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Between 1769 and 1773, the young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his father Leopold Mozart made three Italian journeys. The first, an extended tour of 15 months, was financed by performances for the nobility and by public concerts, and took in the most important Italian cities. The second and third journeys were to Milan, for Wolfgang to complete operas that had been commissioned there on the first visit. From the perspective of Wolfgang's musical development the journeys were a considerable success, and his talents were recognised by honours which included a papal knighthood and memberships in leading philharmonic societies. Leopold Mozart had been employed since 1747 as a musician in the Archbishop of Salzburg's court, becoming deputy Kapellmeister in 1763, but he had also devoted much time to Wolfgang's and sister Nannerl's musical education. He took them on a European tour between 1764 and 1766, and spent some of 1767 and most of 1768 with them in the imperial capital, Vienna. The children's performances had captivated audiences, and the pair had made a considerable impression on European society. By 1769, Nannerl had reached adulthood, but Leopold was anxious to continue 13-year-old Wolfgang's education in Italy, a crucially important destination for any rising composer of the 18th century. During the first tour, Wolfgang's performances were well received, and his compositional talents recognised by commissions to write three operas for Milan's Teatro Regio Ducal, each of which was a critical and popular triumph. He met many of Italy's leading musicians, including the renowned theorist Giovanni Battista Martini, under whom he studied in Bologna. Leopold also hoped that Wolfgang, and possibly he himself, would obtain a prestigious appointment at one of the Italian Habsburg courts. This objective became more important as Leopold's advancement in Salzburg became less likely; but his persistent efforts to secure employment displeased the imperial court, which precluded any chance of success. The journeys thus ended not with a triumphant return, but on a note of disappointment and frustration. ==Background== In November 1766, the Mozart family returned to Salzburg after a three-and-a-half year "grand tour" of the major Northern European cities, begun when Wolfgang was seven and Nannerl twelve. This tour had largely achieved Leopold's objective to demonstrate his children's talents to the wider world and advance their musical education. A stay in Vienna beginning in 1767 proved less happy: an outbreak of smallpox, which led to the death of the Archduchess Maria Josepha of Austria, prevented the children from performing in the imperial court and forced the family to seek refuge in Bohemia, a move which did not prevent Wolfgang from contracting the disease.〔Sadie, pp. 132–34〕 They returned to Vienna in January 1768, but by now the children were no longer young enough to cause a sensation in their public concerts.〔Blom, p. 38〕 Leopold fell out with the court impresario Giuseppe Affligio, and damaged his relations with the eminent court composer Christoph Willibald Gluck, through an over-eagerness to secure a performance of Wolfgang's first opera, ''La finta semplice''.〔Sadie (2006), pp. 135–39〕 As a consequence he developed a reputation at court for being importunate and "pushy".〔Sadie (2006), pp. 140–41〕 After returning to Salzburg in January 1769, Leopold considered the 18-year-old Nannerl's education to be virtually finished, and focused his efforts on Wolfgang.〔Halliwell, pp. 142–43〕 He decided to take the boy to Italy, which in its pre-unification days was a collection of duchies, republics, and papal states, with the Kingdom of Naples in the south.〔Roberts, p. 486〕 For more than two centuries Italy had been the source of innovations in musical style, the home of church music, and above all the cradle of opera.〔Sadie, p. 176〕 In Leopold's view, Wolfgang needed to absorb firsthand the music of Venice, Naples, and Rome, to equip himself for future commissions from Europe's opera houses, "the late eighteenth-century composers' honeypots" according to Mozart's biographer Stanley Sadie.〔 Leopold wanted Wolfgang to immerse himself in the Italian language, to experience church music of the highest quality, and to extend his network of influential acquaintances.〔 There was also the possibility, for both Wolfgang and Leopold, of securing positions in the northern Italian Habsburg courts.〔 With these priorities in mind, Leopold decided that Nannerl and her mother should stay at home, a decision they resented but which made economic and practical sense.〔Sadie (2006), p. 177〕 In the months before their departure, Wolfgang composed prolifically, gaining the favour of Archbishop Siegmund Christoph von Schrattenbach, who, as Leopold's employer, had to consent to the journey. Permission to travel, along with a gift of 600 florins,〔The florin, or gulden, was the currency of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. A florin was worth about one tenth of a pound sterling. The generosity of the gift is apparent in comparison with Leopold's annual salary of 354 florins (Sadie (2006), p. 35).〕 was granted in October. Wolfgang was awarded the honorary title of Konzertmeister (court musician), with a hint that on his return this post would merit a salary.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mozart in Italy」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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