Described in Germany as the 'most thought-provoking' book of the bicentennial year, Georg Knepler's acclaimed study of Mozart is now available in paperback. The book explores Mozart's life and works from many new perspectives, providing fresh insights into his music and the tempestuous times through which he lived. Based on a close reading of the family correspondence and a careful consideration of Mozart's entire musical output, the book sheds new light on the composer's creative psyche, his political leanings, his relation to the thoughts and currents of the Enlightenment, and the underlying basis of his musical expression.
The letters of one of the world’s greatest composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart—seen variously as a child prodigy, musical genius, tragic Romantic artist, and cultural icon—is among the most written-about of all composers. This fascinating set of his letters offers a new understanding of his life story—his marriage, compositions, performances, occasional money worries, opinions of fellow musicians, and complex relationship with his father—and a revealing portrait of both the man and the musician.
Wunderkind, genius, rebel: the short life of a great man In the whole history of classical music, is there anyone to equal Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Familiar with the pianoforte aged 3, composing at 5, if there is an argument for a genetic predisposition to genius, then surely this Austrian "meister" will be first on anyone's lips. His vast ?uvre is equalled only by his turbulent and colourful life. The stuff of legend, a player, composer and conductor, in 35 explosive years he threw out the rule book and changed every form he worked within. Who else has written tens of symphonies, and operas ? such as "The Magic Flute" and "Cosi Fan Tutte" ? that to those in the know are a match in their medium to Shakespeare. Whether in concertos, quartets or sonatas, Mozart imbued his scores with both a dazzling gaiety and an undercurrent of melancholy, the combination of which makes his music resound with the universal experience of being human. Despite suspicions surrounding his early death he lives on as one of the giants of sonic creativity, and was popularised for a new generation in the Oscar-winning "Amadeus." It's this simple: To many Mozart is music. We rest our case. The Author: Johannes Jansen (born 1958) has worked in Cologne as a journalist since his studies in musicology. He is the editor-in-chief of the music magazine "Concerto." He is also a freelance writer for radio and many publishers. His books include an opera and concert guide, a short biography of Mozart and an opera-made-easy course.
Music moves through time; it is not static. In order to appreciate music wemust remember what sounds happened, and anticipate what sounds might comenext. This book takes you on a journey of music from past to present, from the Middle Ages to the Baroque Period to the 20th century and beyond!
From the acclaimed composer and biographer Jan Swafford comes the definitive biography of one of the most lauded musical geniuses in history, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. 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.
'They wanted me to give a concert; I wanted them to beg me. And so they did. I gave a concert.' Entertaining, touching and sharp-tongued letters between the great eighteenth-century composer and his mentor father.
John Wells introduces the opera with a high-spirited account of the action-packed career of the author, in many respects the prototype of Figaro himself. Basil Deane explores the score: he shows that Mozart's characters are illuminated here not so much in soliloquies but in their reactions to each other. Composer Stephen Oliver discusses how the comedy exists not just in the words but, essentially, in the music. The full Italian text is given, with a note on the order of scenes in Act Three and the alternative passages Mozart wrote for the 1789 revival. The classic translation of E.J. Dent is an excellent way to get to know the twists and turns of the plot and the stylish wit of da Ponte's innuendos.Contents: A Society Marriage, John Wells; A Musical Commentary, Basil Deane; Music and Comedy in 'The Marriage of Figaro, Stephen Oliver; Beaumarchais's Characters; Le nozze di Figaro: Libretto by Lorenzo da Ponte; The Marriage of Figaro: English version by Edward J. Dent
From the immortal sculptures of Michelangelo to the timeless music of Mozart, the world's greatest artists have managed to create works that retain their relevancy through decades and centuries of change. With historical and full-color illustrations and photographs complementing biographical texts, Odysseys in Artistry invites advanced readers along on a journey to experience the lives of famous artists like never before. Side panels and colored glossary terms assist in making the text accessible to a wide range of learners, while a timeline adds further historical context in each sophisticated design. A biography of German-born composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, examining his European travels and interest in opera, as well as some of his greatest compositions.
Franz Xaver Niemetschek was born in 1766 in what is now the Czech Republic and came from a musical family, which gave him a deep appreciation and admiration for Mozart's genius. In 1798 he published his biography on Mozart, with a touching dedication to Haydn, the only one written by an eyewitness, and authorized by Mozart's widow Constanze. It is one of the earliest specimens of musical biography which, compared with other branches of biography, was still in its infancy even in the later part of the 19th century. In this sense, it is an important document of music history. However, this loving and intimate portrait of Mozart, based on documents, letters and other original sources, also conveys a vivid picture of the social and especially courtly life that formed the background of Mozart's sheer magical talents as composer and virtuoso.
