Franz Xavier Mozart
On July 29, 1844 Memorial services, with performances of Mozart’s Requiem were held in Salzburg, Vienna and Lemberg (L’viv/Lwow/Lvov).
The Memorial services, with performances of Mozart’s Requiem were held in memory of Franz Xavier Mozart Jr. in Salzburg, Vienna and Lemberg (L’viv/Lwow/Lvov) who spent most of his time in this city.
Mozart and his wife Constanze had six children. Only two of their children, Karl Thomas and Franz Xaver, survived into adulthood. The youngest son, Franz Xaver Wolfgang live for quite a long time in Lemberg (L’viv/Lvov/Lwow).
The youngest son, Franz Xaver Wolfgang, was born on July 26, 1791 barely five months before Mozart’s death. At the age of seventeen Wolfgang accepted a position as music teacher in Galicia, Poland. On October 22, 1808 Wolfgang departed for Poland.
There in Podkamien, 60 miles from the city of Lemberg (L’viv/Lwow/Lvov), he took up employment with a Count Baworowski as music teacher to his daughter, Henrietta.
When finally he left Podkamien for Lemberg (L’viv/Lwow/Lvov) and contemplated returning to Vienna, he encountered a completely new situation which would influence his decisions for the rest of his life.
In order to support himself while he explored the possibility of a solo career, Wolfgang became the teacher to the two young daughters of the Chief Government Councillor, Ludwig Cajetan von Baroni-Cavalcabo.
Their mother, Josephine was three years older than Wolfgang, a beautiful woman, married to a man many years her senior. Josephine also possessed a beautiful singing voice and Wolfgang often accompanied her on the piano. The Baroni-Cavalcabos gave musical soirees which needed rehearsals. Alone during these sessions, Wolfgang and Josephine fell in love, a love which would last all their lives.
Except for two concert tours, undertaken by Wolfgang to test the waters of a concert career, Josephine and Wolfgang never parted. Thus Wolfgang became locked in a menage a trois for the rest of his life.
In May 1819 Wolfgang undertook a grand concert tour. He wanted to prove himself not only as a composer but also as a virtuoso pianist. His diary during this concert tour was addressed to Josephine and revealed his desire to prove himself able to support her and establish himself as an international artist, so that she could leave her husband and marry him.
At the back of his mind was also his desire to visit his mother and step-father (Nissen) in Denmark. He remained with his parents until September 29 giving one successful concert in Copenhagen.
He continued his concert tour, performing in Berlin where he met the Beers, parents of the composer, Meyerbeer and Felix Mendelssohn who became his friend for life. In Dresden he met his mother’s cousin, Carl Maria von Weber, who was most affectionate toward him and Wolfgang spent many happy days in the Weber home.
Wolfgang arrived in Milan on August 21, 1820. He stayed with his brother Karl for a month. In 1820 Constanze and her husband left Denmark in search of a cure for Nissen’s ill health. But in vain. Wolfgang’s conducting of Mozart’s Requiem in honour of his stepfather in the Universitatskirche was considered the best performance of the Requiem to date in Salzburg.On December 5, 1826 he repeated the performance of the Requiem in Lemberg (L’viv/Lwow/Lvov) on the anniversary of Mozart’s death, thus celebrating the revered man who had fathered him and also his recently departed stepfather who had loved and cared for him as though he had been his own child.At the age of fifty Wolfgang was given the title of Honorary Kapellmeister of the Mozarteum, a title he cherished. He was by then living in Vienna together with Josephine and her husband.
In Vienna he spent his time teaching and organising soirees for Josephine’s salon. The composer, Robert Schumann became his friend and always visited Wolfgang when he was in Vienna.
On December 6, 1841 a memorial service was held at St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Mozart’s death. The Requiem Mass was performed and in the evening, in the Great Hall of the Casino and before a large gathering of artists, musicians and poets, Wolfgang performed his father’s Fantasy and Sonata in C minor. This was the crowning moment of his life.
At the same time in Salzburg, the seventy-nine-year old Constanze, with the help of the Dom-Music Verein organised to have the Requiem performed in the Salzburg Cathedral. Constanze died on March 6, 1842.
It now fell to her sons to represent the Mozart family at the erection of Mozart’s monument. Mozart’s two sons were guests of honour and Wolfgang was asked to compose a hymn for the Festival celebrations.
Instead, Wolfgang brought along a Festival Cantata in three movements based on themes from his father’s opera, La Clemenza di Tito.
The Festival took place over a period of three days in September 1842. The city was beautifully decorated; the statue stood covered, awaiting the unveiling in Michaelsplatz which was renamed Mozartsplatz.
When Wolfgang arrived he was greeted by a fanfare from the newly formed Salzburg orchestra. The Empress Carolina Augusta and the King of Bavaria were seated on especially erected platforms. That evening a memorial service took place in memory of Constanze in St. Sebastian’s Church.
After Wolfgang returned to Vienna he dedicated his Festival Cantata to the King of Bavaria. As much as the King admired Mozart and in every respect supported Constanze and her efforts on behalf of Mozart’s music, he rejected Wolfgang’s Cantata. In the end the King of France took pity on him and accepted the Cantata in 1843.
During the winter of 1843 Wolfgang became ill with a stomach ailment and in the spring of 1844 went to Karlsbad seeking a cure.
He was accompanied by his friend and pupil, Ernest Pauer. Wolfgang’s condition worsened and Josephine hurried to Karlsbad to be at his bedside. He died in Karlsbad, with Josephine by his side on July 29, 1844.
Memorial services, with performances of Mozart’s Requiem were held in his memory in Salzburg, Vienna and Lemberg (L’viv/Lwow/Lvov).
He left his entire estate, most of it inherited from his mother, to Josephine who in turn donated all Mozart memorabilia to the Mozarteum.
Neither of Mozart’s sons ever married and there were no descendants to carry on the famous name. In 1856 Karl wrote to his friend, Popelka: “Sons should not follow their father’s profession in which the father excels“.
Sources: The MozartForum, Quadrant Magazine, lexikon.freenet.de, http://mozart.jouwpagina.nl/
Tags: Franz Xavier Mozart, Lemberg, Mozart, Requiem, Salzburg, Vienna