Diego Minoia - The Mozarts, Who They Were (Volume 1)

This is how Leopold expresses himself in a letter to his friend and publisher, Lotter from Augsburg in May of 1768: "...or maybe I should remain in Salzburg, awaiting with bated breath for a better chance, and watch Wolfgang grow (...) until Wolfgang reaches the age and development in which his merits would no longer be an object of wonder?"

The first journeys of the child prodigies had the double purpose of "earning revenue", especially Wolfgang, familiarizing him with Europe while simultaneously giving them the opportunity to grow and develop musically through encounters with influential composers, singers and instrumentalists. When they had outgrown their childhood, though, Leopold Mozart's focus changed. He needed to find an allocated position for Wolfgang at the Salzburg Court (his primary goal) with the hope of a subsequent position at the more prestigious courts.

Having a vision of the world, such as the acceptance of different roles in society's class and the necessity and convenience of ingratiating himself to anyone who might have a positive influence on their projects was also one of Leopold's deep and enduring influences; for the compliant Nannerl (who accepted the role of daughter and predestined wife, being married off by her father to an older man), as well as the favored Wolfgang. Leopold Mozart's habit of "being in the good graces" of every noble person who he encountered during his travels, surely assimilated by his son without the relational and scheming abilities of his father, was reiterated many times to an already grown Wolfgang in issued recommendations by letter.

In any case, if we expand our vision, we realize that almost all musicians of that epoch followed the same rules: ingratiating themselves to the powerful in order to obtain favors or career advancements. To give just one example of how diffused and widely practiced these rules were, we can cite Giovan Battista Sammartini (or San Martin, as was the correct written French version of the father's last name), who in building his career in Milan, always went to great pains to consort with and be praised by the families who had political, economic and social control in that epoch. Thanks to the aid of his noble supporters, and undoubtably to his abilities, he became the Musical Dominus of Milan for a few decades and was even nominated as Kapellmeister at the Royal Ducale of the Court, while simultaneously in the principle small town churches (an impressive 14 concurrently!). Now, let us return to Leopold and his recommendations.

Here are a few examples:

"If you go over the allotted time in your lessons with the younger students (reference is made to the Prince Palatine of Mannheim's natural children and to those of his mistress, A/N), then you have every chance of being praised by the Constituent Prince and it is certainly not necessary to tell you that you need to become close friends with the governess" (letter dated 8 December 1777).

"In Mannheim, you did very well to ingratiate yourself to Mr. Cannabich (Conductor of the Court", A/N) (letter dated 12 February 1778).

"It is very advantageous that you obtained the kindness of the Countess von Paumgarten (mistress of the Constituent Prince, A/N). Slowly but surely, you will no doubt, be paying visits to the Count Seinsheim (Minister of the Court of Mannheim, A/N) and to the wife of the President. (letter dated 20 November 1780).

Leopold was also generous toward his son related to compositional activities, with the intent of directing him toward the composition of pieces according to the requested style being commissioned, or at least according to what was fashionable in that epoch and in the various Courts. Always the pragmatist, Leopold knew the fickle European public, and desired that Wolfgang's music was to be the appropriate music, in the appropriate moment and for the appropriate public. Not being up to date could mean being condemned to oblivion (it was therefore, necessary to always be informed of any innovation in the field of music), but to be too modern could mean being condemned to incomprehension. Of these recommendations, most certainly lavished in abundance during the entire period of the formation and cohabitation with Wolfgang, we have a pretty good outline of the period in which Leopold was in Salzburg while his son was traveling: "While you are working, I suggest that you think not only of the musical public, but also the non-musical public; you know, for every ten true experts, there are always one-hundred ignorant people. Therefore, do not forget the so-called people of the masses who also invoke unrefined ears " (11 December 1780).

Composers also had to worry about keeping good relations with the musicians of the orchestra employed to execute their music, or suffer a punishment of superficial performances, if not downright boycotting. Here, we also have the experience of the father who comes to the rescue of his son, who we know (and a fact of which Leopold was well aware) was not exactly diplomatic in human relations. In a letter sent to Munich before the performance of the opera Idomeneo, Leopold wrote to his son: "Try to keep the entire orchestra in good humor, to praise them and keep them on your good side. (...) ...even the worst violinist is quite sensitive when you commend him face to face and will become enthusiastic and eager, and this kind of courtesy will not cost you more than just a few words. ...because you will need friendship and zeal from the entire orchestra when the opera will go on stage". (letter dated 25 December 1780). So, in the end, after an entire lifetime that he believed to have sacrificed for the success of his son (and we can acknowledge this to be true), Leopold is subjected to the disgrace, survived by him and of which he had never recovered, the multiple rebellions of his son: the discharge from his musical appointments in Salzburg, the choices made with his own free will during the course of his journey to Munich and Paris with his mother, the move to Vienna, his marriage to Constanze which was decided without his father's prearranged consent...

It is safe to say that there was plenty to make Leopold think that he had been let down by an ungrateful son, oblivious to the sacrifices made by a father for his child (let us not forget this father's wholly seventeenth century mentality). And in the letters during the years of their distance, which diminished over time as the communication between the Mozart father and son waned, Leopold never missed a chance to point this out to the rebellious Wolfgang: "...I have always thought that you should consider me more of a friend than father. You have ample proof of the fact that in my lifetime, I have looked after your fortune and your pleasure more than my own. I would have believed that you would have asked for my suggestions, seeing as I am a better judge of things and at finding the best way to proceed. (...) You will not abandon your father, will you?" (letter dated 20 July 1778). Wolfgang, on the other hand, in his letters responding to his father's recommendations, did everything possible to calm him, portraying himself as respectful of the teachings he received (then doing exactly as he pleased) and disguising his decisions with motives in order to gratify his father (who did not believe a word, knowing how to read between the lines). One example of this text and subtext we see in a letter from Wolfgang to his father, sent from Mannheim, after which his journey to Paris with the singer Aloysia Weber (of whom Wolfgang was infatuated), faded due to the latter's unavailability to entrust his fortune (and his heart) to the dreamer of Salzburg.

Later, in previous letters, having praised her musical and character traits, Aloysia and the hypothetic travel companions of the Parisian adventure, the flautist Wendling and the oboist Ramm, in a letter dated 4 February 1778, justify the relinquishment of the Parisian adventure due to the fact that one (Wendling) was without religion and the other (Ramm) was a philanderer. We shall see later, following the Mozartian epistolary, other examples that will assist us in better understanding the personalities of the Mozart family and the subtle relations between them in conjunction with important events.