London (April 1764 – July 1765) Mozart family grand tour

cecil court, street in mozart family found lodgings on arriving in london, april 1764 (2005 photograph).

the mozarts first london lodgings above barber s shop in cecil court, near st martin-in-the-fields. letters of introduction paris proved effective; on 27 april 1764, 4 days after arrival, children playing before king george iii , 19-year-old german queen, charlotte sophia. second royal engagement fixed 19 may, @ wolfgang asked king play pieces handel, johann christian bach , carl friedrich abel. allowed accompany queen sang aria, , later improvised on bass part of handel aria which, according leopold, produced beautiful melody in such manner astonished .

many of nobility , gentry leaving town summer, leopold reckoned return king s birthday celebrations on 4 june, , accordingly organised concert 5th. deemed success, , leopold hastened arrange wolfgang appear @ benefit concert maternity hospital on 29 june, @ ranelagh pleasure gardens. leopold apparently saw effort support charitable works way earn love of special nation . wolfgang advertised celebrated , astonishing master mozart, child of 7 years of age... (he in fact eight), justly esteemed extraordinary prodigy, , amazing genius, has appeared in age . on 8 july there private performance @ grosvenor square home of earl of thanet, leopold returned inflammation of throat , other worrying symptoms. prepare heart hear 1 of saddest events , wrote hagenauer in anticipation of own imminent demise. ill several weeks, , sake of health family moved cecil court lodgings house in countryside, @ 180 ebury street, considered part of village of chelsea.

180 ebury street, pimlico, mozarts stayed in summer of 1765.

during leopold s illness performances impossible, wolfgang turned composition. according writer , musician jane glover, wolfgang inspired write symphonies after meeting johann christian bach. not clear when meeting occurred, or when wolfgang first heard j. c. bach s symphonies, although had played older composer s harpsichord works in may 1764 royal recital. wolfgang completed symphony no. 1 in e flat, k. 16, , started no. 4 in d major, k. 19 (which zaslaw concludes more composed, or @ least completed, in hague). d major symphony has, in hildesheimer s words, originality of melody , modulation goes beyond routine methods of [grown-up] contemporaries . these wolfgang s first orchestral writings, although zaslaw hypothesises theoretical symphony no. 0 sketches in wolfgang s musical notebook. 3 lost symphonies, identified in köchel catalogue of mozart s works incipits (first few bars of music), may have originated london period. other works composed wolfgang in london include several instrumental sonatas, jewel of which, according hildesheimer, c major sonata piano, 4 hands, k. 19d. set of violin sonatas, flute , cello parts, dedicated queen charlotte @ request, , presented appropriate inscription in january 1765. wolfgang wrote first vocal works, motet god our refuge , k. 20, , tenor aria va, dal furor portata, k. 21. @ end of september, leopold s recovery, family moved central london, lodgings in thrift street (later 20 frith street), soho. these lodgings located conveniently close several concert rooms, , residences of both j. c. bach , carl friedrich abel. bach, son of johann sebastian bach, became family friend; nannerl later recalled bach , eight-year-old wolfgang playing sonata together, taking turns play few bars individually, , not watching have thought played 1 person alone . there no record mozarts met abel, wolfgang knew symphonies, perhaps through medium of annual bach-abel concert series, , influenced them.

on 25 october, @ king george s invitation, children played @ celebrations marking fourth anniversary of king s accession. next public appearance concert on 21 february 1765, before moderate audience—the date clashed bach-abel concert. 1 more london concert given, on 13 may, between april , june members of public go mozarts lodgings where, 5 shilling fee, wolfgang perform musical party pieces. during june both young prodigies performed daily @ swan , harp tavern in cornhill, charge time being mere 2 shillings , sixpence. these were, sadie puts it, leopold s last, desperate effort extract guineas english public . hildesheimer likens part of tour travelling circus, comparing mozarts family of acrobats.

the mozarts left london continent on 24 july 1765. before this, leopold allowed wolfgang subjected scientific examination, conducted hon. daines barrington. report, issued in philosophical transactions year 1770, confirms truth of wolfgang s exceptional capabilities. practically last act of family in london gift british museum of manuscript copy of god our refuge .