18th-Century Characters, Including Frederick the Great, Discussion Post 34

[cahn]

And including Emperor Joseph II!

from Derek Beales: Joseph II, Volume 2: Against the World, 1780 - 1790:

Joseph's alleged comment to Mozart about the Entführung, "Too many notes", has been taken as evidence of his ignorance. But he probably said something like, "Too beautiful for our ears, and monstrous many notes." It is always necessary to bear in mind, when appraising the emperor's remarks, his peculiar brand of humor or sarcasm. He was usually getting at someone. And he did not use the royal "we". The ears in question were those of the Viennese audience, whom he was mocking for their limited appreciation of Mozart's elaborate music.

(though not gonna lie, I think it is a LOT of notes)

Comments

Re: Some more Wilhelmine-Fritz correspondence

[mildred_of_midgard]

I was going to say, Fritz refers to himself as a Don Quixote a *lot* in the Catt memoirs. And possibly also correspondence during the Seven Years' War? I forget. But definitely someone he liked to cast himself as. When not casting himself as Dulcinea. ;)

Re: Some more Wilhelmine-Fritz correspondence

[selenak]

To be fair, (P)RussianPete is responsible for the Dulcinea casting. :)

Thinking back to other Fritz references of literary characters as himself, there is of course Orpheus, also in the 7 Years War, and in 1743 when Voltaire leaves him to meet up with Émilie again, Dido (with voltaire as Aeneas, something I would have missed if you hadn't pointed out the Virgil quote). And speaking of Voltaire, then there's the time he compared himself to Jupiter and voltaire to Danae when pushing him to show up already in 1750, and Voltaire wrote back "your aged Danae loves Jupiter and his his gold".