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| Franz Xaver Mozart by Josef Kriehuber, 1844 Young Franz Xaver was just four months old when his father died in December 1791. Called "Wolfgang" by his mother Constanze, he toured with the moniker 'W A Mozart Jr.' The title of this likeness is "Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart." |
The letter, dated 12 August, 1842, is believed to have been written by Franz - himself a pianist and composer, called "Wolfgang" by his parents - to a member of the Salzburg Mozarteum Committee.
The 178 year-old document had previously been in the possession of the family of the Czech illustrator and Mozart collector Vojtěch Kubašta until it was purchased earlier this month by the library for 290,000 CZK.
Once the autograph has undergone restoration, it will be digitized for the general public to access. According to Martin Kocanda, the Director General at the National Library, the original document had only been previously mentioned once before in a reference guide, however the correct whereabouts of the autograph had been unknown to researchers until now.
The letter joins the so-called "Mozarts Denkmal in seinen Werken 1837" (The Mozart Memorial in His Works) housed in the National Library - an invaluable collection of manuscripts, printed historical critical press and sheet music, archival documents related to the life of Mozart Sr., and, most notably, four letters obtained in 1845 from the collection of Morovian-Austrian music researcher and collector Alois Fuchs, penned by Franz' famous father, Wolfgang Amadè, his grandparents Leopold and Anna Maria, and his mother Constanze. Until now, autographs from Wolfgang's youngest son were missing from the collection.
In the document seen below, Franz discusses his participation in the inaugural concert at Salzburg for the newly established Mozarteum (during which he performed), as he compares the new museum founded in the birthplace of his late father with the older Mozart Memorial at Prague, established in the city's historic Klementinum (Clementinum) complex in 1837.
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| Click on image to enlarge | Franz Xaver's letter (pre-restoration), National Library of Prague |
Franz' father was a noted fan of the baroque library at Prague's Klementinum. In a jubilant exchange between Wolfgang Amadè (then in the Czech capital for the premiere of his Symphony in D major) and his confidant in Vienna, Court Chancellery worker Gottfried von Jacquin, Mozart Sr. mentions visiting the complex alongside his beloved Constanze.
In a letter dated 15 January, 1787, Mozart describes meeting "Father Ungar" (Karl Ralph Ungar, director of the Klementinum Library) at 11 a.m. for a "thorough inspection of the Imperial Library." The result of this visit led Mozart to exclaim to his good friend back in Vienna, "our eyes were nearly popping out of our heads!"
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| The baroque library at the historic Klementinum complex at Prague | Photo: BrunoDelzant, CC BY 2.0 |
A bust of the composer, executed by sculptor Emanuel Max now sits close to the entrance of the Klementinum's exquisite Mirror Chapel (a favored venue for classical concerts in Prague, many of which perform the maestro's music) commemorating the master's visit.
The Mozart Memorial collection (Denkmal) presently housed in the complex would become the first of its kind in relation to the composer. Established in 1837, its founders aimed at further promoting the late maestro's music both within and beyond Prague, whilst simultaneously highlighting Mozart's close association with the city. In the same exchange with Jacquin, Mozart enthusiastically describes the city's reception of Le Nozze di Figaro, which had recently received its Prague premiere in late 1786. Following an outing to the Breitfield Ball, he regales, with much bemusement,
"I saw...with the greatest pleasure, all these people flying about with such delight to the music of my "Figaro," transformed into quadrilles and waltzes...here nothing is talked of but "Figaro," nothing played but "Figaro," nothing whistled or sung but "Figaro," no opera so crowded as "Figaro," nothing but "Figaro..."
Above: Mozart's letter to Gottfried von Jacquin appears on page 217 of The Letters of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), vol. II.
Mozart was beloved by the citizens of Prague - Die Entführung aus dem Serail and Le Nozze di Figaro were both idolized by the music loving public. It was here, following the success of the latter, that the composer received a commission from impresario Pasquale Boldoni's Prague Opera company for a new opera buffa following the maestro's success with Figaro. The opera: Don Giovanni.
Prague would also play host to the premiere of Mozart's final opera, La clemenza di Tito, which the maestro himself conducted on the occasion of the work's premiere on 6 September 1791 at the still-standing Estates Theatre. The Czech capital would also be first to provide a customary Mass for the Dead for the late icon following his untimely passing. A memorial service would be held at the Church of St. Nicholas on 14th December, 1791 with Bohemian composer Antonio Rosetti (Anton Rösler) providing a "Requiem for Mozart," re-fashioned from his Requiem in E flat, composed to mark the death of the Princess of Oettingen-Wallerstein in 1776:
An account of the memorial printed in the Prager Oberpostamts-zeitung on 17 December 1791 and a near-identical article subsequently run in Vienna's Wiener Zeitung on 24 December 1791 (the latter of which is quoted below) may serve as a testament to the consternation felt by the citizens of Prague following the death of their beloved idol:
"The Friends of Music in Prague, on the 14th inst. and in the Small Side parish church of St Niklas, performed solemn obsequies for Wolfgang Gottlieb Mozart, Kapellmeister and Hofkomponist, who died here on the 5th. This ceremony had been arranged by the Prague Orchestra of the National Theatre, under the direction of Hr. Joseph Strobach, and all Prague's well-known musicians took part in it. On the appointed day the bells of the parish church were rung for half an hour; almost the entire city streamed thither, so that the Wälsche Platz could not hold the coaches, nor the church (which is, moreover, big enough to hold nearly 4,000 people) the admirers of the dead artist. The Requiem was by Kapellmeister Rössler, it was admirably performed by 120 of the leading musicians, first among whom was the well-loved singer Mad. Duscheck. In the middle of the church stood a finely illuminated catafalque; 3 choirs of drums and trumpets sounded forth with muffled tones; the parish priest, Herr Rudolph Fischer, read the Mass; 12 boys from the Small Side Gymnasium carried torches, wore mourning-crapes draped diagonally across one shoulder, and bore white cloths in their hands; solemn silence lay all about, and a thousand tears flowed in poignant memory of the artist who through [his] harmonies so often turned all hearts to the liveliest feelings."
*author's note: (Johann/Jan) Joseph Strobach (1731-94), Kapellmeister of Count Nostitz' National Theatre, director of music at the Lesser Town Parish Church of St. Nicholas and confidante of Mozart. Strobach, who was in charge of the memorial, was tasked with selecting an already complete, fitting Requiem (as Mozart had only perished nine days prior to the service) for the memorial. He selected the well-loved Requiem of his good friend, Rosetti (Rösler/Rössler), of which he had previous conducting experience, and may have included his own Benedictus and Agnus Dei to the service. Thus, Rosetti's Requiem in E flat, previously composed in 1776 to mark the death of the Princess of Oettingen-Wallerstein, was (re)premiered at the Church of St. Nicholas as a Requiem for Mozart. Strobach had previously conducted the Prague productions of Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro at the city's Estates Theater, in addition to performances of Don Giovanni and La clemenza di Tito. Mozart would have undoubtedly approved of the conductor serving as regens chori - he heaped praise upon Strobach in a since-lost letter of gratitude.
Madame "Duscheck" refers to the famous soprano and dear friend of Mozart, Josepha Duschek (1754–1824). Wolfgang composed for her the recitative and aria "Ah, lo previdi," K. 272, and wrote the concert aria "Bella mia fiamma, addio," K. 528 at her request.
The above translation of the news article appears in Mozart: A Documentary Biography by Otto Erich Deutsch (p. 427 Stanford University Press, 1966).
The memorial at the Parish Church of St. Nicholas wasn't the only tribute paid to Wolfgang by the citizens of Prague following the maestro's death. The Czech capital would go on to cement its place in scholarly history when it became the first European city to publish a biography on Herr Mozart - Franz Xaver Niemetschek's "Leben des K. K. Kapellmeisters Wolfgang Gottlieb Mozart" (pub. 1798).
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| Franz Xaver Wolfgang Mozart in 1825 |
Franz Xaver "Wolfgang" Mozart was instrumental in preserving the legacy of his late father?
Long before the Salzburg Mozarteum Foundation was founded by the town's citizens in 1880, it's root organization, the “Dom-Musik-Verein und Mozarteum” (Cathedral Music Society and Mozarteum) found its genesis in the city on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the death of Wolfgang Amadè Mozart in 1841.
The music society was formed on behalf of the shared efforts of local music aficionados in Salzburg who sought to honor their hometown hero by hosting concerts, seeing to the education of young musicians, and, most notably, by preserving the manuscripts, original instruments, family correspondence, portraiture and the library of the maestro - all of which had been generously bequeathed to the association by Franz Xaver upon his death in 1844 (a gesture which was repeated upon the death of the last member of the Mozart family line, Franz' brother Karl Thomas, in 1858).
Thanks to the younger Mozart's invaluable donation and to the citizens of Salzburg, the niche society would blossom into three separate institutions: the Mozarteum Orchestra (aided by Franz' brother Karl Thomas and mother, Constanze), the Mozarteum Music School (presently a University), and the Mozarteum Foundation.
Some 190 original letters penned by Wolfgang Amadè Mozart (including 370 authored by Leopold Mozart) make up the Mozarteum's collection, in addition to over 100 autograph manuscripts (sketches, drafts and original scores) of Mozart's music. The Bibliotheca Mozartiana contains some 35,000 titles and is the most substantial Mozart library in the world.
The museum also hosts the Digital Interactive Mozart Edition (DIME) - the definitive online version of Mozart's works. The site continues to be updated in real time, and, once complete, will provide a digital rendering of the composer's entire oeuvre.
Whilst the more famous Mozart is celebrated each year in the town of his birth during Salzburg's annual "Mozart Week," the life and music of Franz Xaver - without whose generosity we may have never been made privy to the (often intimate) minutiae of his more famous father's life, as preserved in both letter and manuscript - is honored in the Ukranian city of L’viv, where Franz spent some 30 years of his life (he knew the city as Lemberg).
Founded in the Ukraine in 2017, the annual ten-day festival celebrates the music and life of Franz Xaver.
Exciting developments concerning Mozart's youngest surviving son continue to be made long after the extinction of the composer's family line. Early next year, music lovers attending the Stiftung Mozarteum in Salzburg will become the first audience in 216 years to hear Franz Xaver's re-discovered cantata for soprano, choir and orchestra, "Auf stimmet eure Saiten" (FXWM I:2), which is scheduled to be performed in the Great Hall on 30 January 2021. The rare work was last heard by the public in 1805.
UPDATE:
According to the newly released programme for Mozart Week, as of the 4th of November, 2020, the premiere for Franz Xaver's cantata, as mentioned immediately above, has been rescheduled for 29 January, 2021 at the Haus für Mozart (House of Mozart Theater) in Salzburg, alongside a recreation of the composers' 1805 debut concert.
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| Above: Lithograph of Mozart, attr. Joseph Lange, possibly after a lost miniature by the same, as reproduced in the biography by Nissen (uncred.) |
Unraveling Musical Myths will provide further details on this exciting development as they become available.
For a full list of events and to purchase tickets, visit the Mozarteum website. A complete programme can be found here.
UPDATE #2:
The Mozarteum has announced the cancellation of live festivities for Mozart Week in light of the current pandemic, and has indicated the festival will be held online in their stead. For further information and updates, which the museum states is forthcoming, visit the Mozarteum website here.
Below: Mozart's D minor Concerto, (No. 20, K.466), performed by the irreplaceable Soviet pianist Maria Yudina. It was this piece, then well-known in Salzburg, which Franz Xaver performed during the ceremony which marked the unveiling of the city’s Mozart memorial in 1842. It is also the piece referenced by Franz in the recently discovered letter posted above.
Maria Yudina's sublime performance of this masterwork (Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra / Sergei Gorchakov) is an Unraveling Musical Myths' personal favorite rendition:
Despite her interminable admonishments of Stalin and her very public displays of unwavering faith, the Communist ruler counted himself among Yudina's most adoring fans. Said to have been moved to tears after hearing the pianist perform Mozart's Piano Concerto No. 23 on the radio in 1944 (and unaware he was listening to Yudina perform live), Stalin demanded a recording be delivered to him. Yudina was hastily driven to a studio in the wee hours of the night where she was joined by an impromptu orchestra in order to record the piece. According to former classmate Dmitri Shostakovich, a rather interesting - possibly apocryphal - chain of events would follow. If Russian musicologist Solomon Volkov's controversial Testimony is to be regarded as an authentic transcription of Shostakovich's memoirs (Volkov is noted by the composer's children, Maxim and Galina Shostakovitch as having acted the role of amanuensis to their famous father), Stalin is said to have rewarded Maria with a gift of 20,000 rubles to show his appreciation for her talent - which she (allegedly) promptly donated to the Russian Orthodox Church. She is said to have written of her intention for the money in a letter to the leader himself: "I thank you for your aid... it I will pray for you day and night and ask the Lord to forgive your great sins before the people and the country. The Lord is merciful and He’ll forgive you. I gave the money to the church that I attend." This account is supported by the eminent writer Daniil Granin, who alleges he too was told the very same account by Shostakovich himself.
-Rose.
