January 22, 2018.Mozart in Vienna, early years. s birthday is this week – he was born on January 27th in 1756.Last year we wrote about his life and music during the period around 1781, when the 25-year-old Mozart finally left Salzburg and settled in Vienna.He first stayed at Singerstrasse 7, not far from Stephansplatz.Later in 1781 he moved in with the family of the Webers.Mozart met the Webers in 1777, while they still lived in Mannheim.The Webers had four daughters, Aloysia, Josepha, Constanze and Sofie.Both Aloysia and Josepha were fine singers; some years later Josepha would premier the role of the Queen of Night in The Magic Flute.Mozart promptly fell in love with Aloysia, but had to leave Mannheim after a short stay as his father Leopold wanted him to go to Paris.Several months later Mozart met Aloysia again, this time in Munich, where she was singing at the Court Theater.Unfortunately, by then Aloysia’s feeling had changed, she even pretended not to recognize Mozart.According to Georg Nikolaus von Nissen, Mozart’s biographer and the husband of Mozart’s widow, Constanze, Mozart’s reaction was swift: he sat at the piano and sung, “The one who doesn’t want me could kiss my ass” (Mozart wasn’t shy of using scatological terms).
While living with the Webers in Vienna, Mozart fell in love with Constanze, the third daughter.They married on August 4th of 1782 (papa Leopold consented to the marriage only grudgingly).In the following years, till his death in 1791, he and Constanza moved a dozen times but all of their addresses were within the city’s central First District.
The first pieces composed in Vienna were several sonatas for keyboard and violin, K 376 through K 380.The set was dedicated to Josepha Auernhammer, then 23, a pianist and Mozart’s pupil.Josepha fell in love with her teacher; at that time Mozart was still courting Constanza but there was a period in 1782 when they separated; it’s possible that Mozart’s affair with Josepha took place during that period.Hereis the Violin sonata K 380, performed by Henryk Szeryng, violin, and Ingrid Haebler, piano.Mozart also wrote a lovely sonata for two pianos to be played by him and Josepha.It’s performed here by two young American pianists, Nimrod David Pfeffer and Rafael Skorka.But the main composition of Mozart’s first year in Vienna was the opera Die Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio).It premiered on July 16th, 1782 in the Vienna Burgtheater to huge success.In addition to the Burgtheater, the opera was staged by Emanuel Schikaneder, a librettist (he wrote the libretto to the Magic Flute), composer and impresario, who founded the Theater an der Wien.Even during Mozart’s time, productions of the opera were staged throughout German-speaking cities.Here’s Belmonte’s aria Konstanze, dich wiederzusehen! ... O wie ängstlich, o wie feurig!, a favorite not just with the public but with Mozart himself.In this 1965 recording the superb Fritz Wunderlich is Belmonte.
Mozart 2018
January 22, 2018. Mozart in Vienna, early years. s birthday is this week – he was born on January 27th in 1756. Last year we wrote about his life and music during the period around
1781, when the 25-year-old Mozart finally left Salzburg and settled in Vienna. He first stayed at Singerstrasse 7, not far from Stephansplatz. Later in 1781 he moved in with the family of the Webers. Mozart met the Webers in 1777, while they still lived in Mannheim. The Webers had four daughters, Aloysia, Josepha, Constanze and Sofie. Both Aloysia and Josepha were fine singers; some years later Josepha would premier the role of the Queen of Night in The Magic Flute. Mozart promptly fell in love with Aloysia, but had to leave Mannheim after a short stay as his father Leopold wanted him to go to Paris. Several months later Mozart met Aloysia again, this time in Munich, where she was singing at the Court Theater. Unfortunately, by then Aloysia’s feeling had changed, she even pretended not to recognize Mozart. According to Georg Nikolaus von Nissen, Mozart’s biographer and the husband of Mozart’s widow, Constanze, Mozart’s reaction was swift: he sat at the piano and sung, “The one who doesn’t want me could kiss my ass” (Mozart wasn’t shy of using scatological terms).
While living with the Webers in Vienna, Mozart fell in love with Constanze, the third daughter. They married on August 4th of 1782 (papa Leopold consented to the marriage only grudgingly). In the following years, till his death in 1791, he and Constanza moved a dozen times but all of their addresses were within the city’s central First District.
The first pieces composed in Vienna were several sonatas for keyboard and violin, K 376 through K 380. The set was dedicated to Josepha Auernhammer, then 23, a pianist and Mozart’s pupil. Josepha fell in love with her teacher; at that time Mozart was still courting Constanza but there was a period in 1782 when they separated; it’s possible that Mozart’s affair with Josepha took place during that period. Here is the Violin sonata K 380, performed by Henryk Szeryng, violin, and Ingrid Haebler, piano. Mozart also wrote a lovely sonata for two pianos to be played by him and Josepha. It’s performed here by two young American pianists, Nimrod David Pfeffer and Rafael Skorka. But the main composition of Mozart’s first year in Vienna was the opera Die Entführung aus dem Serail (The Abduction from the Seraglio). It premiered on July 16th, 1782 in the Vienna Burgtheater to huge success. In addition to the Burgtheater, the opera was staged by Emanuel Schikaneder, a librettist (he wrote the libretto to the Magic Flute), composer and impresario, who founded the Theater an der Wien. Even during Mozart’s time, productions of the opera were staged throughout German-speaking cities. Here’s Belmonte’s aria Konstanze, dich wiederzusehen! ... O wie ängstlich, o wie feurig!, a favorite not just with the public but with Mozart himself. In this 1965 recording the superb Fritz Wunderlich is Belmonte.