Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his mother arrived in Paris in April 1778. As he quickly reports to his father, he wasn’t particularly impressed by the city of lights. In fact, he considered Paris to be a real dump! He complains about the muddy and dirty streets, and even more damning, he considered Parisians to be “rude and obnoxious, filled with arrogance and obsessed with self-importance.” And what is more, Mozart’s letter gives us terrific insight of how musicians were treated by royalty at that particular time; they were considered simply servants. With a letter of recommendation from Madam Grimm in his pocket, Mozart went to see the Duchesse de Chabot. Once arrived, Mozart was asked to wait for half an hour in an unheated and icy room. When the Duchess finally arrived, she asked him to play on one of her instruments, but with his fingers numb from the cold, Mozart asked to be first taken to a heated room.
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