compofition, and devoted his'whole time to their mufical 
education. When young Mozart was about three years 
of age, the father began 'to give his daughter, who was 
three years older, inftruclion on the harpfichord; and the 
Ion at this early period paid fo much attention to the 
founds of the inftrument, and exhibited fuch proofs of 
extraordinary talents, that he was taught fome minuets 
and airs, which he learned with wonderful facility; half 
an hour being fufficient for a minuet, and an hour for 
the other pieces. All thefe he could execute with the 
utmoft preciiion and delicacy of touch ; and his progrefs 
was fo rapid, that in his fifth' year he compofed fome 
fmall pieces, which he performed before his father, and 
which the latter thought worthy of being written down. 
He now loft all tafte for childilh amufements; or, if he 
ever indulged in them, it was neceifary that they lhould 
be accompanied with mufic. At the age of fix he had 
attained to fo much expertnefs in this art as excited uni- 
verfal aftonilhment; and his father, conceiving that he 
might turn to advantage the talents of his children, re¬ 
paired with his family, con lifting of his wife, daughter, 
and fon, to Munich, where the children performed before 
the eleilor, and gave a public fpecimen of the great pro¬ 
ficiency which they had made. On their return to Salz¬ 
burg they improved themfelves ftill farther in mufic; and 
in 1762 the whole family went to Vienna, where the chil¬ 
dren were prefented to the imperial court. Young Mo¬ 
zart foon after learned to play the violin ; and, though 
daily complimented on his great mufical genius, he be¬ 
came neither proud nor capricious, but continued trac¬ 
table and obedient to the commands of his father. In 
the year 1763, Mozart’s family again paid a vifit to Mu¬ 
nich, where the fon performed a concerto on the violin 
before the electoral court; after which they proceeded to 
Augfburg, Manheim, Mentz, Frankfort, Coblentz, Co¬ 
logne, Aix-la-Chapelle, and Bruffels, in all which places 
young Mozart played with great approbation at public 
concerts or at the houfes of the principal nobility. In 
the month of November they arrived at Paris, where 
they remained twenty-one weeks; during which the bro¬ 
ther and filter performed before the royal family at Ver- 
failles, and the former played the organ in the chapel-' 
royal. They gave alio two grand public concerts; and, 
as might be expected, were heard with the moll rapturous 
admiration. So much were the public interelled by this 
mufical family, that a print was publilhed of the father 
and his two children ; and wherever they went they u’ere 
treated with every mark of refpeil. At Paris young Mo¬ 
zart compofed his two firft works, one of which was de¬ 
dicated to madame Vifloire, the king’s feconrl daughter, 
and the other to the countefs of Telle: at this time he 
was oniy feven years of age. 
On leaving Paris, in April 1764, the family came over 
to England, where they continued more than a year. 
Young Mozart and his filler had the honour of perform¬ 
ing before the royal family. In London they had a be¬ 
nefit-concert, all the fymphonies of wdiich were compofed 
by young Mozart; and they performed at another which 
was given for the benefit of the Lying-in liofpital. The 
Hon. Daines Barrington, F.R.S. who, during the time of 
-Mozart’s refidence here, was witnefs of his moll extraor¬ 
dinary abilities, both at public concerts, and by having 
been with him for a confiderable time at his father’s 
houfe, gives the following account, amazing and incre¬ 
dible almoll as it may appear, and which is printed in the 
Phil.Tranf. vol. lx. p. 54. He carried to him a manufcript 
duet, which u/as compofed by an Englilh gentleman to 
fome favourite words in Metaftalio’s opera of Demofoonte. 
The whole fcore was in five parts, viz. accompaniments 
for a firft and fecond violin, the two vocal parts, and a 
bafe. Mr. B.’s intention in carrying with him this ma- 
nufcript compofition, was to have an irrefragable proof of 
his abilities as a player at fight, it being abfolutely im- 
poffible that he could ever have feen the mufic before. 
The fcore was no fooner put upoja his delk, than he began 
Vol. XVI. No. 1100. 
to play the fymphony in a mod mafterly manner, as well 
as in the time and ftyle which correfponded with the in¬ 
tention of the compoler. The fymphony ended, he began 
to ling the upper part, leaving the under one to his father. 
His voice in the tone of it was thin and infantine, but 
nothing could exceed the mafterly manner in which he- 
fang. His father, wdio took the under part in this duet, 
was once or twice out, thougfi the paflages were not more 
difficult than thofe in the upper one; on which occafion 
the fon looked back with fome anger, pointing out to 
him his miftakes, and fetting him right. He not only 
however did complete jullice to the duet, by finging his 
own part in the truell tafte, and with the greateft preci- 
fion; but alfo threw in the accompaniments of the two 
violins, wherever they were mod neceifary, and produced 
the belt effeils. It is well known that none but the moft 
capital muficians are capable of accompanying in this 
ftyle. When he had finiihed the duet, he exprelfed him- 
felf highly in its approbation, alking with fome eagernefs 
whether Mr. B. had brought any more fuch mufic. Hav¬ 
ing been informed, however, that he was often vifited 
with mufical ideas, to which, even in the inidll of the 
night, he would give utterance on his harpfichord; Mr. 
B. told his father that he lhould be glad to hear fome of 
his extemporary compofitions. The father (hook his head 
at this, faying, that it depended entirely on his being as- 
it were mufically infpired, but that Mr. B. might alk him. 
whether he was in humour for fuch a compofition. Hap¬ 
pening to know that little Mozart was much taken notice 
of by Manzoli, the famous finger, who came over to Eng¬ 
land in 1764, Mr. B. faid to the boy, that he lhould be 
glad to hear an extempore love-fong, fuch as his friend 
Manzoli might choofe in an opera. The bo}f on this, 
who continued to fit at his harpfichord, looked back with 
much archnefs, and immediately began five or fix lines 
of a jargon recitative proper to introduce a love-long.. 
He then played a fymphony which might correlpond with, 
an air compofed to the fingle word Affetto. It had a firft 
and fecond part, which, together with the fymphonies, 
was of the length that opera-fongs generally laft: if this 
extemporary compofition was not amazingly capital, yet. 
it was really above mediocrity, and (howed molt extraor¬ 
dinary readinefs of invention. Finding that he was in 
humour, and as it were infpired, Mr. B. then defired him 
to compofe a fong of rage, fuch as might be proper for 
the opera-ftage. The boy again looked back with much 
archnefs, and began five or fix lines of a jargon recitative 
proper to precede a fong of anger. This lalled alfo about 
the fame time with the fong of love ; and in the middle 
of it, he had worked himfelf up to fuch a pitch, that he 
beat his harpfichord like a perfon poffelled, riling fome- 
times in his chair. The word he pitched on for this fe¬ 
cond extemporary compofition was, Perjido. After this 
he played a difficult leffon, which he had finiihed a day or 
two before: his execution was amazing, coniidering that 
his little fingers could lcarcely reach a fifth on the harpfi¬ 
chord. His allonilhing readinefs however did not arife 
merely from great practice; he had a thorough know¬ 
ledge of the fundamental principles of compofition, as, 
on producing a treble, he immediately wrote a bafe un-. 
der it, which, when tried, had a very good cffeil. Fie 
was alfo a great mailer of modulation, and his tranfitions 
from one key to another were very natural and judicious 5 
he praclifed in this manner for a confiderable time with 
a handkerchief over the keys of the harpfichord. Thefe 
fails Mr. B. was an eye-witnefs of; to which he adds, 
that he had been informed by two or three able muficians, 
when Bach the celebrated compofer had begun a fugue, 
and left off abruptly, that little Mozart has immediately- 
taken it up, and worked it after a moft mafterly mannpr. 
Before he left*London, he publilhed Six Sonatas for the 
Harpfichord, with an Accompaniment for the Violin 
or German Flute, fold by R. Bremner, in the Strand, 
and intitled, Oeuvre Troijieme. His two firft works we 
have mentioned above. He is faid in the title-page to 
R r have 
