LONDON – On 6 July 2023, Christie’s Classic Week Exceptional Sale will present an autograph letter from one of the world’s greatest composers Mozart (1756-1791) to his close friend Baroness von Waldstätten. The letter (estimate: £300,000–500,000) by 26-year old Mozart declares that he will need to get married within two days in order to save his future wife from the scandal of being dragged out of his house by the police. The autograph letter in Mozart’s hand, in German, comprises two pages and was written in the summer of 1782 whilst in Vienna.
At the time the letter was written, Constanze was known to be cohabiting under the same roof as Mozart, which prompted her mother, Cäcilia Weber, to send in the police to reclaim her daughter from Mozart’s house to save her reputation. This prompted Mozart to declare the only solution is for him to marry Constanze the next day – or indeed the same day if at all possible. The couple went on to marry on 4 August 1782.
Thomas Venning, Head of Christie’s Books & Manuscripts, London: “Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is one of the most influential and prolific composers of all time, and we are delighted to unveil such a personal letter to the world. Mozart letters are scarce at auction, and it is hard to think of any iconic historical figure where you have an equivalent unfiltered insight into such an important and private moment. The letter has always been in private collections, and has not been seen by the public or scholars since 1989. Christie’s offered the most recent autograph letter and manuscript by Mozart sold at auction, and we are proud to follow that with such an exciting letter and opportunity for Mozart aficionados worldwide.”
Mozart’s arrival in Vienna in 1781 was a turning point in his professional and personal life, representing the moment in which he chose an independent career making money through compositions, performances and teaching over the security of proximity to his father and his privileged position at the Salzburg court. He was relying on a handful of pupils to sustain a living at this time, continuing to teach throughout the 1780s as a supplement to the income from his performances and publications. This moment coincides with the completion of the opera Die Entführung aus dem Serail (“The Abduction from the Seraglio”), which premiered on 16 July 1782 and achieved considerable success. The work was soon being performed throughout German-speaking Europe, establishing Mozart’s reputation as a composer.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s autograph letter will appear as a lead lot in the Exceptional Sale, part of Christie’s Classic Week in London, on 6 July 2023.
An Autograph music manuscript by Mozart for the opening 15 bars of the second movement (‘Andante’) of the Serenade in D major for orchestra, sold at Christie’s London in December 2022
An Autograph letter by Mozart signed to his father, sold at Christie’s New York in June 2017
