Editing Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (section)

===1777–78: Journey to Paris===
[[File:Martini bologna mozart 1777.jpg|thumb|upright=0.8|left|Mozart wearing the badge of the [[Order of the Golden Spur]] which he received in 1770 from [[Pope Clement XIV]] in Rome. The painting is a 1777 copy of a work now lost.{{sfn|Vatican|1770}}]]
[[File:Mozart Family Croce.jpg|thumb|[[Portrait of the Mozart Family|''Portrait of the Mozart Family'']], {{circa|1780}} (attrib. [[Johann Nepomuk della Croce|della Croce]]); the portrait on the wall is of Mozart's mother.]]

In August 1777, Mozart resigned his position at Salzburg{{sfn|Halliwell|1998|p=225}}{{efn|1=Archbishop Colloredo responded to the request by dismissing both Mozart and his father, though the dismissal of the latter was not actually carried out.}} and on 23 September ventured out once more in search of employment, with visits to [[Augsburg]], Mannheim, Paris, and Munich.{{sfn|Sadie|1998}}

Mozart became acquainted with members of the [[Mannheim school|famous orchestra]] in Mannheim, the best in Europe at the time. He also fell in love with [[Aloysia Weber]], one of four daughters of a musical family. There were prospects of employment in Mannheim, but they came to nothing,<ref>{{cite web|last=Drebes|first=Gerald|title=Die 'Mannheimer Schule'—ein Zentrum der vorklassischen Musik und Mozart|language=de|date=1992|url=http://www.gerald-drebes.ch/page8.html|url-status=dead|website=gerald-drebes.ch|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150207142809/http://www.gerald-drebes.ch/page8.html|archive-date=7 February 2015}}</ref> and Mozart left for Paris on 14 March 1778{{sfn|Deutsch|1965|p=174}} to continue his search. One of his letters from Paris hints at a possible post as an organist at [[Palace of Versailles|Versailles]], but Mozart was not interested in such an appointment.{{sfn|Solomon|1995|p=149}} He fell into debt and took to pawning valuables.{{sfn|Halliwell|1998|pp=304–305}} The nadir of the visit occurred when Mozart's mother was taken ill and died on 3{{nbsp}}July 1778.{{sfn|Abert|2007|p=509}} There had been delays in calling a doctor—probably, according to Halliwell, because of a lack of funds.{{sfn|Halliwell|1998|p=305}} Mozart stayed with [[Melchior Grimm]] at [[Louise d'Épinay|Marquise d'Épinay]]'s residence, 5 [[rue de la Chaussée-d'Antin]].<ref>[https://dme.mozarteum.at/DME/briefe/letter.php?mid=1026 "Letter by W. A. Mozart to his father"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230122140125/https://dme.mozarteum.at/DME/briefe/letter.php?mid=1026 |date=22 January 2023 }}, Paris, 9 July 1778 (in German); [https://dme.mozarteum.at/DME/objs/raradocs/transcr/pdf_eng/0462_WAM_LM_1778.pdf in English] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230122140138/https://dme.mozarteum.at/DME/objs/raradocs/transcr/pdf_eng/0462_WAM_LM_1778.pdf |date=22 January 2023 }}; [[Mozarteum]]</ref>

While Mozart was in Paris, his father was pursuing opportunities of employment for him in Salzburg.{{sfn|Halliwell|1998|loc=chs. 18–19}} With the support of the local nobility, Mozart was offered a post as court organist and concertmaster. The annual salary was 450 florins,{{sfn|Solomon|1995|p=157}} but he was reluctant to accept.{{sfn|Halliwell|1998|p=322}} By that time, relations between Grimm and Mozart had cooled, and Mozart moved out. After leaving Paris in September 1778 for [[Strasbourg]], he lingered in Mannheim and Munich, still hoping to obtain an appointment outside Salzburg. In Munich, he again encountered Aloysia, now a very successful singer, but she was no longer interested in him.{{sfn|Sadie|1998|loc=§3}} Mozart finally returned to Salzburg on 15 January 1779 and took up his new appointment, but his discontent with Salzburg remained undiminished.<ref>{{cite book|title=Histoire de la musique occidentale|editor1=[[Jean Massin]]|editor2=[[Brigitte Massin]]|publisher=[[Fayard]]|location=Paris|date=1983|page=613|quote=He wrote during that period that, whenever he or someone else played one of his compositions, it was as if the table and chairs were the only listeners.}}</ref>

Among the better-known works which Mozart wrote on the Paris journey are the [[Piano Sonata No. 8 (Mozart)|A minor piano sonata]], K.&nbsp;310/300d, the [[Symphony No. 31 (Mozart)|"Paris" Symphony]] (No.&nbsp;31), which were performed in Paris on 12 and 18 June 1778;{{sfn|Deutsch|1965|p=176}} and the [[Concerto for Flute, Harp, and Orchestra (Mozart)|Concerto for Flute and Harp]] in C major, K. 299/297c.{{sfn|Einstein|1965|pp=276–277}}