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6M

P6

A Mozart Jigsaw

By

Brian D. Freestone

Preface

This work is the result of a lifetime’s appreciation of the music of Mozart. It is a layman’s look at the great composer and concerns itself with several incidents in his short life. Part fiction based on fact and part fact; the work deals with various aspects of his life through some of the people he met. That he was so much in need of friends seemed to be a good standpoint from which to view him.

 

The letters of Mozart and his father, the Mozart Documentary by Otto Erich Deutsch are the main sources for this work. The stories, accounts, critiques, the play, the personal reminiscences, the observations and assumptions aim to get inside the skin of this fascinating man whose music still inspires us at a distance of more than two hundred years. Most events in this work did or could have happened.

 

We know much about Mozart’s life. Documents abound on his life story. His own letters and those of his father, Leopold tell us much about his activities yet there is still something elusive about his personality. We always want to find out more. When we hear his music for the first time we feel that it has always been with us. Many have described his work as perfect. This may lead one to think that it is dull. Nothing could be further from the truth. Indeed, great composers such as Beethoven, Elgar, Tchaikovsky, Richard Strauss and many others have found in his work great sources of inspiration which influenced their own individual paths.

This work is a personal interpretation showing a burning desire to capture the real essence of the man and his music. It has much the same wish to get to know him as that of Vincent and Mary Novello who visited Salzburg in 1829. They were collecting material for a biography of the composer whom Vincent worshipped. That he and Mary met Mozart’s wife, Constanze, his sister and sister in law on this selfsame visit can only have added to their delight.

 

I cannot really imagine what my life was like before I heard his music. He seems always to have been with me. This work sets out to share my fascination for and love of this vulnerable composer. Vulnerable he may have been in his own time, he is the most secure of composers in the hearts and minds of modern man. Writing this book has been a self-indulgent exercise which has brought Mozart closer to the author and consequently has brought even more delight than ever could have been imagined. It is a hope that the reader will gain something of that same delight.

 

Chapter Two. Royal Impressions.

Extract from diary of Queen Sophia Charlotte, Prince of Mecklenburg-Streilitz, wife of King George III. May 19th 1764. Buckingham House, St. James Park. “Today at court for the second time during the past few weeks I witnessed something quite extraordinary. It was such a special treat too since it was my 20th birthday. A little German boy, supposedly of eight years of age according to his father, although his small frame made him look more like a six year old, played the clavier and organ as if he were possessed. I could not believe it, neither could my dear husband George. Both of us were astounded and it takes something to astound George.

 

My husband has absorbed English manners, mastered the language and, unlike his two predecessors, the people regard him as an Englishman. That, I am sure, will be the way forward for him to gain the respect of his people. I am glad to say that already he is very popular which also reflects on me. I say this not out of self-centredness but because I am still finding difficulties with this language and have stayed a little in the background. After all I have been here for less than three years. George is such a well meaning, homely man, not always wise, but a real dear who always wants to do his best. That is why I love him, I suppose and I think he has grown to love me.

 

His manner is quite frank which made me wonder how he would receive the Salzburg family of Mozarts at court. I need not have concerned myself. The little boy charmed the king almost off his throne. The father, in his mid forties, old enough to be my father incidentally, his wife, a twelve year old daughter and the eight year old boy, were invited to entertain us in April, only five days after they had arrived in England. Their fame had spread before them. The father, Leopold Mozart, looked a little travel weary and I am not surprised. I gather he was quite ill on the boat in the Channel. The children, although pale and fragile, had survived the journey well. The little girl told me how amazed she was when she saw how the sea ebbed and flowed. She had never seen it before, living so far inland as she does. She could not stop talking about it. I suppose it was quite a wonder to her as it was to me when I crossed the Channel to become Queen just three years ago.

 

The family had dressed themselves up in their very best clothes, the father was particularly anxious, to the point of obsequiousness. I smiled to myself when I noticed the sweat stains on his coat under his armpits. They darkened the red coat to black. I felt for him since he wanted the audience to be such a success. He need not have worried. It was much more than a success. All four of the family impressed, the children more so than the parents. The mother was pleasant but lacking in personality, a shadowy figure. She was clearly not in the same musical league as the other three. When the king gave the signal, however, the father Leopold lifted the boy up onto the stool. I could hardly see him over the top of the clavier when he launched into playing. And what playing! Both George and I are lovers of music, I enjoy singing and I play the clavier to a reasonable standard. Or I thought I did until I heard this little boy. His dainty hands rippled up and down the keyboard, he played with such feeling as well as dexterity and you would have thought it was an adult playing so strongly did he play and with such mastery. He seemed to transport us into delightful realms we knew nothing about. I only hope one or other of my baby sons, George and Frederick will be able to play like that one day. The boy is still very reliant on his father, however, wanting assurances of love all the time. I can understand that. It must be quite strange for one so young to be living and performing in a country whose language one does not understand. I know that from my own experience however wonderful England is. I hope the family and particularly the boy will grow to love the country and English manners just as I have done.

 

One thing did make me laugh this evening, however. As we were settling down to hear the boy play, there was much rustling, shuffling of feet and fidgeting until everyone was ready. The boy showed great presence of mind and waited until you could hear a pin drop. He wasn’t going to play until everyone had given him their undivided attention. Quite right too. It is the height of bad manners to make a noise during such a performance like that. The girl played well but it was the boy who took our fancy. Brother and sister are obviously very fond of each other, you could see it in the way they played duets together, - as one. I cannot think how much practice they must have had to get to such a standard. Their father has taught them everything. From what I know and have witnessed today he must be one of the greatest music teachers of Europe. Their appearances at court, I hope, will ensure that they become fashionable in society and have a very successful tour. The concert lasted from 6 pm until 9 pm but time seemed to gallop past. We were so delighted with them that we gave the family a gift of 24 guineas and invited them back again. I could not tell from the father’s face whether he was pleased or not. I think he was just so overwhelmed and tense about his son’s court appearance. I don’t think other courts have been so generous or even as sincere in their appreciation of music. Nevertheless the father graciously accepted the gift. A week later George and I were in the coach going through St. James’s Park when we saw a family of four taking a leisurely stroll. Who should it be but the Mozarts. They had their everyday clothes on then but both George and I recognised them quite easily. How could we forget them, especially the little boy? The King stopped the coach, opened the window and waved to them. They were somewhat surprised but bowed graciously like good citizens. They were even more surprised when the King leaned out of the window and saluted the lad. George did so laugh when this diminutive figure returned his salute. He laughed all the way back to the Palace.

 

Author’s note.

* The Mozarts arrived in London on 23rd April 1764 and stayed until 24th July 1765. They lived in St. Martin’s Lane, then Chelsea and Soho. Thanks in part to the patronage of the King and Queen it was a financially successful tour.

* Nannerl and Wolfgang played at court on 27th April, 19th May and 25th October 1764 before King George III and Queen Charlotte.

* The Queen gave 50 guineas to the Mozarts for Six Sonatas for the harpsichord Opus 3 which were dedicated to her by Wolfgang in January 1765. It is known that she wrote a diary in a very careful copperplate style.