Mozart: A Life by Maynard Solomon
finished 5/? ............ biography
............ rating 8 (summary)
Beginnings
The first six chapters relate the character of Mozart's father Leopold. Mozart's talent and Leopold's management of his son's education and early career. (Mozart is almost always called Mozart and his father is called always Leopold.)
The word "impresario" is used frequently to describe Leopold Mozart. From Wikipedia: "Figuratively, it refers to anyone who flamboyantly takes a leading role in organizing or orchestrating something intended to entertain an audience, such as music festivals, business conferences, and web sites." <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impresario>
Chapter 1 -
Leopold Mozart
Mozart's father was a troubled and difficult man. He started an education for the clergy but his disinterest or illness or rebellion led him to be retained in school or withdraw or expelled. He wanted to be a musician and left his family and Augsberg connections to play and compose in Saltzberg. After his marriage (for which he lied on the papers) and determination to remain in Saltzberg, his family ties in Augsberg were severed completely. In Saltzberg he continued to have troubles. He wrote a pamphlet which resulted in charges of heresy and libel. He apologized and remained on the payroll of the Archbishop but he detested the clergy and all authority and especially the rich or nobility. "He remained constitutionally incapable of simple obedience to his superiors, and his deep resentment of authority frequently erupted in imprudent words or actions." (pg 29)
But he was a competent musician and composer and wrote a popular book on his violin method (still in print today - check Amazon <http://tinyurl.com/zxthu> $65). He'd given up his family and connections in Augsberg but although he was now a responsible citizen he was still restless to do something that would bring him fame and fortune. He found his calling in the education and promotion of his children, Wolfgang and Marianne Mozart. The children were raised in strict accord with Catholic traditions.
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Leopold's background is important because of the impact he had on his son's life. Leopold came to have some "issues" and a good deal of Solomon's book is given to examining these from the standpoint of Freudian and/or pop and common sense psychology.
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Chapter 2
Early Days
Mozart's mother, Anna Maria Pertl, was from a Catholic family of musicians. She and Leopold had seven children but only two lived, Mozart and his elder sister Marianne. Marianne started piano lessons when she was about seven years old and Mozart was 3. He copied her and spent hours at the keyboard finally making up his own system of notation to write a little musical piece. His father took notes about Mozart's progress in the music practice book he had made for Marianne. Mozart's desire to learn was phenomenal and could be all-consuming. He picked up the violin at the age of 6 and taught himself to play. But he also loved tricks and pranks.
Leopold was a supreme teacher who inspired his students to excellence and personal devotion. But Mozart wanted to go beyond the expectations, always achieving more. Leopold was the children's only teacher and they learned reading, writing, arithmetic, history, geography as well as Italian, French and Latin.
But Mozart's forte was music and he learned to play early and well mastering accurate sight reading with perfect speed and timing. He also learned to improvise in all the prevailing styles. He very quickly skimmed to reach the octave stretches with his little fingers.
Leopold knew that his son was unusual and on his 6th birthday took him to Munich to play for the elector, stopping in other cities and churches, amazing everyone who heard him. The court paid the Mozarts well for their performances and gave them gifts besides. So the family started the tours of aristocrats and cities and towns where they performed for incredulous audiences. The Archbishop in Saltzberg was very happy with this because it enhanced the reputation of his city.
Chapter 3
The Grand Journey
The Mozart family then went on their 3 1/2 -year Grand Journey (1763-1766). He was feted and touted as the "child genius" and both Mozart and his sister, also quite talented, performed. They made a lot of money and Leopold became obsessed with this aspect. He retained his position in Saltzberg because the tour was good for the Archbishop's reputation.
Leopold had left Saltzberg a good reliable musician but he returned as a person of great renown. Mozart performed beyond all expectations . The child prodigy was now known worldwide for his genius. And because it was the "child prodigy " who stayed in the minds of the public, the myth of the "Eternal Child" was born.
The performances became somewhat vaudevillian with blindfold tricks and so on, advertised like a circus and available to all with the money to attend. He and Marianne played serious pieces also but the nobility stopped attending in such numbers due to the carnival atmosphere. Nevertheless, Mozart's skills continued to grow and his sight-reading, improvisations and compositions continued to amaze. Solomon details what Mozart's work to show his development. Collaboration with his father continued and although he was still a child he was developing into a very real musician with talents and skills worthy of the name.
Mozart and his sister were ill from time to time and gravely ill several times. In The Hague Marianne was given Last Rites but recovered. Mozart was so ill he was mute for 8 days and it took the children 4 months to recover enough to return to Saltzberg. Leopold feared that his plans were not to come about but he deeply loved his children and their health came first.
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This begins to sound a bit like Michael Jackson's early days with an ambitious, show-biz pushy father exploiting the talent of their young. Checking the internet, I'm not the only person to see this.
*****
Chapter 4
The Family Treasure
Leopold became obsessed with money and his letters to friends are filled with the details of income and expenses. He used this fear to keep Mozart playing. During the 1760s he was preoccupied with making more money and when he got it, he became obsessed with losing what he (the family) had. In letters to Saltzberg he started minimizing the income and overstating the expenses but overall Solomon estimates the profit by 1767 (the end of the Grand Journey) to be between 12,500 and 16,500 florins or 50 times Leopold's annual salary of 250 florins and this is not counting the innumerable expensive gifts from admirers. Leopold was careful and except for an expensive investment in opera later, the earnings remained in tact.
Leopold came to see his son as a miracle the likes of which had never been seen in music. He believed himself to be divinely charged with presenting this miracle to a skeptical world, of bringing light to darkness. Any interference was deemed heretical. Leopold had found his meaning in life.
Mozart himself was very submissive and truly desired to please his father who remained very strict. Actually, Mozart exceeded the high standards Leopold set. Mozart wanted to move quickly, he wanted to be accomplished, he was his own motivation. Leopold was instructing Mozart as a practical musician who could perform some tricks. Mozart was essentially training himself in the art and theory of music.
For creativity and autonomy, Mozart developed his own realm with fantastical stories which he shared with his sister about a kingdom where he was the sovereign and there were no adults.
Chapter 5
A Vienna Sojourn
The family returned to Saltzberg where, although Leopold worried, they were admired and after only 10 months, allowed to leave again, still on payroll of the Archbishop, this time for Vienna. Mozart continued to improve his composing skills and Solomon details this by discussing the pieces Mozart was working on. But this time the reception and financial benefits were not so impressive. Leopold got more worried "that Mozart's appeal of a child virtuoso was fading." So after a few other ideas, Leopold had Mozart try composing a full opera buffa. Mozart may have been past the "child virtuoso" stage but he wasn't ready for a full opera in Italian for presentation to the Emperor.
And the authorities in Saltzberg didn't like it either. Leopold had been postponing a return to Salzberg in an effort to find a permanent position in Vienna but that wasn't turning out. The archbishop in Vienna heard about that, too, and took Leopold off the payroll when he wasn't in Saltzberg. The Mozarts lost both money and prestige on the "Vienna Sojourn" but it wasn't a total loss as Mozart did work at concerts and composing and gained in experience - as did Leopold.
Chapter 6
The Italian Journeys
Two years later Mozart and Leopold visited Italy on the first of three separate but related trips. The first trip was longest at almost 2 years, and the other trips were follow-ups. The father and son bonded on these multi-city, multi-appearance trips. They stayed in Naples for six weeks during which time Mozart worked on an opera for Milan which he finished in that city.
Leopold was a bit nervous. "My son's opera has been received most favorably in spite of the great opposition of his enemies and detractors who on hearing a single note had spread the rumor that it was a barbarous German composition... The calumniators kept on spreading most evil reports." But the opera came off fine and the two finally went home (although Leopold tried to postpone it).
Right after they got home, Mozart was invited to compose for a royal wedding in Milan so off they went again. This time it was for only about 3 months and a few cities. The wedding piece was a success and a repeat performance was demanded.
The third trip was to write a second opera for the city of Milan and was not so successful. But Mozart was busily composing, especially symphonies which show the influence of Milan.
In various cities throughout this trip Mozart was given a series of public trials in composition, improvisation, performances and examinations the results of which the "masters and professors of music" agreed was "a miracle in music and one of the freaks Nature causes to be born, a Ferracina to humiliate the Mathematicians and a Corilla to degrade the poets." (pg 84) In Rome Mozart heard the music of Allegri's Misere which was so beautiful it was not allowed to be copied or repeated outside of the chapel. He wrote it down which was seen as a credit to him. (pg 88-89)
Leopold was more than happy about the fact that Mozart had taken Italy "by storm." Although there were some rebuffs, "ungraciousness," and general political opposition, Leopold had established Mozart's reputation as a serious composer and keyboard artist in Italy! Mozart was at a point where he was not quite outgrown from the wunderkind but he was beginning to show skills as a mature musician. He had no personal style as yet but the fact that Italy had accepted him was incredible because Italy had been the center of European music but now that center was shifting north.
And the financial reward was great, especially on the first journey. Leopold started minimizing the income and exaggerating the expenses. Then he stopped talking about it. Bottom line, Italy had a pay-off equal to the Grand Journey and Mozart had surpassed that with his talent. But Leopold started boasting and their clothes became finer with silver lace on colorful silk. (see <http://www.mozartforum.com/photo%20page.htm>).
Mozart formed friendships with boys his own age whom he met along the way. He wrote loving letters to his sister and mother in Saltzberg. He bonded with his father. His mother had wanted the family to come and let him know, but Leopold had thought it too expensive and probably interfered with his autonomy in impresario (his son) and entrepreneurial (his book) activities. (not sexual autonomy)
Leopold didn't want to go home but he finally had to. In Saltzberg he was not so popular anymore. He had been looking for positions elsewhere was unreliable, peripatetic and generally discontented. The year was 1773 and Mozart was now 17, no longer a little child.
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I had the feeling that Leopold's insecurity was heightened by not having his regular salary and knowing that Mozart would grow up. He wanted security for his son (and himself) and so was seeking employment for both of them in other cities, employment which would pay better and last longer.
Chapter 7
The Favorite Son
As of 1773, when Mozart is 17 years old, the Mozart family is back in Saltzberg and much of the time until he relocated in 1780, at the age of 24 were good years. Mozart was "regarded as the shining jewel in the Saltzberg crown" Saltzberg produced his failed Viennese opera and the old archbishop who died and the new archbishop continued to support him by giving him commissions and othe work.
Mozart produced numerous works for him own use as well as for commissions from patrons and nobility, the court, the church, family, and his many, many friends. They recommended him to each other as many were related. Solomon describes these pretty well, I guess ... (see my note below:)
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This book is way over my head when Solomon starts naming the symphonies, serenades, divertimentos, chamber music, concertos and masses, describing them and analyzing them. For someone who wants to research when he composed some certain work this book would probably be a pretty good source.
****
Mozart may have viewed Saltzberg as his home but he was used to travel and wanted to start again almost as soon as he and his father returned. But Leopold couldn't bear to be separated and didn't trust Mozart's judgement in travel and business matters. They tried to find a new patron in Vienna or in Munich where they visited but nothing was to be found and Leopold got suspicious about Saltzberg gossip and "enemies." The employment by the Archbishop of Saltzberg deteriorated because he knew the ambitions of the Mozarts and the court had done much for them and the new archbishop was cutting back anyway. Mozart was very unhappy and complained in writing to a friend. Word got around and Leopold wrote a letter to the court lecturing the archbishop and pleading that he be allowed to be "released from service." Mozart put his own name to it. The archbishop obliged both Mozarts and told them to seek employment elsewhere. A few days later Leopold was ill because he had been dismissed due to a letter requesting permission to travel. (lol) (pg 112-113)
In search of employment, Mozart left for Paris with his mother. And Leopold petitioned to be reinstated which he was. While Leopold was granted a lot of leeway in his employment, he did have to provide service of various kinds to the court. Except for a brief visit to Vienna, he never again left Saltzberg.
"Leopold Mozart's protracted flight from authority and responsibility which had begun when he quit the lyceum in Augsburg and which for the last fifteen years had carried him throughout Europe in the dress and equipage of a gentleman, was now at an end. .... His career as a bourgeois impresario had collapsed and he had fallen once again into the feudal service for a prince who deeply resented him." (pg 114)
Chapter 8
A Composer's Voice
Mozart had not developed his own style. But the times were such that to have a "style" precluded the classicism to which they aspired. The artist was to subordinate the self, suppress the individuality, to tradition. Inspiration is to come from external sources, not from within the artist. But although Mozart had no definable style of his own, he was a master at imitating the styles of the day.
"In general, nothing is ever wholly 'new' in Mozart's repertory, but is instead a brilliant combination of existing compositional materials." (quoting Jamison Allanbrook on pg 119)
This is why Mozart never really came under the "anxiety of influence" that happens when an artist has to break free of the influences on his work to produce something original. In Mozart's day one couldn't go "beyond" without repercussions. One had to develop the same way more perfectly. The teaching was to copy the masters. The musical past was not a "melancholy burden" but an opportunity to be grasped.
Mozart may have had a different anxiety, an "anxiety of originality, " which surmises that if a work is original it stands apart and is therefore not a part of the divine. But he knew that if he were to rise above the standard musician and be a great composer, he had to find some originality without being too original.
He did this through the serenades which had traditionally been tranquil pieces, full of grace and cheer, appropriate for weddings and social occasions. To do this he started by strengthening the Saltzburg Serenade, making dance music a bit more exuberant, and adding "deepening the feeling" of the works. Mozart only wanted a bit of change, keeping the idyllic and disrupting the insipid sentimentality.
The rest of the chapter goes on into more detail about how Mozart accomplished the subversion of including his own creative individuality into the genre music of the day. ]
As a personal matter, Mozart is also trying to establish his own identity in relation to his father. But Mozart "becomes a separate individual in his music before he becomes on in reality; his music forecasts his own future."
Chapter 9
A Fool's Errand
Leopold's idea for Mozart's future was that he should accept a position in some other court as kapellmeister (music director) . Then the whole family could move to that court city. Until such a position was offered, he should stay in Saltzberg in the employ of the archbishop.
Mozart's idea for his future was the same, but until such a position was offered he should travel and become known and keep his name available giving concerts, teaching, composing on commission. Leopold was horribly upset by that kind of "cheapening" and he said that there would not be enough money in it. (in reality, Leopold was afraid he would lose control if his son was not directly under his thumb.)
Basically, Mozart couldn't get the kind of position he wanted because he was too young, only 22, and inexperienced for such a prime position.
No jobs are offered. Mozart convinces his father that he should travel but
Chapter 10
Mozart in Love
This is a very convoluted chapter and it's hard to tell when who does what. The upshot is that after a bit of travel (not the kind of tour Mozart wants) Mozart does not accept reasonable positions that are offered and his father possibly hides other offers. Leopold is waiting for Paris or Munich or something big. Mozart wants Mannheim because he's fallen in love. Leopold finally just wants Mozart back in Saltzberg.
Mozart has fallen in love with his first cousin and also with another musician. This scares Leopold horribly. But the cousin, Anna Mozart, is scared off by Leopold and the incest idea, while Aloysia Lange gets a good job.
Mozart and his mother try living in Paris for awhile. Mom going at Leopold's insistence. Leopold couldn't go because he wouldn't be able to draw his salary if he left). but it was very hard going there. Mozart doesn't make the kind of money he needs although he does work very hard. He misses the girlfriends. His mother gets sick and dies there.
Chapter 11
A Mother's Death
It was just too hard for Maria-Anne Pertl Mozart to live in Paris. They are poor and the rooms are very cold. She is ill and complains to Leopold but Leopold is either broke or too tight to send money. Leopold blames Mozart for her death because Mozart wanted to go to Paris. Mozart fights back but maybe believes it. Solomon goes into a lot of speculative psychoanalysis here (and elsewhere in the book).
Chapter 12
Trouble in Paradise
This chapter examines the development of Mozart's music as he makes fledgling attempts at some very small distinctions. He is seeking independence in his music and from his father and Solomon examines each, as well as the relationship, in different ways. Mozart is starting to use some dissonance in his work, some surprises, the A-minor Sonata especially and in his adagio / andante archetype. He is not his father, consigned to producing standard fare. Rather he is expressing his sense of loss and yearning and he had to produce two final adagios to get it right.
Chapter 13
Parallel Lives
If no one else noticed, Mozart is living out his father's life; like father like son. . "He" tried to leave but Mom/ Leopold wouldn't let him. Mom/Leopold disapproves of marriage and it ends in being disinherited. Leopold has to fight for his own independence in both profession and marriage and succeeded to a great extent, considering he came from bookbinders. <http://www.mozartproject.org/biography/mozart_l.html> Mozart has to fight for his independence just like his father did, and then outdoes his father in career success.
Leopold was miserable and blamed his son but at the same time was fearful that his son would die or abandon him by marrying. His fears and resentments pushed him to a place where he could no longer distinguish reality from fantasy. Mozart's mother was no longer there as a buffer and generally agreed with Leopold anyway so there wasn't much comfort lost.
Mozart tried to placate his father but had to give it up because Leopold's needs were bottomless. Mozart would need to completely and totally acquiesce to accommodate him - and even that would not have been enough for Leopold's pathological need for complete domination. (pg 217)
Leopold tabulated the amount that Mozart owed him and Mozart, having nothing better to do, went back to Saltzberg to his father and worked toward paying off this debt with the goal of leaving then. But Leopold would never admit to his son's debt being paid. It was this scenario that forever labeled Mozart as the "Eternal Child."
The family which started as four individuals over time, became one entity under Leopold's complete control. To leave was to severe the unit. To leave was to force Mozart as well as Leopold to stand independently. (Solomon is very much into the psychological analysis.)
Chapter 14
Farewell to Salzberg
Mozart and his sister were close in the last years in Saltzberg. He also produced new, but restricted, music at steady rate and he performed a few times. On the outside he looked happy but according to Saltzberg, he was "leading a life of anxious depression over the enormous disparity between his powers and his opportunities." (pg 226)
Mozart's ambition was to be a composer of operas and although he had little chance for that in Saltzberg, he did learn from a troupe that came, through. Finally, he was offered a commission for an opera in Munich and with his father's assistance began work on it. He left for Munich and produced his first operatic masterpiece. In letters Leopold urged his son to not aim too high, to avoid the new and strange. According to Solomon Leopold was deliberately holding Mozart back for the father's own purposes. The whole family was together for the opening in Munich.
As much as Mozart and Leopold both wanted it, this successful opera did not land him a permanent position. In leaving Munich Leopold went to Saltzberg and Mozart accompanied the Archbishop to Vienna for a "show-off" tour.
Mozart stayed and lived in Munich for the rest of his life.
Vienna
15 Arrival
In March of 1781, at the age of 25, Mozart arrived in Vienna and started giving performances for the nobility immediately. He battled with the Saltzberg archbishop over his pay and freedom and finally the archbishop said "be off!" and Mozart took that as a dismissal. Leopold was upset but Mozart tried to convince him that the money and prestige of Vienna would enhance his standing. Leopold didn't care and Leopold meddled.
And Mozart finally saw that he could not change his father and learned how to say no for himself. But no prompts guilt so he invited his father and sister to live in Vienna but saying it would be better in a year. Leopold complained of everything and listened to rumors of romance.
Leopold had been collecting a past debt from Mozart for the Paris trip but Mozart knew that this must now be paid off. He said no to Leopold's constant requests for money and he didnt't mention his earnings in his letters.
He had some money but not enough to marry. If he told his father any of that his father would either beg or rage.
16 Constanze
Mozart wanted to marry the third daughter in the family with whom he was living. He was accused of chasing the pretty one. Of being there for the money. His letters indicate he was a virgin and he was certainly ready for a woman (pg 256) And finally, convincing Constanza Weber to marry him he fit himself into her family, adopting them, in a way, since he had irreconcilable differences with his own.
Constanze was plain, good-natured and hardworking, middle child. She shared Mozart's humor and eroticism and he felt protective of her. But Mozart had to get Leopold's permission and Leopold was not giving it no matter how Mozart begged in his letters. And her parents were a bit worried about Mozart's stability. Finally, Mozart just stopped waiting for Leopold to grant permission, stop waiting for all the families to be in line, and he and Constanze just up and got married in the Cathedral. Leopold's consent letter arrived the day after the wedding along with a very angry letter.
What with his relocation from Saltzberg and now the marriage, Leopold's fears had reached fever pitch and he essentially disowned Mozart, saying that he would have to do it on his own. This is essentially the same scenario as Leopold played out with his own mother.
17 Two Families
But Mozart and his father kept writing letters and for the most part maintained some civility. Leopold did some copying work for his son for which he was paid with a bit extra. But then Constanze was pregnant
After procrastinating and turmoil, Leopold was not asked to be the Godfather/namesake. And Mozart also procrastinated visiting Saltzberg, but they did go for 3 months and were warmly received by the town if not the archbishop and his family. Mozart wanted to reconcile but Leopold was just openly hostile and Marianne only somewhat less so. But Mozart did work in those months, mostly church music.
Because the visit to Saltzberg only deepened the rift between the families, Mozart found himself even freer but this is when he became closer to his wife's family, especially Frau Weber, his mother-in-law. When Leopold visited them two years later Mozart had fully established himself as a "loving son-in-law." And Solomon psychoanalyzes his subject on the subject of mothers.
18 Adam
While he was creating a new independent self, Mozart decided to rename himself. He'd played with his name for some time creating Amadeo in the middle, then Amade, and finally Adam for Wolfgang Adam Mozart. He tried other variations. Was this a new beginning? I think Solomon believes so and goes into some more psychological reasons for the change including the idea of a possible "expulsion from Eden." (pg 281) Whatever. Mozart did take control of his own life after 25+ years of identity crisis, "Who am I?"
19 The Impressario
Mozart looked for work. At first he gave performances and music lessons and very slowly he completed some compositions. As time went on his letters to his father had more information about his career successes. Within a year Mozart had a small following of aristocrats, giving regular performances and making a reasonable living. He still wanted a permanent post with the imperial family which, although at times imminent, continued to elude him.
He thought about looking for the position elsewhere but always changed his mind. Vienna was home now. He and a musician friend gave a series of open-air summer concerts and he was also composing other works. This was a lot of work for a young musician but he had a goal. He wanted to produce an opera.
Mozart was now his own "impresario" for he was doing his father's job as well as his own and he was having great success. Solomon details the numerous compositions; Mozart was obviously inspired. Mozart had very high earnings which he was spending , too, but it is really unknown on what although it has been suggested that he had a gambling habit and very much enjoyed billiards. (pg 299)
Finally, he started to want the opera more and the performances less. His fingers, according to some sources, were "so bent by the constant playing that he couldn't even cut his meat." (pg 301) but that could have been a condition from several bouts of rheumatic fever.
Mozart finally got to write his opera, "Le nozze di Figaro" (Marriage of Figaro) but there were problems with censors, Leopold figured it was Mozart's "enemies" who were behind it. It did get performed, however, and appeared to be a great success but not a lot of money.
Mozart had been a free agent for awhile, now he was dependent on the promoters, the managements and on fees from publishers and patrons.
20 Portrait of a Composer
This chapter describes Mozart in a number of ways. Physically he was a small maybe delicate man with a tenor singing voice. He liked to dress well and after his marriage he ate well. He was cheerful and hard working, up by 6 composing, teaching, lunch then off maybe home or to a concert until 6 and then at work until nine then social calls and then work until one or so. He composed rapidly composing more than one work at a time using sketches and drafts.
He had a very active social life which included a variety of characters from nobility to artists and pleasure-loving crowd. There were even some old Saltzbergers in his circles. Joseph Haydn was a special friend but they didn't see each other often. Hayden regarded Mozart as a genius and Mozart regarded him as his mentor and teacher.
They worked together and knew many of the same people. Mozart may have looked to Haydn as a sort of father figure in addition to best friend and good brother and saw himself as coming to the same level professionally. He complained about most musicians and composers as had his father.
Mozart was very generous but could be quite firm. He liked "comforting trivialities," a new watch, a red coat, a good joke, a household pet.
21 Freemasonry
In 1785, after almost 5 years in Saltzberg the 29 year old Mozart joined the Masons. He was an active and loyal participant and even composed some songs for them. Emperor Joseph II used the Freemasons for propaganda but there were schisms.
There were two kinds of Masonic lodge, one was the solid, anti-Rosecrucian, rationalist and enlightened group. The other group was unorthodox even delving into the occult. A secret center was perceived and many masons left because that went against the spirit of freedom of thought. Suspicions arose between and within the groups.
Mozart belonged to the rationalist, enlightenment oriented group of Habsburg Masons. A decree from the crown prohibited certain occult type activities and more masons left but not Mozart. He seems to have sympathies with the inner circle of illuminati but never officially one of them. One group of Masons turned into the Jacobins, intent on reform and even revolution. There is no evidence that Mozart leaned that way. There are some who would join him with the Rosecrucians but Mozart didn't lean that way either. Mozart was a mason and a rationalist and belonged to illuminati lodges until his death.
He did benefit a little big from the membership but more than that he liked the idealism, the undogmatic approach to religion, the self-development, the humanitarianism, the ideals of equality, liberty, tolerance and fraternity. He was attracted to the rituals and the sense of being closer to the sacred. It was like an extended family.
But the family of Freemasonry split along ideological lines and the fracture was so deep that Mozart considered starting his own society but it's not known why.
22 The Zoroastrian Riddles
Over the years, Leopold and Mozart shared riddles, something they both enjoyed. Leopold saved Mozart's by giving them to a local newspaper without sharing Mozart's name. They were supposedly only for fun but morals were taught through them and Mozart would use them to hurt his father. Constanze's second husband defaced many of them.
Solomon gives several examples of Mozart's riddles but is more interested in what is mentioned in the riddles themselves than in solving them. Many have to do with mythology mixed with the sacred and dangerous, hence the name Zoroatrian riddles. They were also full of codes and secrets and so on. He sent many to his father daring him to solve them. (These were sometimes painful ones comparing his mother to Frau Weber and so on.)
Meanwhile Mozart was involved in the carnivals celebrated during Lent in Catholic countries. He wrote music for these and dressed up in costume, performed and wrote riddles for them.
When Leopold went to Vienna to visit Mozart he was astonished by Mozart's hard work and intense life. Mozart became aware of the competition between them and Mozart was determined to win in many areas. He put on a little show of all his talents and the household and his whole life.
Solomon then outlines more riddles and examines them for concealment and revelation of Mozart's inner life.
23 The Carnivalesque Dimension
Mozart was quite liberal taking up the cause of the victims and railing against injustice. He fantasizes retribution without regard for social position. But he was always careful and skeptical, so didn't align himself with political characters. Rather Mozart prefers to play.
And carnivals were the time for play. It "suspends time." (pg 356) It allows people to be somewhat obscene and vulgar. It's a time for letting go of inhibitions and enjoying the body and the spirit. Mozart celebrates the bawdy. And it's all an attempt to defeat mortality but it always loses.
The Masonic lodge experience did the same thing with its rights and ideals of equality and fraternity.
24 Fearful Symmetries
Mozart came to be associated with a special kind of musical beauty. This chapter has many examples of Mozart's notations revealing the serenade style of beauty; the symmetrical patterns are obvious. Now Mozart is trying to explore some kind of "new" element in beauty. This is the mature Mozart.
Only the expert can detect the irregularities from which these harmonics are constructed so that the result is "a delicately balanced tension between form and disorder, a precarious negotiation of the fragile borders that separate the familiar from the alien. " (pg 373) There's a tinge of melancholy and strangeness to Mozart's mature works. Beauty is death's close neighbor.
After discussing that for awhile Solomon refers to Freud for the idea that "all organic life is a tendency or instinct 'impelling it towards the reinstatement of an earlier condition." And then he examines the death - beauty metaphor from that perspective.
Beauty in Mozart is made up of classical and nonclassical, proportion, symmetry, order and decorum *and* their opposites. (pg 379) There are also lots of kinds of beauty and lots of kinds of opposites. "it perhaps is only when we feel the power of Mozart's music to bruise us that we can discover its enchanted healing power as well."
IV Endings
This Section is 131 pages and 8 chapters long.
25 - Little Leopold Leopold was very anxious to influence children. He brought two students back from Vienna with him for tutoring. They did not turn out to be geniuses (he thought Mozart was the result of his own wonderful instruction). So he took Marianne's small son to raise. Leopold died before the child was 5. This was hidden from Mozart who had his own children by now.
26 = "Carissima sorella mia" Mozart and his sister probably always loved each other, they had been close as children, but she didn't rebel and they lost touch. She married the rich magistrate (who had 5 children) of her father's choosing and gave her son to her father also. Leopold used Marianne to blame or convince Mozart for various things. Mozart learned of his father's death through a friend and the estate was left to Marianne to keep and sell and divide but there was much conflict and the result was far from satisfactory. The break was complete. Solomon does his calculations. The conflict between the siblings continued bitterly.
27 - Prague and Beyond Mozart traveled to Prague where he performed their favorite Figaro and he earned many commissions. He returned to Vienna where he composed the opera Don Giovanni and went back to Prague for the performance. He had to go elsewhere and return to Vienna even if the money was better in Prague. But then the Emperor Joseph II (Holy Roman) hired him as chamber composer. His operas did well and he was composing and for the most part, life was good. Although his income was high, Mozart's expenses were higher, as usual. So he borrowed and then borrowed again. Then the very costly war against Turkey ended and where under Emperor Joseph he would probably have got an increase in commissions, the new Emperor Leopold was more thrifty and less interested in a cultural life. Things were tightening up in Vienna so, per usual Mozart, he left.
28 The Journey to Berlin Mozart went through Prague, Dresden, Leipzig on their way to Berlin and when they got there the king was so upset he didn't see them. So Mozart gave a concert first. He finally traveled to Prussia but the records are so incomplete it's not even known if he performed there. He and Constanze exchanged letters regularly but at least four were "lost;" speculation abounds and Solomon explores the possibilities. Mozart tries to reassure Constanze of his love and loyalty but ... Constanze was unconvinced and so is Solomon. The press went a bit wild after Mozart's death but there is no supporting evidence of the alleged promiscuity.
29 A Constant Sadness Mozart knew that he lived by virtue of the high-born music lovers and their patronage and gifts. He had to learn to encourage them process and he did this well. He learned to cadge money, gifts and loans. But still he couldn't stay ahead of his expenses. He was constantly sad according to a letter with an ominous sense of an oppressive void within." (pg 459) This was partly because of the loss of his father who had rejected Mozart's children. Mozart's successes were slacking off and he seemed to be on a downhill slide so he started becoming a bit more inventive and dramatic and finally broke through with a "merger of fugato and sonata form." These incredible works "established him as a self-conscious artist, persuaded of his mission, who never again wanted to waste his gifts." (pg 462) But he paid for his creativity for a short time with audiences turning away.
This was the beginning of the end. He wrote fewer works, and his circumstances deteriorated. Mozart was not asked to play for the new emperor to Frankfort for his coronation but he went on his own - rebelling?
Solomon speculates that Mozart may have been fulfilling his father's judgement and prophesy; that this deterioration may have been self-punishment. He had bonded and now a split was developing in his psyche and unable to be rebellious or compliant, caught in a downward spiral to mutually reinforcing melancholy and failed productivity.
30 The Last Year Somehow he started composing for the imperial court again and received commissions from Prague and Vienna. He had been so bad off he'd been pawning Constanze's jewelry but now things were looking up. Mozart was finally appointed assistant Kappelmeister at Vienna and should the old Kappelmeister die, he would be next in line. He was very productive but also busy with family matters as Constanze had a foot ailment. She went to a spa and there are more reports of infidelities. Mozart was apparently unable to resist temptation. (pg 479) But Mozart claims that he longs for Constanze to the point of melancholy (which may have been brought on by a whole number of other things). He tried various remedies but nothing really worked.
31 The Final Journey A legend has Mozart writing his own Requiem Mass via a strange commission and mysterious messenger on horseback. But the legend may be partly true. He received a secret commission for a Requiem but he had opera work to finish first. He worked extremely hard, with long hours on many projects until he became ill and still he continued to work even under medical treatment. He was going to save his family from financial difficulties (like when he was the miracle child). And he did it. And he burned out.
Constanze said that Mozart thought he was being poisoned, his early symptoms could have been those of persecution anxiety and Constanze was unable to reassure him. Finally he was bed-ridden and in great pain, his feet and hands were swollen and immobilized. He was vomiting and he had a fever and he remained conscious for hours. He probably died of rheumatic fever which he had had before. But there were rumors of poisoning by Salieri and these were not refuted by the physicians and due to vomiting, no autopsy could be performed.
Solomon goes into the details of Mozart's funeral and burial. It was cheap and quiet as per custom at the time. There had even been a decree a few years earlier stipulating sack burials in mass graves and many people did that, even some of the well-off. Anyway, Mozart may have stipulated no superstitious rites, including last rites and coffin burial.
Constanze was able to get a pension and then use Mozart's name for concerts finally making enough to gain some measure of prosperity.
Marianne wrote a biography as her father had wished but it didn't suit Constanze so she had one written. They eventually compromised and when Marianne read the Constanze version she was moved to sisterly feelings. The two reconciled but events remained conflicted over burial sites.
32 The Power of Music And Solomon reiterates his theories of Mozart's music and how it has to clash before coming to peace, tranquility must be earned. Mozart's later operas are unsettling with doubling of images and historical irregularities. "It is profoundly troubling to be drawn by the power of music into empathetic collusion with murderers tyrants, kidnappers, seducers, rapists and misogynists." "It shows us redemptive qualities in scoundrels."
But his main question is, "How do we make things right?" And his answer is marriage - the ultimate transformation. It's not alwasy enough to resolve the conflict in the audience but it ends the show. And if it's not enough, well, try a bit of comedy, a carnival, a last gasp line of "things could always be worse."
Music was what saved Mozart and his work from despair and led it to transformation. "There is an unexceptionable utopian affirmation - love, marriage, the good society, brotherhood, innocence, virtue, reconciliation and a need to believe in the power of music."
THE END!!!!!
The first six chapters relate the character of Mozart's father Leopold. Mozart's talent and Leopold's management of his son's education and early career. (Mozart is almost always called Mozart and his father is called always Leopold.)
The word "impresario" is used frequently to describe Leopold Mozart. From Wikipedia: "Figuratively, it refers to anyone who flamboyantly takes a leading role in organizing or orchestrating something intended to entertain an audience, such as music festivals, business conferences, and web sites." <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impresario>
Chapter 1 -
Leopold Mozart
Mozart's father was a troubled and difficult man. He started an education for the clergy but his disinterest or illness or rebellion led him to be retained in school or withdraw or expelled. He wanted to be a musician and left his family and Augsberg connections to play and compose in Saltzberg. After his marriage (for which he lied on the papers) and determination to remain in Saltzberg, his family ties in Augsberg were severed completely. In Saltzberg he continued to have troubles. He wrote a pamphlet which resulted in charges of heresy and libel. He apologized and remained on the payroll of the Archbishop but he detested the clergy and all authority and especially the rich or nobility. "He remained constitutionally incapable of simple obedience to his superiors, and his deep resentment of authority frequently erupted in imprudent words or actions." (pg 29)
But he was a competent musician and composer and wrote a popular book on his violin method (still in print today - check Amazon <http://tinyurl.com/zxthu> $65). He'd given up his family and connections in Augsberg but although he was now a responsible citizen he was still restless to do something that would bring him fame and fortune. He found his calling in the education and promotion of his children, Wolfgang and Marianne Mozart. The children were raised in strict accord with Catholic traditions.
***
Leopold's background is important because of the impact he had on his son's life. Leopold came to have some "issues" and a good deal of Solomon's book is given to examining these from the standpoint of Freudian and/or pop and common sense psychology.
***
Chapter 2
Early Days
Mozart's mother, Anna Maria Pertl, was from a Catholic family of musicians. She and Leopold had seven children but only two lived, Mozart and his elder sister Marianne. Marianne started piano lessons when she was about seven years old and Mozart was 3. He copied her and spent hours at the keyboard finally making up his own system of notation to write a little musical piece. His father took notes about Mozart's progress in the music practice book he had made for Marianne. Mozart's desire to learn was phenomenal and could be all-consuming. He picked up the violin at the age of 6 and taught himself to play. But he also loved tricks and pranks.
Leopold was a supreme teacher who inspired his students to excellence and personal devotion. But Mozart wanted to go beyond the expectations, always achieving more. Leopold was the children's only teacher and they learned reading, writing, arithmetic, history, geography as well as Italian, French and Latin.
But Mozart's forte was music and he learned to play early and well mastering accurate sight reading with perfect speed and timing. He also learned to improvise in all the prevailing styles. He very quickly skimmed to reach the octave stretches with his little fingers.
Leopold knew that his son was unusual and on his 6th birthday took him to Munich to play for the elector, stopping in other cities and churches, amazing everyone who heard him. The court paid the Mozarts well for their performances and gave them gifts besides. So the family started the tours of aristocrats and cities and towns where they performed for incredulous audiences. The Archbishop in Saltzberg was very happy with this because it enhanced the reputation of his city.
Chapter 3
The Grand Journey
The Mozart family then went on their 3 1/2 -year Grand Journey (1763-1766). He was feted and touted as the "child genius" and both Mozart and his sister, also quite talented, performed. They made a lot of money and Leopold became obsessed with this aspect. He retained his position in Saltzberg because the tour was good for the Archbishop's reputation.
Leopold had left Saltzberg a good reliable musician but he returned as a person of great renown. Mozart performed beyond all expectations . The child prodigy was now known worldwide for his genius. And because it was the "child prodigy " who stayed in the minds of the public, the myth of the "Eternal Child" was born.
The performances became somewhat vaudevillian with blindfold tricks and so on, advertised like a circus and available to all with the money to attend. He and Marianne played serious pieces also but the nobility stopped attending in such numbers due to the carnival atmosphere. Nevertheless, Mozart's skills continued to grow and his sight-reading, improvisations and compositions continued to amaze. Solomon details what Mozart's work to show his development. Collaboration with his father continued and although he was still a child he was developing into a very real musician with talents and skills worthy of the name.
Mozart and his sister were ill from time to time and gravely ill several times. In The Hague Marianne was given Last Rites but recovered. Mozart was so ill he was mute for 8 days and it took the children 4 months to recover enough to return to Saltzberg. Leopold feared that his plans were not to come about but he deeply loved his children and their health came first.
*****
This begins to sound a bit like Michael Jackson's early days with an ambitious, show-biz pushy father exploiting the talent of their young. Checking the internet, I'm not the only person to see this.
*****
Chapter 4
The Family Treasure
Leopold became obsessed with money and his letters to friends are filled with the details of income and expenses. He used this fear to keep Mozart playing. During the 1760s he was preoccupied with making more money and when he got it, he became obsessed with losing what he (the family) had. In letters to Saltzberg he started minimizing the income and overstating the expenses but overall Solomon estimates the profit by 1767 (the end of the Grand Journey) to be between 12,500 and 16,500 florins or 50 times Leopold's annual salary of 250 florins and this is not counting the innumerable expensive gifts from admirers. Leopold was careful and except for an expensive investment in opera later, the earnings remained in tact.
Leopold came to see his son as a miracle the likes of which had never been seen in music. He believed himself to be divinely charged with presenting this miracle to a skeptical world, of bringing light to darkness. Any interference was deemed heretical. Leopold had found his meaning in life.
Mozart himself was very submissive and truly desired to please his father who remained very strict. Actually, Mozart exceeded the high standards Leopold set. Mozart wanted to move quickly, he wanted to be accomplished, he was his own motivation. Leopold was instructing Mozart as a practical musician who could perform some tricks. Mozart was essentially training himself in the art and theory of music.
For creativity and autonomy, Mozart developed his own realm with fantastical stories which he shared with his sister about a kingdom where he was the sovereign and there were no adults.
Chapter 5
A Vienna Sojourn
The family returned to Saltzberg where, although Leopold worried, they were admired and after only 10 months, allowed to leave again, still on payroll of the Archbishop, this time for Vienna. Mozart continued to improve his composing skills and Solomon details this by discussing the pieces Mozart was working on. But this time the reception and financial benefits were not so impressive. Leopold got more worried "that Mozart's appeal of a child virtuoso was fading." So after a few other ideas, Leopold had Mozart try composing a full opera buffa. Mozart may have been past the "child virtuoso" stage but he wasn't ready for a full opera in Italian for presentation to the Emperor.
And the authorities in Saltzberg didn't like it either. Leopold had been postponing a return to Salzberg in an effort to find a permanent position in Vienna but that wasn't turning out. The archbishop in Vienna heard about that, too, and took Leopold off the payroll when he wasn't in Saltzberg. The Mozarts lost both money and prestige on the "Vienna Sojourn" but it wasn't a total loss as Mozart did work at concerts and composing and gained in experience - as did Leopold.
Chapter 6
The Italian Journeys
Two years later Mozart and Leopold visited Italy on the first of three separate but related trips. The first trip was longest at almost 2 years, and the other trips were follow-ups. The father and son bonded on these multi-city, multi-appearance trips. They stayed in Naples for six weeks during which time Mozart worked on an opera for Milan which he finished in that city.
Leopold was a bit nervous. "My son's opera has been received most favorably in spite of the great opposition of his enemies and detractors who on hearing a single note had spread the rumor that it was a barbarous German composition... The calumniators kept on spreading most evil reports." But the opera came off fine and the two finally went home (although Leopold tried to postpone it).
Right after they got home, Mozart was invited to compose for a royal wedding in Milan so off they went again. This time it was for only about 3 months and a few cities. The wedding piece was a success and a repeat performance was demanded.
The third trip was to write a second opera for the city of Milan and was not so successful. But Mozart was busily composing, especially symphonies which show the influence of Milan.
In various cities throughout this trip Mozart was given a series of public trials in composition, improvisation, performances and examinations the results of which the "masters and professors of music" agreed was "a miracle in music and one of the freaks Nature causes to be born, a Ferracina to humiliate the Mathematicians and a Corilla to degrade the poets." (pg 84) In Rome Mozart heard the music of Allegri's Misere which was so beautiful it was not allowed to be copied or repeated outside of the chapel. He wrote it down which was seen as a credit to him. (pg 88-89)
Leopold was more than happy about the fact that Mozart had taken Italy "by storm." Although there were some rebuffs, "ungraciousness," and general political opposition, Leopold had established Mozart's reputation as a serious composer and keyboard artist in Italy! Mozart was at a point where he was not quite outgrown from the wunderkind but he was beginning to show skills as a mature musician. He had no personal style as yet but the fact that Italy had accepted him was incredible because Italy had been the center of European music but now that center was shifting north.
And the financial reward was great, especially on the first journey. Leopold started minimizing the income and exaggerating the expenses. Then he stopped talking about it. Bottom line, Italy had a pay-off equal to the Grand Journey and Mozart had surpassed that with his talent. But Leopold started boasting and their clothes became finer with silver lace on colorful silk. (see <http://www.mozartforum.com/photo%20page.htm>).
Mozart formed friendships with boys his own age whom he met along the way. He wrote loving letters to his sister and mother in Saltzberg. He bonded with his father. His mother had wanted the family to come and let him know, but Leopold had thought it too expensive and probably interfered with his autonomy in impresario (his son) and entrepreneurial (his book) activities. (not sexual autonomy)
Leopold didn't want to go home but he finally had to. In Saltzberg he was not so popular anymore. He had been looking for positions elsewhere was unreliable, peripatetic and generally discontented. The year was 1773 and Mozart was now 17, no longer a little child.
*************
I had the feeling that Leopold's insecurity was heightened by not having his regular salary and knowing that Mozart would grow up. He wanted security for his son (and himself) and so was seeking employment for both of them in other cities, employment which would pay better and last longer.
Chapter 7
The Favorite Son
As of 1773, when Mozart is 17 years old, the Mozart family is back in Saltzberg and much of the time until he relocated in 1780, at the age of 24 were good years. Mozart was "regarded as the shining jewel in the Saltzberg crown" Saltzberg produced his failed Viennese opera and the old archbishop who died and the new archbishop continued to support him by giving him commissions and othe work.
Mozart produced numerous works for him own use as well as for commissions from patrons and nobility, the court, the church, family, and his many, many friends. They recommended him to each other as many were related. Solomon describes these pretty well, I guess ... (see my note below:)
****
This book is way over my head when Solomon starts naming the symphonies, serenades, divertimentos, chamber music, concertos and masses, describing them and analyzing them. For someone who wants to research when he composed some certain work this book would probably be a pretty good source.
****
Mozart may have viewed Saltzberg as his home but he was used to travel and wanted to start again almost as soon as he and his father returned. But Leopold couldn't bear to be separated and didn't trust Mozart's judgement in travel and business matters. They tried to find a new patron in Vienna or in Munich where they visited but nothing was to be found and Leopold got suspicious about Saltzberg gossip and "enemies." The employment by the Archbishop of Saltzberg deteriorated because he knew the ambitions of the Mozarts and the court had done much for them and the new archbishop was cutting back anyway. Mozart was very unhappy and complained in writing to a friend. Word got around and Leopold wrote a letter to the court lecturing the archbishop and pleading that he be allowed to be "released from service." Mozart put his own name to it. The archbishop obliged both Mozarts and told them to seek employment elsewhere. A few days later Leopold was ill because he had been dismissed due to a letter requesting permission to travel. (lol) (pg 112-113)
In search of employment, Mozart left for Paris with his mother. And Leopold petitioned to be reinstated which he was. While Leopold was granted a lot of leeway in his employment, he did have to provide service of various kinds to the court. Except for a brief visit to Vienna, he never again left Saltzberg.
"Leopold Mozart's protracted flight from authority and responsibility which had begun when he quit the lyceum in Augsburg and which for the last fifteen years had carried him throughout Europe in the dress and equipage of a gentleman, was now at an end. .... His career as a bourgeois impresario had collapsed and he had fallen once again into the feudal service for a prince who deeply resented him." (pg 114)
Chapter 8
A Composer's Voice
Mozart had not developed his own style. But the times were such that to have a "style" precluded the classicism to which they aspired. The artist was to subordinate the self, suppress the individuality, to tradition. Inspiration is to come from external sources, not from within the artist. But although Mozart had no definable style of his own, he was a master at imitating the styles of the day.
"In general, nothing is ever wholly 'new' in Mozart's repertory, but is instead a brilliant combination of existing compositional materials." (quoting Jamison Allanbrook on pg 119)
This is why Mozart never really came under the "anxiety of influence" that happens when an artist has to break free of the influences on his work to produce something original. In Mozart's day one couldn't go "beyond" without repercussions. One had to develop the same way more perfectly. The teaching was to copy the masters. The musical past was not a "melancholy burden" but an opportunity to be grasped.
Mozart may have had a different anxiety, an "anxiety of originality, " which surmises that if a work is original it stands apart and is therefore not a part of the divine. But he knew that if he were to rise above the standard musician and be a great composer, he had to find some originality without being too original.
He did this through the serenades which had traditionally been tranquil pieces, full of grace and cheer, appropriate for weddings and social occasions. To do this he started by strengthening the Saltzburg Serenade, making dance music a bit more exuberant, and adding "deepening the feeling" of the works. Mozart only wanted a bit of change, keeping the idyllic and disrupting the insipid sentimentality.
The rest of the chapter goes on into more detail about how Mozart accomplished the subversion of including his own creative individuality into the genre music of the day. ]
As a personal matter, Mozart is also trying to establish his own identity in relation to his father. But Mozart "becomes a separate individual in his music before he becomes on in reality; his music forecasts his own future."
Chapter 9
A Fool's Errand
Leopold's idea for Mozart's future was that he should accept a position in some other court as kapellmeister (music director) . Then the whole family could move to that court city. Until such a position was offered, he should stay in Saltzberg in the employ of the archbishop.
Mozart's idea for his future was the same, but until such a position was offered he should travel and become known and keep his name available giving concerts, teaching, composing on commission. Leopold was horribly upset by that kind of "cheapening" and he said that there would not be enough money in it. (in reality, Leopold was afraid he would lose control if his son was not directly under his thumb.)
Basically, Mozart couldn't get the kind of position he wanted because he was too young, only 22, and inexperienced for such a prime position.
No jobs are offered. Mozart convinces his father that he should travel but
Chapter 10
Mozart in Love
This is a very convoluted chapter and it's hard to tell when who does what. The upshot is that after a bit of travel (not the kind of tour Mozart wants) Mozart does not accept reasonable positions that are offered and his father possibly hides other offers. Leopold is waiting for Paris or Munich or something big. Mozart wants Mannheim because he's fallen in love. Leopold finally just wants Mozart back in Saltzberg.
Mozart has fallen in love with his first cousin and also with another musician. This scares Leopold horribly. But the cousin, Anna Mozart, is scared off by Leopold and the incest idea, while Aloysia Lange gets a good job.
Mozart and his mother try living in Paris for awhile. Mom going at Leopold's insistence. Leopold couldn't go because he wouldn't be able to draw his salary if he left). but it was very hard going there. Mozart doesn't make the kind of money he needs although he does work very hard. He misses the girlfriends. His mother gets sick and dies there.
Chapter 11
A Mother's Death
It was just too hard for Maria-Anne Pertl Mozart to live in Paris. They are poor and the rooms are very cold. She is ill and complains to Leopold but Leopold is either broke or too tight to send money. Leopold blames Mozart for her death because Mozart wanted to go to Paris. Mozart fights back but maybe believes it. Solomon goes into a lot of speculative psychoanalysis here (and elsewhere in the book).
Chapter 12
Trouble in Paradise
This chapter examines the development of Mozart's music as he makes fledgling attempts at some very small distinctions. He is seeking independence in his music and from his father and Solomon examines each, as well as the relationship, in different ways. Mozart is starting to use some dissonance in his work, some surprises, the A-minor Sonata especially and in his adagio / andante archetype. He is not his father, consigned to producing standard fare. Rather he is expressing his sense of loss and yearning and he had to produce two final adagios to get it right.
Chapter 13
Parallel Lives
If no one else noticed, Mozart is living out his father's life; like father like son. . "He" tried to leave but Mom/ Leopold wouldn't let him. Mom/Leopold disapproves of marriage and it ends in being disinherited. Leopold has to fight for his own independence in both profession and marriage and succeeded to a great extent, considering he came from bookbinders. <http://www.mozartproject.org/biography/mozart_l.html> Mozart has to fight for his independence just like his father did, and then outdoes his father in career success.
Leopold was miserable and blamed his son but at the same time was fearful that his son would die or abandon him by marrying. His fears and resentments pushed him to a place where he could no longer distinguish reality from fantasy. Mozart's mother was no longer there as a buffer and generally agreed with Leopold anyway so there wasn't much comfort lost.
Mozart tried to placate his father but had to give it up because Leopold's needs were bottomless. Mozart would need to completely and totally acquiesce to accommodate him - and even that would not have been enough for Leopold's pathological need for complete domination. (pg 217)
Leopold tabulated the amount that Mozart owed him and Mozart, having nothing better to do, went back to Saltzberg to his father and worked toward paying off this debt with the goal of leaving then. But Leopold would never admit to his son's debt being paid. It was this scenario that forever labeled Mozart as the "Eternal Child."
The family which started as four individuals over time, became one entity under Leopold's complete control. To leave was to severe the unit. To leave was to force Mozart as well as Leopold to stand independently. (Solomon is very much into the psychological analysis.)
Chapter 14
Farewell to Salzberg
Mozart and his sister were close in the last years in Saltzberg. He also produced new, but restricted, music at steady rate and he performed a few times. On the outside he looked happy but according to Saltzberg, he was "leading a life of anxious depression over the enormous disparity between his powers and his opportunities." (pg 226)
Mozart's ambition was to be a composer of operas and although he had little chance for that in Saltzberg, he did learn from a troupe that came, through. Finally, he was offered a commission for an opera in Munich and with his father's assistance began work on it. He left for Munich and produced his first operatic masterpiece. In letters Leopold urged his son to not aim too high, to avoid the new and strange. According to Solomon Leopold was deliberately holding Mozart back for the father's own purposes. The whole family was together for the opening in Munich.
As much as Mozart and Leopold both wanted it, this successful opera did not land him a permanent position. In leaving Munich Leopold went to Saltzberg and Mozart accompanied the Archbishop to Vienna for a "show-off" tour.
Mozart stayed and lived in Munich for the rest of his life.
Vienna
15 Arrival
In March of 1781, at the age of 25, Mozart arrived in Vienna and started giving performances for the nobility immediately. He battled with the Saltzberg archbishop over his pay and freedom and finally the archbishop said "be off!" and Mozart took that as a dismissal. Leopold was upset but Mozart tried to convince him that the money and prestige of Vienna would enhance his standing. Leopold didn't care and Leopold meddled.
And Mozart finally saw that he could not change his father and learned how to say no for himself. But no prompts guilt so he invited his father and sister to live in Vienna but saying it would be better in a year. Leopold complained of everything and listened to rumors of romance.
Leopold had been collecting a past debt from Mozart for the Paris trip but Mozart knew that this must now be paid off. He said no to Leopold's constant requests for money and he didnt't mention his earnings in his letters.
He had some money but not enough to marry. If he told his father any of that his father would either beg or rage.
16 Constanze
Mozart wanted to marry the third daughter in the family with whom he was living. He was accused of chasing the pretty one. Of being there for the money. His letters indicate he was a virgin and he was certainly ready for a woman (pg 256) And finally, convincing Constanza Weber to marry him he fit himself into her family, adopting them, in a way, since he had irreconcilable differences with his own.
Constanze was plain, good-natured and hardworking, middle child. She shared Mozart's humor and eroticism and he felt protective of her. But Mozart had to get Leopold's permission and Leopold was not giving it no matter how Mozart begged in his letters. And her parents were a bit worried about Mozart's stability. Finally, Mozart just stopped waiting for Leopold to grant permission, stop waiting for all the families to be in line, and he and Constanze just up and got married in the Cathedral. Leopold's consent letter arrived the day after the wedding along with a very angry letter.
What with his relocation from Saltzberg and now the marriage, Leopold's fears had reached fever pitch and he essentially disowned Mozart, saying that he would have to do it on his own. This is essentially the same scenario as Leopold played out with his own mother.
17 Two Families
But Mozart and his father kept writing letters and for the most part maintained some civility. Leopold did some copying work for his son for which he was paid with a bit extra. But then Constanze was pregnant
After procrastinating and turmoil, Leopold was not asked to be the Godfather/namesake. And Mozart also procrastinated visiting Saltzberg, but they did go for 3 months and were warmly received by the town if not the archbishop and his family. Mozart wanted to reconcile but Leopold was just openly hostile and Marianne only somewhat less so. But Mozart did work in those months, mostly church music.
Because the visit to Saltzberg only deepened the rift between the families, Mozart found himself even freer but this is when he became closer to his wife's family, especially Frau Weber, his mother-in-law. When Leopold visited them two years later Mozart had fully established himself as a "loving son-in-law." And Solomon psychoanalyzes his subject on the subject of mothers.
18 Adam
While he was creating a new independent self, Mozart decided to rename himself. He'd played with his name for some time creating Amadeo in the middle, then Amade, and finally Adam for Wolfgang Adam Mozart. He tried other variations. Was this a new beginning? I think Solomon believes so and goes into some more psychological reasons for the change including the idea of a possible "expulsion from Eden." (pg 281) Whatever. Mozart did take control of his own life after 25+ years of identity crisis, "Who am I?"
19 The Impressario
Mozart looked for work. At first he gave performances and music lessons and very slowly he completed some compositions. As time went on his letters to his father had more information about his career successes. Within a year Mozart had a small following of aristocrats, giving regular performances and making a reasonable living. He still wanted a permanent post with the imperial family which, although at times imminent, continued to elude him.
He thought about looking for the position elsewhere but always changed his mind. Vienna was home now. He and a musician friend gave a series of open-air summer concerts and he was also composing other works. This was a lot of work for a young musician but he had a goal. He wanted to produce an opera.
Mozart was now his own "impresario" for he was doing his father's job as well as his own and he was having great success. Solomon details the numerous compositions; Mozart was obviously inspired. Mozart had very high earnings which he was spending , too, but it is really unknown on what although it has been suggested that he had a gambling habit and very much enjoyed billiards. (pg 299)
Finally, he started to want the opera more and the performances less. His fingers, according to some sources, were "so bent by the constant playing that he couldn't even cut his meat." (pg 301) but that could have been a condition from several bouts of rheumatic fever.
Mozart finally got to write his opera, "Le nozze di Figaro" (Marriage of Figaro) but there were problems with censors, Leopold figured it was Mozart's "enemies" who were behind it. It did get performed, however, and appeared to be a great success but not a lot of money.
Mozart had been a free agent for awhile, now he was dependent on the promoters, the managements and on fees from publishers and patrons.
20 Portrait of a Composer
This chapter describes Mozart in a number of ways. Physically he was a small maybe delicate man with a tenor singing voice. He liked to dress well and after his marriage he ate well. He was cheerful and hard working, up by 6 composing, teaching, lunch then off maybe home or to a concert until 6 and then at work until nine then social calls and then work until one or so. He composed rapidly composing more than one work at a time using sketches and drafts.
He had a very active social life which included a variety of characters from nobility to artists and pleasure-loving crowd. There were even some old Saltzbergers in his circles. Joseph Haydn was a special friend but they didn't see each other often. Hayden regarded Mozart as a genius and Mozart regarded him as his mentor and teacher.
They worked together and knew many of the same people. Mozart may have looked to Haydn as a sort of father figure in addition to best friend and good brother and saw himself as coming to the same level professionally. He complained about most musicians and composers as had his father.
Mozart was very generous but could be quite firm. He liked "comforting trivialities," a new watch, a red coat, a good joke, a household pet.
21 Freemasonry
In 1785, after almost 5 years in Saltzberg the 29 year old Mozart joined the Masons. He was an active and loyal participant and even composed some songs for them. Emperor Joseph II used the Freemasons for propaganda but there were schisms.
There were two kinds of Masonic lodge, one was the solid, anti-Rosecrucian, rationalist and enlightened group. The other group was unorthodox even delving into the occult. A secret center was perceived and many masons left because that went against the spirit of freedom of thought. Suspicions arose between and within the groups.
Mozart belonged to the rationalist, enlightenment oriented group of Habsburg Masons. A decree from the crown prohibited certain occult type activities and more masons left but not Mozart. He seems to have sympathies with the inner circle of illuminati but never officially one of them. One group of Masons turned into the Jacobins, intent on reform and even revolution. There is no evidence that Mozart leaned that way. There are some who would join him with the Rosecrucians but Mozart didn't lean that way either. Mozart was a mason and a rationalist and belonged to illuminati lodges until his death.
He did benefit a little big from the membership but more than that he liked the idealism, the undogmatic approach to religion, the self-development, the humanitarianism, the ideals of equality, liberty, tolerance and fraternity. He was attracted to the rituals and the sense of being closer to the sacred. It was like an extended family.
But the family of Freemasonry split along ideological lines and the fracture was so deep that Mozart considered starting his own society but it's not known why.
22 The Zoroastrian Riddles
Over the years, Leopold and Mozart shared riddles, something they both enjoyed. Leopold saved Mozart's by giving them to a local newspaper without sharing Mozart's name. They were supposedly only for fun but morals were taught through them and Mozart would use them to hurt his father. Constanze's second husband defaced many of them.
Solomon gives several examples of Mozart's riddles but is more interested in what is mentioned in the riddles themselves than in solving them. Many have to do with mythology mixed with the sacred and dangerous, hence the name Zoroatrian riddles. They were also full of codes and secrets and so on. He sent many to his father daring him to solve them. (These were sometimes painful ones comparing his mother to Frau Weber and so on.)
Meanwhile Mozart was involved in the carnivals celebrated during Lent in Catholic countries. He wrote music for these and dressed up in costume, performed and wrote riddles for them.
When Leopold went to Vienna to visit Mozart he was astonished by Mozart's hard work and intense life. Mozart became aware of the competition between them and Mozart was determined to win in many areas. He put on a little show of all his talents and the household and his whole life.
Solomon then outlines more riddles and examines them for concealment and revelation of Mozart's inner life.
23 The Carnivalesque Dimension
Mozart was quite liberal taking up the cause of the victims and railing against injustice. He fantasizes retribution without regard for social position. But he was always careful and skeptical, so didn't align himself with political characters. Rather Mozart prefers to play.
And carnivals were the time for play. It "suspends time." (pg 356) It allows people to be somewhat obscene and vulgar. It's a time for letting go of inhibitions and enjoying the body and the spirit. Mozart celebrates the bawdy. And it's all an attempt to defeat mortality but it always loses.
The Masonic lodge experience did the same thing with its rights and ideals of equality and fraternity.
24 Fearful Symmetries
Mozart came to be associated with a special kind of musical beauty. This chapter has many examples of Mozart's notations revealing the serenade style of beauty; the symmetrical patterns are obvious. Now Mozart is trying to explore some kind of "new" element in beauty. This is the mature Mozart.
Only the expert can detect the irregularities from which these harmonics are constructed so that the result is "a delicately balanced tension between form and disorder, a precarious negotiation of the fragile borders that separate the familiar from the alien. " (pg 373) There's a tinge of melancholy and strangeness to Mozart's mature works. Beauty is death's close neighbor.
After discussing that for awhile Solomon refers to Freud for the idea that "all organic life is a tendency or instinct 'impelling it towards the reinstatement of an earlier condition." And then he examines the death - beauty metaphor from that perspective.
Beauty in Mozart is made up of classical and nonclassical, proportion, symmetry, order and decorum *and* their opposites. (pg 379) There are also lots of kinds of beauty and lots of kinds of opposites. "it perhaps is only when we feel the power of Mozart's music to bruise us that we can discover its enchanted healing power as well."
IV Endings
This Section is 131 pages and 8 chapters long.
25 - Little Leopold Leopold was very anxious to influence children. He brought two students back from Vienna with him for tutoring. They did not turn out to be geniuses (he thought Mozart was the result of his own wonderful instruction). So he took Marianne's small son to raise. Leopold died before the child was 5. This was hidden from Mozart who had his own children by now.
26 = "Carissima sorella mia" Mozart and his sister probably always loved each other, they had been close as children, but she didn't rebel and they lost touch. She married the rich magistrate (who had 5 children) of her father's choosing and gave her son to her father also. Leopold used Marianne to blame or convince Mozart for various things. Mozart learned of his father's death through a friend and the estate was left to Marianne to keep and sell and divide but there was much conflict and the result was far from satisfactory. The break was complete. Solomon does his calculations. The conflict between the siblings continued bitterly.
27 - Prague and Beyond Mozart traveled to Prague where he performed their favorite Figaro and he earned many commissions. He returned to Vienna where he composed the opera Don Giovanni and went back to Prague for the performance. He had to go elsewhere and return to Vienna even if the money was better in Prague. But then the Emperor Joseph II (Holy Roman) hired him as chamber composer. His operas did well and he was composing and for the most part, life was good. Although his income was high, Mozart's expenses were higher, as usual. So he borrowed and then borrowed again. Then the very costly war against Turkey ended and where under Emperor Joseph he would probably have got an increase in commissions, the new Emperor Leopold was more thrifty and less interested in a cultural life. Things were tightening up in Vienna so, per usual Mozart, he left.
28 The Journey to Berlin Mozart went through Prague, Dresden, Leipzig on their way to Berlin and when they got there the king was so upset he didn't see them. So Mozart gave a concert first. He finally traveled to Prussia but the records are so incomplete it's not even known if he performed there. He and Constanze exchanged letters regularly but at least four were "lost;" speculation abounds and Solomon explores the possibilities. Mozart tries to reassure Constanze of his love and loyalty but ... Constanze was unconvinced and so is Solomon. The press went a bit wild after Mozart's death but there is no supporting evidence of the alleged promiscuity.
29 A Constant Sadness Mozart knew that he lived by virtue of the high-born music lovers and their patronage and gifts. He had to learn to encourage them process and he did this well. He learned to cadge money, gifts and loans. But still he couldn't stay ahead of his expenses. He was constantly sad according to a letter with an ominous sense of an oppressive void within." (pg 459) This was partly because of the loss of his father who had rejected Mozart's children. Mozart's successes were slacking off and he seemed to be on a downhill slide so he started becoming a bit more inventive and dramatic and finally broke through with a "merger of fugato and sonata form." These incredible works "established him as a self-conscious artist, persuaded of his mission, who never again wanted to waste his gifts." (pg 462) But he paid for his creativity for a short time with audiences turning away.
This was the beginning of the end. He wrote fewer works, and his circumstances deteriorated. Mozart was not asked to play for the new emperor to Frankfort for his coronation but he went on his own - rebelling?
Solomon speculates that Mozart may have been fulfilling his father's judgement and prophesy; that this deterioration may have been self-punishment. He had bonded and now a split was developing in his psyche and unable to be rebellious or compliant, caught in a downward spiral to mutually reinforcing melancholy and failed productivity.
30 The Last Year Somehow he started composing for the imperial court again and received commissions from Prague and Vienna. He had been so bad off he'd been pawning Constanze's jewelry but now things were looking up. Mozart was finally appointed assistant Kappelmeister at Vienna and should the old Kappelmeister die, he would be next in line. He was very productive but also busy with family matters as Constanze had a foot ailment. She went to a spa and there are more reports of infidelities. Mozart was apparently unable to resist temptation. (pg 479) But Mozart claims that he longs for Constanze to the point of melancholy (which may have been brought on by a whole number of other things). He tried various remedies but nothing really worked.
31 The Final Journey A legend has Mozart writing his own Requiem Mass via a strange commission and mysterious messenger on horseback. But the legend may be partly true. He received a secret commission for a Requiem but he had opera work to finish first. He worked extremely hard, with long hours on many projects until he became ill and still he continued to work even under medical treatment. He was going to save his family from financial difficulties (like when he was the miracle child). And he did it. And he burned out.
Constanze said that Mozart thought he was being poisoned, his early symptoms could have been those of persecution anxiety and Constanze was unable to reassure him. Finally he was bed-ridden and in great pain, his feet and hands were swollen and immobilized. He was vomiting and he had a fever and he remained conscious for hours. He probably died of rheumatic fever which he had had before. But there were rumors of poisoning by Salieri and these were not refuted by the physicians and due to vomiting, no autopsy could be performed.
Solomon goes into the details of Mozart's funeral and burial. It was cheap and quiet as per custom at the time. There had even been a decree a few years earlier stipulating sack burials in mass graves and many people did that, even some of the well-off. Anyway, Mozart may have stipulated no superstitious rites, including last rites and coffin burial.
Constanze was able to get a pension and then use Mozart's name for concerts finally making enough to gain some measure of prosperity.
Marianne wrote a biography as her father had wished but it didn't suit Constanze so she had one written. They eventually compromised and when Marianne read the Constanze version she was moved to sisterly feelings. The two reconciled but events remained conflicted over burial sites.
32 The Power of Music And Solomon reiterates his theories of Mozart's music and how it has to clash before coming to peace, tranquility must be earned. Mozart's later operas are unsettling with doubling of images and historical irregularities. "It is profoundly troubling to be drawn by the power of music into empathetic collusion with murderers tyrants, kidnappers, seducers, rapists and misogynists." "It shows us redemptive qualities in scoundrels."
But his main question is, "How do we make things right?" And his answer is marriage - the ultimate transformation. It's not alwasy enough to resolve the conflict in the audience but it ends the show. And if it's not enough, well, try a bit of comedy, a carnival, a last gasp line of "things could always be worse."
Music was what saved Mozart and his work from despair and led it to transformation. "There is an unexceptionable utopian affirmation - love, marriage, the good society, brotherhood, innocence, virtue, reconciliation and a need to believe in the power of music."
THE END!!!!!
Posted: Mon - July 3, 2006 at 09:04 AM
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