Why Didn't Mozart Stay?
After Don Giovanni, Mozart had an offer to stay and write another opera for Prague, yet he chose to return to Vienna (where he revised the opera for the local premiere). Maynard Solomon suggested that the reasons were first that Prague lacked the musical talent available in Vienna; in particular, the execution by the musicians of the Don Giovanni premiere was faulty and not up to the standard set in Vienna. In addition, a career like Mozart's depended on the support of the aristocracy, and Prague was only a provincial capital. The wealthy, music-supporting aristocrats whose estates were in the region were more likely to spend their time in Vienna than in Prague.
Another possible reason why Mozart didn't stay is given by Volkmar Braunbehrens, citing Schenk: the death in Vienna in November 1787 of Gluck, whose post in the Imperial musical establishment Mozart sought (and ultimately got, though at a much lower salary); Mozart needed to return home to lobby for the position.
Read more about this topic: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart And Prague
Famous quotes containing the words mozart stay? and/or mozart:
“Mozart starved, but you allow Thalberg and Liszt make tons of gold: Of course, you may think that someone immortal cannot die of hunger.”
—Franz Grillparzer (1791–1872)
“Mozart has the classic purity of light and the blue ocean; Beethoven the romantic grandeur which belongs to the storms of air and sea, and while the soul of Mozart seems to dwell on the ethereal peaks of Olympus, that of Beethoven climbs shuddering the storm-beaten sides of a Sinai. Blessed be they both! Each represents a moment of the ideal life, each does us good. Our love is due to both.”
—Henri-Frédéric Amiel (1821–1881)