The Count of Buquoy, my student in piano playing, cherished the desire to get to know my composition on Bürgers's Lenore, which had already appeared. The piece made such a powerful impression on the Count, that with all his eloquence he told me to give up law, and to start with him as composer. Too honorable to take advantage of his excitement, I asked him to make a decision on this after eight days, when he was tranquil; he, however, after some passage of time was even firmer in his resolve, and in the month of May I entered a very honorable relationship with the house of the Count, which on both sides through the exchange of contractual documents was put on a secure basis, but remained a secret still for his circle. Brother Jakob, who had a position on the Massen estate, near Vienna, as administrator, had married in the meantime, and I traveled there, in the company of my spiritual brother, in order to be an eyewitness of his married happiness.

He and his pretty young wife did what was possible in order to sweeten our stay. After a few days we all traveled to Vienna, and there visited most of the public places, including the art collections, at which a painful feeling took power over me, for I involuntarily thought, in viewing the heaps of treasures, of my poor orphaned Prague, and only the thought, that Prague could be proud of even more valuable and certainly more spiritual treasures, was able to drive the grim feeling from me. How I looked forward to the evening, when I saw on the ticket “Iphigenie auf Tauris by Ritter Glück”! — This was the first of his dramatic works that I saw and heard in performance, though I knew most of his works already from their scores.

If energetic ensemble, beautiful costumes, splendid décor, and especially beautiful voices, with Milder as Iphigenia, Weinmüller as Thoas, Vogel as Orest, and Ehlers as Pilades, under Salieri's canny baton of the excellent orchestra accompanying with the finest delicacy provided the opera with true brilliance, then this performance of Iphigenia belonged to the most exquisite of theatrical contributions.