Letters of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Dover Books

Fair condition.

paperback. 277 pgs. Dover Books.

This full and expert selection of Mozart's letters covers his entire life, from the years when he travelled with his father as a child prodigy, astonoshing and winning acclaim in the most elite circles of Eurpoe, to his last days, when, pressed for time and money, he would dash off brief notes ti his wife assuring her of his love or long letters to friends and patrons asking for another loan. Mozart was a faithful correspondent, and many of his letters, especially to his father, are long, so that he unintentionally left behind an almost complete life story. He filled his letters with detailed reports of both trivial and important events; observations about the people he met; comments on the receptions given his music; complaints about some of the influential people, like Archbishop Hieronymus, who persecuted him; acid, satirical remarks about dilettantes and incompetent professionals; and casual statements from from one thoroughly professional musician to another (his father) about other composers, about pianoforte and organ playing, about singing, and even, occasionally, about his own methods f composition (though he was anything but a theorist).