To prepare for the birth of her sixth child, Constanze Mozart visited a local spa in 1791. Located near Vienna, the small town of Baden had since medieval times provided relaxation and cures for Austria’s ruling families. Constanze certainly needed a bit of relaxation as she was suffering from a rather severe foot infection. Her husband, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart meanwhile, remained in Vienna to continue his work on the Magic Flute. Baden Spa For the Christian feast of “Corpus Christi”—celebrated on Thursday after Trinity Sunday—Wolfgang, however, did manage to visit his wife in Baden …

… her “antispasmodic powders, and then we would gladly have had recourse to black powder, but we had none, and could not get it here.” Anna Maria Mozart, year 1775 Her condition rapidly deteriorated, and she could hardly speak and also lost her hearing. They consulted another doctor, but Mozart’s mum remained weak, feverish and delirious. Although the doctor gave them some hope, Mozart was already resigned. “I am quite reconciled to the will of God,” he writes, “and hope that you and my sister will be the same. What other resource have we …

We all know that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart did a lot of traveling. In fact, it has been calculated that he spent over 10 years, roughly one third of his short life on the road. Mozart visited ten countries and more than 200 places and cities for the purpose of study and education, and for establishing contacts with other musicians. Mozart, early 1770s Organized by his father Leopold, Wolfgang was learning about other schools of thoughts and musical styles, and he was always on the lookout for employment. However, traveling in the 18th century was not all together easy. Accommodations were …

Between June 1783 and July 1791, Wolfgang and Constanze Mozart had six children, but only two survived infancy. Their first child was conceived shortly after their wedding on 4 August 1782, and Raimund Leopold was born and baptized on 17 June 1783. Mozart proudly writes to his father, “Congratulations, you are a grandpapa! Yesterday, the 17th, in the morning at 6:30 my dear wife successfully gave birth to a large, strong and round-as-a-ball baby boy.” Constanze MozartMozart seemed somewhat embarrassed to tell his father that his landlord, Baron Raimund von Wetzlar, would be the …

When Mozart returned to Vienna in late November 1783, he entered into the busiest and most successful years of his life. He performed and conducted a substantial number of his own compositions, and in addition to public performances he was also in great demand for private concerts. Mozart's manuscript, portrait of Barbara PloyerIn March 1784 alone he played 13 times, mostly at the houses of Count Johann Esterházy and the Russian ambassador, Prince Golitsïn. As he writes to his father on 12 June 1784, “Tomorrow Herr Ployer has a concert in the country, at Döbling, where Mdlle …

… Hagenauer. On 2 June 1763 the Mozart family arrived in Munich, and Leopold wasted no time in parading Wolfie. They quickly announced themselves to Maximilian III, Elector of Bavaria. The Elector was musically talented and a fine performer on the violoncello. In addition, he also composed church music and the Mozart’s had already performed before him in January 1762. Getreidegasse No. 9 Leopold writes to Hagenauer, “To be brief, Wolferl was a great success. The Elector said twice that he was sorry not to have heard my little girl since the boy alone took up most of …

Josepha Barbara AuernhammerMozart was incredibly successful in his appearances as a virtuoso at concerts in Vienna. Concerts were traditionally held during Lent, as all the theatres were closed. They were primarily held in private houses belonging to the aristocracy with invitations usually issued by subscription only. Mozart’s first subscription was held in 1782 and he subsequently joined forces with Philipp Jakob Martin, a native of Regensburg who had studied at the Jesuit Seminary in Munich. Mozart considered him “a very worthy young man who is trying to make his way in the world through his music, through …

… that Mozart composed the concert and farewell aria “Bella mia fiamma” KV 528 for Duschek in 1789, with the choice of text suggesting that Mozart and Duschek were teasing one another in slightly risqué terms. And we also know that her performance itinerary through Germany frequently intersected with Mozart’s. In the event, Constanze started to notice that she was receiving fewer and fewer letters from her husband, with Mozart defending himself by writing, “I hope you have by now received some letters from me, for they can’t all have been lost.” And …