A summons to play before the court on April 14 was regarded as an unusual honour, and was followed by a present of 100 ducats.[6] Elsewhere he played with his usual readiness and good nature; and the interest which was felt in him was increased by a competition in which he came off with flying colours. His rival was Hàssler of Erfurt,[7] who happened to be in Dresden at the time, and was considered a pianoforte and organ-player of the first rank. Much was said in praise of his astonishing executive powers, of his brilliant and fiery delivery,[8] of his singular gift "of putting expression into the most rapid prestissimo--so that in softness and pathos it was equal to an adagio"[9]--and of his wonderful memory, enabling him to play the most difficult compositions without the notes. As an organ-player his dexterity with the pedal was specially admired.[10] He had an {A PROFESSIONAL TOUR.} (228) excellent opinion of himself; and when in the summer of 1788 he was in Dresden, "exciting the liveliest astonishment in all who heard him by his inexpressibly affecting playing," he let it be known that he intended to proceed to Vienna, "in order to prove to the Vienna public in competition with the great Mozart, that strong as the latter may be upon the pianoforte, he cannot play the clavichord."[11] To Mozart he appeared no formidable antagonist; he gave him credit for his dexterity in the use of the pedal, but placed him below Albrechtsberger as an organ-player, and compared him to Aurnhammer as a pianist. Mozart's visit to Leipzig left behind a strong and pleasant impression. Fr. Rochlitz, then a young man, became intimate with him at the house of their common friend Doles,[12] and preserved a number of interesting traits, characteristic both of the man and the artist. He was cheerful and amiable in society, outspoken in his judgments of art and artists, and responsive to any display of interest in music; "not niggardly of his art, as so many musicians are." Almost every evening during his stay in Leipzig he took part in musical entertainments at different houses, and when quartets were played he took the piano or tenor part. The violinist Berger, who was generally of the party, used, as an old man, when any of these pieces were brought forward, to whisper to a friend with tender emotion, "Ah, I had once the honour of accompanying the great Mozart himself in that piece."[13] An ear-witness gave the following account:-- On April 22 he played the organ of the Thomaskirche, without previous notice, and gratuitously. He played very finely for an hour to a large audience. The then organist, Gorner, and the cantor, Doles, sat near him and pulled the stops. I saw him well; a young, well-dressed man of middle height. Doles was quite delighted with the performance, and declared that his old master, Sebastian Bach, had {LEIPZIG--POTSDAM, 1789.} (229)