Mozart family grand tour
On the 27th of January 1756, a boy named Wolfgang Theophilus was born into the household of Leopold and Anna Maria Mozart in Salzburg. His older sister Maria Anna, known as Nannerl, had been born five years earlier on the 31st of July 1751. Only these two children survived infancy out of seven total births to the couple. Their father Leopold worked as deputy Kapellmeister for the Prince-Archbishopric of Salzburg. He began teaching Nannerl harpsichord when she turned seven. Wolfgang watched closely from his chair. Within months he picked out thirds on the keyboard with ease. By age four he composed recognizable piano concertos. A family friend named Johann Andreas Schachtner recalled that the boy possessed a phenomenal sense of pitch.
In 1762, the family traveled to Munich to perform before Elector Maximilian III Joseph. They then moved to Vienna for three months. On arrival they played at Count Collalto's palace within three days. Karl von Zinzendorf noted in his diary that a little boy claimed to be only five-and-a-half years old actually played the harpsichord. At the Imperial Court Empress Maria Theresa tested Wolfgang by covering the keyboard. During this visit young Wolfgang met Archduchess Maria Antonia, who would later become Queen Marie Antoinette of France. The Empress was two months older than him. After their first week in Vienna Leopold sent home money worth more than two years' salary. The trip ended abruptly when Wolfgang fell ill with scarlet fever.
The grand tour officially began on the 9th of July 1763 when the Mozart family departed Salzburg. Their carriage wheel broke immediately requiring repairs for twenty-four hours. Leopold used this delay to take Wolfgang to Wasserburg church where the boy played the organ pedalboard as if he had studied it for months. They reached Munich and Augsburg next. In Schwetzingen the children amazed Elector Palatine Karl Theodor and his Electress. Mainz hosted three concerts yielding 200 florins despite the Archbishop-Elector being ill.
From Frankfurt they traveled via riverboat to Koblenz, Bonn and Cologne. Princess Anna Amalia of Prussia tried to persuade them to go to Berlin but Leopold refused because she had no money. On the 5th of October 1763 they arrived in Brussels. Waiting weeks for Prince Charles of Lorraine to summon them frustrated Leopold who wrote that the prince did nothing but hunt and swill. A grand concert took place before the prince on the 7th of November. They left for Paris on the 15th of November 1763. The route continued through southern Germany and the Austrian Netherlands before reaching France. After London they detoured to The Hague instead of returning directly home. The homeward journey included stops in Switzerland before arriving back in Salzburg on the 29th of November 1766.
In Versailles during December 1763 the family attended a royal dinner where Wolfgang reportedly kissed the Queen's hand. They also visited Madame de Pompadour at her residence near the palace. Nannerl later recalled that Wolfgang stood on a chair to be examined by the courtesan who would not allow him to kiss her. In February 1764 they received fifty louis d'or and a gold snuff-box from the royal entertainments office. No formal concert record exists for Versailles itself.
London brought encounters with King George III and his German queen Charlotte. On the 27th of April 1764 four days after arrival the children played before the monarchs. At a second engagement on the 19th of May Wolfgang accompanied the queen singing an aria. He improvised on a Handel bass part producing what Leopold called the most beautiful melody anyone had heard. Later performances occurred at Ranelagh Pleasure Gardens and private homes like the Earl of Thanet's Grosvenor Square residence. In The Hague they performed before William V, Prince of Orange. A special concert honored the prince's coming of age on the 11th of March 1766. Wolfgang composed Gallimathias musicum specifically for this event. The family also met André Grétry in Geneva during their return through Switzerland.
Wolfgang lived in Cecil Court above a barber shop upon arriving in London on the 23rd of April 1764. After his father fell ill in July the family moved to 180 Ebury Street in Chelsea. During this period Wolfgang composed his first symphonies. Symphony No. 1 in E flat major K. 16 appeared shortly after meeting Johann Christian Bach. Symphony No. 4 in D major K. 19 likely originated in The Hague rather than London. Two other symphonies numbered 2 and 3 are spurious works by Leopold and Carl Friedrich Abel respectively.
Johann Christian Bach became a close friend and musical influence. Nannerl recalled playing sonatas with the eight-year-old Wolfgang taking turns individually. Listeners could not tell if one person or two played. Bach's symphonies influenced Wolfgang deeply though no record exists that they met Carl Friedrich Abel directly. Wolfgang wrote instrumental sonatas including a C major piece for piano four hands described as the jewel of his London output. He also composed vocal works such as God is our Refuge K. 20 and Va dal furor portata K. 21. By September 1764 the family relocated to Thrift Street near concert rooms and Bach's residence.
In The Hague during October 1765 both children suffered severe illnesses. Nannerl developed typhoid fever after a cold turned worse. On the 21st of October she received the last sacrament before recovering thanks to a royal physician who changed her treatment. Wolfgang fell ill shortly after and did not recover until mid-December. These sicknesses interrupted performance schedules significantly.
Financial strain accompanied these health crises. In November 1763 Leopold reported expenses of 1,068 florins covered by earnings but without surplus. Later in April 1764 he deposited 2,200 florins with bankers. Yet by November 1764 he worried about high living costs in London having spent 1,870 florins since July. Desperate measures included daily circus-like performances at the Swan and Harp Tavern charging two shillings and sixpence per listener. Jane Glover described these efforts as humiliating attempts to extract guineas from the public. The librarian of St Peter's Abbey estimated gifts worth 12,000 florins against total costs of 20,000 florins. Despite substantial material rewards the family returned to their cramped apartment on Getreidegasse.
Around thirty pieces survive from this three-year journey including keyboard sonatas written in Paris London and The Hague. Four symphonies remain alongside various arias and minor works composed for the Prince of Orange. A Kyrie in F major K. 33 represents Wolfgang's first formal church music attempt during the Paris visit. Some compositions like Zürich cello pieces are lost entirely.
Symphony No. 22 in B flat major K. 22 composed in The Hague shows greater sophistication than earlier London works. Carl Friedrich Abel's Symphony No. 6 in E Flat was so similar that it was mistaken for Mozart's work and listed as Symphony No. 3 in the original Köchel catalogue. Leopold's own Symphony No. 2 also appeared misattributed. Sonatas dedicated to the Princess of Orange mark considerable technical advances over earlier sets. Aria d'affetto Per pièta bell'idol mio K. 73b demonstrates his growing mastery of expressive slow types. At Salzburg Cathedral on the 8th of December 1766 one of his symphonies performed at High Mass though uncertainty remains about which specific piece.
After returning home on the 29th of November 1766 the family resumed life in their cramped apartment while Leopold continued court duties. Travel dominated Wolfgang's next six years beginning with another trip to Vienna in September 1767. They remained there until January 1769 except during a smallpox epidemic evacuation. In December 1768 Leopold and Wolfgang left for Italy without Nannerl who was now eighteen and no longer exhibited as a child wonder.
They spent sixteen months away returning to Milan in August 1771 for five months attending rehearsals of Ascanio in Alba. A third visit from October 1772 to March 1773 marked the final extended trip. New Prince-Archbishop Hieronymous Colloredo restricted freedoms previously enjoyed by Leopold and Wolfgang. Wolfgang had been made concert master earning 150 florins annually under this new administration. Friedrich Melchior von Grimm predicted that monarchs would soon dispute over who should have these children if they lived. The grand tour provided an outstanding education enabling conversation in several languages across Northern European courts.
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Common questions
When did the Mozart family grand tour officially begin and end?
The Mozart family grand tour officially began on the 9th of July 1763 when they departed Salzburg. The journey concluded with their arrival back in Salzburg on the 29th of November 1766.
Where did Wolfgang Mozart perform during his early travels to Munich and Vienna?
Wolfgang Mozart performed before Elector Maximilian III Joseph in Munich and played at Count Collalto's palace within three days of arriving in Vienna. He also appeared at the Imperial Court where Empress Maria Theresa tested his abilities by covering the keyboard.
What cities did the Mozart family visit after leaving Salzburg for the grand tour?
After departing Salzburg, the Mozart family traveled through Munich, Augsburg, Schwetzingen, Mainz, Frankfurt, Koblenz, Bonn, Cologne, Brussels, Paris, London, The Hague, and Switzerland. They returned home via stops in southern Germany and the Austrian Netherlands before reaching France.
How much money did Leopold Mozart earn and spend during the grand tour?
Leopold Mozart reported expenses of 1,068 florins covered by earnings in November 1763 without surplus. Later records show he deposited 2,200 florins with bankers in April 1764 but spent 1,870 florins since July 1764 due to high living costs in London.
Which compositions did Wolfgang Mozart create while traveling in The Hague and London?
Wolfgang Mozart composed Symphony No. 22 in B flat major K. 22 in The Hague and wrote Gallimathias musicum specifically for a concert honoring Prince William V's coming of age on the 11th of March 1766. In London he created his first symphonies including Symphony No. 1 in E flat major K. 16 and vocal works such as God is our Refuge K. 20.