Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, known as the musical genius in today’s history, was a surprisingly shameless and flattering character. Throughout the letters he can be seen asking his friend, Michael Puchberg, for quite a large sum of money. Although he mentions that his salary is 800 florins, he shamelessly asks Puchberg for 500 florins to finance his projects – which Puchberg seems to give rather willingly. Today, one would assume that Mozart earn more money than his friends could imagine, being the musical genius he is. However, from the letters, it can be seen that he was constantly groveling for money from his friends. The interesting point here is that Mozart had been offered a job that would bring him a greater salary – but he had refused it, saying that he enjoyed staying in Vienna. This shows that Mozart was stubborn in his decisions and that his determination did not curve under monetary pressure. It also seems like Mozart often has trouble finding venues and artists to work with, for he is often seen complaining about the incompetent oboe player and the always changing opening date for his opera.

It is not very clear from his letters as to whether Mozart is a loving father, husband, and son. His father does not speak very highly of him, especially when he is complaining to Mozart’s sister about how Mozart practically flung his son at his father to take care of. Mozart also seems very nonchalant about the fact that his very own father passed away, and does not seem fazed by the fact that he was not alerted the moment of the death. As a son, it seems as if he had turned a cold shoulder towards his father. On the other hand, he simply adores his wife – writing to her “a million tenderest kisses” and that he “shall kiss [her] devotedly”. He seems to treasure his son Karl as well, always asking his wife about Karl’s wellbeing and sending him kisses as well. It seems very ironic that although he himself was not a very good son, he tries his hardest to become the best father there is. Perhaps it is because his firstborn did not survive his first year, and Karl seemed like another chance given to him.

Altogether, Mozart gives off a very contrasting vibe from what we know him to be. A musical genius taught by his own father, Mozart was actually very poor even during his success as a composer and did not have a smooth relationship with his father. This collection of letters made me realize that even well-known figures like Mozart have hidden faces behind the ones that the public knows best.