Mozart: A Life in Letters: A Life in Letters by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Author:Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart [Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Arts & Photography, Music, Musical Genres, Classical, Biographies & Memoirs, Arts & Literature, Composers & Musicians, ( M ), Mozart; Wolfgang Amadeus, Humor & Entertainment, Literature & Fiction, Essays & Correspondence, Essays, Letters & Correspondence
ISBN: 0141441461
Amazon: B000SEI9TC
Publisher: Penguin
Published: 2006-10-26T04:00:00+00:00

92. Leopold Mozart to his son, 27 August 1778, Salzburg

My Dear Son,

You’ll have received my letter of the 13th. In it I promised that I’d reply very soon to your last two letters, both of which arrived at the same time. The first, which was written on the 18th and 20th, told me a host of things about the start and growth of your invaluable friendship with Herr Raaff. I hope that his efforts on your behalf, of which you expect so much, may prove effective; but I recall that you once wrote to me from Mannheim to say that Monsieur Raaff was a very honest, decent and sincere old man but that he was unable to achieve results: to tell the truth, I found that hard to believe, for a man like that must have a certain standing, even if he may no longer be such a good singer because he’s old. I’ve already written to Padre Martini. Let’s wait and see what happens. What you said about the papers there was nothing but lies from start to finish. Monsieur Hopfgarten, whom we know, wasn’t a soldier but a councillor in the civil service. And as for your comments at the end about the valet and the 25 blows that he received for not marrying Katherl,1 I don’t know if he’d not have received a million if he’d actually married her. My son, one has to get to know people gradually. You can’t imagine a worse housekeeper or a more frivolous individual than this Katherl, she spends the whole day calling on others and sponging off them, while avoiding work like the plague. She puts on a new dress or a cap or a pair of shoes etc. and wears them until they’re in tatters or dirty. Rain or shine, she always dresses the same and turned up at the cathedral for the Feast of the Assumption wearing the same filthy cap and the same ordinary clothes that she’d been walking around in the previous day. She’s an honest girl, but a total fool and no better than a poodle when it comes to shop assistants and students etc., her husband will never be able to give her enough money as she can’t keep control of it etc. And why should he marry her? The Cardinal of Passau will soon be 80,2 if he dies, his office will die with him: and how long can things go on with the chief steward?3 What will become of him then? What other job could he do? – – Adam,4 who used to be a valet de chambre but who’s now steward, has been trying to get better acquainted with your sister. On one occasion he caught us off our guard, but since then we’ve never been at home, and finally – after he’d repeatedly told our servant Tresel about his love – I told her to inform him that once he was married it would be an honour to welcome him

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.