Austria-Hungary . compositions, in spite of his world-wide fame and the great favour in which he washeld by crowned heads, he was always poor. In1772 a new archbishop was appointed in place ofthe first one, who had died, and this man was of atemperament not, unfortunately, uncommon amongthose who are in positions of supreme authority inthe church, the precepts of whose Founder they setutterly at variance with their lives. He was a bully,and did his best to make the life of the simple-natured musician a torment to him. Mozart, whohad poured out concertos, masses, symphonies,cantatas, and even o


Austria-Hungary . compositions, in spite of his world-wide fame and the great favour in which he washeld by crowned heads, he was always poor. In1772 a new archbishop was appointed in place ofthe first one, who had died, and this man was of atemperament not, unfortunately, uncommon amongthose who are in positions of supreme authority inthe church, the precepts of whose Founder they setutterly at variance with their lives. He was a bully,and did his best to make the life of the simple-natured musician a torment to him. Mozart, whohad poured out concertos, masses, symphonies,cantatas, and even operas, had apparently receivedvery little payment as the result of all this work,which indeed came as naturally to him as warblingto the birds. He asked leave of his nominalemployer to go on another tour with his tyrannical archbishop refused, with insult, andapparently kept the young musician by him for thesole purpose of insulting and annoying him. Hisirony went so far as to forbid the young man leave. VIENNA : MOZARTS HOUSE A MIGHTY QUARTETTE 105 to resign his honorary appointment, to which underpressure a little later he attached a small salary,but only apparently for the purpose of binding theyoung musician more firmly in the toils. He wastreated like a servant by the archbishop, was notallowed to play anywhere but in the palace, andwas left to pay his own expenses. Mozart didafter a struggle get away temporarily, but the tourwas not a success ; he fell in love unhappily, andwhen he returned his mother died. In 1782 hemarried the sister of his first love, and this stepproved disastrous; his wife was in no way hisequal, and became a confirmed invalid. He pro-duced some of his greatest pieces in Vienna, butwithout winning the applause they deserved, andwhen he was at length appointed Kammermeisterto the Emperor it was with what seems a ludi-crously inadequate salary. King Frederick Williamof Prussia offered him five or six times as much, andwhen Mozart unwillingly


Size: 1308px × 1911px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookidaustriahunga, bookyear1915