Verona 18
August 1771You`ll have received my brief letter from
Botzen.
11 Letter 240[Close] I now mean to write at greater length. The day of our departure was a real mess. In
Kalterl we didn`t even sit down but ate a few slices of
beef while the postilion gave the horses a little hay, and we washed it down with a measure of very good
strong lager.
22 'Merzens-bier' in the original, said to be a kind of beer brewed in March[Close] In
Waidring we had
some soup and drank some redcurrant wine
33 The meaning of the original, `St: Johanser-bier`, is unclear. It could be wine, Johannisbeerwein, made from redcurrant (Johannisbeere), or a type of beer brewed in St Johann[Close] that wasn`t at all bad. We had supper in
St Johann and on the 14th we lunched at the post-stage in
Kundl and had supper in
Innsprugg. On the 15th at midday in
Steinach, at night in
Brixen. On the 16th at midday in
Botzen, at night in
Trent. We arrived in
Roveredo at 9 in the morning on the 17th, in the belief that we`d be in
Verona that evening and surprise the two Piccinis
44 The two brothers Giovanni Battista and Pietro Pizzini[Close] in
Alla [sic] at noon. Indeed, we would have arrived there at midday if,
first, we`d not spent too long with Baron
Pizzini in
Roveredo |: where we also saw Dr
Bridi :| and hadn`t left till 11 o`clock and if we`d not encountered so many delays on the way: H
Lolli, the famous violinist, came to see us, after which the postilions had to change the horses, not to mention the farmers` carts that caused us many delays on the narrow roads. As a result it wasn`t until around 1 in the afternoon that we arrived at the home of the 2 Piccinis in
Alla ; and even before we`d arrived, I`d already decided to spend the night there as I didn`t dare go on to
Verona, where they close the gates at Ave Maria, quite apart from which it was very hot and it was easier to go to church in our travelling clothes in Alla than it would have been in
Verona. In
Alla [sic] we whiled away the time with music or, rather, we whiled away our hosts` time, not leaving for
Verona until 7 o`clock this morning, arriving at Sgr
Luggiati`s at half past 12 and taking lunch at 1. Now that we`ve had lunch, everyone has gone for a siesta, and I`m using the time to scrawl this letter with a pitiful pen and in a heat that is by no means negligible. I also managed with considerable difficulty to persuade Wolfgang to sleep, but he slept for only half an hour. I should add that in my haste I forgot to bring with me some keyboard sonatas and trios for a good friend
55 According to Bauer-Deutsch, v.302, possibly Don Fernando Germani[Close] in
Milan who has been very kind to us. If H
Troger comes to
Salzb., please ask him to bring these with him and in the meantime get them ready. Nannerl should pick out the 2 trios, one by Joseph
Haydn in F for violin and violoncello, and one
in C that`s got
Wagenseil`s name on it - note that it`s the one with variations, also
Adlgasser`s
in G, Wolfgang`s little cassation in C
66 Haydn`s trio in F is presumed to be Hob. XV:37. The identification of the trio in C with 'Wagenseil's name on it’is problematic; it may be Haydn`s Hob. XV:C1, work that also circulated under Wagenseil's name. Adlgasser`s trio is lost while the identity of Mozart`s 'little cassation in C' is uncertain[Close] and a few good sonatas by
Rutini, such as the ones in
E flat, in
D etc.
77 Presumably Rutini`s sonatas are from his op. VI published by Haffner at Nürnberg c1759-60[Close] Nannerl will still have them if she means to play them herself as they`re among the sonatas by
Rutini that were engraved in
Nuremberg. Give our best wishes to Mr
Troger and ask him to introduce you to Hs Ex Count
Firmian in order for you to pay your respects, we owe him a great deal.
88 According to Bauer-Deutsch, v.302, Firmian passed through Salzburg on his way to Vienna, in connection with the wedding of Archduke Ferdinand and Princess Maria Beatrice Ricciarda[Close] Make sure you do this. I`ll write from
Milan as soon as I can, keep well, we kiss you many 100000 times and I am
your old
Mzt
Beautifully written!
Best wishes to all our good friends!
MOZART`S POSTSCRIPT TO HIS
SISTERMy dearest Sister,
I`ve slept only half an hour as I don`t like sleeping after a meal. You can hope, believe, think, be of the opinion, cherish the constant hope, find, imagine, flatter yourself and be confident that we are keeping well, but I alone can assure you that we are. I must keep this brief. Addio. Best wishes to all our good friends, male and female. Wish H von
Hefner a safe journey and ask him if he`s seen
Annamiedl.
Addio, keep well. Kiss
Mama`s hand for me.
Beautiful handwriting! Wolfgang