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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: A Biography

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: A Biography
By Piero Melograni

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Product Description

This year marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, one of the most enduringly popular and celebrated composers to have ever lived. His substantial oeuvre contains works that are considered to be among the most exquisite pieces of symphonic, chamber, and choral music ever written. His operas too cast a long shadow over those staged in their wake. And since his untimely death in 1791, he remains an enigmatic figure—the subject of fascination for aficionados and novices alike.

Piero Melograni here offers a wholly readable account of Mozart’s remarkable life and times. This masterful biography proceeds from the young Mozart’s earliest years as a Wunderkind—the child prodigy who traveled with his family to perform concerts throughout Europe—to his formative years in Vienna, where he fully absorbed the artistic and intellectual spirit of the Enlightenment, to his deathbed, his unfinished Requiem, and the mystery that still surrounds his burial. Melograni’s deft use of Mozart’s letters throughout confers authority and vitality to his recounting, and his expertise brings Mozart’s eighteenth-century milieu evocatively to life. Written with a gifted historian’s flair for narrative and unencumbered by specialized analyses of Mozart’s music, Melograni’s is the most vivid and enjoyable biography available.

At a time when music lovers around the world are paying honor to Mozart and his legacy, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart will be welcomed by his enthusiasts—or anyone wishing to peer into the mind of one of the greatest composers ever known.


Product Details

  • Amazon Sales Rank: #195545 in Books
  • Published on: 2006-10-21
  • Number of items: 1
  • Binding: Hardcover
  • 316 pages

Editorial Reviews

Review
Choice : "The book brings something new to the table and in fact suceeds brilliantly. . . . [Melograni] examines Mozart''s movement through various social and political strata of the late 18th century; his relationships with family memebrs, employers, and other musicians; and his efforts to forge a new kind of career. . . . The book can be read profitably by musicians and nonmusicians. Essential."

About the Author
Piero Melograni is the author of eighteen books, including Lenin and the Myth of World Revolution, and most recently La guerra degli italiani, 1940–1945. Lydia G. Cochrane has translated numerous works from Italian and French, including Luc Ferry’s What Is the Good Life?, also published by the University of Chicago Press.


Customer Reviews

A splendid biography of the most splendid musician!5
This is the second Wolfgang Amadé Mozart biography I have read and so far, the best!

Melograni succeeds at smootlhy taking the reader from June 1765 at a London tavern (The swan) where he interpreted at the early age of 9, to Mozart's death bed in 1791 at only 35 years of age.

If yoy saw the Milos Forman's movie "Amadeus" then you have the wrong (very wrong) picture of the life of this genious and playful character.

Chapter after chapter, his works are simply and accurately described, his family affairs "naked", his passions explained, his women revealed, etc.

You are not a "Mozartini" (as sometimes he joyfully called himself) connossieur until you read this book... so, put your records on, download volume and enjoy the reading!

A biography of Mozart3
A fun book to read if you like classical music. The descriptions of Mozart's music are good and the way his music was received in his lifetime is very interesting. The book is a little dry but since it is a biography I assumed it would be dry. It is still an interesting read.

Enjoyable, recommended with reservation3
I quite enjoyed this book when looking at it strictly from an informational standpoint and in terms of satisfying my curiosity.

I must admit though that the book was somewhat dry. I feel as though this may be an example where an otherwise great book gets "lost in translation".

You will learn an awful lot about Mozart, but in my opinion, it may take you a bit longer than expected and you may drift at times, despite the fascinating details held within.