Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – an infant prodigy on his way to Augsburg

When traveling, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart would often stop in his father's hometown or the 'hometown of my daddy' (1763, 1766, 1777, 1781, 1790) as he expressed it. After a long journey he came to stay in Augsburg from October 11 to October 26, 1777. Only his mother was accompanying him on this trip.

From what the traveler wrote to his father Leopold, we can learn quite a bit about what he experienced in Augsburg. Mother and son stayed at the hotel called 'Weisses Lamm' at that time, a bed and breakfast place not to far away from where Wolfgang Amadeus' cousin lived. During that stay Wolfgang met relatives and old friends. Piano maker Johann Andreas Stein was the one who led him to the organs in two churches, Barfuesserkirche and Ulrichskirche.

There Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart could also demonstrate his talents as an organ player. A special reception was organised for him at the Heilig Kreuz Monastery. Together with the orchestra he played a symphony before he was asked to spontaneously play some fugues on the themes singers of the choir would give him. Shortly after that a concert was to be held which Mozart would conduct.

The rehearsals took place at Stein's home. Wolfgang would always wear his 'Orden vom goldenen Sporn' for special occasions. He was decorated with this medal by the Pope in 1770. The decoration led to a discussion between Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and the son of Augsburg's influential conservator called Langenmantel. The boy thought the medal to be of no value. Mozart told him, 'You do not need a decoration, there is already a skid in your head.' Mozart was so displeased that he wanted to leave Augsburg, but his friends convinced him to stay, so that the concert was carried out as planned. Uncle Alois sold the tickets and Stein arranged for three pianos to be carried on to the stage of the Fugger Hall, where one of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's compositions was played.

The happiness of the Augsburg audience was expressed in a letter Mozart sent to his father. 'Stein does not do anything apart from make funny faces and sometimes he is so astonished that he starts grinning. Demler, the organ player, could not stop laughing. He is one of a kind. Everytime he likes something he has to laugh out loud…'.
On October 26, 1777, Mozart went on to Mannheim together with his mother.
(R.W.)