case, the choice to write a method for the violin was consistent with the times and gave results to a well thought out plan, given that in that epoch, the choice for available aspiring musicians was not what it is today. In the radius surrounding Germany, there were two principle methods for learning an instrument: that of Johann Joachim Quantz for the flute, with some mention of the violin (1752), and that of Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach for keyboard instruments (1753). As we can see, there was not an abundance of opportunity and, at least in the Germanic area, there was no specific method for the violin.
In England, a few years previous (1748 -- 1751), there was the Italian composer and violinist Francesco Saverio Geminiani (Lucca 1687 -- Dublin 1762) who had published three books on learning the violin. And previous to that, Giuseppe Tartini (Piran 1692 -- Padua 1770), celebrated violinist and composer, as well as a talented acoustics theorist and scholar (well-known for his "Devil's Trill Sonata" and for the theorization of the famous "combination tone" - additional tone or tones that are artificially perceived when two real tones are sounded at the same time). The Italian teacher had written various works such as "A letter from the late Signor Tartini to Signora Maddalena Lombardini: published as an important lesson to performers on the violin", "Traité des agréments de la musique -- Treatise on ornaments in music" and the method "Lezioni pratiche del violino - Practical Lessons of the Violin".
Tartini's operas were well-known by Leopold Mozart and took it upon himself to "borrow" some of the important parts, even the above-mentioned examples in their entirety (but transposed in another key to camouflage the origin) without citing the name of the author and only occasionally mentioning "a famous Italian violinist". The Mozartian epistolary tells us that Leopold was always very scrupulous with every detail regarding the distribution of his method and for bringing in the best profits. Later, we will talk about the difficulties related to the technical and financial problems of publishing the method and how arduous it was to manage the distribution of the book with sellers and to receive payment for the sales (a job that, in his absence, was delegated to his wife under extremely precise instructions).
Here, we have an example of what he wrote to his wife on 7 January 1770 from Verona during his first journey to Italy with Wolfgang: "Has no letter from Mr. Lotter yet arrived (the publisher from Augsburg who printed billable copies of Violinschule -- A/N) regarding the punctual receipt of money?". And later in the same letter: "Has Mr. Breitkopft from Leipzig (another music publisher -- A/N) not yet written to say whether he has received the 100 books? Have the books been sent to Vienna and has Mr. Graeffer (a bookseller -- A/N) confirmed their arrival?". "...prepare 12 copies of Violinschule and send them to the bookseller Joseph Wolf in Innsbruck. You should attach a brief letter stating something like: 'These are 12 copies of Violinschule which my husband, from Verona, told me to send to you. You may sell them on commission at 2 florins and 14 Tyrolese kreutzers per copy, and pay my husband 1 florin and 45 kreutzers per copy sold'".
Leopold Mozart also proved to be an attentive teacher to both of his children, preparing first Maria Anna and later Wolfgang, with a Notebook containing a certain number of brief compositions for the keyboard chosen by artists from that epoch (nearly always omitting the name) and was put in ascending order of difficulty. The initial amazement, and the father and musician's pride who realized that such an extraordinary talent was being produced (a state of mind stimulated for Wolfgang but not felt in the past for the equally talented Nannerl) are highlighted in the writings added to the legacy of pieces that the boy had learned bit by bit. It is almost like reading a prophesy of information being left to future readers, giving proof of his son's precocious abilities: "Wolfgangerl (term of endearment) has learned in half an hour this four-handed minuet, at half past nine in the evening on 26 January 1761, the day before his birthday". With Wolfgang's early attempts at composing, the Notebook also became enriched with little minuets created and performed at the keyboard by the boy and transcribed by the father.
Naturally, when the two prodigious children's "promotional" travels began, they never missed an opportunity for learning from various perspectives: singing lessons from famous performers (such as those had by Wolfgang in London from the celebrated Giovanni Manzuoli), learning about composing at encounters with prominent musicians (from, again in London, Johann Christian Bach and many other composers they met on their Italian journey). Moreover, besides the confined world of music, a smattering of foreign language was acquired (some French, English, Italian -- necessary for the operas, some Latin -- useful for sacred music), but most importantly, a lot of music heard in the academies, in the concert halls and in the well patronized theaters. We can say: on a daily basis, by the Mozarts.
The father
It is beyond a shadow of a doubt that Leopold had a systematic and powerful influence over the entire life of his son, not only during his childhood, but well into his formative years (the period in which he had total "control" of Wolfgang's activities), continuing into the subsequent stages, specifically during their separation (his journeys to Munich and Paris and his move to Vienna), always with growing difficulty in making his son, who had grown unruly with his new born liberty, listen to him. The scholastic formation of Leopold Mozart was superior to the average citizen of that epoch which explains why he personally looked after his children's cultural education, as well as musical (particularly that of his son). In fact, there is no evidence that the Mozart children had ever attended any scholastic institutions, probably because once the father had realized that there were two talented children in the household, he decided to orient his own life and that of his offspring toward their development of child prodigies as soon as possible. To his credit, he did have the knowledge as father and musician, the duty to develop his children's' talent to the best of his ability, as he writes in a letter on 10 November 1766: "God who has been too generous with me, a miserable human being, and has given my children such talent that even if it were not my paternal duty, I would still be obliged to sacrifice everything for their best upbringing". In a later letter from 1777, he reiterates the concept "take advantage of talent: it is the Gospel itself that teaches us this". The child prodigies had to be nurtured before they aged, though, which would otherwise reduce the wonder and amazement that their talent would provoke from the public.
This is how Leopold expresses himself in a letter to his friend and publisher, Lotter from Augsburg in May of 1768: "...or maybe I should remain in Salzburg, awaiting with bated breath for a better chance, and watch Wolfgang grow (...) until Wolfgang reaches the age and development in which his merits would no longer be an object of wonder?"
The first journeys of the child prodigies had the double purpose of "earning revenue", especially Wolfgang, familiarizing him with Europe while simultaneously giving them the opportunity to grow and develop musically through encounters with influential composers, singers and instrumentalists. When they had outgrown their childhood, though, Leopold Mozart's focus changed. He needed to find an allocated position for Wolfgang at the Salzburg Court (his primary goal) with the hope of a subsequent position at the more prestigious courts.
Having a vision of the world, such as the acceptance of different roles in society's class and the necessity and convenience of ingratiating himself to anyone who might have a positive influence on their projects was also one of Leopold's deep and enduring influences; for the compliant Nannerl (who accepted the role of daughter and predestined wife, being married off by her father to an older man), as well as the favored Wolfgang. Leopold Mozart's habit of "being in the good graces" of every noble person who he encountered during his travels, surely assimilated by his son without the relational and scheming abilities of his father, was reiterated many times to an already grown Wolfgang in issued recommendations by letter.
In any case, if we expand our vision, we realize that almost all musicians of that epoch followed the same rules: ingratiating themselves to the powerful in order to obtain favors or career advancements. To give just one example of how diffused and widely practiced these rules were, we can cite Giovan Battista Sammartini (or San Martin, as was the correct written French version of the father's last name), who in building his career in Milan, always went to great pains to consort with and be praised by the families who had political, economic and social control in that epoch. Thanks
