[Illustration: BRONZE STATUE OF MOZART, IN THE LUXEMBOURG.
But the opera did not help him pecuniarily. He was in constant need of money. He was not idle, however; the great symphonies in E-flat major, G minor and C major were written in the summer months of 1788; he prepared the music for the masked balls; he wrote compositions for the pleasure of his pupils; and, at the instigation of Van Swieten, who was an enthusiastic admirer of Handel, he prepared "Acis and Galatea," "The Messiah," "Ode for St. Cecilia's Day," and "Alexander's Feast" for performance by strengthening the instrumentation. He also directed them (1788-1790). In 1789 he was invited by Prince Lichnowsky to visit him in Berlin; he gladly accepted the invitation, thinking he might better his condition. They stopped at Prague; at Dresden, where he played before the Court, and at Leipsic, where he played the organ and heard a Bach motet. At Potsdam Mozart was presented to the King, Frederick William II., who was an enlightened patron of music. He played upon the 'cello and was a man of very catholic taste. The opera stage was free to Italian, French and German composers. The orchestra in which the king often played at rehearsals was directed by Duport; the opera by Reichardt, the musician and journalist. Neither of these men looked upon Mozart's appearance in Berlin with favor, and they were none the sweeter to him when he replied to the King's question concerning the performances of the orchestra: "It contains the best virtuosos, but if the gentlemen would play together, it would be an improvement." The King offered him the position of Kapellmeister, at a salary of three thousand thalers; but Mozart would not leave his Emperor. He made a short visit to Leipsic for a benefit concert which hardly paid the expenses of the journey. On his return to Berlin he heard his "Seraglio." In a certain passage, the second violins played D sharp instead of D, and Mozart cried out angrily, "Damn it, play D, will you?" And here it is reported that he became enamored of Henriette Baranius, a singer of remarkable beauty. The boy Hummel, his pupil, gave a concert in Berlin, and was overjoyed to see him in the audience. Just before Mozart's departure in May, the King sent him one hundred friedrichsdor, and wished that he would write quartets for him. Constanze received a letter in which her husband said that she must be glad to see him, not the money he brought.