Translated from the German of Franz Hoffmann BY GEORGE P. UPTON Translator of “Memories,” etc. CHICAGO A. C. McCLURG & CO. 1904 Copyright A. C. McClurg & Co. 1904 Published October 1, 1904 THE UNIVERSITY PRESS CAMBRIDGE, U.S.A....

The life-story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart contained in this volume closes with his admission to membership in the Accademia Filarmonica at Bologna, Italy. Mozart was then in his fifteenth year. Up to that time his life had been a happy one, free from care, untouched by adversity, and crowned with continuous successes. He was admired by the people, considered a prodigy by the greatest composers, and was received with extraordinary honors at the Courts of Austria, France, Holland, and England. His

Vice Chapelmaster Leopold Mozart [1] of Salzburg paced to and fro in his apartment, evidently disturbed and anxious. He stopped several times at the door of the adjoining room and listened intently to every sound within. Then he would resume his monotonous walk from one corner of the room to another. From time to time he whispered a hurried prayer. Great drops of sweat fell from his brow. His face was pale, and showed unmistakable signs of trouble and misgiving. The hands of the house clock, whi

The little Mozart was christened Johann Chrysostom Wolfgang Amadeus, [6] and was called by his parents and his sister Nannie, [7] “Wolfgangerl,” at least as long as he wore children’s shoes. On the fourteenth of December, 1759, he being then three years and ten months old, a pleasant family feast was given by the relatives and friends of the sincerely and heartily beloved Father Mozart, in honor of his fortieth birthday. On that day the solicitous mother had been actively engaged making preparat

It was the height of summer. The Archbishop of Salzburg had ordered his chapel to the neighboring Château of Heilbronn to entertain a number of invited guests with table music, and had sent them on in advance without any instructions, in his usually provoking and imperious manner. Although the members of his chapel were distinguished artists, he had no more respect for them, and particularly for Vice Chapelmaster Mozart, than for the dust under his feet, and treated them no better, sometimes,—in

The reputation of the family had preceded them, and greatly to their advantage, for the nobility of Vienna were enthusiastically interested in them. They received almost daily invitations to entertainments, where Wolfgang’s extraordinary skill created the utmost astonishment. Count Palssy, in particular, who had heard Wolfgang play in Linz, and Countess Sinzendorf took them under their protection, introduced them to the homes of the best families, and at last procured the special invitation to C

Overloaded with attentions, honors, and distinctions, the Mozart family returned to Salzburg for a time and resumed the old quiet life. The journey to Vienna had been advantageous in many ways. Father Mozart brought back quite a little sum of gold; but of still greater value was the reputation which Wolfgang had so quickly acquired. His talent had been surprising from his infancy, and now his first introduction into the great world was in every way a success. His fame as a rising star of the fir

A carriage was driven along at a quick trot toward Paris one hot summer’s day, and had just reached the village of Choissy, when the careless coachman drove over a rock and upset the vehicle. There was an outcry of alarm from the inside. The door was forced open, and four persons crawled out, one after another, and stood around the wreck in dismay. They are old acquaintances—Herr Vice Chapelmaster Mozart, his wife and children. “Well, this is a pretty business,” said Father Mozart, indignantly.

After six months’ stay in Paris, the Mozart family left France, going first to England, [18] and thence to Holland. Wolfgang was very ill at the Hague, [19] but speedily recovered, thanks to the careful nursing of his parents, and resumed his studies with renewed zeal. Paris was also revisited, and about the close of 1766, crowned with the laurels of fame, he returned to Salzburg. Wolfgang spent a few years there in quiet seclusion, interrupted only by a visit to Vienna, where he distinguished h

The following is a chronological statement of the principal events in the life of Mozart:...