Mozart: A Life, by Peter Gay (pp 177) Published 1999. This Penguin Lives book is a nice introduction in the life of arguably the best Western composer in the world. It covers his childhood as a father-dominated prodigy, his usefulness as an income producer to his family, his eventual attempt at independence, and his mostly but not entirely successful life as an adored composer. I had no idea of his attraction to scatalogical humor and, frankly, a biography this brief would have been nine the worse for imitating it. I was also unaware of how musicians and composers, including geniuses, were thoroughly dependent on the largesse of money-granting nobles. It was quite difficult for them to exist without patrons, especially if an artist was addicted to a rich lifestyle. Details of his life aside, this brief biography points me toward some of his better appreciated works, many of which I should be able obtain through my dear electronic friend Alexa. ( )

Peter Gay demuestra con esta biografía que la vida musical de Mozart es lo suficientemente fascinante sin adornos de ninguna clase y que su fama de genio no se ve amenazada por verdades más prosaicas.

Knappe biografie van Mozart, gesitueerd in zijn tijd, wars van de populaire mythes ( )

In the new Penguin Lives series, edited by former New York Times editor James Atlas, Gay's Mozart biography comes with particularly high expectations, given the author's distinction as a historian (he won the National Book Award for volume one of The Enlightenment). There is little new information here, yet Gay's overview of the composer's life and work is lucid and concise. Noted for his studies of Freud and Victorian society, the author clearly knows the Mozart literature as well. His book includes a fine bibliographical essay, in which he admits to leaning on Maynard Solomon's 1995 tome, Mozart: A Life. Gay provides brief glimpses into the social and historical contexts of Mozart's music: changing attitudes toward listening, the economics of composition and new audience sectors. Also notable is the discussion of how well Mozart's works were received and the author's survey of how Mozart was regarded by subsequent composers. Gay offers a straightforward and helpful introduction to Mozart, debunking romantic interpretations of the composer's life.

Ein recht kurzer, aber deutlicher Lebensabriss ( )