Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Prague Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Prague There is no question that the Praguers of the late eighteenth century exhibited a special appreciation for the music of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, even though, as recently pointed out by Daniel E. Freeman, confirmations of this fact attributed to Mozart himself in sayings such as "" ("My Praguers understand me") have only come down to posterity second or third hand. Perhaps the most valuable direct testimony that attests to the discernment of the musical public in Prague with regard to Mozart's music comes from Lorenzo Da Ponte, the librettist of Mozart's opera "Don Giovanni", which
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart of "Ascanio in Alba" (1771) and "Lucio Silla" (1772). Leopold hoped that these visits would result in a professional appointment for his son, and indeed ruling Archduke Ferdinand contemplated hiring Mozart but owing to his mother Empress Maria Theresa's reluctance to employ "useless people", the matter was dropped and Leopold's hopes were never realized. Toward the end of the journey, Mozart wrote the solo motet "Exsultate, jubilate", K. 165. After finally returning with his father from Italy on 13 March 1773, Mozart was employed as a court musician by the ruler of Salzburg, Prince-Archbishop Hieronymus Colloredo. The composer had a