On the economics of musical composition in Mozart's Vienna

“Perhaps in this neglected spot is laid/Some heart once pregnant with celestial fire,/Hands, that the rod of empire might have sway'd,/Or wak'd to extasy the living lyre.” Thomas Gray,Elegy Written in a Country Church Yard “‘Aren't the myriad of princely [German] courts,’ asked leibnitz in 1679, ‘a glorious means to allow so many people to distinguish themselves who would otherwise remain lying in the dust?’” (Vierhaus, 1988, p. 39). “Believe me, my sole purpose is to make as much money as possible; for after good health it is the best thing to have.” Mozart to his father, Vienna, April 4, 1781 (Anderson, 1938, Vol. 3, p. 1072)

Abstract

The article provides historical evidence suggesting that a substantial element in the explanation of the profusion of talented composers in the 18th century Habsburg empire was the fragmentation of the state into many near-independent states, each with its own court seeking entertainment and prestige through new musical offerings. The resulting profusion of jobs attracted people into the profession and provided hearings for their work. The article also examines the data on Mozart's finances and using a rough translation of 18th century Austrian currency into current dollars supports recent revisionist findings that, with the exception of several years, he was relatively well off.