Lot #5069

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Autograph Letter Signed, Writing to His Father from Augsburg in October 1777 - "The music here is wholeheartedly bad"

Description

Immensely rare handwritten letter from Mozart to his father, addressed from Augsburg in October 1777 amidst his travels to obtain a more lucrative position: “I have no concern except for the accompaniment in my academy. For the music here is wholeheartedly bad”

ALS in German, signed “W. A. Mozart,” one page, 5.25 x 4.75, comprised of a handwritten postscript from a letter sent to his father from Augsburg on October 17, 1777. Roughly a month earlier on September 23rd, Mozart embarked on a grand journey from Salzburg to seek a suitable and lucrative position befitting his talent. With his mother as his traveling companion, Mozart departed Munich and arrived on October 12th in his family’s hometown, Augsburg, where his father's brother, Aloys, also lived. In his letter dated October 17th, from which this handwritten postscript derives, he reports to his father who remained in Salzburg about his experiences.

Mozart’s boldly penned postscript reads (translated): “Mr. Novac, who arrived here today, comes highly recommended by all, especially by Mademoiselle Catherine. Soon I will write in a more cheerful mood. Next Wednesday, I will give a concert in the hall of Count Fugger. My dear cousin sends her regards. We all three go to Mr. Stein’s and dine there. I have no concern except for the accompaniment in my academy. For the music here is wholeheartedly bad. Now I must close, it is already 11 o'clock. I kiss Papa’s hands 100,000 times, and I embrace my sister with all my might. Not warm, not cold. Your obedient son W. A. Mozart,” who adds to the left: “and convey tutti tutti tutti our compliments.” Mozart writes his father’s address on the reverse: “A Monsieur, Monsieur Leopold Mozart, maître de la Chapelle de S: A: R: L’archevêque de à Salzbourg.” The concert in the “Fugger Hall” took place on Wednesday, October 22, 1777, with the 90 Thalers paid to Mozart representing the only notable income earned during his stay in Augsburg. The “cousin” to whom he refers is the young, cheerful ‘Bäsle,’ his cousin Maria Anna Thekla Mozart, with whom he shared a close, probably intimate friendship. Johann Andreas Stein, whom the Mozarts visited on this day, was a renowned piano manufacturer. Affixed to a slightly larger sheet and in fine condition.

Be it a signature, manuscript, or, in this desirable instance, a handwritten letter to a relative, the opportunity to add to one’s collection the handwriting of Mozart is, without hyperbole, a rare event not to be missed or understated. This example, furthermore, provides exceptional content related to both business and family. Written at a significant period in the composer’s life, this letter-length postscript dates to Mozart’s recent departure from the Salzburg court and his subsequent expedition to find work better suited to his musical ambitions. His travels brought him to Mannheim where he met and fell in love with singer Aloysia Weber, for whom he wrote several musical pieces, and then to Paris, where, in early July 1778, his mother, Anna Maria, passed away from illness. This loss deeply affected Mozart, both emotionally and financially, as he was left alone in a foreign city and forced to pawn his valuables for funds. While his Parisian experience was marked with hardship, it was not entirely fruitless, with Mozart producing a handful of personal and notable works, including Symphony No. 31 in D major, K. 297/300a, better known as the Paris Symphony, which exists as one of his most famed and beloved symphonies.

Accompanied by a handwritten certificate of authenticity from the collector Aloys Fuchs (translated): “Original cover of a letter from W. A. Mozart to his father Leopold in Salzburg, written from Augsburg in the year 1777, in which cover there is an autograph postscript by Mozart, consisting of 15 lines with the complete signature. The authenticity of this autograph is guaranteed. Vienna, April 1840, Aloys Fuchs.”

Publications: Bauer-Deutsch No. 351 (the postscript); Mozart's Letters and Records, Volume II (Kassel 1962, pg. 67) Ludwig Schiedermair (No. 80, listed as an independent letter); Letters of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Erich Müller von Asow, Berlin 1942); Mozart: Briefe und Notizen (Otto Erich Deutsch and Wilhelm Bauer / Complete Edition, Volume V, Commentary I/II, pg. 401).

Provenance: Aloys Fuchs; Wilhelm Heyer (1849-1913), manufacturer in Cologne; John Bass, (1891-1978), sugar manufacturer and art collector, who gave the Mozart autograph to the Carnegie Hall Archives; J. A. Stargardt Auctions (1963); Max Reis Collection, Zurich; Stargardt/Erasmushaus (1994).

Auction Info

• Auction Title: Remarkable Rarities
• Dates: September 04, 2024 - September 28, 2024

This item is Pre-Certified by PSA/DNA
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