January 27, 2014. Mozart, a trip to Paris.Today is the anniversary of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: he was born on January 27th of 1756.When he was 17, he received employment at the court of the Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg.By 1777 he found the situation stifling: not only was his pay very low, he also wanted to compose large-form pieces, especially operas, and the opportunity in Salzburg was limited.(Mozart was interested in operas all his life.He wrote his first one when he was 11; Il re pastore, written in 1775 when Mozart was 19, is still staged today).In August of 1777 Mozart resigned his position hoping for better employment elsewhere.Traveling with his mother (father Leopold stayed back in Salzburg) he went to Mannheim, which in those days boasted the best orchestra in all of Europe.In Mannheim he fell in love with Aloysia Weber, seventeen years of age and a budding soprano (he would eventually marry Aloysia’s younger sister, Constanza).He was sufficiently enamored to compose two Recitatives and arias for Aloysia.Unfortunately, Mozart couldn’t find any decent employment at the Palatinate court of the Mannheim rulers and, accompanied by his mother, he continued to Paris.
Leopold sent a letter to Baron Melchior Grimm, a fellow German who lived in Paris, was a member of the Parisian society who corresponded with Catherine the Great of Russia and Frederick II of Prussia, and, in those enlightened times, was also an Encyclopedist and a friend of Rousseau.Responding to Leopold’s requests, Grimm took Mozart under his wing.Unfortunately their relationship turned out to be difficult and pretty soon they parted ways, with Grimm passing Mozart to his mistress, Mme d’Epinay.Despite all her connections in high society, she couldn’t help him much either.What’s worse, her relationship with Mozart, initially very warm, also soured.It seems that the 22-year-old Mozart was a difficult protégé: in Paris he felt ill at ease, was passive and disagreeable.And he didn’t like the French.“Their manner now borders on rudeness and they’re frightfully arrogant,” he wrote to Leopold.To make the situation even worse, Mozart’s mother fell ill and died on July 3, 1778.With no money, Mozart got into debt; by September of 1778 he left Paris.This was an unfortunate trip, but Mozart continued to compose even under these difficult circumstances.While in Paris, he wrote yet another symphony, his 31st.It was premiered in June of 1778 at the home of the Ambassador of the Prince-Elect of Palatinate to France.Several days later it was also performed in public.We now know it as the "Paris Symphony," one of Mozart’s most famous.Here it is, performed by the English Sinfonia, one of Britain’s oldest chamber orchestras. Sir Charles Groves is conducting.
Mozart in Paris 2014
January 27, 2014. Mozart, a trip to Paris. Today is the anniversary of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: he was born on January 27th of 1756. When he was 17, he received employment at the court of the Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg. By 1777 he found the_by_Lange_1782.jpg "Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart")
situation stifling: not only was his pay very low, he also wanted to compose large-form pieces, especially operas, and the opportunity in Salzburg was limited. (Mozart was interested in operas all his life. He wrote his first one when he was 11; Il re pastore, written in 1775 when Mozart was 19, is still staged today). In August of 1777 Mozart resigned his position hoping for better employment elsewhere. Traveling with his mother (father Leopold stayed back in Salzburg) he went to Mannheim, which in those days boasted the best orchestra in all of Europe. In Mannheim he fell in love with Aloysia Weber, seventeen years of age and a budding soprano (he would eventually marry Aloysia’s younger sister, Constanza). He was sufficiently enamored to compose two Recitatives and arias for Aloysia. Unfortunately, Mozart couldn’t find any decent employment at the Palatinate court of the Mannheim rulers and, accompanied by his mother, he continued to Paris.
Leopold sent a letter to Baron Melchior Grimm, a fellow German who lived in Paris, was a member of the Parisian society who corresponded with Catherine the Great of Russia and Frederick II of Prussia, and, in those enlightened times, was also an Encyclopedist and a friend of Rousseau. Responding to Leopold’s requests, Grimm took Mozart under his wing. Unfortunately their relationship turned out to be difficult and pretty soon they parted ways, with Grimm passing Mozart to his mistress, Mme d’Epinay. Despite all her connections in high society, she couldn’t help him much either. What’s worse, her relationship with Mozart, initially very warm, also soured. It seems that the 22-year-old Mozart was a difficult protégé: in Paris he felt ill at ease, was passive and disagreeable. And he didn’t like the French. “Their manner now borders on rudeness and they’re frightfully arrogant,” he wrote to Leopold. To make the situation even worse, Mozart’s mother fell ill and died on July 3, 1778. With no money, Mozart got into debt; by September of 1778 he left Paris. This was an unfortunate trip, but Mozart continued to compose even under these difficult circumstances. While in Paris, he wrote yet another symphony, his 31st. It was premiered in June of 1778 at the home of the Ambassador of the Prince-Elect of Palatinate to France. Several days later it was also performed in public. We now know it as the "Paris Symphony," one of Mozart’s most famous. Here it is, performed by the English Sinfonia, one of Britain’s oldest chamber orchestras. Sir Charles Groves is conducting.