Mozart: The Reign of Love
- Downloads：6276
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-10-31 09:52:28
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Jan Swafford
- ISBN：006243361X
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
Now in paperback: the definitive biography of one of the most lauded musical geniuses in history， Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart， by the acclaimed composer and biographer Jan Swafford
At the earliest ages it was apparent that Wolfgang Mozart’s singular imagination was at work in every direction。 He hated to be bored and hated to be idle， and through his life he responded to these threats with a repertoire of antidotes mental and physical。 Whether in his rabidly obscene mode or not， Mozart was always hilarious。 He went at every piece of his life， and perhaps most notably his social life， with tremendous gusto。 His circle of friends and patrons was wide， encompassing anyone who appealed to his boundless appetites for music and all things pleasurable and fun。
Mozart was known to be an inexplicable force of nature who could rise from a luminous improvisation at the keyboard to a leap over the furniture。 He was forever drumming on things， tapping his feet， jabbering away， but who could grasp your hand and look at you with a profound， searching， and melancholy look in his blue eyes。 Even in company there was often an air about Mozart of being not quite there。 It was as if he lived onstage and off simultaneously， a character in life’s tragicomedy but also outside of it watching， studying， gathering material for the fabric of his art。
Like Jan Swafford’s biographies Beethoven and Johannes Brahms， Mozart is the complete exhumation of a genius in his life and ours: a man who would enrich the world with his talent for centuries to come and who would immeasurably shape classical music。 As Swafford reveals， it’s nearly impossible to understand classical music’s origins and indeed its evolutions， as well as the Baroque period， without studying the man himself。
At the earliest ages it was apparent that Wolfgang Mozart’s singular imagination was at work in every direction。 He hated to be bored and hated to be idle， and through his life he responded to these threats with a repertoire of antidotes mental and physical。 Whether in his rabidly obscene mode or not， Mozart was always hilarious。 He went at every piece of his life， and perhaps most notably his social life， with tremendous gusto。 His circle of friends and patrons was wide， encompassing anyone who appealed to his boundless appetites for music and all things pleasurable and fun。
Mozart was known to be an inexplicable force of nature who could rise from a luminous improvisation at the keyboard to a leap over the furniture。 He was forever drumming on things， tapping his feet， jabbering away， but who could grasp your hand and look at you with a profound， searching， and melancholy look in his blue eyes。 Even in company there was often an air about Mozart of being not quite there。 It was as if he lived onstage and off simultaneously， a character in life’s tragicomedy but also outside of it watching， studying， gathering material for the fabric of his art。
Like Jan Swafford’s biographies Beethoven and Johannes Brahms， Mozart is the complete exhumation of a genius in his life and ours: a man who would enrich the world with his talent for centuries to come and who would immeasurably shape classical music。 As Swafford reveals， it’s nearly impossible to understand classical music’s origins and indeed its evolutions， as well as the Baroque period， without studying the man himself。
Reviews
RustyShack
，
3。5 Well done with many fascinating bits but just about everything related to opera had zero interest for me， so this was tedious at many points。
Graham Walton
，
This is a great book and I have learned so much from it， albeit I do not have a great knowledge of classical music I found it a brilliant read and I have a tremendous empathy for the life that Mozart lead。
Mahendra Palsule
，
The definitive book on Mozart， period。 A close look at the world's greatest geniuses， including his upbringing， early fame， and challenges in later life。 Both his life and his music are discussed in great detail avoiding hyperbole and providing insight into his character。Sometimes the author does get too distracted into discussing history but that is forgivable since it does provide context for life in that era。Many myths surrounding this man are dismantled， some that have persisted decades if n The definitive book on Mozart， period。 A close look at the world's greatest geniuses， including his upbringing， early fame， and challenges in later life。 Both his life and his music are discussed in great detail avoiding hyperbole and providing insight into his character。Sometimes the author does get too distracted into discussing history but that is forgivable since it does provide context for life in that era。Many myths surrounding this man are dismantled， some that have persisted decades if not more。A must read for all Mozart lovers as well as anyone interested in Western Classical Music。 。。。more
Yvonne Lacy
，
Very enjoyable writing style; be ready for serious music nerd sections in which the author lovingly describes the instrumental， vocal， and performance details of Mozart's major works as he goes along。 This is really good， however: I think that when/if I listen to these pieces I'll have a better appreciation for their structure and for the whimsy and playfulness of their composer。 Very enjoyable writing style; be ready for serious music nerd sections in which the author lovingly describes the instrumental， vocal， and performance details of Mozart's major works as he goes along。 This is really good， however: I think that when/if I listen to these pieces I'll have a better appreciation for their structure and for the whimsy and playfulness of their composer。 。。。more
Kevin Postlewaite
，
Corrects all of the legends of Mozart's life and， more importantly， vividly discusses Mozart's works， leading the reader through them to help understand what made them masterpieces。 I especially appreciated the descriptions of Mozart's operas。 Corrects all of the legends of Mozart's life and， more importantly， vividly discusses Mozart's works， leading the reader through them to help understand what made them masterpieces。 I especially appreciated the descriptions of Mozart's operas。 。。。more
Sarah
，
As a classically trained violist， I've played a lot of Mozart （and always appreciate how he doesn't neglect his violists） and have always been fascinated by him as a person。 Jan does a great job of making this bio very accessible to the non-musically inclined and it thoroughly captures Mozart's humor and dispels a number of the myths created about his life - he's less legendary， more human being。 As a classically trained violist， I've played a lot of Mozart （and always appreciate how he doesn't neglect his violists） and have always been fascinated by him as a person。 Jan does a great job of making this bio very accessible to the non-musically inclined and it thoroughly captures Mozart's humor and dispels a number of the myths created about his life - he's less legendary， more human being。 。。。more
rosalie bailey
，
I just wanted a biography of Mozart but this book is more for professional musicians。 It got monotonous with every act of every opera， etc。 spelled out in detail。 It was also very long and I usually just read it while on the treadmill so it took me a long time to finish it。 But determination won out。 What exceptional talent！
William Schram
，
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was an unprecedented prodigy， and his father knew it。 "Mozart: The Reign of Love" discusses Mozart's life and work。 Author Jan Swafford uses old correspondence and various other sources to piece together Mozart's life。I first got into Classical Music at the age of 12。 At this age， Mozart was already composing music。 While Mozart did have the prodding of his father， Leopold， it does make me feel inadequate。The book discusses Mozart's behaviors and attitudes。 It takes into Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was an unprecedented prodigy， and his father knew it。 "Mozart: The Reign of Love" discusses Mozart's life and work。 Author Jan Swafford uses old correspondence and various other sources to piece together Mozart's life。I first got into Classical Music at the age of 12。 At this age， Mozart was already composing music。 While Mozart did have the prodding of his father， Leopold， it does make me feel inadequate。The book discusses Mozart's behaviors and attitudes。 It takes into account his personality and ideas。 Furthermore， the book describes Mozart as a tireless artist， a creative force of nature， unbound by the strict cultural mores surrounding him。 。。。more
Beth
，
Well written and very， very detailed。 I'm just not the audience as I don't want to know every little thing about Mozart， his life， and his music。 Well written and very， very detailed。 I'm just not the audience as I don't want to know every little thing about Mozart， his life， and his music。 。。。more
Eric
，
I had a forthcoming car trip of 10+ hours each way， and this audiobook proved to be a wonderful traveling companion！ I have sung Mozart on many occasions and many different types of his music - sacred， opera， etc。 And like most music lovers I recall， what was then， the epic movie Amadeus。 Yet this new book by Swafford reveals a depth to Mozart I had never imagined。 And it also corrected some of the false images and rumors perpetuated by the epic movie。The book begins on the premise of using the I had a forthcoming car trip of 10+ hours each way， and this audiobook proved to be a wonderful traveling companion！ I have sung Mozart on many occasions and many different types of his music - sacred， opera， etc。 And like most music lovers I recall， what was then， the epic movie Amadeus。 Yet this new book by Swafford reveals a depth to Mozart I had never imagined。 And it also corrected some of the false images and rumors perpetuated by the epic movie。The book begins on the premise of using the large collection of his extant letters to retell his life and story。 Early in the book there seemed to be many more letters to draw from - those with his father， his sister， etc。 It also develops how his father， Leopold， sought to develop the career of his protege son。 It also reveals how the father kept most of the money Mozart generated for himself， never giving Wolfgang his due， claiming continued financial struggle， and thus never allowing him to develop a wise understanding and use of money - which will plague him for the rest of his life。 As the story of Mozart's career is told， Swafford gives many examples of what Mozart was doing in his private life and his artistic development。 If one was reading this book and had access to YouTube， it would be fascinating to listen to the examples mentioned to hear that which is being discussed。 All pieces of music are referenced with their Kochel # for easy research。 Swafford also discusses that， early in adulthood， Mozart would become a member of the Masonic Order; this would influence his life and music in the years to come - especially as the understand of Masonry is later portrayed in the story of Zauberflote。 At the end of the book， when Mozart was really hitting his stride independent of his father， the number of letters cited begins to decrease。 At the same time， the author begins to go into more lengthy detail and explanation about Mozart's works - especially his last five operas for which he is most well known - Le nozze di Figaro， Don Giovanni， Cosi fan Tutti， La clemenza di Tito， and Zie Zauberflote。 The book then concludes with an in depth discussion of his Requiem - dispelling some of the persistent false rumors about its inspiration for composition as presented in the Amadeus movie。This book instilled in me a much deeper understanding and appreciation of Mozart - his life， his challenges， his music， his relationships。 Any music fan， especially a Mozart fan， will enjoy this book。 Highly recommended！ 。。。more
Donna
，
Very comprehensive and interesting。 Recommended。
Nicolas Delon
，
Wonderful biography （with musical commentary aplenty） of one of the greatest artists of all time。
Trick Wiley
，
I learned so very much about this man his life and his music that you normally wouldn't know of being interested in， if you don't read this book！ As you continue to read you are brought into the family as he grew， his relationships and you find things you really didn't think you wouldn't be interested in but you are！ Think you have to like Mozart's music or not but even not you will find this man's life unusual as he faced changes and challenges as what and who this man was behind the music！ Muc I learned so very much about this man his life and his music that you normally wouldn't know of being interested in， if you don't read this book！ As you continue to read you are brought into the family as he grew， his relationships and you find things you really didn't think you wouldn't be interested in but you are！ Think you have to like Mozart's music or not but even not you will find this man's life unusual as he faced changes and challenges as what and who this man was behind the music！ Much thought and research went into the writing of this book and I felt afterwards I wanted to have known this man and felt I knew him so much better than the reading of this fantastic book！！ Received from Net Gallery！ 。。。more
Drew
，
An exhaustive yet exciting biography of my favorite composer。 This book could be used as a source for a semester-long course on Mozart， it's that dense and that packed with information。 It contains history， biography， culture， and a large amount of musicology and composing。 This is a huge book and it could have been split into 3 individual ones， but as it stands， it's a great reference book to have if you're interested in the mechanics of one of his concertos， who was his patron when he wrote so An exhaustive yet exciting biography of my favorite composer。 This book could be used as a source for a semester-long course on Mozart， it's that dense and that packed with information。 It contains history， biography， culture， and a large amount of musicology and composing。 This is a huge book and it could have been split into 3 individual ones， but as it stands， it's a great reference book to have if you're interested in the mechanics of one of his concertos， who was his patron when he wrote some sonatas， what his father and sister were like， etc。 I learned a great deal。 Some of the cool things were the people whose lives intersected with Mozart， including Joseph & Michael Haydn， Beethoven， Hummel， Johann Christian Bach， and even Goethe。 Can you imagine stopping by Mozart's home and seeing Wolfgang， his father Leopold， and Joseph Haydn just sitting around playing violin and viola together， passing the evening away？A great quote from the book came near the end:In the end， much of what sets Mozart apart from Beethoven and those who followed was the amity of his music， the art of a sociable man intended for a circle of friends and for small groups of listeners。 That inflected even his monumental last two symphonies， which would become central to how Beethoven conceived the genre。 Lonely， deaf， and misanthropic， Beethoven came to address his music to the world at large， to concert halls， to posterity。 Beethoven wrote for Humanity， Mozart for people。 What we hear in Mozart， even in the last symphonies， is a gift given to us intimately as friend to friend， lover to lover" （p。 732-733） 。。。more
Andy
，
For a biography which so exhaustively covers Mozart's output I'm a little disappointed by the lack of more involved musical analysis （I guess the target audience is highly enthusiastic amateurs with no knowledge of western musical theory or form， which feels like a strange intersection）， but what carries this book as with all of Swafford's writing is his palpable enthusiasm for the music， and a lovely balance of melodrama with good historical research。 For a biography which so exhaustively covers Mozart's output I'm a little disappointed by the lack of more involved musical analysis （I guess the target audience is highly enthusiastic amateurs with no knowledge of western musical theory or form， which feels like a strange intersection）， but what carries this book as with all of Swafford's writing is his palpable enthusiasm for the music， and a lovely balance of melodrama with good historical research。 。。。more
Denise Gossow
，
An excellent book on the life and works of Mozart。 It’s very detailed and therefor a slow read but it is worth the time。
Lea Moskowitz
，
Great book on Mozart！！The author of this book did the homework！ Very good details about Mozart， but a little to much detail on the pieces of music that the author reviewed。 Very intriguing nook and very well laid out。 Definitely fir the musician and anyone that has studied music as I have！！
Vince
，
More than I could absorb。
Caroline
，
This giant new book about Mozart served as a break for me from things that make me sad or worried。 I hadn't ever spent much time reading about Mozart， for whatever reason， but I saw 'Amadeus。' It turns out that is not a very good representation of Mozart， his life， or even his relations with Salieri。In the introduction， Swafford quotes a pianist as telling him， "We tend to listen to Mozart with ears trained by Beethoven， and that's not the best way to listen to Mozart。" It was not until the 19th This giant new book about Mozart served as a break for me from things that make me sad or worried。 I hadn't ever spent much time reading about Mozart， for whatever reason， but I saw 'Amadeus。' It turns out that is not a very good representation of Mozart， his life， or even his relations with Salieri。In the introduction， Swafford quotes a pianist as telling him， "We tend to listen to Mozart with ears trained by Beethoven， and that's not the best way to listen to Mozart。" It was not until the 19th century that composers were supposed to be writing to express their own personal joys and sorrows。 In Mozart's day composers wrote what they could sell， and if they wrote something stormy it was partly in service of the personality they assigned to the particular key they'd selected， or the skills of the musicians they knew would be playing the work。 This is a very useful corrective to all the baloney about Mozart being impoverished， afraid of death， or in other ways miserable as he neared the end of his very short life。 It even turns out that after decades of rivalry， he and Salieri were ultimately friends。Mozart definitely had a silly and sometimes smutty side， which he apparently took from his mother， and he never learned to manage the money that would flow through his hands because hid father basically took all the earnings from the tours Wolfgang and Nannerl played as children and stashed them away， crying poverty to his son for the rest of his life and demanding the son support him more than he was。 Ultimately he disinherited Mozart and gave all that hidden money to Nannerl who grudgingly gave Wolfgang about 10% of it。 Leopold does not come across as a very attractive character。After awhile I began to skim the descriptions of the actual music unless it was a piece I already knew， because as Swafford says in the beginning he has to try to describe the music but it's nearly impossible。 He's right。 Unless you go listen a little or know the piece already， the descriptions will tell you not much。 I know why he did this， but it does become a little tedious。The writing about the operas focuses on how important characterization was to Mozart， and how even when given a less than perfect libretto he worked hard to convey character through music and sometimes took a more active role in the libretto to improve the story。Overall， it seems Mozart was a cheerful， happy， uxorius， and incredibly hard-working guy until he finally took to his bed and never got up。 No tragedy here， unless you count the incredible loss to the world of another 30 years or more of whatever he would have gotten up to。 。。。more
Michelle
，
Jan Swafford's "Mozart: the Reign of Love" is a scholarly biography told with great affection。 Mozart's life was so short and extremely difficult。 Just before he died， he at last was seeing financial equilibrium rewarded for his decades of very hard work。Swafford writes with a directness of thought and clarity of vision appropriate to Mozart。 I think he would have loved this book。 Jan Swafford's "Mozart: the Reign of Love" is a scholarly biography told with great affection。 Mozart's life was so short and extremely difficult。 Just before he died， he at last was seeing financial equilibrium rewarded for his decades of very hard work。Swafford writes with a directness of thought and clarity of vision appropriate to Mozart。 I think he would have loved this book。 。。。more
Karen
，
Here and later， when life slapped him down， as happened to him like everybody else， he never said， "I am Mozart！ They can't do this to me！" Instead， he said the quivalent of "This is what happened， and this is what I am going to do to fix it。"I don't feel that the book necessarily delivered on what I expected: a biography of Mozart's life outside of his music， but I think the book proves the point that Mozart did not really have a life outside of music; the entirety of his life was entangled Here and later， when life slapped him down， as happened to him like everybody else， he never said， "I am Mozart！ They can't do this to me！" Instead， he said the quivalent of "This is what happened， and this is what I am going to do to fix it。"I don't feel that the book necessarily delivered on what I expected: a biography of Mozart's life outside of his music， but I think the book proves the point that Mozart did not really have a life outside of music; the entirety of his life was entangled with it。Interesting as some parts were， I got tired of this book because there was a lot more about specific music and historical context than there actually was about Mozart's life and what was happening in it while he wrote the music。 The author would be like， "Mozart had bad things coming" in the midst of a deep analysis of an opera。 I guess I'm not really the intended audience of this book because even though the author's musical analysis is great I got bored and just skimmed all of it to read about what was going on in his life。 Thankfully the author's writing is very clear and accessible。 I just don't think there was a lot of original biographical content; either it was musical analysis， historical context， or block quotes of letter excerpts/other publications。 While I also appreciate historical context， I think there was more of that than the author's words about Mozart's life。 I feel like if the author didn't analyze so intensely this book might've been better， but from my perspective， as far as the author is concerned， a biography about Mozart is really a biography of his compositions。 I think the beginning of the book was better when it talked about his father and sister and his relationships with them。 Although a lot of that was through letters that they wrote and not the author。 And I didn't feel the italicized/fictional dialogues served any particular purpose because they are fiction and this book is a nonfiction。But in general I am grateful that there is this biography here because I did learn from it and also I appreciate the author's effort to getting rid of the myths surrounding Mozart's life and legacy。 。。。more
Jack Laschenski
，
At 810 pages， exhaustive and exhausting。But wonderful。 A guide to the person and to his music。Reading it is living with a genius。
Raymonds009
，
Excellent compilation of the major （and not so major） achievements in Mozart's life。 Swafford tells many stories and explains in depth what actually happened， what probably happened and what is conjecture and myth。 Although my understanding of the more detailed study of the the actual musical growth was beyond my scope I could follow it well enough to get the flavor of what he accomplished。 The section on "The Magic Flute" alone is stunning。 I loved it--misshapened ear and all。 Excellent compilation of the major （and not so major） achievements in Mozart's life。 Swafford tells many stories and explains in depth what actually happened， what probably happened and what is conjecture and myth。 Although my understanding of the more detailed study of the the actual musical growth was beyond my scope I could follow it well enough to get the flavor of what he accomplished。 The section on "The Magic Flute" alone is stunning。 I loved it--misshapened ear and all。 。。。more
Jean Bonilla
，
Et lux perpetua luceat eis。 His music certainly will。 While he did compose intense pieces in minor keys， overall his body of work is joyful and joyous。 His distinctive sound captures my attention immediately; I say， “That’s Mozart！” I like no one else as well。 Swafford presents a well-researched and well-written biography。 This book I like much better than the Chopin tome， partly because the descriptions of his music are so much better。 Unlike Walker， Swafford links the style and the keys to the Et lux perpetua luceat eis。 His music certainly will。 While he did compose intense pieces in minor keys， overall his body of work is joyful and joyous。 His distinctive sound captures my attention immediately; I say， “That’s Mozart！” I like no one else as well。 Swafford presents a well-researched and well-written biography。 This book I like much better than the Chopin tome， partly because the descriptions of his music are so much better。 Unlike Walker， Swafford links the style and the keys to the purpose of the piece and keeps descriptions tight。 Walker tended to “walk” all over multiple pages in trying to give a sense of the composition。 Swafford also avoided the trap of tying the music to Mozart’s life。 Apparently， Mozart did not see his music as representative of his life or feelings。 He also did not see himself as part of history。 He just wanted a job！ Swafford captures in gruesome detail the primitive medical practices of the day。 In 1765 Leopold presses a friend to adopt a Viennese treatment for illness。 “Take the bone of a leg of ewe and wrap it up in paper with two kreuzers’ worth of leopard’s bane and carry it in your pocket。 I am sure this will cure you。” From his youth Wolfgang always seemed to be sick， so there were endless cures， usually worse than the ailment。 When he finally died at the age of 35， it was possibly a recurrence of the rheumatic fever that had plagued him for much of his life， though a host of other options regularly are debated by historians and researchers。 Swafford also describes the family’s travels。 During his “wonder years，” Wolfgang was on show all over Western Europe。 Later he traveled both to showcase his work and to hunt for a position。 Getting around presented huge challenges。 Roads were bad， food was bad， inns were bad。 Often they stayed with sponsors or friends; Leopold had a gift for making connections。 Later， Wolfgang showed himself less able to plan his journeys and assure success in a given city。 I had thought that Mozart and Salieri were not acquainted。 On the contrary！ Salieri knew him and worked with him。 At one point Salieri rejected a libretto that Mozart turned into an opera （Clemenza di Tito。） Salieri may even have attended Mozart’s funeral service。 Hayden， with whom Mozart had a long-standing relationship， is quoted in London as saying， “Posterity will not have a such talent again in 100 years。” Swafford says that after Mozart’s death， Hayden’s grief amounted to a crisis of faith in God。 He recovered， but after that pulled noticeably into himself， became a harder man。It was fun to see characters from the Amadeus movie appear in Mozart’s life。 Baron van Swieten is at the court scene where the adult Mozart meets Joseph II。 。。。more
Joseph
，
First of all， I have to admit that Mozart was my favorite composer when I was younger and remains one of my favorite ones today， so a new major biography of Mozart is not something I would miss out on。 A while ago， I made it a project to read all of Jan Swafford’s biographies， so I was doubly excited when the impending publication of Mozart: The Reign of Love was announced。Since Mozart is one of my favorite composers， I decided to take a leisurely pace through this biography， seeking out additio First of all， I have to admit that Mozart was my favorite composer when I was younger and remains one of my favorite ones today， so a new major biography of Mozart is not something I would miss out on。 A while ago， I made it a project to read all of Jan Swafford’s biographies， so I was doubly excited when the impending publication of Mozart: The Reign of Love was announced。Since Mozart is one of my favorite composers， I decided to take a leisurely pace through this biography， seeking out additional information on places and historical figures and listening to unfamiliar compositions as I went。 Nowadays， the information superhighway provides access to a wealth of online material on figures like Elector Maximilian Theodor of Mannheim and Munich and Elector Maximilian Franz of Bonn， and on the cities of Munich and Bonn themselves。 This helps the reader form a clearer picture of Mozart， of the later 18th century， and of the network of familial and professional relationships that connected Mozart and Beethoven， Maximilian Franz and Marie Antoinette。 In addition， since youtube。com now has full-length performances of all of Mozart’s operas that I searched for and since the Salzburg Mozarteum has made the New Complete Edition （NMA） of his works available for free online perusal， I was likewise able to develop much clearer sense for the scope of the young Mozart’s achievement in writing eight operas between the ages of 12 and 19。 All but the first of these are full-length two and three hour shows， with overture， recitatives， arias， and the rest composed and first conducted by the teenage genius， all in a style that is quite indistinguishable from that of any of the older and more experienced composers of the day。 Add to it the rest of the young Mozart’s output of music for the Mass， symphonies， chamber music， and so on， as well as his burgeoning career as a performer on string and keyboard instruments， and the meaning of the words of praise that contemporaries of Mozart as well as his biographers lavish on him becomes much clearer。This added considerable enrichment to my reading， even if Swafford， as in earlier biographies， already devotes considerable effort to bringing the times of the composer to life for the reader。 He organizes available data into a readily internalizable form and clarifies and provides detail on a wide variety of the relationships in Mozart’s rich professional life。 Of primary importance among these would be that between Mozart and the gifted and theatrically connected Weber family， from their first meeting in Mannheim to the composer’s marriage to Constanze in Vienna some years later。 It is likewise refreshing to read a biography that devotes sufficient attention to the relationship between Mozart and Josepha Duschek， the muse that inspired some of the composer’s notable concert arias， including the early and delicious “Ah， lo previdi” （a discovery for me） and “Bella mia fiamma，” and whose Prague villa provided the composer with a home away from home when traveling in that city。 Swafford also draws attention to the relationship between Mozart， Lorenzo da Ponte， and noted libertine Girolamo Casanova and with the involvement of the latter in the original production of Don Giovanni; Casanova was evidently dissatisfied with some of the libretto and， for himself at least， rewrote parts of it。tFor once in a Swafford biography， I found that the biographer does not present the composer’s father as a figure for veneration。 Instead， what the reader gets is a much more thorough picture of the master musician that Leopold Mozart himself undoubtedly was， lucid， gifted， an authoritative writer on the violin and on music in general， and an unsurpassable resonator for his young son’s musical intuitions。 Swafford pays considerable attention to Leopold Mozart’s attempts to keep his son on track to Paris and away from Aloysia Weber in 1778 as well as， later on， to keep him homing to Salzburg and Archbishop Colloredo and away from Constanze and Vienna in 1781。 Ultimately， it is for the individual reader to judge whether the older Mozart was right or wrong to say what he said， or to what degree he was right or wrong。 From my own experience， the nexus of love and career is a delicate one。 Even if Mozart might well have， for his own sake， chosen a safer path， “people propose， God disposes。” Keeping an ardent young lover away from the beloved can be like depriving a lioness or a she-bear of her cubs， so that the futility of the attempt becomes evident， destiny takes its course， and the world is enriched by Mozart’s making his way in the capital city of Vienna at a turning point for European （and world） history instead of by his taking up the way of the humble church musician in a provincial if affluent setting， a worthy successor to Johann Sebastian Bach。tIn my opinion， Swafford goes a long way toward presenting the figure of Archbishop Colloredo more fairly than has heretofore been done。 The Archbishop， after all， was someone with considerable education and ideological open-mindedness; he also had a job to do and he needed a staff that he could rely on。 The misfortune of the time was that people employed to such a person could not just simply quit their job， as Mozart had to apply considerable exertion to do。 Here， the name of J。 S。 Bach again comes to mind， for the earlier composer faced a similar issue with Duke Ernst of Weimar and was obliged to spend a month in prison until he could secure a release from his contract。 It is a telling detail that when Mozart died his tragic and untimely death， condolences poured in from all over Europe and not from Salzburg。tAs with previous biographies by Swafford， this one can be error-prone， a characteristic it shares with the Encyclopedia Britannica and Grove’s。 When reading， I at first allowed the occasional glitch to pass as a momentary matter or typographical error， and yet after a while I found the number of blips somewhat alarming， so I began to keep track of them。 This began on p。 473 of my Kindle edition， where the “Masonic Funeral Music，” K。 477， is referred to as K。 447， a Köchel number belonging to one of the horn concertos。 Earlier， on p。 181， Swafford refers to the “exquisite wind fluting” in the aria “Noi donne poverine” in “La finta giardiniera”; this is untenable， as neither the new nor the old complete editions show the participation of wind instruments at this point in that opera; it is possible that Swafford actually refers to the previous aria， “Dentro il mio petto。” I will not take the time or space to proffer the various lapses I happened to stumble upon in the text。 If anyone is interested in knowing them， I will gladly share them with them。tA more serious question of error-proneness arises when one assesses the reputability of the secondary sources that Swafford takes into consideration。 Is the biographer， in his zeal to present a lifelike picture of the times， coming to false conclusions in some respects？ I， for one， am not in a position to judge， and the truth about certain matters we may never know。 I feel much more on solid ground without losing any fascination for the material when Swafford foregrounds documentary evidence that other biographers do not emphasize， such as certain passages from Mozart’s correspondence， or else draws attention to newly-discovered or little-known data， such as the extant correspondence between Leopold Mozart and Countess Waldstätten。tTherefore， I find before me a compelling， engagingly-written biography of a master composer who is frequently misunderstood if often touted。 As a way of fleshing out the life and times of the later 18th century， as a summary of recent research on Mozart， as a fresh viewpoint on the composer’s work， I find this biography invaluable。 As a first Mozart biography for any reader， it will do finely; however， for that purpose some may prefer Stanley Sadie’s “Mozart: The Early Years” or the works of Robbins-Landon， if only for their relative objectivity of tone， even if additional data concerning the life of Mozart may have surfaced since those other works were written。 。。。more
Nancy
，
I really wanted to love this book and some parts I did。 I do admire the depth of research by the author and the writing was well done。 However， I'm sorry - for me， it is simply TOO long and TOO detailed to hold my interest for 800 pages。 I gave up around page 250， which took me several weeks of stopping and starting because the text is so dense。 If you have the patience and interest in such details about Mozart's life， this is the read for you！ I really wanted to love this book and some parts I did。 I do admire the depth of research by the author and the writing was well done。 However， I'm sorry - for me， it is simply TOO long and TOO detailed to hold my interest for 800 pages。 I gave up around page 250， which took me several weeks of stopping and starting because the text is so dense。 If you have the patience and interest in such details about Mozart's life， this is the read for you！ 。。。more
Aaron
，
There should be a "did not finish" button option， cause at 800 pages there's no way I was going to get thru this book。 I'm sure in 1990 before real multi media this might be a fine bio， it's certainly written with great care and details by a scholar of music and history。 A picture may be worth 1，000 words but an audio file might be worth as many pages。 The lengthy descriptions of the music pieces are exhausting and take up way too much of the book。 Suggestion to Mr 。 Swafford ， create a Spotify There should be a "did not finish" button option， cause at 800 pages there's no way I was going to get thru this book。 I'm sure in 1990 before real multi media this might be a fine bio， it's certainly written with great care and details by a scholar of music and history。 A picture may be worth 1，000 words but an audio file might be worth as many pages。 The lengthy descriptions of the music pieces are exhausting and take up way too much of the book。 Suggestion to Mr 。 Swafford ， create a Spotify or other type of playlist for many of the key pieces described， and reference them thruout the book。It would have made for a much more enriching experience。The amazing thing that struck me in the 300 or so pages I did read， was that even the most brilliant musician of the time still had to hit the road in search of fortune and fame。 Some things don't change。 The other anecdotes of frequent sickness and diseases gave me me a deeper appreciation of the world we live in today ， especially w / the pandemic raging。 It's amazing anyone lived past 30。 。。。more
David Holoman
，
Five stars because I cannot think of a single thing I would change about it。 Well maybe one thing。This book has the annoying characteristic of being so good that the audio version alone won't suffice， you need the hardcopy to refer back to， to check the assertions about how ethereal and moving a particular passage might be， and to occupy a place of honor on a real， not virtual， bookshelf。 （This is not the one thing I would change。）I learned a lot reading this book， things you could argue I shoul Five stars because I cannot think of a single thing I would change about it。 Well maybe one thing。This book has the annoying characteristic of being so good that the audio version alone won't suffice， you need the hardcopy to refer back to， to check the assertions about how ethereal and moving a particular passage might be， and to occupy a place of honor on a real， not virtual， bookshelf。 （This is not the one thing I would change。）I learned a lot reading this book， things you could argue I should have known， about matters like sonata form and where Mozart sits in relation to peers。 I marvel at the freshness that a biography here 250ish years later。 Swafford appears to bring unbiased eyes to the record。 Also， I do not see any sign of a collaborating translator， so the rendering in English of rhyming tomfoolery， which Mozart wrote a lot of， I guess is some handy wordsmithing by the author， because the source material was not English。The one thing I would change is NOT the blow by blow （by blow） account Die Zauberflote， although I am sorely tempted。 It takes about as much time to read it as it takes to watch the opera。The one thing I would change is the title， and the closing tie-up-with-a-bow-relating-to-the-title。 I think it refers to facts not in evidence。 I think the genius just wanted to ply his craft; I think the Greater Motivating Principle is just an imagined reverse construction。 。。。more
Michael M
，
A beautiful and comprehensive look at Mozart’s life in all its wonderment， frustration and fart jokes。 When books are this detailed （and long）， you get on intimate terms with the subject。 What I liked was the details of Mozart’s highs and lows， the world in which he lived and the stories behind his famous works。 The author dives very deep （perhaps too deep for all but serious music aficionados） into the minutiae of the music。 His childhood tours with his sister， relationship with his father， the A beautiful and comprehensive look at Mozart’s life in all its wonderment， frustration and fart jokes。 When books are this detailed （and long）， you get on intimate terms with the subject。 What I liked was the details of Mozart’s highs and lows， the world in which he lived and the stories behind his famous works。 The author dives very deep （perhaps too deep for all but serious music aficionados） into the minutiae of the music。 His childhood tours with his sister， relationship with his father， the Austrian court and society were all fascinating。 。。。more
William Dury
，