Mozart: His Character, His Work

Rating:
Summary: A Landmark Study
Review: An appropriate subtitle for this book would be "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Mozart." (Notice I didn't pick "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Mozart but Were Afraid to Ask." If you're after that, you should look into Maynard Solomon's excellent biography.) Albert Einstein begins with a skeletal yet factual and thorough biography of the composer. He then sets out to discuss every piece Mozart ever wrote - well, almost everything. It may sound impossible and unbelievable, but he does it. His commentary is remarkable for being both insightful and concise. Einstein is both passionate and scholarly. His prose clear and flowing. The book includes a complete listing of the Kochel catalog (with relevant page numbers). This book is still considered one of the best ever written on one of music's greatest creators.

Rating:
Summary: A Landmark Study
Review: An appropriate subtitle for this book would be "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Mozart." (Notice I didn't pick "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Mozart but Were Afraid to Ask." If you're after that, you should look into Maynard Solomon's excellent biography.) Albert Einstein begins with a skeletal yet factual and thorough biography of the composer. He then sets out to discuss every piece Mozart ever wrote - well, almost everything. It may sound impossible and unbelievable, but he does it. His commentary is remarkable for being both insightful and concise. Einstein is both passionate and scholarly. His prose clear and flowing. The book includes a complete listing of the Kochel catalog (with relevant page numbers). This book is still considered one of the best ever written on one of music's greatest creators.

Rating:
Summary: A Landmark Study
Review: An appropriate subtitle for this book would be "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Mozart." (Notice I didn't pick "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Mozart but Were Afraid to Ask." If you're after that, you should look into Maynard Solomon's excellent biography.) Albert Einstein begins with a skeletal yet factual and thorough biography of the composer. He then sets out to discuss every piece Mozart ever wrote - well, almost everything. It may sound impossible and unbelievable, but he does it. His commentary is remarkable for being both insightful and concise. Einstein is both passionate and scholarly. His prose clear and flowing. The book includes a complete listing of the Kochel catalog (with relevant page numbers). This book is still considered one of the best ever written on one of music's greatest creators.

Rating:
Summary: Essential, but slanted.
Review: For anyone seriously interested in the life and work of Mozart, this is a must read. One must keep in mind, though, that the author is wandering out, lost, in left field sometimes when attempting to capture a real human: a slightly mythic presentation still.

Rating:
Summary: One of the essentials in Mozartian scholarship.
Review: One should be fairly familiar with the life of Mozart before embarking on this book. Full of technical insights, it gives the reader some idea of what was going on in the composer's mind. Chapters which talk about Mozart's compositional influences and the factors which helped cultivate his musical consciousness are particularly informative. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is rather familiar with the story of the man and wants to understand why he was so great.

Rating:
Summary: One of the essentials in Mozartian scholarship.
Review: One should be fairly familiar with the life of Mozart before embarking on this book. Full of technical insights, it gives the reader some idea of what was going on in the composer's mind. Chapters which talk about Mozart's compositional influences and the factors which helped cultivate his musical consciousness are particularly informative. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is rather familiar with the story of the man and wants to understand why he was so great.