Letter to ‘The Bäsle’

Listen to a translation of a 1777 letter from Mozart to his cousin Maria Anna Thekla Mozart in Augsburg, whom he called ‘the Bäsle’ (little cousin), read by actor Christopher Inman. 

In September 1777, Mozart and his mother, Anna Maria, set out on a journey to Paris. While passing through Augsburg, Leopold Mozart’s native city, Mozart visited family, and formed a warm friendship with his cousin Maria Anna Thekla Mozart, two years younger—affectionately called his Bäsle, or “little cousin.” His letters to her are exuberant and brimming with playful, scatological humor and innuendo, inspiring speculation about their relationship. In this letter he asks her to send him the portrait, displayed here, hoping it will show her “dressed in the French style.” 

Coarse humor and jokes about bodily functions were common in southern Germany and Austria at the time, and the Mozart family themselves delighted in this kind of wordplay. On the same journey, Mozart’s mother even ended a letter to her husband with a verse equally bawdy in tone. This earthy humor, though striking to modern ears, reflects both family intimacy and exuberant playfulness. Mozart’s letter is also filled with rapid flights of fancy, almost manic wordplay, and unabashed silliness—an unfiltered glimpse into his distinctive wit and roguish imagination.