MOZART AND THE PRACTICE OF SACRED MUSIC, 1781-91 a ...

comparatively small remaining amount due to the Kapellmeister was supplemented by free
lodging, small annual payments such as 48fl for firewood, and Hofmann’s regens chori
position at St. Peter, held since 1764. 84 For the musicians working under Hofmann,
employment in multiple ensembles was not a luxury but a necessity, as a Cathedral salary was
insufficient to sustain a livelihood on its own. 85 Some members of the Kapelle were true
veterans of the Cathedral: the violinist Nikolaus Reinhard, for example, had been employed
at St. Stephen’s since at least 1761. 86 The Cathedral’s lead violinist, Anton Hofmann, whom
Nicolai described as “ein guter Violinspieler,” 87 built up an interesting collection of music for
his own use, at least one item of which is now in the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde. 88
III. MOZART’S PETITION
Due to its centrality, St. Stephen’s was the venue for events and ceremonies involving many
Viennese musicians, even those who had no direct connection with the Cathedral. It was
here in 1774, for example, that Salieri met his future wife, Theresia Helfersdorfer. 89 At their
84 An account of Hofmann’s complete entitlements is found in Furthmoser’s proposal for overhaul of the
Kapelle, dated 6 March 1787; A-Wsa, HR 17/4, 8/1787 (not in Prohászka.) Hofmann’s early service at St.
Peter is attested by his successful application to the Niederösterreichische Regierung in 1764, cited in Gugitz,
“Auszüge,” s.v. “Hofmann, Leopold, Regenschori.”
85 Braunbehrens misrepresents Franz Hofer as relying entirely on his St. Stephen’s position for income;
Volkmar Braunbehrens, Mozart in Vienna, 1781-1791, trans. Timothy Bell (New York: Grove Weidenfeld,
1990), 299. In fact, Hofer had been a member of the Court Opera orchestra since at least 1782 at a salary of
350fl, and from 1788 was a member of the Hofkapelle at a salary of 150fl. See Dexter Edge, “Mozart's Viennese
Orchestras,” Early Music 20 (1992): 72.
86 Cited in Gugitz, “Auszüge,” s.v. “Reinhard, Nikolaus, Violinist.”
87 Nicolai, Beschreibung Einer Reise Durch Deutschland und die Schweiz im Jahre 1781, iv.541. Nicolai states
erroneously that Anton was Leopold Hofmann’s brother.
88 See Karl Pfannhauser, “Wer War Mozarts Amtsnachfolger?,” Acta mozartiana 3 (1956): 8, Karl Pfannhauser,
“Apokryphe Mozart-Sonate,” Mitteilungen der Internationalen Stiftung Mozarteum, no. 15 (1956): 27, Karl
Pfannhauser, “Unechter Mozart,” Mitteilungen der Internationalen Stiftung Mozarteum 7, no. 3/4 (1958): 11,
Otto Biba, “Neuerwerbung des Archivs der Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Wien,” Mitteilungen der
Internationalen Stiftung Mozarteum, no. 3/4 (1983): 48.
89 See the account from von Mosel’s biography quoted in Angermüller, Dokumente, i.69-74.
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