Mozart's Sister Read Online Free PDF Page A

places like that."
    "Papa is making arrangements for us to play at Versailles, before
King Louis the Fifteenth."
    "Who's he?"
    I wasn't surprised she didn't know. If not for our travels and all
the teaching Mama and Papa did while we were in the carriages, I
might not have known. "He's like our empress, but he rules France.
And we hope to play before royalty in London too. Papa and Mama
have been working very hard to arrange it."
    "But why is it a secret?"
    I leaned toward her and whispered. "The archbishop would
need to give us permission. And now, with Papa's new position ..
    "Oh." Katherl put a hand to her mouth.
    "Papa already fears the archbishop suspects. We've needed to get
letters of introduction and . . ." I shrugged.
    "But if he knows, why did he give your father the promotion?"
    I'd never thought of that. "Maybe the archbishop wants Papa to
have a tide 'the Vice Kapelhneister of Salzburg'-so people will
know we're from Salzburg, that we belong to him."
    "Belong to him. That doesn't sound like a pretty position."
    It didn't, but I was learning it was the way of the world. "We
must have support, benefactors, money"
    "This is too odd. People of power coming to see you, to hear
you...
    "And Wolfie."
    Katherl shook her head. "Your little brat of a brother."
    "He's very talented. People say so all the time."

    "What do they say about you?"
    I thought back to our trip to Vienna and Hungary. The
applause, the smiles, the compliments. Wolfie had gotten most of
the attention, yet I'd received my share.
    "Nannerl? What do they say about you?"
    "They say I'm greatly skilled at the keyboard and that my talent
at accompanying is extraordinary." I was not lying. Such things had
been said.
    Katherl again drew up her knees. "But accompanying someone
else ... that's not very glamorous."
    I resented her words. Katherl knew little about music, and for
her to minimize the skill that I needed in order to accompany
another musician ... "There is much more to playing the clavier
than playing written music. Do you realize with accompanying there
is often nothing written out but the bass line-the left hand? There
might be a few notations as to a suggested harmony, but it is up to
me to fill in the music, at the proper volume, style, and harmony for
the soloist-often instantly. I've heard it said that Bach questioned
whether the soloist or the accompanist deserves the greatest glory.
And Papa told me that women often play better than men because
they are more sensitive to the needs of the music, and-"
    Katherl laughed and held up her hands, stopping my words. "I
give up. I give in. I was mistaken. Enough. Enough"
    I felt my face redden. I hadn't meant to get so emotional. I was
agreeable to Wolfie learning the violin and with the accolades he
received. After all, Papa was taking both of us on the Grand Tour.
He loved me just as much as he loved-
    Suddenly the door opened. "Boo!" Wolfie jumped into the
room, his hands curled into claws. His mouth was dirty with cake
crumbs.
    "You're a mess, brother."
    He ran a finger along his lips, looked at it, then licked it clean.
"I came to tell you someone brought a new cake. An apricot torte.
If you don't hurry, I'm going to eat it all myselfl"
    And he was gone. I heard his feet pounding down the stairs.
    I stood. "Shall we?"

    Katherl and I went downstairs, our elbows intertwined like two
ladies.

    The daylight streamed through the window, and I angled my
body so the paper on the worktable suffered no shadows. Papa had
given me a music theory lesson, and I wanted to finish it before
dinner.
    Wolfie sat at the clavier in the corner, practicing. I didn't recognize the piece. Apparently, neither did Mama because she looked
up from the pile of papers in her lap and said, "What song is that,
Wolferl?"
    He didn't stop playing. "My own." He tilted his head back and
sang along with Fa-la-las, making his voice sound a harmony with
his fingers.
    "As I've told you