Mozart's Letters, Mozart's Life

Book Description

"A wonderful collection that gives Mozart a voice as a son, husband, brother and friend."—New York Times Book Review

In Mozart's Letters, Mozart's Life, Robert Spaethling presents "Mozart in all the rawness of his driving energies" (Spectator), preserved in the "zany, often angry effervescence" of his writing (Observer). Where other translators have ignored Mozart's atrocious spelling and tempered his foul language, "Robert Spaethling's new translations are lively and racy, and do justice to Mozart's restlessly inventive mind" (Daily Mail). Carefully selected and meticulously annotated, this collection of letters "should be on the shelves of every music lover" (BBC Music Magazine). Published for the 250th anniversary of Mozart's birthday. 16 pages of illustrations.

Customer Reviews:

Mozart from the Heart.......2007-02-02

Almost since the moment of his death in December 1791, people have been writing about W.A. Mozart, some of it accurate, but a great deal misguided, and false. Although I have enjoyed reading various Mozart biographies (Maynard Solomon's is my favorite), I found it quite refreshing to finally to read a collection of Mozart's own words. While the composer was certainly a prankster in his younger days (a stereotype unfortunately perpetuated by the reknowned film "Amadeus"), his letters undeniably demonstrate that Mozart was also a very thoughtful and passionate human being who enjoyed the highs and endured the lows of life, just like the rest of us. In this book, readers will get to know a man who wanted to be loved and lead a full life, only to die at the young age of 35!
Mozart's correspondence show that he sought a coveted position as a kappellmeister or court composer somewhere in Europe, which would mean steady demand for compositions, as well as a handsome salary. In February 1778, he wrote to his father: "I am a composer, and I was born a Kapellmeister. I must not and cannot bury my Gift for Composing, that a benevolent God has bestowed upon me in such rich a measure." Despite his relentless determination and marvelous talent as a performer and composer, Mozart never received the court post he so desperately desired, and this lack of a steady income pushed him deeper into debt during his last few years. Considering his financial problems and the other demands in his life, the quantity and quality of the work he produced in his final days is mind-boggling. Mozart's life was also marred by other tragic events; the gut-wrenching letters describing his mother's death in Paris in 1778 are particulary moving, as are his emotional attempts to mend the strained relationship with his father after Mozart left Salzburg and moved to Vienna in the early 1780s. Perhaps most interesting of course, are Mozart's discussions of his art. My favorite quote of all, perhaps, comes from a letter of December 27, 1777, in which Mozart told his father as he sat at the organ, "The playing just flowed from my heart." To me, that one line captures why this remarkable man and his incredible music still captivate us today. This book does not seek to provide a completely rounded view of Mozart's life and times, but it is still a wonderful collection of Mozart's correspondence that will inspire and inform.

"Piano, piano, si va lontano".......2006-05-06

These letters are pleasing to read, a dignified but casual translation. Spaethling's commentary is never intrusive, always enlightening. It's fascinating to trace Mozart's maturity, his move away from his father, his flirtatiousness, sometimes erotic writing, with his wife. The preening and posturing show the genuis's very human side.

Mozart's Letters, Mozart's Life: Selected Letters

Average customer rating:

I love it.........
Great book
This lively book will deepen your appreciation of Mozart
A whole new view of Mozart
Bravo!

Mozart's Letters, Mozart's Life: Selected Letters
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , and Robert Spaethling
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

History & Criticism | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Austria | Europe | History | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0393047199

Book Description

Letters by Mozart in sparkling new translations that capture the flavor of the writing, transmit every nuance, and render every thought faithfully and accurately. What was Mozart really like--wild? sublime? responsible? fun-loving? bright? foul-mouthed? Reading these letters, we learn in his own words that he was all of these and much more. Here is the composer at his most intimate and unguarded, expressing his feelings about life, love, music, and the world around him. For this collection, Robert Spaethling has carefully chosen letters written by Mozart over a span of almost twenty-two years--from his first journey to Italy as a shy teenager to the final months of his life in Vienna. The letters, together with the accompanying introductions, chronicle the composer's life, personal development, and artistic growth. These new translations into English, the first in more than sixty years, are faithful to the original German even to the point of misspellings, which abound in the early correspondence. No effort has been spared to find language as closely equivalent to Mozart's as any translation can be and to clear up references in the letters to people, places, and events. Mozart's Letters, Mozart's Life makes wonderful reading for anyone who has ever loved a work by the composer, from the deceptively simple Eine kleine Nachtmusik to the towering, magnificent Requiem.

Customer Reviews:

I love it................2007-04-18

Mozart's full and final dedication to his work was exemplary; no doubt, his music spoke for the conscience of the world and his audience felt an almost religious faith in it. But the young man had frivolous and fun-loving personality, and his closeness to infantile notions was apparent with friends, relatives and pupils.
Mozart was possessor of the least inhibited tongue even in his contacts with serious foundations like Archbishopric or Freemasonry that mismatched the depth of notes he wrote.
This composer genius was filled with spontaneous strong-willed passion for music if weak-witted for romance and throughout the wide spectrum of his works involving every conceivable style of symphonies, operas, and orchestral pieces - some of the finest ever written - Mozart produced something truer than love.

Great book.......2005-08-03

If you are interested in everyday lives and struggles of geniuses, this is a book for you. Most of us know Mozart as a great composer, but he also wrote passionate letters to his friends and loved ones. His writing style and personality allow us to understand his times more and to have a closer look at the person that he was.

This lively book will deepen your appreciation of Mozart.......2004-03-19

What a fine accomplishment! According to the introduction, this book contains about 2/3 of Mozart's surviving correspondence. It has letters from and to Mozart and the translations are very lively and bring the personality of the composer to life. In older translations it seems that care was taken to make him sound like the monumental cultural force that he has become. But in this book, Mozart is a boy, a young man, a young husband, a fiery genius, and at times lost, grieving, and even confused.

The book is organized chronologically and provides biographical information that gives each letter some context. There are many useful footnotes as well as a couple of maps and list of Mozart's travels. The author has even included some notes about the various currencies in order to help the reader understand the discussions of money in the letters.

I can't emphasize enough what a lively read this book is. I found that I simply didn't get bogged down and enjoyed reading it. Yes, there are some portions of some letters I skipped, but that is one of the beauties of the book. You don't get lost simply because you skipped some mundane portions of one letter or another.

Mr. Spaethling is to be congratulated on this fine achievement. If you are interested in Mozart in any way, this book will deepen your appreciation of the living breathing person who wrote all that music. It didn't come from some alien dimension. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, this wonderful and complex human being did it all and we are much richer for it.

A whole new view of Mozart.......2002-12-26

Those of us who know a little about Mozart believe that he was perfection incarnate, part angel, fluttering down to endow the world with heavenly music. (There probably is some truth to that.) This book, however, reveals a whole new side of Mozart, a very human side. As beautiful as Mozart's music is, the more beautiful it becomes after reading this book. Understanding his big heart, hard work and, yes, even imperfections, increases one's appreciation of his music.

Bravo!.......2002-10-12

This book enabled Mozart come to life for me. The translation was very good. It showed, (in english), how Mozart worked on his grammar and spelling as he got older. Since he was "home educated", he had to work at this.

I could not put this book down, reading a few letters every day, I saw how Mozart grew from a boy into a man with a family. He was a really good guy, it's a shame he had to die so young.

I would say, to anyone who wants to know more about Mozart, buy this book. You can form your own opinion of him, then you can buy the "expert's" books.

Book Description

Mozart's remarkable life was well and richly documented in letters: his own and those concerning him written by others. This volume brings together a fascinating selection, giving us a detailed portrait of the composer's life and times.

Here are letters to and from Mozart's domineering father, Leopold, the earliest of which, addressed to a friend, describes the six-year-old Mozart's accomplishments. There is also a letter sent to the Royal Society in London from one of its members describing an astonishing encounter with the eight-year-old prodigy. Here are letters from the adolescent Mozart to his mother and sister; adoring, protective missives to his wife; and, from his later years, letter after letter to friends, family, former patrons, and fellow musicians begging for financial help.

Mozart's correspondence is full of details that illuminate the quotidien aspects of his days, reveal the great joys and burdens of his musical genius, and provide us with a lively account of the musical politics in the courts and opera houses of eighteenth-century Europe. Finally, in a letter written by Mozart's sister-in-law, this splendid epistolary portrait of the great composer is completed with a deeply moving account of his last hours.

Mozart's Letters: an Illustrated Selection

Average customer rating:

Mozart's Letters: an Illustrated Selection
Emily Anderson
Manufacturer: Bulfinch
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0712620923

Average customer rating:

Meeting Mr. Mozart

Letters of Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , Hans Mersmann , and M. Bozman
Manufacturer: Dorset Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

General | Essays | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0880290870

Customer Reviews:

Meeting Mr. Mozart.......2002-06-29

This selection of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's letters show the same ebullient and warm-hearted spirit that vibrates through his music. It is obvious that these letters were not written for publication. They are as natural as conversation, as intimate as friendship and as warm as love. And they are tremendously fun to read.

One of my favorites concerns a statement that Mozart makes concerning the ease of difficulty in composing opera in German. In a letter dated February, 1783, Mozart writes to his father, "I side with the German. I prefer it even if it costs me more trouble. Every nation has its own opera, why not Germany? Is not German as singable as French and English? Is it not more so than Russian?"

"Even if it costs me more trouble," he writes. Aha! says I. He admitted that it's more trouble to put the German language to music. Gotcha!

To those of us who love his music, Mozart is rendered in these pages, in his own words, just as we expect. I envy the reader who meets him the first time in this book, then approaches his music. It will be a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Customer Reviews:

an unebelieveable collection.......2001-06-05

This is a wonderful and amazing book on so many levels. I remember when I was trying to get ahold of this book there was an original printing that contained three huge wolumes, it was very expensive, then I saw that there was an updated version in one single volume. It's not easy to find a copy of this book but if you can get one check it out. Aside from listening to his music the only other true way to get to know this wonderful man and his family is through their letters to one another. Anderson does a wonderful job leaving the letters as they were written, and giving the reader helpful footnotes along the way. This book is very thorough and a great read. I would say it is for someone who wants a great deal of detail about mozart's life and times, in his words. I think this is in some ways better than a biography about Mozart, even though there are some great ones out there. This is the closet thing to an autobigraphy of mozart as there can ever be. Sadly, after the death of his father in 1787, Mozart lost his main contact, so we don't always know his day to day activities as we were able to get before then, especially the last three years or so of his life. But to read some of those letters to his wife constanza, or to puchberg, who was helping him again and again with his finances, to me are just heartbreaking. Why is it no one in his time was able to see this man as the unrivaled musical genius he really was??? Through this book we learn about his fears and flaws, his likes and dislikes and the things that were happening during each year of his life. The letters between Mzt and his father are very insightful, whether they are arguing with one another or praising one another. Even though this is a much longer and harder read than a biography might be, the author is the Mozart family, so there is really no way for the book to be biased as an author might tend to be in some areas. Have I said enough to convince you yet??? Go and get this book if you truly love Mozart and want to see him as he really was.

I felt as a member of Mozart's family........1998-05-07

The letters make one feel present throughout Mozart's life. One sees Mozart as a human being,loving and pious but also sometimes mean and petty. I looked for this book for years ( I considered borrowing it from the library and "losing it") and finally found it through the publisher, St Martin Press.Good appendix and notes makes this an indispensible for the Mozart lover.

The only complete collection, in English translation........1997-12-31

This is a much admired and beloved labor of love. Mozart wrote words like he wrote music: full of lively play and energy. His "naughty" letters to his cousin are especially wonderful! How do you translate a long string of nonsense syllables from German nonsense into equivalent English nonsense? Emily does it! And she handles the prolific scatological references in robust 18th century style (no Victorian gloves for Emily!) This should not be out of print, but it is. Please let me know if you find a copy.

Average customer rating:

A Life in Letters (Penguin Classics)
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Letters & Correspondence | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

ASIN: 0141441461

Book Description

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.

Average customer rating:
Letters to Horseface: Young Mozart's Travels in Italy
F. N. Monjo , Don Bolognese , and Elaine Raphael
Manufacturer: Viking Juvenile
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus | Composers | Classical | Musical Genres | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
General | Baby-3 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
ASIN: 0670427381

Average customer rating:

nothing like the master's own words

Letters of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus | Composers | Classical | Musical Genres | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
General | Music | Entertainment | Subjects | Books
General | Classical | Composers & Musicians | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus | ( M ) | People, A-Z | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Beethoven's Letters

Mozart: His Character, His Work (Galaxy Books)

Mozart's Letters, Mozart's Life: Selected Letters

Chopin's Letters

The Compleat Mozart: A Guide to the Musical Works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

ASIN: 0486228592

Book Description

Over 100 often hilarious, sometimes sad, but always articulate letters from one of the most charismatic composers in history. Candid self-portrait emerges revealing his witty observations of royalty and their patronage, music, his family, his debilitating and humiliating poverty. One facsimile.

Download Description

I AM in good health, but always sleepy. Papa has snatched from my pen all that I had to write about, which is, that he has already written everything. Signora Gabrielli is here, and we are soon going to see her, as we wish to become acquainted with all distinguished singers.

Customer Reviews:

nothing like the master's own words.......2002-07-02

very helpful to read Mozart's own words, & correspondence w/his father & others. would be helpful to have more footnotes, & more of the texts. what is there is tantalizing.

Average customer rating:

Literary autobiography of California Indian.

This is an excellent/must read book

Kirkus Reviews (2/15/98)

The Morning the Sun Went Down
Darryl Babe Wilson
Manufacturer: Heyday Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Authors | Arts & Literature | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Native American | Ethnic & National | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
General | United States | Historical | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Ceremony: (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition)

Human Memory

It's Your World--If You Don't Like It, Change It: Activism for Teenagers

Liberalism and Social Action (Great Books in Philosophy)

The Principles of Learning and Behavior: Active Learning Edition (with Workbook)

ASIN: 0930588819

Book Description

Born into the Achumawi and Atusgewi tribes (often called the Pit River Nation) of northeastern California, Darryl Babe Wilson's early years were spent with his parents and eight brothers and sisters, in a world still rich in Indian tradition, feeling, and language. Through this compelling autobiography, we experience both the beauty of the Indian world and the deep tragedies of his young life, and celebrate his triumphant journey to adulthood. Wilson has blended Native American myths with stories of youthful innocence and experience to produce a richly textured, lyrical, and unforgettable memoir.

Customer Reviews:

Literary autobiography of California Indian........1999-05-09

Every once in a while a book is written that changes everything. This is one of those books. This autobiography written by Darryl Babe Wilson about his Achomawi/Atsugewi (Pit River) Indian childhood in northern California is filled with wonder and lyrical beauty, and at the same time with painful tragedy and brutality. This is the masterful recounting of a personal journey that enfolds us warmly in a child eye's view ofWilson'sfamily and tribal relations, as well as the intrinsic and permanent relationship with theland in its ancient and essential dimensions. This book is simultaneously literature, an autobiography and the history of a People. Thebook begins with a dream in which Wilson is tested and reminded by the Elders of his responsibility to his People. It combines observations both minute and practical with those that sweepinglyencompass infinate place and time, understood both by the heart and mind. We are deftly drawn into a world that is simultaneously rugged and sweet. The family tragedy, the death of his mother and baby brother, and the subsequent family separation are described in wrenching detail, mirroring and paralleling the descriptions of historic events resulting from the lethal coming of whites into his homeland following the discovery of gold in California. Wilson places us, as readers, in a spot that is at the same time ancient, historical and contemporary. This is a story of growingself-assurance and human understanding as Wilson matures and comes to see the world from a broader vision, as well as his place and potential role within that world. He says, "...we must seek a power or a series of powers outside of ourselves which we identify as 'helpers.' Helpers can be a tree or animals, rocks or mountains, stars or flowers, frogs or rainbows. Helpers come to us in our time of need, and they guide our dreams." This book is utlimately the story of strength and power. Near the end of the book, he says, "For it was a song, according to our narratives, that caused all of the universe to have a beginning. We must seek within ourselves the spiritual terrain from our watu/ah'lo (spiritual umbilical cord) to the Great Power, cultivating our personal power and creating wholesomeness with our thoughts and intentions...It is taught in our lessons and legends, and by our Elders, that The People are responsible for life upon earth. Honoring the lessons then becomes a mandate from Great Power/GReat Wonder/Great Spirit that we are bound to obey. All people must obey the Great Law, so the sweetness of life can continue."

This is an excellent/must read book.......1999-03-16

Every once in a while a book is written that changes everything. THE MORNING THE SUN WENT DOWN is one of those books. This autobiography written by Darryl Babe Wilson about his Achomawi/Atsugewi (Pit River) childhood in northeastern California is filled with wonder and lyrical beauty, and at the same time with painful tragedy and brutality. This is the masterful recounting of a personal journey that enfolds us warmly in a child eye's view of Wilson's family and tribal relations, as well as the intrinsic and permanent relationship with the land in its ancient and essential dimensions. This book is simultaneously literature, an autobiography and the history of a People. It is highly recommended.//This is a portion of the review by Susan Lobo that will appear in the journal NATIVE AMERICAS (Cornell)

Kirkus Reviews (2/15/98).......1998-03-10

from "Kirkus Reviews" (starred review): A slim, modest, and altogether extraordinary memoir of rural Native American life. Wilson, a poet and scholar from the Achumawe and Atsugewi tribes of northeastern California, came into adolescence in the mid-1950s, when his people had all but disappeared through assimilation or extermination. Blame for part of that disappearance he lays squarely at the door of whites; but, he adds, "the neglect of our Elders to teach us our traditions was equally damaging." His own parents did their best to teach Wilson and his siblings something of the old ways: how to hunt deer, how to tame rattlesnakes, how to listen for mountain lions, lessons that he imparts to his readers with precision and grace- and not a little humor. But when his mother and younger brother were killed in a collision with a logging truck, Wilson was sent off to live with white foster parents among unfriendly neighbors (he remembers, touchingly, one young girl "who did not accuse me with her eyes or attitude," principally "because we were not enemies"). Whe it appeared that his foster parents wanted to strip away his Indian identity, Wilson rebelled, for which he was sent off to a boarding school where the young California Indian charges were locked in their rooms at nights and punished by day for minor infractions. Wilson recounts these horros matter-of-factly but doesn't dwell on them; instead, he celebrates a teacher who sagely corrected his compositions, encouraged him to improve himself, and urged him to become a writer. Readers have reason to be grateful to that teacher as well. Wilson is a careful and compassionate obeserver of his life and those of other young Indians, and his book is a fine addition to the growing library of Native American autobiography.

Books:

Books Index

Books Home

Recommended Books