| Title | : | Mozarts Letters, Mozarts Life |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0393328309 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780393328301 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 494 |
| Publication | : | First published August 1, 2000 |
Mozarts Letters, Mozarts Life Reviews
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4.5 stars.
I’m exhausted ‘for’ Mozart.
His genius cannot be denied, but oh boy, what a short life he had filled with so many struggles: years of touring as a ‘child prodigy’; trying to impress, appease and break from the authority of his father; striving for recognition from those reluctant to give him a steady job (position); having to continuously grovel for money; and navigating around his social status as a musician/composer.
From the editor and translator: “The archbishop regarded musicians, in the spirit of the time, as members of his household staff, obliged to serve at the whim of their master.” And, according to the order of rank at the servants table, “…musicians were of lower rank than valets.”
It amazes me that Mozart had such stamina for his craft under such hardships. Perhaps a true indication of his love of music despite all odds?
The arc of his letters revealed a cheeky (and often warped, smutty) toilet humour flavour which refined as he reached his twenties. However, a couple of personal messages to his wife, not long before his death, showed his bawdy side was still lurking…
There are so many letters, but I suppose that was the only means of communication back then. I shudder and grin to think what Mozart would have done if he had had access to social media platforms!
Salzburg prides itself with Mozart landmarks and festivals, therefore I was intrigued by Mozart's thoughts on his birthplace: “I swear on my honour that I can’t stand Salzburg and its inhabitants; I mean the native Salzburgians; I find their language – their manners quite insufferable…”
Given he rarely found recognition and happiness in other European cities and societies, maybe Mozart never got the opportunity to write about finding the grass was not always greener on the other side?
Despite the letters becoming repetitive at times (hence not quite a 5-star rating from me), the musical detail, and how Mozart experienced changes that we know today, were fascinating:
“If only we had clarinets in the orchestra! – You wouldn’t believe what marvellous effects flutes, oboes and clarinetti produce in a Sinfonie.” Of course, Mozart went on to compose one of our much-loved clarinet concertos.
My review does little justice to the copious letters presented in this book. I prefer to rely on the more informative, imaginative and brilliant reviews written by other Goodreaders. Most notably a recent one by J. O’Neill, a Mozart fan who captured the detail, essence, humour and heartache of Mozart’s letters extremely well. Look it up if you want more Mozart -
5 ⭐
Wolfgangerl, Woferl, Wolfi, Gnagflow Trazom… Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Amadeus Sigismundus Mozartus. The musical genius who, tragically, lived hardly long enough to pronounce his full name (only barely shorter than the mock latin one above). The benchmark; the exemplary child prodigy by which all future prodigies would be measured. How fortunate that he left us with so much personal correspondence, and how invasive yet simultaneously rewarding it feels to snoop over the maestro’s shoulder and get a sneaky peak at his most honest and private thoughts. So, what exactly does one so brilliant discuss with his most cherished family and friends?
Well, from his formative years until his early twenties, fart jokes mainly... Oh, and shit… shit and muck! You probably think I'm being flippant and fatuous so let’s hear a few pearlers from Mozart himself. I apologise in advance to those with their noses perpetually upturned:
”Pardon my poor handwriting, the pen is already old; now I have been shitting for nearly 22 years out of the same old hole and yet it’s not torn a whit! – although I used it often to shit – and then chewed of the muck bit by bit”
”Addio for now, I kiss my goode friends, and now I’ll go to the privy, and try to shit in a jiffy, and I remain the same old anus, Wolfgang et Amadeus Mozartianus augspurg…”
The coarsest of the correspondence is certainly what’s known as the Bäsle -Breife, a collection of 10 letters between Mozart and his Bäsle (“little cousin”), Maria Anna Thekla Mozart. These notorious letters led to the hypothesis that Mozart may have suffered from tourettes, as well as some uncertainty regarding the nature of the cousin’s relationship and whether it was entirely platonic. For the record, the tourette’s claim is absolutely bogus but the relationship was definitely questionable.
For those of a more button-down, austere leaning, fear not! For, no matter how big a fool Wolfi can appear at times he does grow out of the potty-mouthed stage and, when the topic turns to music, his voice undergoes its own transposition from jocular and jovial to jaw-droppingly brilliant, insightful and authoritative. There are some fantastic passages in which he critiques the work and/or instrumental capabilities of a number of his contemporaries and while he can occasionally be a little harsh in his judgements (like when he says of an 8-yr-old Nanette Stein, “Whoever can see and hear her play the piano without laughing must be like her father - made of Stone”), his critiques always offer something valuable and serve to illustrate his incredible wealth of musical knowledge, virtuosity and compositional talent, even at a very young age. He was special, even amongst the greats; they knew it, and he knew it:
"I say to you before God and as an honest man, [Mozart] is the Greatest Composer whom I know in person and by reputation: he has taste and, what is more, he has the most thorough knowledge of composition." - Joseph Haydn
”I asked [The Herr Dechant] to give me a theme, he didn’t want to, but one of the clergymen did. I took the theme for a walk, then in the middle of it – the fugue was in g minor – I changed it to major and came up with a very sprightly little tune, but in the same tempo, then I played the theme again, but this time assbackwards… The Herr Dechant was quite beside himself with joy. You have done it, that’s all I can say, I would not have believed what I just heard, what a man you are…”- Wolfgang Amadé
Along with his critiques are some excellent passages on Mozart’s ideal musical aesthetic including, amongst other things, his belief that "a composition should fit a singers voice like a well-tailored dress” (he composed Arias with specific singers in mind), or that "in an opera the Poesie must always be the obedient daughter of the Music” (a belief that often had him arguing with librettists). His extraordinary brilliance is displayed in a great number of anecdotes including his Father Leopold’s claim that, at 14 years old, Wolfgang wrote down, from memory, the score of Allegri’s Miserere (kept under lock and key by the Vatican) after hearing it just once in the chapel; or the fact that the much-revered Symphony no.35 (“Haffner”) was essentially a rush job completed begrudgingly and with a sigh at his Father’s request in amongst a host of other, dare I say more important, compositions he was trying to complete in Vienna. Prolific doesn’t even begin to do Mozart justice.
Mozart had an amazing ability to process painful events in a very logical manner and move on from them or even to “get the job done” amidst the pain and anguish. Whether he was just a very resilient individual or he was adept at hiding his pain beneath the face of a smiling, young larrikin is unclear. His life was full of adversity, pain and injustice. The unequivocal, and unrequited, love he had for Aloysia Weber dealt a blow that he brushed off particularly well, simply exclaiming, in typical Wolfgang style, "let the wench who doesn't want me kiss my ass!” and moving on to eventually marry her younger sister, Constanze Weber. They would have their own share of tragedy with only 2 of their 6 children surviving past infancy along with a peculiar illness that struck Constanze in Mozart’s final years; its treatment leading them into a state of financial ruin and perpetual debt.
The last 50 or so pages of the compilation contain letter after letter of a deflated Mozart begging his Freemason brother, Michael Puchberg, and others, for financial assistance. The Mozart’s financial hardship wasn’t made any easier by the scant nature of the Archbishops and Emperors of the time. Everyone seemed to have an unlimited supply of praise and well-wishes for the maestro but were seemingly never willing to back it up with monetary support or a permanent position.
While all of this was no doubt painful, the greatest source of Mozart’s anguish came from constantly striving for his father’s approval; an impossible task given that Leopold was an altogether unfulfilled man who placed all of the family’s financial burdens squarely on the shoulders of his young son. For much of his life, no one was closer to Wolfgang than Leopold Mozart who, apart from being his father, was also his Music Teacher and travel companion as they travelled much of Europe in Wolfi’s younger years, displaying his talent and building his renown as a young prodigy. At 22 Mozart travels with his mother to Paris while his sister, Nannerl, and Leopold stay in Salzburg. His mother dies of an undiagnosed illness and Mozart’s relationship with his father suffers. The letters between the two, which make up the bulk of the collection, never lack tension from the beginning though it seems that Leopold held Mozart accountable for his mother’s death and the already on-the-nose emotional manipulation is turned up a notch with Leopold exclaiming at one time "...Your whole intent is to ruin me so you can build your castle in the air... I hope that, after your mother had to die in Paris already, you will not also burden your conscience by expediting the death of your father." Incredibly harsh; I don’t recall a single time, throughout the entire pile of correspondence, where Wolfi had his Father’s support from the outset, he was always made to earn it.
It's interesting to note those who had the greatest influence on Mozart’s work. While he was highly original and more often than not broke from the standards of his time, there is a clear level of respect for and identification with the work of Joseph Haydn; Mozart was particularly influenced by his quartets. In his later years, Mozart also became interested in the fugal works of Johann Sebastian Bach and Georg Friederich Händel and began requesting his father send him contrapuntal compositions by Eberlin and Michael Haydn. I personally find the works of the final years of Mozart’s life to be, by far, his finest and can’t help but attribute it to his study of the work of these musical behemoths.
None of these were a particular surprise but Johann Christian Bach (the “English Bach”), son of JS Bach, was. JC Bach’s Italian Opera style was the number one greatest influence on Mozart’s compositional style! This is interesting as I believe I’ve also read of Beethoven praising the work of JC Bach as well. Perhaps an overlooked giant I need to look into further.
Robert Spaethling is the editor and translator of the edition I read and as far as I can tell, without being able to read German, Latin, Italian or French, he has done an outstanding job. I say this because the letters have such an authentic feel to them even translated into English. While Spaethling says that much of Mozart’s brilliant word play is lost in translation, I felt it was portrayed as well as is reasonable to expect. Spaethling resists the urge to beautify Mozart’s language which, particularly early on, was quite rough and with little concern for grammar or spelling. Where Mozart made errors, Spaethling stays true to them, making equivalent errors in English.
What really brings this collection together and elevates it to almost a more valuable level than an autobiography is the fact that Spaethling has organised the letters into a number of chronological blocks (eg.’First Italian Journey’ 1769-1771 or ‘Paris et Retour’ 1778-1779) and given us excellent little contextual introductions to these different eras as well as many of the individual letters, helping to give a more tangible idea of the life and times of Mozart as he wrote these letters. I think this is an absolute must-read for any Mozart fan.
Well, this has gone on long enough. Mozart remembers wisely when he says:
“My great-grandfather used to say to his wife, my great-grandmother, who in turn told her daughter, my grandmother, who repeated it to her daughter, my mother, who used to remind her daughter, my own sister, that to talk well and eloquently was a very great art, but that an equally great one was to know the right moment to stop.”
So I’ll leave it at that. Adieu. I kiss your hands a Thousand times, and embrace you with all my heart, and as long as I can draw breath I will remain your most obedient GR friend,
Jonathanus Amadeamundo Bendictus Pinachio O’Neill -
Just loved it...you know Mozart much better after reading his letters. What a character! 😄🎵
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When it comes to any book on Mozart I can be quite skeptical although I can't say that I'm an expert on ANYTHING. I am this way when it comes to finding the perfect opera recording as well.....and so on and so forth....But I can honestly say that i couldn't be happier with this translation. It almost reads like an autobiography. The annotations, commentaries and introductions are convienient as well.
An ABSOLUTE must read for Mozart fans! -
Invaluable read. Amazing. Beautiful and accurate word for word translations. Excellent notes. It feels almost wrong reading someone else's mail, but I feel like now I know Mozart as if I had known him in person.
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This is a wonderful book giving an incredible insight into Mozart's life. He was witty, cheeky and his genius shows no end. Endlessly desperate to please his father, many of the letters show their conversation. I very very much enjoyed this.
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This is the kind of book which has a subject that attracts me, but probably would never buy by myself. Luckily I received it as a gift, and what a wonderful read it was.
As an admirer of Mozart’s music and so far of being an expert on the matter, I read a couple of short biographies in the past. On the other side, I have never have experienced any long epistolary account. I always felt that letters did present a deviated version of the facts, almost with an advertising halo over themselves by definition. However, these letters were never intended to be published and this gives to the collection an inherent candidness. If there is some self promotion is aimed to his family or friends, specially his father.
It’s already legendary how foul mouthed was the musician. What is not so widely known is how creative was Mozart with words. These and a lot other personality tracks are patent in this letters. Sometimes naïve, sometimes harshly critical, never good with the finances, you name it, but one thing, not surprisingly he was always: An absolute professional with music. The way he expresses about his developing compositions is always transcendental. In these letters he rarely refers to music in purely technical terms. He is always taking about it as a living entity. ´In an opera the poesie must always be the obedient daughter of Music´ he tells his father. How interesting is to see how seriously he writes about music from the first letter at 14 years old to his last existing letter, months before he died, when he was 35, always in a serious way, apart from any other mood change or situation.
One thing that surprised me, is how he adapted his opera compositions, to specific singers and how he was engaged in the whole production process. Used as we are now, that the ‘classic’ music is an interpretation of a ‘timeless’ piece, made by someone who is not among us anymore, it is interesting to see the interaction of the artist with his work, for the first time.
Knowing Mozart’s music and his current universal fame it’s hard to think of him trying to get a decent job or even get fair payment for his compositions, but that was the reality of his entire life. Although he received the recognition for his greatest operas and as a consumed piano player in his day, he had to fight, till the day he died, to have a good stable income, something he never achieved. Can you imagine a court, having Mozart during weeks, desperate to have a post as Kappelmeister, just to deny the opportunity and then hire someone nobody remembers today? That happened a lot of times, and reading these letters a posteriori, you can feel the anguish of the situation, and well, think: Come on! This is Mozart, don’t you see! This struggle makes you get emotional when Mozart describes a success, as he expressed to his father when Die Entführung aus dem Serail opened: ...throughout the first act the people were hissing, but they couldn´t silence the loud shouts of Bravo during the arias...
To finish this review, just let me say. If you enjoy Mozart’s music already, buy this book. It will enrich your experience on his already wonderful compositions. It´s a magical window into another world. The very personal world of one of the greatest composers of western music. -
I love the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the man was simply a genius. I have been interested in his life ever since watching the wondeful film 'Amadeus'
I bought this book on the recommendation of my wife who said Mozart used to write some outrageous funny things in his letters and they were worth reading.
Admitedly some of Mozarts letters do contain some funny passages but by and large the letters are boring. They contain the sort of content anyone would write in a letter to ones family, what they've been doing, places they've seen, people they've met. Mozarts life was not what I would call 'exciting' hence his letters are not really that interesting. Mozart was an eccentric man meaning his letters were full of eccentric content often confusing and required some explanation. I found it too much of a chore to read the entire letter then read the text explaining what the letter said.
Of course this is only my opinion and i'm sure plenty of people would find them very interesting indeed just not me...
I also found the passages written in French or German an annoyance. Its an English printed book and I don't speak these languages so why include it in the book? -
"The perfect way to get started". By reading Mozart's letters in chronological order the reader not only learns about the big and small events in Mozart's life, but also gets a unique insight into the composers personality. Verry informative and an aboslute trhill to read.
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There were lots of interesting anecdotes and little bits of information about the historical era here, and I did not know before reading it that Mozart was fond of wordplay, but honestly, not a thrilling read. I'm not criticizing it for that; Mozart was known for his music, after all, not his writing, and nobody writes letters to their loved ones in the hopes that they'll be entertaining to some random person centuries in the future, but there is a lot of day-to-day minutia in here that can be really interesting if it's part of some kind of ongoing thing Mozart has written about in previous letters, but often you don't get that, presumably because it's from in-person conversations, or it's in response to someone else's letter, or the previous letter was lost in the mail. (In fairness, this also says some interesting things about sending mail in 18th century Europe.) I did enjoy getting an impression of Mozart as a person from these letters; he seems very earnest and enthusiastic, and not terribly shrewd. I also very much enjoyed the gossip and catty remarks about other musicians, even if I felt a bit bad for some of his students who just weren't very good at piano or composition or whatever other musical subjects he was meant to be teaching them.
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Awesome book. Lots of annotations to clarify what or who Mozart is writing about and lots of explanations as to what’s going on in his life between letters. Extremely well researched. Some personal feelings/assumptions from the author at times, but not over the top or unwarranted. I know letters are not meant to be for the public, but they’re certainly a personal, real glimpse into who he was as a quirky, lively person and composer/musician. He was well praised and respected in his own time, but it was still difficult to make a living as a freelance composer, performer, and teacher.
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Very interesting to get a view of the mind behind the Wunderkind! The changing of languages in mid letter point to his unparalleled brilliance and the grammatical errors… Here is an individual who had so much to write and accomplish and yet it seems the ever present demon like frenzy portends a man who knew his time on earth would be brief. So much energy that overpowered the channels available in 18th century!! Mozart is my favorite composer and as Hayden observed he was “The miracle God let be born in Salzburg”.
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...apparently he was quite funny!
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I'd like to know Mozart wrote besides music. I think we would have been fabulous friends had I been alive back then.
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This is so much fun ... Mozart's letters to his sister
are outrageous. -
A marvellous book
