Description
A vivid account of Mozart's final decade provides authoritative information about such topics as his life in Vienna, his marriage to Constanze Weber, and his creation of such masterpieces as The Marriage of Figaro and The Magic Flute, in a portrait that is complemented by contemporary paintings and engravings. Reprint.
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"Telling the story with wit, verve, and a fine eye for the by-ways of Viennese society will draw readers into Mozart's personality and attract them to the eternally ambiguous music."The ObserverThe last decade of Mozart's short but amazingly prolific career counts as one of the most remarkable periodstruly golden yearsin the history of Western music. Richly illustrated with contemporary paintings and engravings and authoritatively written, this book provides a vivid account of the composer's life in the European music capital, Vienna, from 1781 to 1791. This creative yet turbulent decade witnessed a crescendo of activity. Mozart married Constanze Weber in 1782, and in the ensuing years produced an astonishing wealth of new music, rich in quality as well as quantity.A host of immortal works belong to this period, among them the great trilogy of symphonies (numbers 39, 40, and 41), operatic masterpiecesThe Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, Cosi fan tutte, and The Magic Fluteand the Clarinet Concerto of 1791.Through a close examination of Mozart's public successes and failures; his relationship with his father, Leopold; his devotion to his wife, Constanze; his Masonic associations; and his friendship with Franz Joseph Haydn, H. C. Robbins Landon provides an intimate and eminently readable portrait of an extraordinary musical genius. 242 illustrations, 32 in color.
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