I'm guessing it's rare these days that, on quitting their jobs, people receive a swift kick in the rump. But that was, in fact, how Mozart's employment at the court of the Archbishop of Salzburg came (no pun intended) to an end. Not long after his departure from court, Mozart had occasion to chat a bit with the man who delivered that infamous kick - the archbishop's steward, Count Karl Joseph Felix Arco. The conversation bled into a sparring match - or would have, had either man had anything to swing at the other but schoolboy taunts. Mozart had quit his court job while he and other musicians in the Archbishop's service were in Vienna with their employer, and he remained in Vienna as a freelancer after leaving his position. He recounted his conversation with Arco in a letter to his father of June 2, 1781 (trans. Emily Anderson). "Believe me," Arco allegedly told Mozart, "you allow yourself to be far too easily dazzled in Vienna. A man's reputation here lasts a very short time. At first, it is true, you are overwhelmed with praises and make a great deal of money into the bargain - but how long does that last? After a few months the Viennese want something new." Mozart's letter continues: "'You are right,' I replied. 'But do you suppose I mean to settle in Vienna? Not at all. I know where I shall go. That this affair should have happened in Vienna is the Archbishop's fault and not mine. If he knew how to treat people of talent, it would never have happened. I am the best-tempered fellow in the world, Count Arco, provided that people are the same with me.' 'Well,' he said, 'the Archbishop considers you a dreadfully conceited person.' 'I daresay he does,' I rejoined, 'and indeed I am so towards him. I treat people as they treat me. When I see that someone despizes me and treats me with contempt, I can be proud as a peacock.'" And Wolfgang went on: "Among other things [Arco] asked me whether I did not think that he too often had to swallow very disagreeable words. I shrugged my shoulders and said: 'You no doubt have your reasons for putting up with it, and I - have my reasons for refusing to do so.'"
Jennifer Hambrick unites her extensive backgrounds in the arts and media and her deep roots in Columbus to bring inspiring music to central Ohio as Classical 101’s midday host. Jennifer performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago before earning a Ph.D. in musicology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.