His return, no doubt, retarded his artistic development. The musical
atmosphere of Vienna would have been much better for him, especially at
this period, when he was entering manhood and eager to get at the works
of contemporary composers. In those times only a small amount of the
music that was written, was published. Many of the lesser works were
composed merely to grace some social function, with but little thought
given them as to their ultimate fate. It was customary to play from
manuscript, copies of which were not readily attainable. In a city like
Vienna new music was constantly being produced, occasionally at public
concerts, but most often at social gatherings. The freemasonry existing
among musicians and the wealthy amateurs was such that a musician of any
talent was sure to be received, and put on a friendly footing. No other
city in Europe afforded such opportunities for musical culture as did
Vienna. It was the home of Mozart and Haydn and a host of lesser
composers, as well as instrumentalists and singers.
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