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mozart
"As warm and golden as his music, this authoritative biography of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart introduces the young reader to one of the greatest musical geniuses of all time."
Illustrated by Warren Chappell.
L.C. catalog card number: 56-5273
Illustrated by Warren Chappell.
L.C. catalog card number: 56-5273
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1956
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 14, 2023
Here’s a good, enjoyable biography by Komroff!
From his birth to his early death, you’ll follow Mozart and see how his musical genius rapidly developed. He truly was astounding!
Ages: 12+
Cleanliness: mentions snuff boxes.
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From his birth to his early death, you’ll follow Mozart and see how his musical genius rapidly developed. He truly was astounding!
Ages: 12+
Cleanliness: mentions snuff boxes.
**Like my reviews? Then you should follow me! Because I have hundreds more just like this one. With each review, I provide a Cleanliness Report, mentioning any objectionable content I come across so that parents and/or conscientious readers (like me) can determine beforehand whether they want to read a book or not. Content surprises are super annoying, especially when you’re 100+ pages in, so here’s my attempt to help you avoid that!
So Follow or Friend me here on GoodReads! And be sure to check out my bio page to learn a little about me and the Picture Book/Chapter Book Calendars I sell on Etsy!
August 27, 2023
Easy and fun read about Mozart’s life journey as the “child-prodigy”.
July 29, 2018
Mozart is a biography of one of the great musicians of all time, telling the story of Mozart's thirty-five years in an effectively brisk manner. The book spans from Mozart's birth in 1756 in the town of Salzburg (in present day Austria not far from the German border) to his death while putting the finishing touches on his piece (ironically one about death) Requiem.
Author Manuel Komroff walks his readers through this musical prodigy's rise to fame. At the age of seven, both Wolfgang and his eleven-year-old sister Nannerl were touring Europe with their father, who happened to be employed as a musician in the court of Joseph II. As impressive as this tour is to consider, Mozart had allegedly begun to compose musical pieces of his own at the tender age of five!
Munich, Vienna, Frankfort, Brussels, Paris, London; from one city to the next the young Mozart children trooped, performing for royalty and enlivening special occasions with their musical prowess. Reading about what must have been an overwhelming experience for someone even as advanced for his age as Mozart keeps the pages all but turning themselves in search of more anecdotes.
Emperor Joseph II is painted as contemptuous of Wolfgang at times, never fully appreciating the genius of the composer from his own land. Because of this, Mozart would eventually leave Austria for good, composing and living in other areas in Europe where he could escape what he felt to be the constricting and narrow environment fostered by the Emperor.
Mozart hit the big time in Prague, where his completion of the opera Figaro brought him the sort of popular appreciation he felt had been denied him in both Salzburg and France. The author mentions how Mozart was grateful for the people of Prague for recognizing the greatness in his compositions which had been fully or partially overlooked in other European capitals.
Despite his immense talent, during his lifetime Mozart was never able to strike up a royal patron to allow him to compose his music without the constant worry of encroaching destitution for his family. Mozart passed away with little wealth to his name, a situation made worse by the fact that he was to to be survived for nearly half a century by his wife Constanze. As with many men of genius, the full realization of his music's transcendence did not take place until years after his death.
Mozart was producing musical art until the very end of his productive life: The Magic Flute, Requiem, and the Clemency of Titus were completed during is last year of life, and his final three symphonies (39 through 41) were created during his final years as well. Komroff does justice to this brilliant man's life in this short biography.
While numerous additional details would have been interesting and no doubt are included in more substantial biographies of Mozart, this edition will satisfy readers wanting an introduction to Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgang Gottlieb (Gottlieb in Latin=Amadeus) Mozart.
-Andrew Canfield Denver, Colorado
Author Manuel Komroff walks his readers through this musical prodigy's rise to fame. At the age of seven, both Wolfgang and his eleven-year-old sister Nannerl were touring Europe with their father, who happened to be employed as a musician in the court of Joseph II. As impressive as this tour is to consider, Mozart had allegedly begun to compose musical pieces of his own at the tender age of five!
Munich, Vienna, Frankfort, Brussels, Paris, London; from one city to the next the young Mozart children trooped, performing for royalty and enlivening special occasions with their musical prowess. Reading about what must have been an overwhelming experience for someone even as advanced for his age as Mozart keeps the pages all but turning themselves in search of more anecdotes.
Emperor Joseph II is painted as contemptuous of Wolfgang at times, never fully appreciating the genius of the composer from his own land. Because of this, Mozart would eventually leave Austria for good, composing and living in other areas in Europe where he could escape what he felt to be the constricting and narrow environment fostered by the Emperor.
Mozart hit the big time in Prague, where his completion of the opera Figaro brought him the sort of popular appreciation he felt had been denied him in both Salzburg and France. The author mentions how Mozart was grateful for the people of Prague for recognizing the greatness in his compositions which had been fully or partially overlooked in other European capitals.
Despite his immense talent, during his lifetime Mozart was never able to strike up a royal patron to allow him to compose his music without the constant worry of encroaching destitution for his family. Mozart passed away with little wealth to his name, a situation made worse by the fact that he was to to be survived for nearly half a century by his wife Constanze. As with many men of genius, the full realization of his music's transcendence did not take place until years after his death.
Mozart was producing musical art until the very end of his productive life: The Magic Flute, Requiem, and the Clemency of Titus were completed during is last year of life, and his final three symphonies (39 through 41) were created during his final years as well. Komroff does justice to this brilliant man's life in this short biography.
While numerous additional details would have been interesting and no doubt are included in more substantial biographies of Mozart, this edition will satisfy readers wanting an introduction to Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgang Gottlieb (Gottlieb in Latin=Amadeus) Mozart.
-Andrew Canfield Denver, Colorado
January 2, 2025
I don’t usually read stuff like this but actually it was so good.
May 31, 2013
I think that this book is a GREAT biography. It actually make the exciting life of the Mozart family even more exciting! You can really tell that this guy was a huge history nerd. That is a good thing however. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves classical music. I love it because I love Mozart. He is one of my favourite composers of all time. This tells of his short life from the days where he was performing as a kid to the day he died on 12/5/1791. I love how the author wrote with such detail. Towards the end, you really feel like you were with Mozart at his death bed and you get emotional and feel so bad for Mozart. Overall, I loved this book and thought it was very informative. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to learn music because it strengthens your desire to do so.
October 21, 2009
A nice introduction to the life of Mozart.
February 2, 2015
3.5. Good introduction but not too in depth.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews