Life of Mozart. I. Childhood: Schachtner's letter

Most of the anecdotes of Mozart's childhood which testify to  his  wonderful  genius,   are   contained  in   a letter from Schachtner, which is here given entire, as the direct testimony of a contemporary.

Joh. Andre Schachtner (died 1795) had been court trumpeter at Salzburg from 1754, for which post a higher degree of musical attainment was necessary then than at the present day. He was not only a skilled musician, but displayed considerable literary cultivation, which he had obtained at the Jesuit school of Ingolstadt. The translation of a religious drama, "The Conversion of St. Augustine" from the Latin of Father Franz Neumayer, gained him the somewhat ambiguous praise of Gottsched, who writes : " We may even say that he wrote good German, nay, almost that he wrote good German poetry."²⁹ We shall find him later acting as librettist to Mozart.

He was intimate in Mozart's home, and his warm attachment is proved by the following interesting letter, written soon after Mozart's death to his sister.³⁰

Dear and honoured Madam,— 

Your very welcome letter reached me, not at Salzburg, but at Hammerau, where I was visiting my son, who is coadjutor in the office of Oberwesamtmann there.

You may judge from my habitual desire to oblige every one, more especially those of the Mozart family, how much distressed I was at the delay in discharging your commission. To the point therefore !

Your first question is : " What were the favourite amusements of 3'our late lamented brother in his childhood, apart from his passion for his music ? " To this question no reply can be made, for as soon as he began to give himself up to music, his mind was as good as dead to all other concerns,31 and even his childish games and toys had to be accompanied by music. When we, that is, he and I, carried his toys from one room into another, the one of us who went empty-handed had always to sing a march and play the fiddle.

    ²⁹ Das Neueste aus der anmuth. Gelehrs., 1761, p. 60.

³⁰  The original is in the possession of Aloys Fuchs, who communicated it to
me.    Schlichtegroll and Nissen have both made use of it.

³¹  " Both as a child and a boy you were serious rather than childish," writes
L. Mozart, February 16, 1778, " and when you were at the clavier, or otherwise
engaged with music, you would not suffer the least joking to go on with you.
Your very countenance was so serious that many observant persons prophe­
sied your early death on the grounds of your precocious talent and serious
expression."

 But before he began to study music he was so keenly alive to any childish fun that contained a spice of mischief, that even his meals would be forgotten for it. He was so excessively fond of me—I, as you know, being devoted to him that he used to ask me over and over again whether I loved him; and when in joke I sometimes said " No," great tears would come into his eyes, so tender and affectionate was his dear little heart.

Second question: "How did he behave to great people when they admired his talent and proficiency in music ? " In truth he betrayed very little pride or veneration for rank,32 for, though he could best have shown both by playing before great people who understood little or nothing of music, he would never play unless there were musical connoisseurs among his audience, or unless he could be deceived into thinking that there were.

Third question : " What was his favourite study ?" Answer: In this he submitted to the guidance of others. It was much the same to him what he had to learn ; he only wanted to learn, and left the choice of a field for his labours to his beloved father.33 It appeared as if he understood that he could not in all the world find a guide and instructor like his ever memorable father.

Whatever he had to learn he applied himself so earnestly to, that he laid aside everything else, even his music. For instance, when he was learning arithmetic, tables, stools, walls, and even the floor were chalked over with figures.34

Fourth question : " What particular qualities, maxims, rules of life, singularities, good or evil propensities had he ? " Answer : He was full of fire ; his inclinations were easily swayed : I believe that had he been without the advantage of the good education which he received, he might have become a profligate scoundrel—he was so ready to yield to every attraction which offered.

Let me add some trustworthy and astonishing facts relating to his fourth and fifth years, for the accuracy of which I can vouch.

Once I went with your father after the Thursday service to your house, where we found Wolfgangerl, then four years old, busy with his pen.

³² " As a boy, your modesty was so excessive that you used to weep when you were overpraised," writes L. Mozart (February 16, 1778).

³³ He was so docile, even in trifles, that he never received corporal punish­ment. He loved his father with unusual tenderness. The latter reminds him (February 12, 1778) how, every evening at bedtime, he used to make him sit on a stool by his side and sing with him a melody of his own finding with nonsensical words, Oragnia figa taxa, &c, after which he kissed his father on the tip of his nose, promised to put him in a glass case when he grew old, and give him all honour, and went contentedly to bed.

    ³⁴ Upon a separate scrap of paper.

Father : What are you doing ?

Wolfg. : Writing a concerto for the clavier; it will soon be done.

Father: Let me see it.

Wolfg.: It's not finished yet.

Father: Never mind; let me see it. It must be something very fine.

Your father took it from him and showed me a daub cf notes, for the most part written over ink-blots. (The little fellow dipped his pen every time down to the very bottom of the ink-bottle, so that as soon as it reached the paper, down fell a blot; but that did not disturb him in the least, he rubbed the palm of his hand over it, wiped it off, and went on with his writing.) We laughed at first at this apparent nonsense, but then your father began to note the theme, the notes, the composition ; his contemplation of the page became more earnest, and at last tears of wonder and delight fell from his eyes.

" Look, Herr Schachtner," said he, "how correct and how orderly it is; only it could never be of any use, for it is so extraordinarily difficult that no one in the world could play it." Then Wolfgangerl struck in : " That is why it is a concerto; it must be practised till it is perfect; look! this is how it goes."

He began to play, but could only bring out enough to show us what he meant by it. He had at that time a firm conviction that playing concertos and working miracles were the same thing.

Once more, honoured madam ! You will doubtless remember that I have a very good violin which Wolfgangerl used in old times to call " Butter-fiddle," on account of its soft, full tone. One day, soon after you came back from Vienna (early in 1763), he played on it, and could not praise my violin enough ; a day or two after, I came to see him again, and found him amusing himself with his own little violin. He said directly: "What is your butter-fiddle about?" and went on playing according to his fancy; then he thought a little and said: " Herr Schachtner, your violin is half a quarter of a tone lower than mine, that is, if it is tuned as it was, when I played on it last."

I laughed at this, but your father, who knew the wonderful ear and memory of the child, begged me to fetch the violin, and see if he was right. I did, and right he was, sure enough !

Some time before this, immediately after your return from Vienna, Wolfgang having brought home with him a little violin which some one in Vienna had given him, there came in one day our then excellent violinist the late Herr Wentzl, who was a dabbler in composition.

He brought six trios with him, composed during the absence of your father, whose opinion on them he came to ask. We played these trios, your father taking the bass part, Wentzl playing first violin, and I second.

Wolfgangerl begged to be allowed to play second violin, but your father reproved him for so silly a request, since he had never had any instruction on the violin, and your father thought he was not in the least able for it.

Wolfgang said, "One need not have learnt, in order to play second violin," whereupon his father told him to go away at once, and not interrupt us any longer.

Wolfgang began to cry bitterly, and slunk away with his little violin. I interceded for him to be allowed to play with me, and at last his father said: "Play with Herr Schachtner then, but not so as to be heard, or you must go away "at once." So it was settled, and Wolfgang played with me. I soon remarked with astonishment that I was quite superfluous ; I put my violin quietly down, and looked at your father, down whose cheeks tears of wonder and delight were running; and so he played all the six trios. When we had finished, Wolfgang grew so bold from our applause that he declared he could play first violin. We let him try for the sake of the joke, and almost died of laughter to hear him play, with incorrect and uncertain execution, certainly, but never sticking fast altogether.

In conclusion : Of the delicacy and refinement of his ear.

Until he was almost ten years old, he had an insurmountable horror of the horn, when it was sounded alone, without other instruments; merely holding a horn towards him terrified him as much as if it had been a loaded pistol. His father wished to overcome this childish alarm, and ordered me once, in spite of his entreaties, to blow towards him; but,0! that I had not been induced to do it. Wolfgang no sooner heard the clanging sound than he turned pale, and would have fallen into convulsions, had I not instantly desisted.

This is, I think, all I can say in answer to your questions. Forgive my scrawl, I am too much cast down to do better. I am, honoured Madam,

With the greatest esteem and affection, Your most obedient Servant,

Andreas Schachtner,

Court Trumpeter. Salzburg,

24 April 1792