A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Leutgeb, Josef

by George Grove

LEUTGEB, or LEITGEB, Josef, a horn player to whom Mozart was much attached. They became acquainted in Salzburg, where Leutgeb was one of the band, and on Mozart's arrival in Vienna he found him settled there, in the Altlerchenfeld no. 32, keeping a cheesemonger's shop and playing the horn. Mozart wrote 4 Concertos for him (Köchel 412, 417, 447, 495), a Quintet (407), which he calls 'das Leitgebische,' and probably a Rondo (371). This shows that he must have been a good player. There must also have been something attractive about him, for with no one does Mozart appear to have played so many tricks. When Leutgeb called to ask how his pieces were getting on Mozart would cover the floor with loose leaves of scores and parts of symphonies and concertos, which Leutgeb must pick up and arrange in exact order, while the composer was writing at his desk as fast as his pen could travel. On one occasion he was made to crouch down behind the stove till Mozart had finished. The margins of the Concertos are covered with droll remarks—'W. A. Mozart has taken pity on Leutgeb, ass, ox, and fool, at Vienna, Mar. 2 7, 1 783, etc.' The horn part is full of jokes—'Go it, Signor Asino'—'take a little breath'—'wretched pig'—'thank God here's the end'—and much more of the like. One of the pieces is written in coloured inks, black, red, green, and blue, alternately. Such were Mozart's boyish romping ways! Leutgeb throve on his cheese and his horn, and died richer than his great friend, Feb. 27, 1811.^[1]

[ G. ]

1. See Jahn's Mozart, 2nd ed., ii. 26.