2-720-415 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

'They remained standing, rooted to the spot', (1907). The young Mozart sneaks into the organ loft in the monastery of Ips: '...the Franciscan monks...were startled at hearing the organ pealing forth from the chapel. One of the hosts left the table to ascertain who the player could be, and...beckoned the company to follow him. On reaching the chapel they paused to listen, holding their breath, as their companion pointed to the tiny figure of a child seated in the loft. Was it possible, they asked themselves, that a child could produce such beautiful music? They remained standing, rooted to the spot by the enchanting strains which poured from the organ'. An episode from the life of Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791). From "Story-Lives of Great Musicians", by F.J. Rowbotham. [Wells Gardner, Darton & Co. Ltd, London, 1907]