Mozart's Berlin journey
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart left Vienna on the morning of the 8th of April 1789. He traveled northward to Prague, Leipzig, Dresden, and Berlin during a period when his career was struggling financially. Concert earnings had dried up, and opera commissions failed to replace that lost income. Friends like Michael Puchberg lent him money while he borrowed from others just to survive. The journey itself cost nothing because Prince Karl Lichnowsky offered free passage. This aristocratic patron shared reasons for visiting Berlin and invited the composer along. Their departure marked the start of one of Mozart's longest adult journeys away from home.
Mozart arrived in Dresden on the 12th of April 1789 and stayed at the Hôtel de Pologne. A concert took place there the next day featuring quartets with organist Anton Teyber and cellist Anton Kraft. They performed String trio K. 563 alongside other works. Josepha Duschek joined them as a singer performing arias from The Marriage of Figaro and Don Giovanni. Mozart wrote to his wife Constanze describing how they arranged a quartet inside the hotel chapel. The following day he played before Elector Friedrich August III of Saxony using his newly written Coronation Concerto K. 537. He received a snuff-box containing 100 ducats as an award. On either 16 or the 17th of April Christian Gottfried Körner hosted a visit where artist Dora Stock sketched his portrait in silverpoint on ivory board. This image may be the final known portrait created during his lifetime.
Lichnowsky and Mozart reached Leipzig two days after departing Dresden on the 18th of April 1789. Mozart spent three days exploring the city while visiting the Thomaskirche church. Johann Sebastian Bach had served as music director there decades earlier. Gottfried van Swieten influenced Mozart's admiration for Bach's music during early years in Vienna. At the Thomaskirche, Cantor Friedrich Doles and organist Karl Friedrich Görner manipulated stops for him while he improvised on the organ. The choir of the Thomasschule performed Bach's motet Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied BWV 225. Mozart copied out all choirparts from this composition during the performance. His deep respect for Bach shaped how he approached improvisation within that sacred space.
Mozart traveled to Potsdam near Berlin arriving on the 23rd of April 1789 before reaching the capital itself on the 25th of April. A court document recorded his arrival stating he declared himself Capellmeister from Vienna seeking royal audience. King Friedrich Wilhelm II scribbled Directeur du Port in the margin referring him to Jean-Pierre Duport instead. Mozart was not on good terms with Duport according to Deutsch. He composed nine piano variations on a minuet by Duport K. 573 on the 29th of April attempting to curry favor. No royal audience occurred during this initial visit. There is no solid evidence Mozart even remained in Potsdam beyond brief appearances. The rejection left him without expected commissions or income from Prussia.
On the 12th of May 1789 Mozart gave a concert at Leipzig's Gewandhaus hall after returning briefly to the city. The program included piano concerti K. 456 and K. 503 plus two scenas for soprano performed by Josepha Duschek. Fantasy for piano solo K. 475 filled out the evening alongside two unidentified symphonies split across movements per custom. Attendance appeared poor despite high artistic standards. Mozart wrote home that applause was magnificent but profits were wretchedly meager. Prince Lichnowsky departed mid-May leaving Mozart traveling alone afterward. Horses became scarce delaying his eventual departure until the 17th of May when he finally left Leipzig behind.
Mozart returned to Berlin arriving on the 19th of May 1789 for a second attempt at court relations. He performed before King Friedrich Wilhelm II and Queen at the royal palace on the 26th of May. This time he received an award of 100 Friedrichs d'or worth around 800 florins. Commissions followed including six string quartets and six easy piano sonatas for Princess Friederieke. Local newspapers did not report his presence though Ludwig Tieck recorded details decades later in posthumous memoirs published in 1856. Tieck described meeting Mozart in orchestra pit wearing grey overcoat discussing operas with admiration. The night before departing Berlin on the 28th of May Mozart attended Die Entführung aus dem Serail performance himself.
This journey marked first travel since marrying Constanze in 1782 without her accompanying him. Letters written frequently during early stages went missing making regular correspondence uncertain. Maynard Solomon argued in 1995 biography that Mozart pursued affair with Josepha Duschek whose itinerary intersected his own through Germany. She lived in Prague while traveling across regions matching his route. Too many letters disappeared beyond accidental loss according to Solomon's claim. Timing details between Mozart and Duschek supported hypothesis about infidelity. Musicologist Bruce Alan Brown rejected this theory defending both parties against accusations. Scholarly debate continues regarding whether evidence supports or disproves the alleged relationship.
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Common questions
When did Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart leave Vienna for his 1789 journey to Berlin?
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart left Vienna on the morning of the 8th of April 1789. He traveled northward through Prague, Leipzig, Dresden, and finally Berlin during this period.
What happened when Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart arrived in Dresden on the 12th of April 1789?
Mozart stayed at the Hôtel de Pologne where he performed a concert featuring quartets with organist Anton Teyber and cellist Anton Kraft. The following day he played before Elector Friedrich August III of Saxony using his newly written Coronation Concerto K. 537 and received a snuff-box containing 100 ducats as an award.
Why did Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart visit the Thomaskirche church in Leipzig on the 18th of April 1789?
Mozart visited the Thomaskirche church because Johann Sebastian Bach had served as music director there decades earlier. He improvised on the organ while the choir of the Thomasschule performed Bach's motet Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied BWV 225 which he copied out during the performance.
How much money did Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart receive for performing before King Friedrich Wilhelm II in May 1789?
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart received an award of 100 Friedrichs d'or worth around 800 florins when he performed before King Friedrich Wilhelm II and Queen at the royal palace on the 26th of May 1789. Commissions followed including six string quartets and six easy piano sonatas for Princess Friederieke.
Did Josepha Duschek travel with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart to Berlin in 1789?
Josepha Duschek joined Mozart as a singer in Dresden where she performed arias from The Marriage of Figaro and Don Giovanni. Musicologist Bruce Alan Brown rejected theories that they pursued an affair despite claims by Maynard Solomon regarding their intersecting itineraries through Germany.