it with tones; I am a musician....I wish you might live till
there is nothing more to be said in music."

(Mannheim, November 8, 1777, in a letter of congratulation to his
father who was born on November 14, 1719. Despite his assertion
Mozart was an admirable dancer and passionately devoted to the
sport. [So says Herr Kerst obviously misconceiving Mozart's
words. It is plain to me that the composer had the classic
definition of the dance in mind when he said that he was no
dancer. The dance of which he was thinking was that described by
Charles Kingsley. "A dance in which every motion was a word, and
rest as eloquent as motion; in which every attitude was a fresh
motive for a sculptor of the purest school, and the highest
physical activity was manifested, not as in coarse pantomime, in
fantastic bounds and unnatural distortions, but in perpetual
delicate modulations of a stately and self-sustained grace."
H.E.K.])

3. "The poets almost remind me of the trumpeters with their
tricks of handicraft. If we musicians were to stick as faithfully
to our rules (which were very good as long as we had no better)
we should make as worthless music as they make worthless books."

(Vienna, October 13, 1781, to his father. He is writing about the
libretto of "Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail," by Stephanie. The
trumpeters at the time still made use of certain flourishes which
had been traditionally preserved in their guild.)

4. "I have spared neither care nor labor to produce something
excellent for Prague. Moreover it is a mistake to think that the