| Contents |
The handsomest couple in Salzburg -- The little wizard -- The grand tour -- Prodigies of nature -- He is skin and bone -- Wolfgangganggangerl -- Chevalier de Mozart -- Ass-bumping in Venice -- Bravissimo Maestro! -- Gnagflow Trazom -- There is no vacancy -- Wolfgang Amadé Rosenkranz -- Off with you to Paris! -- My dear departed Mother -- Unlucky in love -- A kick in the backside -- An honest and virtuous wife -- Return to Salzburg -- Paternal pride -- Womaniser, criminal and genius with words -- The final, and greatest, symphonies -- A stranger knocks -- The taste of death on my tongue. |
| Abstract |
We think we know the story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's life. Austrian-born to a tyrannical father who worked him fiercely; unhappily married to a spendthrift woman; a child-like character ill at ease amid the aristocratic splendor of the Viennese court; a musical genius who died young thus depriving the world of future glories. Yet only that last point is actually true. This comprehensive biography examines the many myths and misunderstandings surrounding the world's best-loved composer. From his early days as a child prodigy performing for the imperial royal family in Vienna to the last months of his short life, driven to exhaustion by a punitive workload, one thing remained constant: his happy disposition. Through trials and tribulations, grand successes and disheartening setbacks, the author shows us the real Mozart--blessed with an abundance of talent yet sometimes struggling to earn a living. His mischievous nature and earthy sense of humor, his ease and confidence in his own incredible abilities; these were traits that never left him. His music has brought comfort to countless generations; his life, though brief, is no less fascinating. |
| General note | Originally published: London : Elliott and Thompson Limited, 2016. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references (pages 265-266) and index. |
| LCCN | 2017569173 |
| ISBN | 9781681775098 (hardbound) |
| ISBN | 1681775093 (hardbound) |
| ISBN | 9781681778877 (paperback) |
| ISBN | 1681778874 (paperback) |
