Franz Duschek (born 1736 in Chotinborek), while still a poor peasant lad, attracted the notice of his feudal lord, Count Joh. Karl von Spork, by his uncommon talent. He was first sent to study at the Jesuit seminary at Königgràtz, but being obliged to give up study owing to an unfortunate accident, he devoted himself entirely to music, and was sent by the Count to Vienna, where he was educated into an accomplished piano-forte-player by Wagenseil.[8] As such he had long held the first rank in Prague, and not only did much by his excellent teaching to advance the art of pianoforte-playing, but exercised a decided and beneficial influence on musical taste in general. He was universally esteemed as an honest and upright man, and his influence with distinguished connoisseurs made him a powerful patron of foreign artists visiting Prague. His hospitable house formed a meeting-point both for foreign and native talent, and concerts were regularly given there on certain days in the week. The animating spirit at all these meetings was Duschek's wife Josepha (neé Hambacher),[9] who had received her musical education from {MADAME DUSCHEK.} (121) him. She played the pianoforte well enough to pass for a virtuoso, and made some not unsuccessful attempts as a composer; but her forte lay in singing. Her beautiful, full, round voice was admired equally with her delivery, which was especially fine in recitative; she accomplished the most difficult bravura passages with perfect ease, without neglecting the effect of a perfect _portamento_; she united fire and energy with grace and expression--in short, she maintained in every respect her claim to be ranked with the first Italian singers of her time. This claim was not, it is true, acknowledged by Leopold Mozart; when she was in Salzburg with her husband, in 1786, he wrote to his daughter (April)-- Madame Duschek sang; but how? I cannot but say that she shrieked out an air of Naumann's with exaggerated expression, just as she used to do, only worse. Her husband is answerable for this; he knows no better, and has taught her, and persuades her that she alone possesses true taste. Her appearance did not please him either. "She seems to me to show signs of age already," he writes (April 13); "she has rather a fat face, and was very carelessly dressed." Schiller's unfavourable remarks upon her in Weimar, where she was in May, 1788, are quite in accordance with this.[10] She displeased him by her assurance (Dreistigkeit)--he would not call it impudence (Frechheit)--and her mocking manner, which caused the reigning Duchess to observe that she looked like a discarded mistress.[11] By favour of the Duchess Amalie she was allowed to give three concerts for the display of her talent and the general edification; Korner answers Schiller's account of her:[12]--