Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: A Biography - Hardcover

Melograni, Piero

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0226519562 ISBN 13: 9780226519562

Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 2006

Synopsis

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. 

About this title

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.

Review:

"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." (Choice)

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0226519562
• ISBN 13: 9780226519562
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 316