Catalytic Matching / Mozart

Catalytic Matching results in the individual rapidly accelerating the development of key characteristics, visibility, and links, in comparison to competitors in the field/ society. In this process the person acts as a catalyst in pulling together the resources/ activities of a network of individuals into a system, a system which serves to massively accelerate the development/ visibility of the person within a particular role, an acceleration which becomes self-reinforcing as the increasing success of the person (star) stimulates ever more growth (increasing involvement/ commitment of existing and new members) in the system.

This accelerating catalytic process is most easily seen in the case of child prodigies such as Mozart, whose family along with loads of nobles, court officials, intelligentsia, clerics, promoters, groupies & hangers-on all jumped in to accelerate the development and visibility of "the little wizard". This accelerating development in turn hugely enhanced social standing of the Mozart family (esp. Leopold) - going from invisibility in backwater of Salzburg to the courts of Vienna, Versailles, London - and no doubt brought major kudos to the escalating list of counts, ladies, archdukes, bishops, barons, vice chancellors, & court councilors who had the cop on to promo God's "tiny miracle" at their venue, get their names up on the marquee, or at least manage an invite to the opening night.

What the person gains from the sort of catalytic acceleration Mozart experienced during his four year 'Euro tour' (starting in Sept, 1762, at the age of 6) can only be described in terms like 'mega', 'exponential', or 'quantum'. These 'exponential gains'/ 'quantum leaps' in development are a result of the self-reinforcing nature of catalytic systems in which the increasing success of the star at the center serves as a catalyst in stimulating ever more involvement/ commitment by others in the system. The resulting accelerations in development for the person come in at least three areas, all of which are central to the new role of being treated as a star. These three areas involve mega developments in relation to key characteristics, visibility, and links. Which of the person's key characteristics are accelerated and how will of course vary depending on such things as age & experience, the specific demands of the star role, and the personal & managerial support available. In Mozart's case - given his age - development of all of his key characteristics would inevitably have been hugely accelerated in line with the experiences associated with his new role as a star performer. Consider, for example, his musical ability and his self concept.

Early in the tour Wolfgang was "playing sonatas, trios, and concertos manfully on the harpsichord" and improvising from his head, now cantabile, now with chords." A few weeks later (shortly after Vienna) he was now also playing "in the violin key, and in the soprano and the bass keys as well, on a small violino piccolo made especially for him".

By the time he reached Paris, late in '63, the "little wizard" had clearly gone up another level yet: "A lady asked him casually to accompany her by ear on an Italian cavatina" Mozart had never heard before. Yet right from the first note... continues in Arrival

...And a few months later, by March of '64, Mozart had published his first works, two Sonates pour le Clavecin, two "entirely serious" works which took the "form of a dialogue between harpsichord and violin". As Leopold put it at the time: "God daily works new wonders through this child". God, with a little help from his friends – new musical friends caught up in Mozart’s rush to fame, giving the “little wizard” access to an extraordinary range of musical challenges and expertise, literally in Csikszentmihalyi’s terms, giving him a continual ‘mega-flow’ experience, an experience which simply would have been unimaginable outside of such a catalytic acceleration. A few examples will suffice.

Imagine Mozart in Wassenburg, in the cathedral, pulling back the stool and ‘That’s it Wolferl, left, right, yes, both feet’, treading the pedals, playing the bass, stante pede . Imagine him in Stuttgard and Schwetzingen with Nardini, his violin singing; with Wendling, master of the flauto traverso, the new German fiddle; in Paris with Schobert and Eckardt, the “famous” harpsichord rivals, “shaping the style” of his “earliest sonatas”; in the chapel at Versailles, soaking up motets from the king’s gallery… continues in Arrival

…The accelerated change in Wolfgang's self concept was, if anything, even more spectacular. This should come as no shock, given that in a few short months he went from being the unknown 6 year old child to becoming the 'little wizard' of the imperial courts of Europe. A few examples will do.

In early October of 1762, the day before leaving Linz for Vienna - knowing that "failure there would be the end of every dream of fame and prosperity", Leopold wrote his good friend Hagenauer in Salzburg, asking him to "quickly have four masses said". Less than two weeks later, after the Emperor Francis I had shown the boy his musical ignorance by delighting in him playing with a single finger or with the keyboard covered, Mozart "sat down at the clavier to play a concerto" and asked the Emperor standing beside him to get Herr Wagenseil because "he understands". And when the author of the concerto appeared, Mozart instructed him to "turn the pages for me".

Not much over a year later - New Year's Day of 1764 - and the young child's sense of who he was had now expanded far beyond the keyboard. The Mozarts had been invited to dinner at Versailles with the King and Queen of France, and "Master Wolfgangus was requested to stand all the while beside the Queen"… continues in Arrival

…As regards the acceleration in visibility - and hence further acceleration of opportunities for performance/development within the star role - consider the following:

After Leopold's children, "especially the boy" had "astonished everyone" with their concert at Linz, no less than three counts set out to broadcast the "marvels they had heard and seen" to the "nobility of Vienna".

By late February of '63, a mere 4 months after setting out from Salzburg, "stories about the children's success in Vienna" had been "published" and had "gradually disseminated" all the way back to Salzburg, with the result that Leopold himself was promoted and now traveled as "the Prince-Archbishop’s vice-Kapellmeister".

Less than a year later, after the children's appearance at Palace of Versailles, the French nobility began to "vie with one another for the privilege of having them"… continues in Arrival

…As for the acceleration in links - ie ties/ contacts with individuals & organizations which provide access to further resources & opportunities - consider the following developments as the catalytic Euro tour proceeded:

The "young Count Pálffy" still filled with the "wonder" he had heard in Linz, organized an early concert for the prodigies upon their arrival in Vienna, and there after continued to be "one of the most notable heralds of Wolfgang's fame", a herald "whose support ultimately opened many doors for him"… continues in Arrival

…At another level, the creation of such links was even more substantial. In Paris Leopold's "great new friend", Melchoir Grimm, was far more than a publicist. He was like a spider when it came to spinning links. As the hugely influential secretary of the Duc d' Orléans, "a key position in Parisian social life", Grimm "favoured and helped Leopold" in countless critical ways. He "managed their business at court", "provided instructions on how to leave notes for people of rank whom Leopold could not see"... continues in Arrival ...Grimm had a hand in, a contact, everywhere. In short he was the kind of link every prodigy wants, but few in fact get, ie, the kind of link to whom Mozart "owed everything”.

The information and quotes re Mozart in the above discussion come mostly from Schenk, 1960; Levey, 1991; and Holmes, 1944.

The concept of Catalytic Matching was developed during the researching and writing of Arrival. At this point it does not exist elsewhere in the research literature. In addition to the case study of Mozart given above Arrival discusses the concept in relation to research on catalytic systems in, eg, microbiology, economics, and family therapy; and applies it to reinterpreting existing research re the development of eminence in various fields.

References cited above are available in Arrival. see Sources.