away, so very far away from you
; otherwise we’re well, God be praised! We both kiss you and Wolfgang a million times and beg you above all to take great care of your health. –
The theatre of war has finally opened!
In Paris you’ll already know that on the 5th of this month the king of Prussia
²
entered Bohemia from Glatz and that he’s passed through Nachod and penetrated as far as Königgrätz. War was bound to break out as neither power could withdraw its armies without losing face. For several weeks Austria, with its marches and countermarches, has provided the king with occasional opportunities to make an incursion and launch an attack: but the king didn’t think it advisable to undertake such an attack; now the emperor
³
has established a very powerful
false arsenal
at Nachod, and this persuaded the king to attack. But the arsenal was a
feint
and contained only a semblance of the real thing. They had to take this risk, whatever the outcome, as Austria was neither able nor willing to be the aggressor, while the Croats were merely an advance guard (the only position in which they can really be used) and could barely be restrained any longer, as these people always hope to win booty, which is why they’re so keen to go to war. The Saxon troops have formed an alliance with Prussia, and it’s presumably true that they’ve joined forces with Prince Heinrich
⁴
and will no doubt attack
Eger
and the
Upper
Palatinate. More news will no doubt arrive with the next post: this came with the Austrian post on the 11th. This war will be one of the bloodiest, the king wants to die a glorious death, and the emperor wants to start his army life on an equally glorious note.
⁵

I wrote the foregoing yesterday, the 12th
. This morning, the 13th, shortly before 10 o’clock, I received your distressing letter of 3 July.
You can well imagine how we are both feeling. We wept so much that we could scarcely read your letter. – And your sister! – Great God in your mercy! May your most hallowed will be done! My dear son! For all that I am resigned as far as possible to God’s will, you’ll none the less find it entirely human and natural that I’m almost unable to write for weeping. What am I to conclude from all this – ? Only that even as I write these lines, she is presumably already dead – or that she has recovered, for you wrote on the 3rd and today is already the 13th. You say that after being bled she felt well, but that a few days later she complained of shivering and feverishness. The last letter from the two of you was dated 12 June, and in it she wrote –
I was bled yesterday
: so that was the 11th – and why was it done on a Saturday – a fast day?––I expect she ate some meat. She waited too long to be bled. Knowing her very well, I remember that she likes to put things off, especially in a foreign place, where she’d first have to enquire after a surgeon. Well, so the matter stands – it can’t be helped any longer – I have complete confidence in your filial love and know that you have taken all possible care of your mother, who is undoubtedly
good
, and that if God restores her to us, you will always continue to do so – your
good
mother, who always saw you as
the apple of her eye
and whose love for you was exceptional, who was exceedingly proud of you and who – I know this better than you – lived for you alone. But if all our hopes are in vain! Could we really have lost her! – Good God!
You need friends, honest friends!
Otherwise you’ll lose everything, what with the funeral expenses etc. My God! There are many expenses about which you know nothing and where strangers are cheated – taken for a ride – tricked – put to unnecessary expense and exploited if they don’t have honest friends: you can have no conception of this. If this misfortune has befallen you, ask Baron Grimm if you can store your mother’s effects at his house, so that you don’t have to keep an eye on so many things: or lock everything up, because if you’re often away for whole days at a time, people could break into your room and rob you. God grant that all my precautions are unnecessary: but you will recognize your father in this. My dear wife! My dear son! – as she fell ill a few days after being bled, she must have been ill since 16 or 17 June. But you waited
too long – she thought she’d get better through bed rest – by dieting – by her own devices, I know how it is, one hopes for the best and puts things off: but, my dear Wolfgang, diarrhoea when one has a fever requires a doctor to know if the fever should be reduced or allowed to run its course as medicines designed to reduce the temperature cause an increase in diarrhoea: and if the diarrhoea is stopped at the wrong time, the
materia peccans
leads to gangrene. – God! We are in your hands.

Congratulations on the success of your symphony at the Concert Spirituel. I can imagine how anxious you must have been. – Your determination to rush out into the orchestra if things hadn’t gone well was presumably just a wild idea. God forbid! You must put this and all such notions out of your head; they’re ill considered, such a step would cost you your life, which no man in his right senses risks for a symphony. – Such an affront – and a public affront to boot – would inevitably be avenged by the sword not just by
a Frenchman
but by all who value their honour. An Italian would say nothing but would lie in wait at a street corner and shoot you dead. – From Munich I’ve received reliable reports that Count Seeau has been confirmed as intendant of music for Munich and Mannheim; that a list of all the orchestral players has been sent to Mannheim; that the two orchestras will be combined and the worst players weeded out; Herr
Wotschitka
and the other
valets de chambre
have been pensioned off on a pension of 400 florins,
which surprises me
; Dr
Sänfftel
had the effrontery to demand 3000 florins for his treatment, whereupon he was stripped of his title and salary; finally, it is hoped in Munich that the elector and his wife, the electress, will be back in Munich with their entire court by 10 August. – I began this letter with my congratulations, – and Nannerl was planning to end it with her own. But, as you can imagine, she’s incapable of writing a single word, now that she has to write – each letter that she’s supposed to write down brings a flood of tears to her eyes. You, her dear brother, must take her place, if – as we hope and desire – you can still do so.

But no! You can no longer do so – she has passed away – you are trying too hard to console me, no one is as eager as that unless driven to it quite naturally by the loss of all human hope or by the event
itself. I’m now going to have some lunch, though I don’t suppose I’ll have much of an appetite.

I’m writing this at half past 3 in the afternoon. I now know that my dear wife is in heaven. I’m writing this with tears in my eyes but in total submission to God’s will! Yesterday was the annual celebration of the dedication of the Holy Trinity, so our usual target practice was postponed till today. I was unable to cancel it at such a late hour and didn’t want to either, in spite of your sad letter. We ate little, but Nannerl, who had cried a lot before lunch, was violently sick and had a terrible headache, so she went to lie down on her bed. Herr Bullinger and the rest of them found us in this deeply distressing situation. Without saying a word, I gave him your letter to read, and he acted his part very well and asked me what I thought of it. I told him that I was firmly convinced that my dear wife was already dead: he said that he was indeed inclined to suspect as much himself; and he then comforted me and as a true friend told me all that I had
already
told myself. I made an effort to cheer up and to remain so, while submitting to God’s most holy will, we finished our target practice and everyone left, feeling very saddened, Herr Bullinger remained with me and, without appearing to do so, asked me if I thought that there was any hope in the condition that had been described to us. I replied that I thought that not only was she now dead but that she was already dead on the day you wrote your letter; that I had submitted to the will of God and had to remember that
I still had 2 children who I hoped would continue to love me inasmuch as I lived only for them
; that I was so firmly convinced that she was dead that I’d even written to you, reminding you to take care of her succession etc. To this he said,
yes, she’s dead
. At that moment the scales fell from my eyes, scales that had been put in place by this sudden and unexpected turn of events, preventing me from seeing what had happened, for otherwise I’d have quickly suspected that you’d secretly written the truth to Herr Bullinger as soon as I’d read your letter. But your letter had really stunned me – at first I was too dumbfounded to be able to think properly. Even now I still don’t know what to write! You don’t need to worry about me; I shall play the man. But just think of your mother’s tender love for you and you’ll realize how much she cared
for you – just as when you reach maturity you’ll love me more and more after my death – if you love me –
as I do not doubt
– you should take care of your health, –
my life depends on yours
, as does the future support of your sister, who honestly loves you with all her heart. It is unbelievably difficult when death severs a good and happy marriage, but you have to experience that for yourself to know it. –
Write and tell me all the details
; perhaps she wasn’t bled enough? – – The only thing that’s certain is that she trusted too much in herself and called in the doctor too late; meanwhile the inflammation of her intestines gained the upper hand.
Take good care of your health!
Don’t make us all unhappy! Nannerl doesn’t yet know about Bullinger’s letter, but I’ve already prepared her to believe that her dear mother is dead. – Write to me soon – tell me everything – when she was buried – and where.
⁶
– – Good God! To think that I’ll have to go to Paris in search of my dear wife’s grave! – We kiss you both with all our heart. I must close as the post is leaving. Your honest and utterly distraught father

Mozart

Make sure that none of your things are lost.

Monsieur mon très cher et plus cher ami!

I’ve just received your letter of 15 July – I’d been longing for it so much and thought so much about it!
– Basta!
– Your esteemed letter reassures me – apart from its main contents, which made my blood boil – so that – but I’ll say no more – you know me, my friend – you’ll doubtless know what I felt when reading through your letter – I can’t avoid it – I must reply at once as I consider it very necessary – but I must ask you whether you’ve also received my letter of
29 June? – I sent you 3 letters in quick succession
¹
– one dated the
27th
and addressed to you direct – one on the
29th
to Herr Heckmann, and one on
3
July to the same address; now to the matter in hand: – have I not always said that the elector would choose to live in Munich? – I’ve already heard here that Count Seeau has been confirmed as intendant for both Munich and Mannheim! – I must now tell you something you need to know but which I can’t possibly entrust to any known language – you’ll soon find out what I mean; – in the meantime I hope that, whether the court moves to Munich or remains in Mannheim, your salary will be increased and that your daughter will receive a decent salary – so that your debts may all be paid and you can breathe a little more freely – things must get better in time – if not, our present situation is so good that we can afford to be patient – and wait for the right time – and as a result improve our situation by moving
elsewhere
; – my friend, if I had the sort of money that many people squander so disgracefully without having earned it; if I had it – oh, how happy I’d be to help you! – But unfortunately, he who can doesn’t want to, and he who wants to can’t! – Listen now; I wanted to use my influence – and perhaps not in vain – to bring you and your daughter to Paris this winter – but the position is this: Monsieur Legros, the director of the Concert Spirituel, to whom I’ve already spoken about my friend, can’t have her here this winter – because he’s already engaged Madame Lebrun
²
for this period – and
for the present
he’s not in the fortunate position of being able to pay 2 such persons according to their merit –
I’d not agree to anything else
– so there’s no money to be earned here – but it can certainly be arranged for the winter after next – I just wanted to tell you that if you can’t hold out any longer – really can’t – you could come to Paris – the journey, board and lodging, wood and light would cost you nothing – but that’s not enough, of course. You’d be able to get through the winter – there are private concerts – and I may be able to arrange something for you at the Concert des Amateurs; –
but what about the summer? – on the other hand, I’m not worried about the winter after next – you’d certainly be engaged by the Concert Spirituel – –
basta
, write and let me know what you think; – I’ll then do all I can; – my dearest friend! I’m almost ashamed to make you an offer which – even if you agree to it – is still uncertain – and not as advantageous as you deserve and as I desire! But – don’t ignore the fact that my intentions are good – the will is there; – I’d really like to help, but – I’m looking around to see if I can find anything – if the matter can be arranged; – wait; – I’ll see; – if it works – what I have in mind right now – – but you must be patient – – one should never force an issue, otherwise it goes wrong or else it doesn’t work out at all; – in the meantime press
as hard as you can
to get your salary increased and to get a good one for your daughter – keep writing to them – and, note well, if our heroine is to sing at court – and if
you’ve
received no reply – or at least not a favourable one to your application, don’t let her sing – pretend that she’s indisposed – do it often – I beg you; – and when you’ve done this on several occasions, then all of a sudden let her sing again – you’ll see how effective this is; – but it needs to be done with great subtlety and cunning; – you must seem to be very sorry that Aloysia is indisposed just when she has to perform – but note that if you do this 3 or 4 times
in a row
, people will realize that they’re being fooled! – but this is just what I want – and if she does then sing again, it must be made clear that she is just doing it to oblige! – She must not be fully recovered – she’s just doing her best to please the elector – you understand; – but at the same time she must make every effort to sing with all her heart and soul; – and at the same time it goes without saying that you must continue to make your entirely justifiable grievances known, both verbally and in writing – and if the intendant
³
or
anyone else
who you know
gossips about it
enquires after your daughter’s health – tell them as a great secret that it’s no wonder – the poor girl is suffering from a disorder of the mind that can scarcely be cured here – she has devoted herself to singing with great industry, has shown great application and has made real progress – which no
one can deny – but unfortunately she now realizes that all her trouble and hard work have been in vain and that her desire and eagerness to serve His Highness the Elector have come to nothing – and that she would have lost all her pleasure in music, have neglected herself and actually abandoned singing, had I not said to her: My daughter, your effort and your hard work have not been in vain; if people won’t reward you here, they’ll reward you elsewhere; – and that is what I intend; I can’t stand it any longer – I can’t have my child criticizing me any longer, however justified her reproaches may be; – and then – if he asks where you’re planning to go –
I don’t yet know
– put that in your pipe and smoke it! – But this is only if you think that all hope is lost – which I simply cannot believe; it’s impossible for the elector to keep her waiting any longer – if he sees that he can’t use your daughter without offering her a salary, he’ll be obliged to pay her as he really must have her – he positively needs her. – After all, who has he got in Mannheim? – Danzi?
⁴
– As sure as I’m writing this, she won’t stay. – And in Munich? – He won’t find anyone there so soon. – I know Munich like the back of my hand, I’ve been there 5 times – and so he has no choice – he can’t let her go there – and as for you, your chief grievance must always be your
debts
; – but now, so that you’re not made to look
foolish
, – in the event that nothing can be done (which I hope is not the case), you would do well to cast around in secret for a more secure appointment – but at a court, of course – and I too, rest assured, will do all I can. – As for yourself, my idea is that you should apply in secret to Mainz – you were there quite recently – there must be
someone
there who can do something and who’s in a position to do so – only don’t mention Seyler’s company
⁵
to me! – I couldn’t bear to think of your daughter – and even if she weren’t your daughter – even if she were a foundling – I’d be very sorry if anyone as
talented
as
she
is should fall among actors, as if she were good enough only as a stopgap – for the main thing about the Seyler company and, indeed, about all troupes is
always the plays – the singspiel is there only to give occasional relief to the actors – often only to give them time and room to
change
– and in general serves only as a distraction – you always have to think of your reputation – at least, I always think of mine – well, there you have my candid opinion – you may not like it, but with my friends I’m used to
speaking my mind
– in any case, you can do as you like – I’ll never take the liberty of telling you what to do – I’ll just advise you as a true friend – you see that I’m not obstinately resolved that you should remain in Mannheim – I’d love you to come to Mainz – but only with honour and reputation – my God, my delight at going to Mainz would be much reduced if I had to seek out your daughter among the actors – which could easily happen – it’s by no means impossible that I may go to Mainz – under contract, of course – this
just between ourselves
, of course – you, my friend, are the only person in whom I’ve confided my affairs, just as you’ve confided yours in me – something else: could you, my friend, bear to see your daughter acting with players in the very place where Mlle Hellmuth (who simply can’t be compared with her) is engaged at court? and where she has therefore been preferred to her?
⁶
– My dearest friend – let this be my ultimate and most extreme argument – I’m now going to repeat everything I’ve just said – it seems to me (you mustn’t take this amiss) that you easily get depressed – you soon lose heart – you abandon hope too quickly – you can’t deny this, as I know your circumstances – – they’re depressing, it’s true – but by no means as depressing as you imagine; I know how it pains and hurts an honest man to run up debts – I know this from experience – but if we examine things more closely, who is it who is running up these debts? – You? – No, the elector; if you were to leave today and not come back – and not pay your debts – you’d be entirely justified – and no one, not even the elector, could object – but – you don’t need to do this – you’re bound to find yourself in the position of being able to pay off these debts – and so I advise you to be patient until the winter after next – but meanwhile do your utmost to improve your situation
in Mannheim – and try to find another post elsewhere – if either of these alternatives comes off, so much the better – if not, then come to Paris the winter after next – by then I guarantee that you’ll be able to earn at least 60 louis d’or – meanwhile Aloysia will have made progress in both
singing
and, more especially,
acting
– during this time I’ll see if I can find an opera for her in Italy – once she has sung in an opera there, she’ll be made – if in the meantime Mme Lebrun comes to Mannheim – you should both make friends with her – she might be useful to you in London – she’s going there this winter – I’ll approach her at once; – although, as I’m sure you do not doubt, I’d prefer to see you here today rather than tomorrow, as a true friend I must dissuade you from coming here
this winter
in the way I’ve described (the only possible way at present) – first, it would be rather risky – and not exactly good for your reputation if you came here without an engagement – and, secondly, it’s very sad to have to be supported by someone else – yes, my God, if I were in the fortunate position of being able to support you free of charge, you could certainly come without having to fear for your reputation – as I swear to you on my honour that not a soul would know about it, apart from you and me – and they’d never discover it, – well, there you have my thoughts, opinion and advice; do as you think best – I would only ask you not to think that I’m trying to prevent you from setting out on your travels and attempting to persuade you to remain in Mannheim or to find an engagement in Mainz, simply because I myself have hopes of obtaining an engagement in one or other of these places – I mean, in order to have the pleasure of embracing you very soon – no, it’s because I’m convinced for many reasons that you should wait a little longer; yes, my dearest friend, if I could arrange for us to live together in the same place, happily and contentedly – I would, of course, prefer this above all else – this would suit me best of all – but rest assured that I value your happiness more than my own peace of mind and pleasure – and that I would sacrifice all my happiness to know that you were happy and contented – with full confidence in God that He will one day grant me the pleasure of seeing again the people whom I love so dearly with all my heart and soul – and perhaps – even of being able to live with them – and so you must be
patient, dearest, most beloved friend! – And in the meantime keep on looking out for something – now let me say just a little about myself – I simply can’t tell you what a dreadful time I’m having here – everything moves so slowly, and until you’re well known, nothing can be done in the matter of composition – in my previous letters I told you how hard it is to find a good libretto – from my account of the music here, you can easily imagine that I’m not particularly happy here – and that (between ourselves) I’m trying to get away from here as soon as possible; unfortunately Herr Raaff won’t arrive in Mannheim until the end of August – but he’ll then do what he can for me – so there’s perhaps some cause for hope – if this doesn’t work out, it’s more than likely that I’ll go to Mainz – Count Sickingen (whom I saw yesterday and to whom I spoke very positively about you) has a brother there – he himself made the suggestion – so I think it’s feasible – now you know my prospects, which have been kept a secret from everyone except the count, you yourself and me – but, however sad my present circumstances, there is nothing that grieves me more than my inability to be of help to you – as I should like to be – I swear this on my honour – adieu, my dearest friend, farewell; write soon – reply to everything – including my earlier letters, I beg you; give my best wishes to your dear wife and to all your dependants, and rest assured that I shall do everything in my power to improve your situation – if I hadn’t a father and sister for whom I must
live
more than for myself and whose livelihood I have to ensure – nothing would give me greater pleasure than to neglect my own interests – and to concern myself with your fate alone – because your well-being – your contentment – your happiness are synonymous with mine (if I may think of myself alone) – farewell –