The Mozarts, Who They Were Volume 2
Diego Minoia
In this new publication, available in an engaging two-volume series by Diego Minoia, we learn about the life and times of the Mozart family. Everything that there is to discover about these extraordinary characters and the epoch in which they lived is illustrated in this interesting and curious story that narrates approximately thirty years of their lives: travels and encounters, triumphs and disappointments, petty deceit and genius, rebellion and defeat. The story of the Mozart family, told through their own eyes, thanks to a rich collection of letters containing a wealth of information, enriched with detailed study that allows us a complete panoramic view of the circles in which they traveled, between journeys and presentations, intrigue and friendship, compliance to the powerful and desire for autonomy. An overview of a family and of a European continent that helps us understand the Eighteenth Century from a protagonist who rendered it one of the most prolific eras for music.
“The Mozarts: Who They Were” narrates the story of their lives until 1775, following them step by step, getting to know and understand them. Would you like to be their traveling companion? We will begin in Salzburg, where the family was formed and where Wolfgang Amadeus and his sister Maria Anna - known as Nannerl - were born to accompany them in their early travels to Munich and Vienna. We will then follow them in their very long European Grand Tour where the two young Mozart children were to become known as child prodigies, journeying through the principle courts of Germany, the Netherlands, France and England. 5,200 kilometers covered and 80 cities, visited in 1,269 days. No rock or pop star has ever accomplished such a tour!
In Volume I, we will follow Mozart to Munich, then on to Vienna, and finally Paris. Volume II will see his return to Salzburg from London, traveling through France and Switzerland. This is the moment when Leopold Mozart's ambitions become more audacious. It was time for Wolfgang Amadeus to begin his formation in becoming a composer, and there was only one place to do this: Italy. And this is how father and son, alone, without the women of the family, confronted their three journeys to Dante's Bel Paese, where they made friends and found recognition, as well as some less complimentary opinions. We will continue to accompany the Mozart family along the various visits on their tour of Italy where they visited many important cities: Verona, Mantua, Milan, Bologna, Florence, Rome, Naples, Turin, Venice. We will discover through their travels the many interesting facts about how life was lived in the country of Bel Canto - beautiful singing. In the meantime, Amadeus the child, was growing into a mature musician, brought up to perfect his craft, having already composed his first operas, as well as being able to navigate his way through the creation of the sacred and profane vocal and instrumental music. The elderly prince-bishop who had supported the Mozart family passed away and was substituted by Hieronymus Colloredo, whose relationship with the family grew constrained over time. The small and provincial Salzburg did not allow the young Wolfgang to express his full potential, who dreamed of the capital and a prestigious post at the Imperial Court.
The Mozarts, Who They Were
TRANSLATED BY DENA MARZULLO
Diego Minoia
The Mozarts, Who They Were
A Family on the Quest of a European Triumph
Travels, music, encounters and interesting facts
The historical-sociological conditions, the family,
the childhood and the adolescence of Wolfgang Amadeus
Volume 2
(1763 - 1775)
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ISBN 979-12-200-6604-4
Cover design: Marta Colosio
Diego Minoia
The Mozarts, Who They Were
A Family on the Quest of a European Triumph
Travels, music, encounters and interesting facts
Table of Contents
Volume I
Part 1: Salzburg and the Mozart family
Salzburg - The Prince-Bishops – Interesting facts on Salzburg – Music at the Court of the Prince-Bishopric – The musicians of the Salzburg Court – The Mozart family (mother, sister, father, Wolfgang) – Wolfgang's station in the history of music – The life of the Mozart family in Salzburg – Mozart's earnings – The catalogue of the Mozartian compositions
Part 2: School of thought, culture and society in the 1700s
The geopolitical situation during the 18
century – The Age of Enlightenment – Society during the Mozart epoch – Theater, influence and society – Theater and the impresario – The dedications and the earnings of composers and librettists – The castrated – Protected, borrowed and stolen musicians – Music of the 1700s – The role of the musician during the second half of the 1700s – The Melodramma – Music and the church – The principle forms of church music - The evolution and perfection of musical instruments during the 1700s – Pre-Romantic Mozart?
Part 3: Daily life during Mozart's time
The household in Europe in the 1700s – Pannier or farthingale – Laundry – Ice – Food and the evolution of taste – Artists and their role in society - Various habits and interesting facts: household pets, high fashion à la Française – Paris, the guiding light of fashion – Gossip and aristocratic parlors – The “dark gloom” - Parisian parlors and sex - Conservatories and hospitals for the poor
Part 4: The Mozarts family before the European travels
From 1775 to 1762: Leopold Mozart and the education of prodigious children – The Mozartian epistolary – The letters dating 1755/1756 – Leopold Mozart: part author, part businessman – Augsburg letters to the publisher Lotter – The production of paper until the 1700s – Leopold's astuteness – The Fair – Publishing in the 1700s and the author's rights – Leopold's “ploy” - Taxes in the 18
century – Nannerl and Wolfgang's musical education in Salzburg – Wolfgang's first compositions
Part 5: The first journeys of the Mozart family
Traveling in the 18
century: roads, guides, lodging, dangers – Some history on the postal service until Mozart's epoch – The first journeys: Munich and Vienna – The first journey to Vienna - Vienna, the capital of the Empire – Interesting facts – Epistolary from Vienna – Dress during the 18
century – The Academies – Music at the Court of Vienna – Business and the diversification of consumerism – Interior décor – What did Wolfgang and Nannerl do during their exhibitions? – The phenomenon of the 18
century's child prodigies
Part 6: The Mozarts and the Grand European Tour/1– Germany and the Netherlands
What was the Grand Tour of the 18
century? - The Mozart's Grand Tour “in reverse” - Appointments in every city - Sojourns along the journey: Salzburg, Munich, Augsburg, Ulm, Ludwigsburg, Bruchsal, Schwetzingen, Heidelberg, Mannheim, Worms, Mainz, Frankfurt, Mainz, Koblenz, Bonn, Cologne, Aachen, Liège, Tienen, Leuven, Brussels, Mons, Bonavis, Gourney, Paris
Volume 2
Part 7: The Mozart family and the Grand European Tour/2
Paris: encounters, hopes, gifts, success, interesting facts. Wolfgang's Parisian compositions
Part 8: The Mozart family and the Grand European Tour/3 – London
London: a “new” world, formative musical encounters, marketing strategies and government crisis. Wolfgang's “Londonese” compositions
Part 9: The Mozart family and the Grand European Tour/4 – The long return trip
Calais, Dunkirk, Lille, Ghent, Antwerp, Rotterdam, The Hague, Amsterdam, The Hague, Haarlem, Amsterdam, Utrecht, Antwerp, Brussels, Valenciennes, Cambrai, Paris, Dijon, Lyon, Geneva, Lausanne, Bern, ZГјrich, Winterthur, Schaffhausen, Donaueschingen, Dillingen, Augsburg, Munich, Salzburg
Part 10: Salzburg / Vienna / Salzburg
The return to daily life in Salzburg – A period of settling in and growth for Wolfgang in acquiring further musical knowledge – A second journey to Vienna – A period of additional Salzburg study in preparation for the upcoming journey to Italy
