hodder & stoughton - days with the great composers - vol.3 (mozart, schumann, tchaikovsky)

To thosewho rememberthe solitary Beethoven communing with hisown heart, or the long hours of isolationspent by many a great master at his pianoforte, this self-concentration of Mozart, a

Thou bad'st me to thysupper,

I would return the courtesy:

Comeanswerme,come answerme,

wilt thou too

Banquet withme now?

(Don Giovanni).

WITH THE

GREAT

COMPOSERS

MOZART SCHUMANN

TSCHA1KOVSKY

HODDER &

N a dull November morning inthe year 1791, a small insigni-ficant-lookingman,aboutthirty-fiveyears of age, arose from asleep of utter exhaustion ; for

he had been working late intothe previous night It wasabout nine a.m.;hiswife Gonstanze had longbeen up and employed

in the duties of that small, poverty-strickenhousehold, man, wife, and two small childrenand their little home in an unimportant street

of Vienna These duties, to Constanze, were

not theeasiest oftasks: forshewas but a poordomestic manager, and an inefficient, thoughdevoted, mother andwife

As theslight,undersizedman movedto andfro, dressing, with rapid, graceful gestures,paying a great deal of attention to thepowder-ingand peruking ofhisprofuse brownhair, anddecking outhispersonwithnearlyall the scanty

2051153

ornaments he possessed, therewas nothing inWolfgangAmadeus Mozartoutwardlytodenotethatamazing geniuswhichmade itsdwelling in his slender frame A dull fire smouldered in

hislanguid, absent-mindedeyes: but itwas the

fireofincipient fever. Aslight flush tinged his

usually pale cheeks : but it was a hectic andunhealthyflush. A certain child-like simplicitystill remained as though he were a case of

"arrested development" in his features, pressionand deportment The boy whose fame

ex-began at four years old had never yet reallyquitegrown up

He had now discontinued his one-timepractice of taking aride,bymedical advice,first

thing in the morning A species of curiousnervousness, induced bythe rapid deterioration

of hisstrength, rendered him unequal to exercise and his attenuated purse hardlyallowed ofit. Forthisman'slifewasa continualsheer fight for existence, a fight with fate andcircumstances It has been said that, "all themusic created, since Guido d* Arezzo, who

horse-invented musical notation, to the end of theeighteenth century,hadonlyoneaim and object

tocreateMozart," "thegreatestcomposerof

whom I have ever heard," avowedhisporary Haydn But he was by no means aprophet in his own country. His honoraryappointment as Court conductor only broughthim in 80 a year And the master-musician

contem-whoattwelve had beenthewonderofEurope, aprodigy, aKleinerHexenmeister(littlemagician),

was now eking out his difficult days in anatmosphere of anxious penury, unrecognised,unacknowledged, over-worked, his vitality al-

most expended

For a few minutes the composer knelt inprayer: the despondency which was graduallyenshrouding him fell off for awhile, revealing

riftsof heavenly sunshine tohistroubled mind.Again hereflected, in thewords he had written

as a youth: "I have God always before my

eyes, I acknowledge His omnipotence I fearHis wrath, but I also acknowledge His love,Hispity and Hismercy towards Hiscreatures.Whatsoever is according to His will, is alsoaccording to mine: therefore I cannot fail to

be happy and contented." And he rose from

hisknees refreshed

ornaments he possessed, therewas nothing inWolfgangAmadeus Mozartoutwardlytodenotethatamazing genius whichmade itsdwelling in his slender frame A dull fire smouldered in his languid, absent-minded eyes: but itwas the

fire ofincipient fever. A slight flushtinged his

usually pale cheeks: but it was a hectic andunhealthyflush. Acertain child-like simplicity

still remained as though he were a case of

"arrested development" in his features, pressionand deportment. The boy whose fame

ex-began at four years old had never yet reallyquitegrownup

He had now discontinued his one-timepracticeof taking aride,bymedicaladvice, first

thing in the morning. A species of curiousnervousness, induced bythe rapid deterioration

of hisstrength, rendered him unequal to exercise and his attenuated purse hardlyallowed ofit. Forthisman'slifewasa continualsheer fight for existence, a fight with fate andcircumstances It has been said that, "all themusic created, since Guido dj

horse-Arezzo, who

invented musical notation, to the end of theeighteenth century, hadonlyone aim and object

tocreateMozart," "thegreatestcomposerof

whom I have ever heard,"avowed hisporary Haydn But he was by no means aprophet in his own country. His honoraryappointment as Court conductor only broughthim in 80 a year. And the master-musician

contem-whoattwelve had beenthewonderofEurope,aprodigy, aKleinerHexenmeister(little magician),

was now eking out his difficult days in anatmosphere of anxious penury, unrecognised,unacknowledged, over-worked, his vitality al-

most expended

For a few minutes the composer knelt inprayer: the despondencywhich was graduallyenshrouding him fell off for awhile, revealing

riftsof heavenly sunshine tohistroubled mind.Again hereflected, in thewords hehad written

as a youth: "I have God always before my

eyes, I acknowledge His omnipotence I fearHis wrath, but I also acknowledge His love,Hispity and Hismercy towards Hiscreatures.Whatsoever is according to His will, is alsoaccording to mine : therefore I cannot fail to

be happy and contented." And he rose from

his knees refreshed

He went into the little living-room, and,without waiting for thesomewhat unattractivebreakfast which Gonstanze was preparing, heset to work upon a manuscript in his smallneat handwriting He wrote standing up, forhealth's sake : any cramped attitude wasrepugnant to his flexible and freedom-lovinglimbs But, indeed, he could write in anyposition, or under anycircumstances "I am,

so to speak, so swallowed up in music," heaverred, "that Iam busy withit all daylong,speculating, studying, considering:" and there-fore the actual setting down of his ideas hadbecomealmost a mechanical, automatic process,like that which a clairvoyant might achieve

Evenduring the intervalsofplay, at hisbelovedbilliardsor skittles, he wasevolving oraccumu-lating fresh matter : and he had but recentlywrittendown thescoreof Don Giovanniuponastone table ina garden near Prague, while his

friends laughed and talked at their game ofbowls around him To thosewho rememberthe solitary Beethoven communing with hisown heart, or the long hours of isolationspent

by many a great master at his pianoforte, this

self-concentration of Mozart, amid a crowd,

seems almost inconceivable : but he was one

who "took hisgreatness easily," and for whom

difficulties artistic ones had, it may be said,

no more than a momentary existence "He

writes music," his wife declared, * '

as otherpeople write letters."

Uponwhat, however, was he sosedulouslyengaged this morning, as he covered page afterpage of music-paper with his small neat hand-writing ? while the air of depression whichdaily deepened on him, sat heavily on hispleasant simple face Not here, for certain,

was he transcribing some superb symphonicmovement, somebrilliant operatic scene Here

was no outcomeof that almost "antique joy ofexistence" which had pulsed so exuberantlythrough Figaroand Giovanni . The tremen-dous words of the Dies Ira were visible andalmost audible in the vocal score, and themelancholy of Mozart's countenance wasenhanced byhis beliefthat hewasin theactofcomposing hisown dirge. For he had headed

it "Requiemdime, W A Mozart :"and hewasinspired by a settled conviction, intuition,

call it what you will, that hewould dieat theconclusion ofthistask

All its circumstances were ominous andmysteriously foreboding The composer hadbeen working,twoor three monthsbefore,upon

hismagnificentopera DieZauberflote(The MagicFlute),whena leantall stranger, clad inghostlygrey,suddenlyappeared before him,and handedMozart an anonymous letter, with a query as

to howsoon he could completea Requiem forvoices and orchestra, and for how much?

Mozart replied by naming a period of aboutfive months, andasumofabout 100: immensewealth to him The stranger returned sub-sequently with half this money, and promisedthe rest upon delivery of the MS. ; but all

information as to his name or sender was

scrupulously concealed [He was, as a matter

offact, thestewardof acertainCount Walsegg,

whodesired topurchasea Mozartianscoreandproduceit as hisowncomposition.] From thatday forth, Mozart was a doomed man : hisnaturallight-hearted,mischievousvivacity,akin

to the spontaneous mirth of a child, began toebb and wane An unaccountable gloom per-vaded all his thoughts, and his debilitatedconstitution was laid open to the subtle on-

However, to-day he was temporarilymore

like himself: and ashe satdown to his madecoffee and hot roll, his kindly little facewas all a-sparkle with smiles towards hiswifeand babes

badly-Constanze Mozart was not the ideal wifefor a man of his temperament, good-heartedandaffectionatethoughshemight be She had

no talents, no education, her nature wasessentially commonplace, and her capabilitiesbeneaththose of theaverage Germanhaus-frau.She occupied, indeed, the not very elevatedposition of a makeshift; for Mozart had loved,had never ceased to love her brilliant andbeautiful sister Aloysia : and when fate andpovertydenied him thatcharmingcreature, heselected, like manyothermen, another mem-

ber of the samefamily,ofvastly inferiorcalibre.Mozart, however, made the best of his stupid,good-natured Constanze "Isnot the pleasure

of a fleeting, fickle passion," he wrote, "as farremoved from theblisswhicha reasonable loveprocures, as Earth is from Heaven ?" He

encouraged her to cultivate her second-rateabilities of singing and playing, and took

pleasurein pointingoutto hisrelatives thatshemade all her own dresses and bonnets; that,

"though always very poorly clad, she was

irreproachably clean . She even does her

ownhairevery day!"

Perhaps, indeed, a more highly-strung andemotional woman might have been less fitted

to companion so erratic a genius; for Mozart was at the mercy of every flatterer and im-postor, nolessthan hewas thedupeof his own

generousinstincts. Carelesslylavish bynature,

he hadmade many a desperate attempttowardseconomyandmethodical expenditure attemptsinvariably frustrated by somecalamity, suchasone of Constanze's frequent illnesses, or thecollapseof some hoped-for financial assistance,

or theill successof a composition

Mozart was a very human little man :

nothing "upon stilts" or "high-falutin'"abouthim A few moments' natural homely inter-courseover thecoffee-cups and he was theoldMozart once more, quick, restless, gay, themarvel,who "whilst busywiththemost seriousthingsof his art, could jest and make merry in

the pleasantest and mostcarelessmanner." He

danced to and fro aboutthe room to amusethechildren, now imitating some peasant folk-dance, all heel and toe, now the courtlymeasured movements of some minuet orgavotte For he was a born dancer, an en-thusiast in the "poetry of motion,"and oftendeclared that his truetaste andvocation lay in

that art rather than in music You can feel this tendencyin all hisdance-formcompositions:the rhythmic sway, and inherent gestures ofdancing leaves, of nodding flowers, are there :

the exquisite poise and symmetry of a suppleand flexible nature The Minuet withitsTriowasstill an accepted desideratum of symphonicform: and to what delightful use he put it ! It

wascharacteristic of him that his most lovelyMinuets were composed under the storm andstress of troubles mental and financial. They

have the "first fine careless rapture" of theearly world Whilst outwardly, itwould seem,

he envisaged splendid lord and lady treadingstately steps together, "with woven paces andwith waving arms," inwardly he "sangof thedaedal stars, sang of the dancing earth", likePan in Shelley's poem, and felt, like a new

OrpheusorAmphion, the whole world dancing

to his magic flute. And so, in the great G

major and G minor symphonies, he had, as

Wagner says, "breathed into his instrumentsthe passionate fervour of the human voice, towhichhisgeniuswithall-pervadingloveinclinedhim, asif in restlessanxiety to impart tothe melody, by way of compensation for its

exposition by instruments only, the depth offeeling of the human voice Thus he raisedthe capacity of instrumental music for soulexpression, to a height which enabled it toexpress thewhole depthof theinfinite yearning

of the heart "

Presently a young lady of noble familyarrived for her daily two-hours' lesson Shehad been receiving this for months, but hadnever paid a kreutzer : a state of affairs still

notunknown to themusic-master ofaristocratic

families. Mozart, though painstaking andconscientious, was hardly a successful teacher

He had neither the methodical system nor theobsequious toadyism whichthemannersof thatday demanded He had but little respect forrankor wealth,and refused most pertinaciously

Alean tallstranger .suddenlyappearedbeforehim, . with a query as to how soon he couldcompletea Requiem for voices and orchestra.

toplay before audiences who were possessed ofmoretitles thantaste. This, initself, had gonefar to injure his prospects : any reader ofConsuelo may easily gather how dependent

upon patronage was the unlucky musician ineighteenth-century Vienna "Our wealth,"

Mozart had avowed, "dieswith us, for it is inour brains, and no one can take it from us,

unless he cut off our head And then," headded, with his customary insouciance, "weshould not require anything any more !

"Nevertheless, to pupils who exhibited anytrace of talent, earnestness, and a genuinedesire toget on, heunfolded the best that was

in him He considered the chief pointsof apianist to be "a quiet, steady hand, the power

of singing the melody, clearness and neatness

in the ornamental passages, and a command

of technique which should be equal to all

purposes "

His high-born pupil, however, was

apt to rebel against whatshe considered his

faddiness and fastidiousness And, on beinggently set right for the fiftieth time, "Ach !

lieber Herr Mozart!

"

she exclaimed, "why

not show me yourself howthis pieceshould beperformed ? Example will be better thanprecept.

"

The great virtuoso changed placeswith herat theclavier. Merely tosee his slim,shapely little handsglidingover the keyboard,wasa pleasure to theeye : but theexquisitelysympathetic playing which, as Haydn had said,

"went straight to the heart," was wasted onthe frivolous young Fraulein She waswhollytaken up with regarding him in astonishmentand curiosity. He had becomeadifferentand

an ennobled person. His simple, insignificant

littlefacewas transformed and illumined, "asimpossible to describe,"so one of his friendshadsaid, "asitwould be to paint sunbeams" :

hisweakandrestlesseyeswerecalm andsteady:

every movementofevery muscle responded to,

and indicated, the thoughts which his musicexpressed He was lost to all external things.

Suddenly he pulled himself up with ajerk, as though he had come down suddenlywithabumpto earth

"Youunderstand?" he said to the young

patricienne. "You perceive that thus itshould

be played?" "I perceive," said she with a

shrug and pout, "that it is thus you areable toplayit." Themastersighed, andthe irradiatinglight died awayout of his features "Alas!"

hemurmured to himself, "I am not fortunate

in my attempts togive lessons." Indeed, theman who had stamped so violently at a recentorchestral rehearsal, that his steel shoe-buckleflew in two, was by no means suited to thepatient methods of pianoforte instruction .

" The time is not quite up," he presentlycontinued, "butI willpostpone therest ofyourlesson For I haveaworkin hand which lies

very near my heart, and until that is finished

I can think of nothing else."

in the land : Salieri, to wit, and Kotzebuch,Kraubich, and Strack, "with whom, dearchild," shewas assured, "you will be enabled

to do proper justice to your talents. Herr

Mozart is a very much over-rated man We

have heard that all his pupils are graduallyfalling off."

The over-rated man, meanwhile, had

re-sumed work on his Requiem, upon which hewaslavishing thewhole wealth ofhis resources,

when a fresh interruption occurred, in theshape of Schickaneder, hisimpresario. Schicka-nederwas one upon whom, at birth, had beenbestowed the celebrated three wishes of themother for herson, "deTaudace, de Taudace,et

toujours de I'audace.

"

Uneducated and

illi-terate, recklessly spendthrift and dissolute, hisnative audacity brought him through everydilemma He hadrecently produced Mozart'sopera Die Zauberflote at the Imperial Theatre,with such success that from a very doubtful

encour-two This opera is not so familiar

to the average music-lover as are Figaro andDon Giovanni: its libretto is tedious, involved,and fantastic, and its music less adapted to

"tickle the ear of the groundlings."

Never-theless, with this Mozart "unlocked for hiscountrymen the sacred treasure of national

art,

"

and it made an impression upon theViennese publicsuch asno opera had ever pro-duced before In its varied and complicatedscore were to be found specimens of nearlyevery extant musical form, from the lied tothe chorale and fugue. The whole musicalconception was pure German, unindebted toFrench or Italian tradition for an iota of its

effect : and, intellectually speaking as regardsthe music, it was on a totally different planefromeitherthelight-heartedunmoralintriguery

of Figaro, or the brilliant comedy of DonGiovanni, that"expression of a universal geniuswhichcould reproduce in music every emotion

of the human heart, great and small, withequal truth to nature.

"

DieZauberflote, in the

mindof itscomposer, was aworkof the loftiestand most mysticalsymbolism: and produces by

its perfection "an effect on the musical mind,which," (to quote Otto Jahn), "is quite irre-

sistible, animatingit tomoreactiveendeavour,and lifting it to an atmosphere of purestserenity.

"

Unfeigned and childlike pleasure suffusedtheface of Mozart, as helistened to thecheeryboasting of Schickaneder "

It would seem,"thought he, "that the perfect mastery overmy

art which I feel myself to have attained, hasculminated in a triumph such as is rarely per-mitted to mortals At last, then, success andfame, and the comfort of my dear ones arewithin reasonable distance I have not toiled

in vain!

"

As Schickaneder poured forth his tale of increasing receipts, of redoublingapplause, of praises showered upon thename of Mozart, the volatile musician wascarried away by his delight. He embracedSchickaneder : he kissed Constanze : he heldaloft hisyoungestchildin his arms,and waltzedround the room with it, singing the bird-catcher's song from DieZauberflote; in short, hegave way to the wildest extravagances of hisover-brimming vivacity But a more serious

mood succeeded "The words ofmy father,"said he, "are finding their fulfilment. For he

Whilstoutwardly he envisagedsplendid lordandlady treadingstately steps together,"withwovenpaces and with waving arms", inwardlyhe "sang of

the daedal stars, sangof the dancing earth".

told me in the days of my early manhood, '

It

lies now in your own power alone to raiseyourself to as high a position as amusician haseverattained : you oweallto the extraordinarytalent bestowed upon you by the all-graciousGod, and it depends uponyourown sense andbehaviour whether you become an ordinarymusician, forgotten by the world, or a cele-brated Kapellmeister whose name shall behanded down to posterity in books whetheryouherdall togetherin aroom fullofsquallingbrats on a heap of straw, orspend a Christian

life, full of honour, pleasure and profit, and dierespected byall the world, leaving your familywell-provided for/"

Schickaneder, who did not consider the

Mozart household to be very much more than

**a room full of squalling brats," shrugged hisshoulders and replied, "Jawohl! the world is

at your feet, dear Mozart ; put aside the

gloomy offsprings of ill-health,"and he wavedhis hand towards theRequiem score, "for thepublic will shortlyclamour for another opera:

andyoushall surpass all thatyou havehithertoachieved !

"

With these words he bade

fare-well, declining the hospitable invitation ofConstanze : and he ran into Stadler on the

stairs.

Stadlerwas not aman to wait until hewasinvited He was a clarinettist by profession,and a hanger-on byoccupation Many a timehad he traded on the weak good-nature of

Mozart : many a ducat, ill to be spared, and

many a dinner, hard to be shared, had hewheedled out of the too-pliant composer.Gonstanze shuddered in her heart when sheheard his plausible voice at the door : butMozart, exhilarated by the good tidings ofSchickaneder, drew the visitor in with bothhands, and gave him an effusive welcome

They sat down to the scanty mid-day meal.Mozart, whose touchwas so delicate upon thepianoforte, so exquisite upon the billiard-cue,found his hands of little practical use in themost ordinary matters : it was with clumsydifficulty that he handled his knife and fork

He was, moreover, talking so excitedly all thewhile, full of high spiritsand drollery, that hepaid but little attention to the deficiencies of

Con-stanze, snatching a hasty mouthfuloccasionally,was busied with the two little children : soStadler madethe best use of his host's unobser-vant attitude, and proved himself an excellenttrencherman.

ofall thy fineexpectations ?

"

"

I ill !

"exclaimed

her husband, forgetful

of the rows of empty medicine-bottles upon

the chimneypiece for he had been dosinghimself heavily of late, "what have I to dowithillness? I haveworks to do, greatworks

I mustsurpassmyself!

"

"Twill

govastlyhard withthee,Wolfgang,

to do that," observed Stadler, "for in whatbranch of the tone-art shalt thou find new

worlds to conquer? In symphony, in opera,

in mass, in chamber-music and pianofortemusic, in lieder and in concertos, art thou notmaster above all? And avirtuoso, moreover,

on violin, viola, organ, clavier where will the

list end? Is it not enough for any ordinaryman to havewrittenDonGiovanni only ?"

Thisgrossandliberal flattery(though indeed

itwasno more thanthe truth)fairlyintoxicatedthe mind of Mozart: for he, who in his child-

hood had beenwont to weep, out of excessivemodesty, when people praised him, was nowresponsive to the least word of encomium

"Beyond a mortal man impassioned far," hesprang up, and seizing the hand of Stadler,

"Yes, yes!" he cried, pointing upwards, "thetemple of Fame holds wide its doors forme :

and thou shalt accompany me, my best offriends!

melancholy and hypochondriacal

Don Hand lock'd in hand, we'll wander,Giovanni Thereshalt thouhear my vow,

Gomewith me, darling, yonder,

Whisper and answer now!

Zerlina I dare, and yet I dare not,

A tremor chills my breast,

Would thatmydoubtingswerenot!

Thy love would make me blest.