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

We can say that Leopold concentrated his "investment" of time, energy and expectations upon his son, younger and possibly more gifted; who knows if Nannerl would have contributed the same results as her brother if she had been as sustained and supported as him. In a letter from Wolfgang to his sister, we understand that she, too, was an active composer, but the correspondence of Leopold makes no mention of any compositions or creative activity of his daughter, which in any case were never attained. The artistic-creative level of Nannerl remains, at present, an unresolved mystery.

The second reason for the preferential treatment, typical of that epoch, had much to do with being a female. In that era, it was a common and undisputed school of thought that females were inferior and Leopold Mozart was no different in this way. In a letter dated 12 February 1756 to the publisher Lotter of Augsburg, Leopold complains of the delay in the printing of his book "Scuola di Violino", and writes: "Ah, if only Mrs. Lotter were able to arrange the typeface as well as she was able to deliver a male infant to the midwife instead of a half note. Oh, I know that my book would have been ready a long time ago" (the half note is the equivalent to a female infant rather than a male infant). Noteworthy is the consideration, equally common, that women were not able to reach excellence in art and that it was unsuitable for a woman of public morality to make her mark, living between continuous travels and encounters of all types. The objective was to be modest and find a good match to create a family which was seen as a priority compared to artistic talent.

As a matter of fact, Nannerl sacrificed her own career looking after her father after her mother's death, remaining subordinate to his wishes to the point that she even renounced her true love to the Captain of the Court Major Franz Armand d'Ippold, who had asked for her hand in marriage without first getting permission from her father, Leopold. She did, many years later, marry a widow with children much older than her who was well-received by her father.

It is interesting to note that the "musical relations" involved not only the male aspects of the families, but the female, as well. As Leopold Mozart, and later Wolfgang, were on friendly terms with Eberlin (organist and later Kapellmeister) and Adlgasser (Court Organist), their respective daughters were friends with Nannerl. In her diary, for example, she writes that on 26 September 1777, Waberl Eberlin paid her a visit and Viktoria Adlgasser styled her hair.

Having become too "old" to be a "child prodigy", she was relegated to Salzburg with her mother while her brother and father embarked on the three formative journeys to Italy. Then, later on, when Wolfgang went on his umpteenth journey to Munich and Paris accompanied by his mother (Leopold did not receive permission to take leave from work), she stayed behind in Salzburg with their father. No doubt, Maria Anna would remember for the rest of her life, with regret, the successes of her youth and the concerts at the European Courts where she performed solo and coupled with her brother. She continued to give piano lessons in order to contribute to the family budget and was copyist for her brother and father's music as was necessary for their travels.

The notations in her diary entries, before she married, though embellished with French middle class expressions with international pretensions such as "comedie, en visite, etc.", still convey a sense of sadness in the way she describes how her days passed between the death of a person, the arrival of an elephant in Salzburg or of a "dog doctor", combined with encounters with her friends who styled her hair, had a coffee together, accompanied her to the market, played cards or went range shooting...and of course, she looked after her father and the family dog, a fox terrier called Miss Pimperl, also known as Bimbes, as Wolfgang writes from Vienna in August 1773. On 3 September 1777, she writes in diary, that her day is limited to brushing her hair alone, mass at 10:30, the purchase of a string for her nightgown and a walk with a friend.

The bond with her brother, which was very strong in infancy and childhood, abated as Wolfgang matured. They grew even farther apart after his departure for Vienna in 1781, and especially after their father's death. In the letters that were discovered after Leopold's passing, it appears that Wolfgang, apart from his words regarding the circumstances, was principally interested in his part of the inheritance and was worried that there were not sufficient pecuniary calculations. In fact, once the assessment was finalized, he asked that payment be made in Viennese currency rather than Salzburg currency, giving him an advantage in the monetary exchange.

In 1784, at 33 years old (a decidedly advanced age for a girl to find a husband in that epoch), Nannerl married Johann Baptist von Berchtold zu Sonnenburg, fifteen years her senior and twice widowed with five children, who later had another three with her. Her husband descended from a family of recent and minor nobility. It appears that he wasn't a kind man, making married life less than happy for Maria Anna who also had the responsibility of raising her husband's children from his former marriages. After having refused all of his daughter's suitors, Leopold married her off out of convenience in exchange for 500 florins from von Bertchold as a "Morgengabe", (a promise sealed according to the German tradition made upon the morning after the wedding) and as praetium virginitatis (the price of the virginity of the bride).

After the wedding, Maria Anna moved to her mother's birthplace of St. Gilgen, just a few hours' carriage ride from Salzburg where her husband conducted his business as magistrate and where, in 1792, he obtained the title of Baron. We should clarify, however, that the noble titles of that era did not carry the weight and prestige of previous times. Titles were easily bestowed and were often purchased by well-to-do families who had become affluent.

Moreover, it should be remembered that Count Arco, famous for having dismissed Wolfgang Mozart with a kick in the seat of his pants, was indeed of noble lineage, but was nothing more than an official person in charge of ceremony and "Grand Master of Cooks" of the Prince-Archbishop (he governed the cooks, the servants...and the musicians). After the death of her husband in 1801, Maria Anna moved back to Salzburg where she resumed her activity as a piano teacher. In her last years, she became blind and died in 1829 at the age of seventy-eight.

Wolfgang's father

Johann Georg Leopold Mozart (1719 -- 1787) Born in the German city of Augsburg from the second marriage of Johann Georg Mozart, an artisan bookbinder, to Anna Maria Sulzer, who came from a family of textile workers that had moved to Augsburg from Baden-Baden. The Mozart family tree can be traced back three centuries to the Bavarian Swabia, geographically situated west of Munich, which comprised the surroundings of Augsburg and reached what are today's borders of Austria. Leopold's ancestors were farmers, bricklayers and craftsmen (textiles and bookbinders) who relocated from the Augsburg countryside to the city.

Leopold was the first born to Johann Georg Mozart and Anna Maria Sulzer. They had eight children of which only five survived from infancy. Unlike his siblings, who continued working in the family business as bookbinders, Leopold was intended to pursue a career in the clergy by his godfather, Johann Georg Grabher, Dean of the Duomo of Augsburg who noted his strong studious talents. Upon finishing elementary school, he was enrolled in 1727 at the Gymnasium which required a six year course of study. Leopold completed the program two years later than the established six years (it is not clear if the reason was due to illness or resistance to discipline and attitude toward the priesthood), though he did graduate in 1735 magna cum laude. In accordance with the times, we can assume that his cultural level was certainly superior to that of the average citizen. The Jesuit school was, in fact, recognized by the city and neighboring regions for its level of culture, so much so, that the children of the noble and upper-classes attended the institution.