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Mozart
On the occasion of Mozart's two hundred and fiftieth birthday, read Maynard Solomon's Mozart: A Life, universally hailed as the Mozart biography of our time.
640 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1995
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About the author
Maynard Solomon
27 books33 followersMaynard Solomon was a co-founder of Vanguard Records as well as a music producer, and later became a writer on music
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 98 reviews
March 24, 2021
Solomon attempts to do the impossible in this book -- to get inside the unconscious minds of the Mozarts on the basis of historical documents and letters -- and fails. That this book is so widely admired is, I think, more a testimony to the reading public's desire to understand Mozart on this level than the quality of this book.
This biography has deep problems.
First, it is badly organized. Instead of tracking Mozart's life in chronological order, Solomon breaks it into arbitrary periods, such as "time in Salzburg before Vienna," and then goes through each period in several chapters, each with a different focus - one chapter on finances, another on his relationship with his father, then his mother, then his romantic involvements, then music of the period, et cetera. This approach disrupts the reader's sense of flow and obscures the relationships between different periods of Mozart's life.
I thought Solomon's Freudian psychoanalytic framework would not work for me, but I underestimated how bad it would be. It is deeply distracting, unnecessary, and forces the reader to accept Freudian theory in order to appreciate the book. And I reject it -- at least in the bankrupt terms that Solomon employs.
Freud considered himself a scientist and a doctor, not a literary critic. For a writer in the mid-1990s to uncritically use long-disproven empirical categories such as the psychosexual stages of development loudly calls their analytical framework into question. This is especially true when Solomon uses Freudian theory to interpret everything from Leopold's relationship to his son to Mozart's use of tension and resolution in composition.
Surely Solomon does not think extramusical considerations outweigh the formal context for Mozart's musical development? He has little to say about the musicological rationale behind Mozart's use of tension and resolution in sonata form, and the interested reader would do well to turn to works such as Rosen's "The Classical Style" for an alternative account. Then you can decide for yourself which approach is more persuasive.
And what is the reader supposed to make of passages such as this?
"In some way, the Salzbug Mozarts were now reenacting a drama of sacrifice and atonement, unconsciously staged by Leopold Mozart to come to terms with the earlier events, the memory of which continued to grieve him. For Leopold Mozart was sorely wounded by his mother's repudiation of him and burdened with guilt over his own actions."
A careful reader should be alarmed by the confidence with which Solomon presents such claims, and also by the lack of evidence. Leopold did not profess a burden of guilt over his own actions in any historical document. It is motivated only by the theoretical premise of Freud, and cannot be contradicted or disproven. To present a theory on these terms as if it is a plain fact betrays a crucial lack of critical self-awareness. The Mozarts are extruded through the machine of Solomon's interpretive engine.
The one ground upon which Solomon stands well is historiography. While the facts are not always clearly presented or well organized, or are undermined by unpersuasive speculation, they are the most interesting, useful, and important part of the book.
To paraphrase Freud, sometimes a diminished 7th is just a diminished 7th. I would have loved this book to be re-written at 200 fewer pages without all the mumbo-jumbo about guilt and sublimation, with more attention to musicological analysis, and organized to reflect the integrity of life as it is actually lived.
Note: review updated in 2021 for clarity.
This biography has deep problems.
First, it is badly organized. Instead of tracking Mozart's life in chronological order, Solomon breaks it into arbitrary periods, such as "time in Salzburg before Vienna," and then goes through each period in several chapters, each with a different focus - one chapter on finances, another on his relationship with his father, then his mother, then his romantic involvements, then music of the period, et cetera. This approach disrupts the reader's sense of flow and obscures the relationships between different periods of Mozart's life.
I thought Solomon's Freudian psychoanalytic framework would not work for me, but I underestimated how bad it would be. It is deeply distracting, unnecessary, and forces the reader to accept Freudian theory in order to appreciate the book. And I reject it -- at least in the bankrupt terms that Solomon employs.
Freud considered himself a scientist and a doctor, not a literary critic. For a writer in the mid-1990s to uncritically use long-disproven empirical categories such as the psychosexual stages of development loudly calls their analytical framework into question. This is especially true when Solomon uses Freudian theory to interpret everything from Leopold's relationship to his son to Mozart's use of tension and resolution in composition.
Surely Solomon does not think extramusical considerations outweigh the formal context for Mozart's musical development? He has little to say about the musicological rationale behind Mozart's use of tension and resolution in sonata form, and the interested reader would do well to turn to works such as Rosen's "The Classical Style" for an alternative account. Then you can decide for yourself which approach is more persuasive.
And what is the reader supposed to make of passages such as this?
"In some way, the Salzbug Mozarts were now reenacting a drama of sacrifice and atonement, unconsciously staged by Leopold Mozart to come to terms with the earlier events, the memory of which continued to grieve him. For Leopold Mozart was sorely wounded by his mother's repudiation of him and burdened with guilt over his own actions."
A careful reader should be alarmed by the confidence with which Solomon presents such claims, and also by the lack of evidence. Leopold did not profess a burden of guilt over his own actions in any historical document. It is motivated only by the theoretical premise of Freud, and cannot be contradicted or disproven. To present a theory on these terms as if it is a plain fact betrays a crucial lack of critical self-awareness. The Mozarts are extruded through the machine of Solomon's interpretive engine.
The one ground upon which Solomon stands well is historiography. While the facts are not always clearly presented or well organized, or are undermined by unpersuasive speculation, they are the most interesting, useful, and important part of the book.
To paraphrase Freud, sometimes a diminished 7th is just a diminished 7th. I would have loved this book to be re-written at 200 fewer pages without all the mumbo-jumbo about guilt and sublimation, with more attention to musicological analysis, and organized to reflect the integrity of life as it is actually lived.
Note: review updated in 2021 for clarity.
July 11, 2019
https://thebestbiographies.com/2019/0...
Maynard Solomon's "Mozart: A Life" was published in 1995 and was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for biography. Solomon co-founded Vanguard Records, has taught at Columbia, Yale, Harvard and the Julliard School of Music, and authored several books including a highly-regarded biography of Beethoven.
Two things are immediately clear when reading this biography: it is built upon a foundation of assiduous (and likely painstaking) research...and it is not for the faint of heart. Solomon's narrative is neither an easy-to-follow chronological treatment of Mozart's life nor a particularly colorful one. Instead, it is fact- and conjucture-dense, thematic and disappointingly dry with a puzzling predilection for psychoanalysis.
Most readers will conclude there is much about Mozart's life which is simply unknowable but that Solomon diligently unearthed and analyzed every available bit of information. Unfortunately, the resulting narrative too often resembles the transcript of a tedious college lecture with little historical context, too much supposition and speculation, and almost no sense of narrative vibrancy. Very few readers will find the book hard to put down.
Great biographies generally provide robust introductions to a subject's family as well as his or her most important friends and colleagues. In this case Solomon provides only the barest of disclosure relating to anyone other than Mozart's father (whose presence throughout the book is pervasive), his sister (who receives her own admittedly excellent chapter) and Mozart himself. His mother and wife receive minimal coverage and his six children rarely appear at all.
Instead, the author exhibits a curious fascination with Mozart's finances - a preoccupation so unrelenting that one might suspect the author of being a forensic accountant in a past life. But if this unyielding focus on 18th-century accounting appeals to some readers, what they may be disappointed not to find is a thorough and systematic analysis of Mozart's musical compositions.
In addition, despite its Pulitzer imprimatur this biography fails to paint a cohesive or richly textured portrait of it subject. Readers unfamiliar with Mozart's life are unlikely to finish this book feeling as though they really understand him or have a good sense of what made him tick. In the end, he seems oddly inert and unexpectedly...uninteresting.
But Solomon's biography is not without its high points. His focus on Mozart's relationship with his father, though far too Freudian, is interesting. The chapter on his relationship with his sister and their eventual estrangement is fascinating. And the chapter covering Mozart's Masonic membership provides revealing insight into his character and motivations. But the pages which explore Mozart's Zoroastran "riddles" may be the most unexpected and intellectually compelling of the book.
Overall, Maynard Solomon's "Mozart: A Life" is a fact- and conjecture-rich biography of one of the 18th century's most creative and unsettled artists. But if Mozart's life was multi-hued and utterly captivating (as I suspect it was) Solomon almost entirely fails to capture that magic. And in the end his biography of Mozart, which is likely to appeal only to a narrow audience, is disappointingly dry and dull.
Overall rating: 2½ stars
Maynard Solomon's "Mozart: A Life" was published in 1995 and was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for biography. Solomon co-founded Vanguard Records, has taught at Columbia, Yale, Harvard and the Julliard School of Music, and authored several books including a highly-regarded biography of Beethoven.
Two things are immediately clear when reading this biography: it is built upon a foundation of assiduous (and likely painstaking) research...and it is not for the faint of heart. Solomon's narrative is neither an easy-to-follow chronological treatment of Mozart's life nor a particularly colorful one. Instead, it is fact- and conjucture-dense, thematic and disappointingly dry with a puzzling predilection for psychoanalysis.
Most readers will conclude there is much about Mozart's life which is simply unknowable but that Solomon diligently unearthed and analyzed every available bit of information. Unfortunately, the resulting narrative too often resembles the transcript of a tedious college lecture with little historical context, too much supposition and speculation, and almost no sense of narrative vibrancy. Very few readers will find the book hard to put down.
Great biographies generally provide robust introductions to a subject's family as well as his or her most important friends and colleagues. In this case Solomon provides only the barest of disclosure relating to anyone other than Mozart's father (whose presence throughout the book is pervasive), his sister (who receives her own admittedly excellent chapter) and Mozart himself. His mother and wife receive minimal coverage and his six children rarely appear at all.
Instead, the author exhibits a curious fascination with Mozart's finances - a preoccupation so unrelenting that one might suspect the author of being a forensic accountant in a past life. But if this unyielding focus on 18th-century accounting appeals to some readers, what they may be disappointed not to find is a thorough and systematic analysis of Mozart's musical compositions.
In addition, despite its Pulitzer imprimatur this biography fails to paint a cohesive or richly textured portrait of it subject. Readers unfamiliar with Mozart's life are unlikely to finish this book feeling as though they really understand him or have a good sense of what made him tick. In the end, he seems oddly inert and unexpectedly...uninteresting.
But Solomon's biography is not without its high points. His focus on Mozart's relationship with his father, though far too Freudian, is interesting. The chapter on his relationship with his sister and their eventual estrangement is fascinating. And the chapter covering Mozart's Masonic membership provides revealing insight into his character and motivations. But the pages which explore Mozart's Zoroastran "riddles" may be the most unexpected and intellectually compelling of the book.
Overall, Maynard Solomon's "Mozart: A Life" is a fact- and conjecture-rich biography of one of the 18th century's most creative and unsettled artists. But if Mozart's life was multi-hued and utterly captivating (as I suspect it was) Solomon almost entirely fails to capture that magic. And in the end his biography of Mozart, which is likely to appeal only to a narrow audience, is disappointingly dry and dull.
Overall rating: 2½ stars
October 3, 2007
I have read this book many times, and it always strikes me what a profoundly human connection Maynard Solomon has with his subject, Wolfgang Mozart. At times, Solomon's analysis may veer a bit heavily toward the Freudian, but there is no denying that Leopold Mozart was a profound influence on his son and maintained a hold on him throughout his life. Solomon delves into that conflict, showing that Mozart was not as the "eternal child" but a man struggling to be autonomous and independent.
He found his own voice in his music, and Solomon's examination of the "Fearful Symmetries" especially in Mozart's second movements provide insight into Mozart as an artist, as a thinking and feeling man. It helps to have recordings of the music Solomon references.
Solomon also is well-versed in Mozart's historical context, and knows that it is necessary to place Mozart in the context of the Enlightenment. His examination of the plots and characters of the great operas perhaps gives more credit to Mozart than to the librettists (Lorenzo da Ponte and Emmanuel Schikaneder) than is proper, but it does give insight into the type of libretto Mozart preferred -- stories that include the quiet subversion of established norms, the affirmation of humanity's dignity and goodness.
I was impressed with the narrative arc Solomon found in Mozart's life -- one which makes his early death truly tragic. It seems it so often happens that people who die young die when they are coming to a turn in their lives, struggling through troubles, trying to make good with their loved ones. Such was Mozart's death, and Solomon shows that his death was not just a loss to the musical world, but moreover, it was a great loss to his family and friends. Mozart was a beloved man, not because of his talent but because of his humanity, in whose service he placed his genius.
--
Just a note in regards the Good Reads reviewer who doesn't know "how much of this is based on fact." Solomon is meticulous in documenting his sources (take a look at the extensive notes and bibliography!), many of which are Mozart's correspondence with his family and of historical record. He also examines the differences between Mozart's several biographies, giving different points of view and analyzing what might be conjecture rather than fact. Where there are no facts, such as a period of time when Mozart was traveling without his wife and there is no documentation of where he was or what he did, he states this. As with all nonfiction, critical reading skills are important when judging the scholarship and accuracy of this book, and, in my view, Solomon, a professor at Julliard, lives up to his reputation as an excellent and innovative academic.
He found his own voice in his music, and Solomon's examination of the "Fearful Symmetries" especially in Mozart's second movements provide insight into Mozart as an artist, as a thinking and feeling man. It helps to have recordings of the music Solomon references.
Solomon also is well-versed in Mozart's historical context, and knows that it is necessary to place Mozart in the context of the Enlightenment. His examination of the plots and characters of the great operas perhaps gives more credit to Mozart than to the librettists (Lorenzo da Ponte and Emmanuel Schikaneder) than is proper, but it does give insight into the type of libretto Mozart preferred -- stories that include the quiet subversion of established norms, the affirmation of humanity's dignity and goodness.
I was impressed with the narrative arc Solomon found in Mozart's life -- one which makes his early death truly tragic. It seems it so often happens that people who die young die when they are coming to a turn in their lives, struggling through troubles, trying to make good with their loved ones. Such was Mozart's death, and Solomon shows that his death was not just a loss to the musical world, but moreover, it was a great loss to his family and friends. Mozart was a beloved man, not because of his talent but because of his humanity, in whose service he placed his genius.
--
Just a note in regards the Good Reads reviewer who doesn't know "how much of this is based on fact." Solomon is meticulous in documenting his sources (take a look at the extensive notes and bibliography!), many of which are Mozart's correspondence with his family and of historical record. He also examines the differences between Mozart's several biographies, giving different points of view and analyzing what might be conjecture rather than fact. Where there are no facts, such as a period of time when Mozart was traveling without his wife and there is no documentation of where he was or what he did, he states this. As with all nonfiction, critical reading skills are important when judging the scholarship and accuracy of this book, and, in my view, Solomon, a professor at Julliard, lives up to his reputation as an excellent and innovative academic.
January 12, 2009
Almost as good as Solomon's biography of Beethoven--possibly even better because of the number of myths Solomon debunks. I particularly liked the analysis of Mozart's finances in the final years: he didn't die "a pauper" (as the myth goes), but was successfully working himself out of some tough times. If he had survived (he died in December, 1791), 1792 would probably have been his best year financially. Mozart's death itself wasn't a result of any "poisoning" by Salieri or some other rival (even though Mozart did have a paranoid fantasy that he'd been given a slow-acting poison), but a recurrence of a disease (probably scarlet fever) that had almost killed him in childhood. His so-called "pauper's funeral and unmarked grave" wasn't the result of poverty, but was apparently the fashion among young men of a free-thinking, Masonic bent.
If you're interested in music, this book is essential. If you've seen Amadeus, it's a necessary antidote.
If you're interested in music, this book is essential. If you've seen Amadeus, it's a necessary antidote.
January 25, 2018
Mozart: A Life is the well researched biography of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and was a finalist in for the Pulitzer in 1996. This narrative reads like a novel with Mozart's musical scores and notes throughout as we follow him through his early childhood in Salzburg to his acclaimed performances in the capitals of Europe as a child prodigy. It follows him as he moves to Vienna, marries and continues to have success not only in Vienna but in Prague and Germany, as a promising young composer. It also shadows his deepening melancholia as he works on his final work Requiem before his premature death at the age of 36. This will deepen the appreciation I will have when listening to Mozart's music in the future.
December 12, 2017
Would give this 3.5 stars if possible. Solomon is brilliant when sticking with close readings of Mozart's music and his account of Mozart's last years is both coruscating and a needed reimagining of that time of his life. His application of Freudian criticism to the life is problematic--much of it turns on (not surprisingly) Mozart's relationship to Leopold, his demanding father. Solomon sees this relationship as what defines Mozart's life but his analysis is based too much on assumptions that I don't think are born out by the letters he cites.
Solomon knows the music (and shows it on some measure by measure examination) and explains it well for the non-specialist. Recommended for that reason more than anything else. Given the Freudian structure that he imposes on Mozart's life, Solomon's analysis of "Don Giovanni" (beginning with the confrontation between the Commendatore and Giovanni) and the "Requiem" could be required reading for fans of the composer.
Solomon knows the music (and shows it on some measure by measure examination) and explains it well for the non-specialist. Recommended for that reason more than anything else. Given the Freudian structure that he imposes on Mozart's life, Solomon's analysis of "Don Giovanni" (beginning with the confrontation between the Commendatore and Giovanni) and the "Requiem" could be required reading for fans of the composer.
February 28, 2022
Yay, I’m done! This wasn’t just a .”Biography”, but a dissertation of every minute detail of Leopold snd Wolfgang Mozart! If you love minutiae, you’ll love reading about exactly how many floriens, ducats, pounds and pence along with other currencies that Leopold made from young Mozart’s talents; there are pages and pages of each days takings. There is also an exhaustive dissection of Mozart’s individual works and even more exhaustive analysis of his personality according to Freud. Why the author feels the need to include Freud is beyond me.
The biography is mixed in between all of the above and one can not separate the competing parts without losing the thread of the biography.
If you want a biography of the composer and not all the extraneous forays into composition details and analysis of Mozart after his death, I suggest you find a different author, for this author’s is anal retentive in his writing, he less nothing pass and won’t let go of themes, instead, he beats them to a merciless death….
When Mr.Solomon did venture down the biographical street the book was interesting. The relationship between the father and son was decidedly unhealthy by 21 century values, but not as much then. What we do see In Leopold, is he desire to manipulate and control his son, which isn’t acceptable in any millennia. That aside, I especially liked a couple of Mozart’s “proverbs” that bring insight as to how he thinks:
“A hypocrite imitating virtue can only do do in watercolors.”
“I prefer open vice to ambiguous virtue; at least I know where I stand.”
These tell me more about Mozart’s personality than analysis by a 20th century psychoanalyst……
The biography is mixed in between all of the above and one can not separate the competing parts without losing the thread of the biography.
If you want a biography of the composer and not all the extraneous forays into composition details and analysis of Mozart after his death, I suggest you find a different author, for this author’s is anal retentive in his writing, he less nothing pass and won’t let go of themes, instead, he beats them to a merciless death….
When Mr.Solomon did venture down the biographical street the book was interesting. The relationship between the father and son was decidedly unhealthy by 21 century values, but not as much then. What we do see In Leopold, is he desire to manipulate and control his son, which isn’t acceptable in any millennia. That aside, I especially liked a couple of Mozart’s “proverbs” that bring insight as to how he thinks:
“A hypocrite imitating virtue can only do do in watercolors.”
“I prefer open vice to ambiguous virtue; at least I know where I stand.”
These tell me more about Mozart’s personality than analysis by a 20th century psychoanalyst……
November 10, 2022
Wow, this book took me longer to read than any book I've ever read. Not because it was bad, but because it was long, very long, and also because I just haven't had time to read every night and when I do I can only get through a page or two at a time because my eyes get tired. I also discovered during the reading of this book that I needed reading glasses.
It's a fantastic book. It's very dense and not what I would call an "easy" read, but that's not necessarily a negative. Love the way the book is structured, love the array of color in the language, love how much the author understands not only words and storytelling but music itself, and most of all, I love that so many personal letters survived to help tell the story of this fascinating man. Mozart was already my favorite classical composer, but after reading this book I have a deeper appreciation for him as a human.
It's a fantastic book. It's very dense and not what I would call an "easy" read, but that's not necessarily a negative. Love the way the book is structured, love the array of color in the language, love how much the author understands not only words and storytelling but music itself, and most of all, I love that so many personal letters survived to help tell the story of this fascinating man. Mozart was already my favorite classical composer, but after reading this book I have a deeper appreciation for him as a human.
September 6, 2023
This was 50% biography, 25% musicology and 25% psychoanalysis. Solomon tries hard to delve into the psychology of the child Mozart and his relationship with his father - while this definitely is a central theme to Mozart’a story, it is a little overemphasised at times. As a work of biography, however, this is right on the money. Well researched and detailed. Well worth a read.
September 25, 2024
This book provides a captivating and informative look into the life of one of history's most important composers. Solomon thoroughly explores Mozart's personal and professional life, revealing not just his genius but also the human qualities that make him truly exceptional.
What struck me most about this book is how Solomon illustrates Mozart’s journey to finding his own voice in music. The author shows that Mozart was not just the “eternal child” as he is sometimes portrayed, but a man striving for independence and seeking his own path despite the influence of his father, Leopold. This conflict is described in great detail, adding depth and humanity to Mozart’s character.
Moreover, Solomon excels in placing Mozart’s life within the broader historical context of the Enlightenment, which allows the reader to understand better his music and the era in which he lived. His analysis of Mozart’s operas is particularly impressive, as it demonstrates how Mozart’s music and librettos resonated with the social and cultural movements of the time.
The book is written in an engaging and accessible style, which educates and inspires. Solomon’s ability to connect the events of Mozart’s life with his music while maintaining a narrative arc that leads to his tragic end makes this biography truly captivating.
If you are interested in music and history or simply looking for an engaging read about one of the most intriguing figures in musical history, I highly recommend reading it.
What struck me most about this book is how Solomon illustrates Mozart’s journey to finding his own voice in music. The author shows that Mozart was not just the “eternal child” as he is sometimes portrayed, but a man striving for independence and seeking his own path despite the influence of his father, Leopold. This conflict is described in great detail, adding depth and humanity to Mozart’s character.
Moreover, Solomon excels in placing Mozart’s life within the broader historical context of the Enlightenment, which allows the reader to understand better his music and the era in which he lived. His analysis of Mozart’s operas is particularly impressive, as it demonstrates how Mozart’s music and librettos resonated with the social and cultural movements of the time.
The book is written in an engaging and accessible style, which educates and inspires. Solomon’s ability to connect the events of Mozart’s life with his music while maintaining a narrative arc that leads to his tragic end makes this biography truly captivating.
If you are interested in music and history or simply looking for an engaging read about one of the most intriguing figures in musical history, I highly recommend reading it.
October 18, 2016
Superb biography and surprisingly gripping read. Both the era and the personalities of the principles--Wolfgang and his father Leopold, as well as the mother to a lesser extent--are vivid. I read and listen to pieces of the music as I go. Solomon is so insightful about the psychological cross-currents in the family (Leopold must rank right up there with Kafka's father in the bad dad sweepstakes). I am a novice listener (don't know much about music, but I know what I like...) with no special knowledge of classical music. I was having to look up things like how a Divermento is different from a Sonata or a Concerto. But Solomon's reflections on and interpretations of Mozart's music have enhanced and deepened my own listening--and I'm only about 200 pages into this big biography. Here is a beautiful sentence: "Although some of us may want simply to give ourselves to this music rather than to tax it with bootless questions, others may want to speculate about the sources and meanings of this strange mixture of beatitude and terror." Page 194. This lovely sentence is nestled in several pages of reflection about Mozart's Adagio movements, the strange mixture of beatitude and terror, with connections to a wide variety of thinkers on art and meaning, why we listen (or view) art, why it is essential to our being. I love this book and recommend highly.
I can hardly recall when I have enjoyed reading a book more. Both the author and Wolfgang are good company. I learned about so many things I'd never thought about before: Unlike us, Mozart and his contemporaries didn't grow up listening to a "classical" music. All music then was contemporary music. Mozart, more or less, invented the Concerto form and innovated radically--in ways that are hard to hear (counterpoint, key changes, tempo variations) because I just hear it whole. For us, it's not a challenge to like Mozart, most people do like Mozart, but now I appreciate more what I am actually listening to. The books states that Mozart overflowed with melodic ideas. That I can hear!
As for the author, yes, he does outline a psychoanalytic take on Mozart and the music. But I really appreciate how he presents it as an account, not necessarily the only account nor a definitive account, but coherent and thoughtful nonetheless.
In 35 years of life Mozart composed over 600 works, and some major ones in his last months. He had a wife, children, many friends, he was a Mason, he traveled widely. His relationships were complicated and some were broken (sister), his finances were a mess, he wrote letters all the time. It staggers the mind. He is always present in the music of course, but the book made him live for me as I followed his life.
I can hardly recall when I have enjoyed reading a book more. Both the author and Wolfgang are good company. I learned about so many things I'd never thought about before: Unlike us, Mozart and his contemporaries didn't grow up listening to a "classical" music. All music then was contemporary music. Mozart, more or less, invented the Concerto form and innovated radically--in ways that are hard to hear (counterpoint, key changes, tempo variations) because I just hear it whole. For us, it's not a challenge to like Mozart, most people do like Mozart, but now I appreciate more what I am actually listening to. The books states that Mozart overflowed with melodic ideas. That I can hear!
As for the author, yes, he does outline a psychoanalytic take on Mozart and the music. But I really appreciate how he presents it as an account, not necessarily the only account nor a definitive account, but coherent and thoughtful nonetheless.
In 35 years of life Mozart composed over 600 works, and some major ones in his last months. He had a wife, children, many friends, he was a Mason, he traveled widely. His relationships were complicated and some were broken (sister), his finances were a mess, he wrote letters all the time. It staggers the mind. He is always present in the music of course, but the book made him live for me as I followed his life.
May 3, 2023
Maynard Solomon’s 1995 biography, ‘Mozart: A Life’, is fantastic. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born, 1756, in Salzburg, Austria, which is located north of the Alps and is famous for its Baroque architecture. Although, Salzburg has a charming look and the community supported young Mozart’s talent, he grew estranged from the place, in part, because of his understanding and awareness that Salzburg was too provincial to properly spread his wings.
Mozart, of course, was a child prodigy and his father, Leopold, also a musician, directed his musical training and performance tours of the large European cities. As it was, his father achieved remarkable success with young Mozart and became dependent on the income young Mozart earned. In a manner parallel to the Joe/Michael Jackson saga, he, eventually, became estranged from his father, although the letter writing correspondence never, really, stopped.
Clearly, like Bob Dylan and Michael Jackson, “in the flush of his success Mozart had no need for compromises, no inclination to accept impediments to the unhindered expression of his creativity.” By 1778, “he had been in full flight from the meretricious, from the circus atmosphere, the superficial virtuosity, the covered keyboards and the simple-minded musical fare of his childhood concert tours.”
The author examines the psychological dysfunction at the core of this father-son relationship. When Leopold blamed his son for the death of Mozart’s mother, how did this affect young Mozart’s music themes? Why did Leopold refuse to accept his son’s marriage? Was young Mozart a womanizer? When Mozart was dying in 1791, he believed his deteriorating condition was from poison related to an anonymous patron linked to the unfinished ‘Requiem’ commission. What is the truth? Mozart’s burial details have generated, nearly, as much discussion and speculation as JFK’s assassination. Why did Constanze, his widow and her surviving sisters choose to live their long and prosperous old age years in Salzburg? And it’s worth knowing that Constanze who by an inexplicable irony, had herself elected, not necessarily with malice, to be buried next to Leopold, her father-in-law, far from Mozart’s unmarked grave in the Vienna area.
There’s a lot to consider with regard to Mozart’s music and his life. And Maynard Solomon’s biography provides an easy introduction to both.
Mozart, of course, was a child prodigy and his father, Leopold, also a musician, directed his musical training and performance tours of the large European cities. As it was, his father achieved remarkable success with young Mozart and became dependent on the income young Mozart earned. In a manner parallel to the Joe/Michael Jackson saga, he, eventually, became estranged from his father, although the letter writing correspondence never, really, stopped.
Clearly, like Bob Dylan and Michael Jackson, “in the flush of his success Mozart had no need for compromises, no inclination to accept impediments to the unhindered expression of his creativity.” By 1778, “he had been in full flight from the meretricious, from the circus atmosphere, the superficial virtuosity, the covered keyboards and the simple-minded musical fare of his childhood concert tours.”
The author examines the psychological dysfunction at the core of this father-son relationship. When Leopold blamed his son for the death of Mozart’s mother, how did this affect young Mozart’s music themes? Why did Leopold refuse to accept his son’s marriage? Was young Mozart a womanizer? When Mozart was dying in 1791, he believed his deteriorating condition was from poison related to an anonymous patron linked to the unfinished ‘Requiem’ commission. What is the truth? Mozart’s burial details have generated, nearly, as much discussion and speculation as JFK’s assassination. Why did Constanze, his widow and her surviving sisters choose to live their long and prosperous old age years in Salzburg? And it’s worth knowing that Constanze who by an inexplicable irony, had herself elected, not necessarily with malice, to be buried next to Leopold, her father-in-law, far from Mozart’s unmarked grave in the Vienna area.
There’s a lot to consider with regard to Mozart’s music and his life. And Maynard Solomon’s biography provides an easy introduction to both.
June 10, 2024
In attempting to accomplish the insurmountable goal of highlghtening the entirety of the journey both Mozart and his family (particularly his father) went through, in hopes of acquiring great acclaim across Europe, Solomon at once excels at examining the non-insignificant details of Mozart's aims, travels, loves and concerns while also getting bogged down in relatively meager minutiae of travel expenses. Overall, a must read for any lover of the renowed composer, albeit with a caveat that the weeds of the novel aren't lacking in density
February 16, 2010
Well, wow! As a non-professional-musician type who was yet determined to slog through this tome, I found the musical theory passages daunting and unreadable--I wanted very much to understand the connection between Mozart's thought process and his actual music and what made it so revolutionary, but I simply could not. On the other hand, the historical, biographical, and psychological sections were very engrossing. I would have liked more in-depth information about the development of his operas, but that's just me. Overall, I enjoyed learning more about Mozart as a person and how his powerful father shaped the whole arc of his short life.
March 27, 2019
Solomon has earned his reputation on the strength of this work and his Beethoven biography. He takes a methodical and in depth approach to these difficult projects.
Part forensic biography, part Freudian conjecture, part musicology, and part myth buster, Solomon works hard on his craft. In this Mozart biography, the key highlight is the father-son relationship. Mozart's father Leopold was the prototypical Hollywood parent who capitalized on his gifted son. Both Mozart's parents were musicians, as was his older sister Marianne. With his two talented children, Leopold traveled throughout Europe on grand tours that lasted years. Mozart in particular was recognized as a child prodigy and his reputation and name become known throughout the courts and the music circles of Europe.
Small in stature, possessed with a quick and often banal wit, and prolific, Mozart stands at the highest levels of musics' stars. Leopold came from modest beginnings and was fixated on money. He would constantly fret and complain to his high-spirited son about the costs and challenges in staying financially afloat. These complaints were often exaggerated as Leopold was careful with his spending and was opportunistic in cashing in on the fame of his famous son. Solomon concludes that Leopold loved Mozart dearly. As Mozart transitions from child prodigy to rock star status, Leopold works to delay the inevitable separation as love, fame, and independence temps his son away from his influence. Mozart's two earliest love affairs were dashed by Leopold's disapproval. Mozart, the loving and obedient son, endures his father's overbearing and controlling impulses. Rather than direct confrontations, both father and son take a passive-aggressive approach to show displeasure or explain away hurtful behavior. Mozart, finally fed up, marries Constanze Weber, the younger sister of his first love Aloysia, without his father's consent.
Mozart endured a few career challenges in his life. He had to overcome his early fame to establish himself as a mature composer and musician. Later in life, he experienced setbacks and reversal as the whims of the musical public shifted. He ended his life with financial strain, but more due to poor money management than a rejection of his work. Mozart died at the age of 35, just a few years after the death of Leopold. His frenetic pace and early start offset his early death. He left the world with hundreds of his compositions of which many have entered into the perennial canon of music lore.
Solomon investigates the Mozart myths. Did Leopold write some of Mozart's compositions when he was a child? Was Mozart a profligate lover and unfaithful to his wife? Was Mozart impoverished at the time of his death? Was Mozart truly an eternal child? Was Mozart poisoned?
Solomon speculates that Leopold probably contributed to some of Mozart's early compositions, but that Mozart was clearly a supernatural talent and quickly surpassed his father's talent. Solomon guesses that Mozart did stray from his marital bed, but that his sexual excesses were probably less than some of his more salacious biographers claim. Although Mozart was struggling financially at the time of his death, he was still producing music that was popular and produced significant income. Solomon believes the eternal child myth is exaggerated, but leaves the door open to the question. His controlling father served as a guiding force to temper his exuberant son. After Leopold's death, Mozart may have reverted to childish and unwise behavior when faced with freedom from his critical parent. Regarding the poisoning question, Solomon touches on the matter but has no medical evidence to support this myth.
Solomon uses the many letters between father and son, Mozart to his sister, and Mozart to his wife to study this enigmatic genius. Mozart was fond of word play, encryption, double entendre, bathroom humor, and riddles. He was an enthusiastic and active member of the free masons. Mozart lived an abundant life despite its short duration. He captured fame, experience great love, produced enduring work and established his mark of one of the greatest geniuses in history.
Joy, love, loss, inner turmoil, romance, betrayal and hope are among the emotions that Mozart's music symbolizes. While Beethoven's music instills feelings of angst and violent emotions, Mozart's music is filled with exuberant love, optimism and majestic beauty. Solomon attempts to decipher the music as it relates to the moods, intentions and subliminal messages from Mozart. Genius is difficult to understand, but Solomon, as with his Beethoven biography, succeeds on many levels.
Solomon is careful with his subject. He does not take advantage of the more interesting Mozart myths to entertain his readers. Instead he offers more pragmatic theories on Mozart's important relationships, his career choices, his emotional state and his financial status using supporting documents and letters to substantiate these ideas. Without the more interesting and speculative myths, Solomon's biographies are a tad dry. Considering the limits of understanding historical figures whose stories have been distorted over time to make them more folksy, Solomon provides a realistic and careful study of his larger-than-life subjects.
Part forensic biography, part Freudian conjecture, part musicology, and part myth buster, Solomon works hard on his craft. In this Mozart biography, the key highlight is the father-son relationship. Mozart's father Leopold was the prototypical Hollywood parent who capitalized on his gifted son. Both Mozart's parents were musicians, as was his older sister Marianne. With his two talented children, Leopold traveled throughout Europe on grand tours that lasted years. Mozart in particular was recognized as a child prodigy and his reputation and name become known throughout the courts and the music circles of Europe.
Small in stature, possessed with a quick and often banal wit, and prolific, Mozart stands at the highest levels of musics' stars. Leopold came from modest beginnings and was fixated on money. He would constantly fret and complain to his high-spirited son about the costs and challenges in staying financially afloat. These complaints were often exaggerated as Leopold was careful with his spending and was opportunistic in cashing in on the fame of his famous son. Solomon concludes that Leopold loved Mozart dearly. As Mozart transitions from child prodigy to rock star status, Leopold works to delay the inevitable separation as love, fame, and independence temps his son away from his influence. Mozart's two earliest love affairs were dashed by Leopold's disapproval. Mozart, the loving and obedient son, endures his father's overbearing and controlling impulses. Rather than direct confrontations, both father and son take a passive-aggressive approach to show displeasure or explain away hurtful behavior. Mozart, finally fed up, marries Constanze Weber, the younger sister of his first love Aloysia, without his father's consent.
Mozart endured a few career challenges in his life. He had to overcome his early fame to establish himself as a mature composer and musician. Later in life, he experienced setbacks and reversal as the whims of the musical public shifted. He ended his life with financial strain, but more due to poor money management than a rejection of his work. Mozart died at the age of 35, just a few years after the death of Leopold. His frenetic pace and early start offset his early death. He left the world with hundreds of his compositions of which many have entered into the perennial canon of music lore.
Solomon investigates the Mozart myths. Did Leopold write some of Mozart's compositions when he was a child? Was Mozart a profligate lover and unfaithful to his wife? Was Mozart impoverished at the time of his death? Was Mozart truly an eternal child? Was Mozart poisoned?
Solomon speculates that Leopold probably contributed to some of Mozart's early compositions, but that Mozart was clearly a supernatural talent and quickly surpassed his father's talent. Solomon guesses that Mozart did stray from his marital bed, but that his sexual excesses were probably less than some of his more salacious biographers claim. Although Mozart was struggling financially at the time of his death, he was still producing music that was popular and produced significant income. Solomon believes the eternal child myth is exaggerated, but leaves the door open to the question. His controlling father served as a guiding force to temper his exuberant son. After Leopold's death, Mozart may have reverted to childish and unwise behavior when faced with freedom from his critical parent. Regarding the poisoning question, Solomon touches on the matter but has no medical evidence to support this myth.
Solomon uses the many letters between father and son, Mozart to his sister, and Mozart to his wife to study this enigmatic genius. Mozart was fond of word play, encryption, double entendre, bathroom humor, and riddles. He was an enthusiastic and active member of the free masons. Mozart lived an abundant life despite its short duration. He captured fame, experience great love, produced enduring work and established his mark of one of the greatest geniuses in history.
Joy, love, loss, inner turmoil, romance, betrayal and hope are among the emotions that Mozart's music symbolizes. While Beethoven's music instills feelings of angst and violent emotions, Mozart's music is filled with exuberant love, optimism and majestic beauty. Solomon attempts to decipher the music as it relates to the moods, intentions and subliminal messages from Mozart. Genius is difficult to understand, but Solomon, as with his Beethoven biography, succeeds on many levels.
Solomon is careful with his subject. He does not take advantage of the more interesting Mozart myths to entertain his readers. Instead he offers more pragmatic theories on Mozart's important relationships, his career choices, his emotional state and his financial status using supporting documents and letters to substantiate these ideas. Without the more interesting and speculative myths, Solomon's biographies are a tad dry. Considering the limits of understanding historical figures whose stories have been distorted over time to make them more folksy, Solomon provides a realistic and careful study of his larger-than-life subjects.
May 10, 2007
i don't know how much of this is based on fact, but it makes learning something about mozart's life and made it a great story. i guess it is a good place to start if you are a fiction reader who wants to learn something about a real person.
Want to read
April 8, 2007I got a recommendation to read this from the Teaching Company lecture on Mozart's life. The professor said this was the best book on Mozart.
August 23, 2015
Sorry, I hated it. Tedious, boring psychobabble.
April 23, 2021
Maynard Solomon wrote page-turner-type biographies. I wish he'd written more before he died. I highly recommend everything he wrote!
November 7, 2022
Probably the best Mozart biography for someone who is serious about the topic. It goes well along the old piede of Hildesheimer. And it could also complement deeper books on the subject
May 26, 2025
Detailed and dense. I generally enjoyed it and the insights into Mozart’s life, more so than his music, which not surprisingly, focuses mostly on his operas. Then you run into paragraphs like this one on page 195 (admittedly, this was the most over-the-top) that you will probably need to re-read multiple times or just decide to skip/gloss over:
Musical meaning is inexhaustible, and interpretation can become a process of perpetual semiosis, the endless unfolding of legitimate implications. Clearly, at such a crossroads of intersecting possibilities, we will need both a road map and a compass. Without losing sight of the galaxy of possibilities, however, there may be something to be learned about Mozart’s adagio/andante archetype from a more restricted, psychological perspective. The felicitous states that frame Mozart's excursions into anxiety may represent a variety of utopian modalities, and the impinging, disturbing materials may be taken to represent a variety of fearful things — the hidden layers of the unconscious, the terrors of the external world, a principle of evil, the pain of loss, or the irrevocability of death. An argument can be made, however, that in the last analysis we bring to the entire continuum of such states derivatives of feelings having their origin in early stages of our lives, and in particular the preverbal state of symbiotic fusion of infant and mother, a matrix that constitutes an infancy-Eden of unsurpassable beauty but also a state completely vulnerable to terrors of separation, loss, and even fears of potential annihilation, a state that inevitably terminates in parting, which even under the most favorable circumstances leaves a residue of grief and melancholy, engendering a desire — wrapped in the likelihood of further disillusionment — to rediscover anew the sensations of undifferentiated fusion with a nurturing caretaker. Not without good reason, the British psychoanalyst D. W. Winnicott described a baby as "an immature being who is all the time on the brink of unthinkable anxiety," an anxiety that is kept at bay only through a mother's ongoing, mirroring validation of the infant's existence. It may be such a precarious moment where expressible ecstasy collides with unthinkable anxiety that we sense in the Andante of Mozart's A-minor Sonata, which, reduced to its simplest essence, tells a story about trouble in paradise.
Keep your dictionary handy and be prepared to renew if you picked this up at your library. An accomplishment to finish reading!
Musical meaning is inexhaustible, and interpretation can become a process of perpetual semiosis, the endless unfolding of legitimate implications. Clearly, at such a crossroads of intersecting possibilities, we will need both a road map and a compass. Without losing sight of the galaxy of possibilities, however, there may be something to be learned about Mozart’s adagio/andante archetype from a more restricted, psychological perspective. The felicitous states that frame Mozart's excursions into anxiety may represent a variety of utopian modalities, and the impinging, disturbing materials may be taken to represent a variety of fearful things — the hidden layers of the unconscious, the terrors of the external world, a principle of evil, the pain of loss, or the irrevocability of death. An argument can be made, however, that in the last analysis we bring to the entire continuum of such states derivatives of feelings having their origin in early stages of our lives, and in particular the preverbal state of symbiotic fusion of infant and mother, a matrix that constitutes an infancy-Eden of unsurpassable beauty but also a state completely vulnerable to terrors of separation, loss, and even fears of potential annihilation, a state that inevitably terminates in parting, which even under the most favorable circumstances leaves a residue of grief and melancholy, engendering a desire — wrapped in the likelihood of further disillusionment — to rediscover anew the sensations of undifferentiated fusion with a nurturing caretaker. Not without good reason, the British psychoanalyst D. W. Winnicott described a baby as "an immature being who is all the time on the brink of unthinkable anxiety," an anxiety that is kept at bay only through a mother's ongoing, mirroring validation of the infant's existence. It may be such a precarious moment where expressible ecstasy collides with unthinkable anxiety that we sense in the Andante of Mozart's A-minor Sonata, which, reduced to its simplest essence, tells a story about trouble in paradise.
Keep your dictionary handy and be prepared to renew if you picked this up at your library. An accomplishment to finish reading!
March 7, 2018
Maynard Solomon's biography of, perhaps, history's most talented musician, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, is as thorough as it is fascinating. There's much that I didn't understand, not being a professional musician, but I found that keeping my iPad close by as Solomon analyzed many of Mozart's works, so that I could listen to them, was extremely helpful and enlightening...and enjoyable!
Mozart was a truly complex human being: from a dysfunctionally enmeshed family; exhibiting a genius talent from early age; at the same time, a morally flawed individual, but also, in his own way, a principled man; an exceedingly innovative purveyor and creator of some of the most beautiful, emotionally touching, outstanding music ever composed.
With the following words in the Introduction, Solomon beautifully "sets the stage" for, then proceeds through some 500+ pages to spell out the[short] life & times of this musical giant:
"A beloved son -- a favorite son -- was disinherited by his own city [Salzburg]. And this same beloved son was effectively disinherited by his father as well -- in more than a metaphoric sense -- when he was no longer willing to play the part that had been scripted for him as a child...Mozart was faced with extreme alternatives: submission to injustice or expulsion from his family. The issues were the same, capitulation or exile, a state of perpetual childhood or the anguish of enforced isolation, on the one hand: Mozart's yearning to continue as a dutiful member of a symbiotic family and hometown that offered gifts of approval, love, and the validation of his identity; on the other, a sense of homelessness, a profound melancholy rising from the renunciation of responsibilities and the sundering of his closest human connections. After years of inner and outer conflict, Mozart at last made his choice and thereby became almost a non-person in his birthplace -- estranged from his sister, rejected by his father, and uncelebrated by his compatriots. We will want to know what were the compensations for these losses. In what follows we may come to see the disinheriting of Mozart as a source of his empowerment, as the emblem of a recalcitrant bravery, and even, perhaps, as a precondition of his creativity."
Mozart was a truly complex human being: from a dysfunctionally enmeshed family; exhibiting a genius talent from early age; at the same time, a morally flawed individual, but also, in his own way, a principled man; an exceedingly innovative purveyor and creator of some of the most beautiful, emotionally touching, outstanding music ever composed.
With the following words in the Introduction, Solomon beautifully "sets the stage" for, then proceeds through some 500+ pages to spell out the[short] life & times of this musical giant:
"A beloved son -- a favorite son -- was disinherited by his own city [Salzburg]. And this same beloved son was effectively disinherited by his father as well -- in more than a metaphoric sense -- when he was no longer willing to play the part that had been scripted for him as a child...Mozart was faced with extreme alternatives: submission to injustice or expulsion from his family. The issues were the same, capitulation or exile, a state of perpetual childhood or the anguish of enforced isolation, on the one hand: Mozart's yearning to continue as a dutiful member of a symbiotic family and hometown that offered gifts of approval, love, and the validation of his identity; on the other, a sense of homelessness, a profound melancholy rising from the renunciation of responsibilities and the sundering of his closest human connections. After years of inner and outer conflict, Mozart at last made his choice and thereby became almost a non-person in his birthplace -- estranged from his sister, rejected by his father, and uncelebrated by his compatriots. We will want to know what were the compensations for these losses. In what follows we may come to see the disinheriting of Mozart as a source of his empowerment, as the emblem of a recalcitrant bravery, and even, perhaps, as a precondition of his creativity."
February 13, 2024
This was very close to a masterpiece for me. The biographical sections of this book are amazing. I first got interested in Mozart after watching the movie Amadeus, which is completely made-up, but it still showed me a side of Mozart one wouldn't expect if they don't know about him and that it his sense of humor.
Solomon goes into any side of Mozart you can ask for - his birth, humor, compositions, love interests, death, relationships, finances, wardrobe. The only thing I didn't learn was what Mozart's apartments were like. To me Mozart was an incredibly interesting person. He was a child prodigy, but never became rich even in his adult life. He was a fan of scatological and sexual humor yet he was terribly depressed in some parts of his life.
A huge portion of this book talks about his father as well and their relationship. The first two chapters had me wondering if this book was about the right Mozart. Solomon employs a lot of Freudian psychology which for some modern readers might not work well, but I think he always does a good job of providing evidence to back up his case. There's a lot of letters quoted here from Mozart and all of his relations.
The parts I was not such a huge fan of were based on Mozart's works. Solomon obviously adores Mozart, but his analysis could sometimes be a little masturbatory. It would probably be better if you know Mozart's works very well, but I obviously don't. I did get an idea however to start going through Mozart's stuff because of how much I love this guy without even thinking about his music. Solomon also tends to be at his worst when talking about Mozart's music in terms of jumping through logical hoops to apply his Freudian philosophy to Mozart.
My understanding of Mozart and his life is a lot clearer now for sure. It's easier to see now why he was not very successful financially in his lifetime, and why he was more popularly admired after his death.
Solomon goes into any side of Mozart you can ask for - his birth, humor, compositions, love interests, death, relationships, finances, wardrobe. The only thing I didn't learn was what Mozart's apartments were like. To me Mozart was an incredibly interesting person. He was a child prodigy, but never became rich even in his adult life. He was a fan of scatological and sexual humor yet he was terribly depressed in some parts of his life.
A huge portion of this book talks about his father as well and their relationship. The first two chapters had me wondering if this book was about the right Mozart. Solomon employs a lot of Freudian psychology which for some modern readers might not work well, but I think he always does a good job of providing evidence to back up his case. There's a lot of letters quoted here from Mozart and all of his relations.
The parts I was not such a huge fan of were based on Mozart's works. Solomon obviously adores Mozart, but his analysis could sometimes be a little masturbatory. It would probably be better if you know Mozart's works very well, but I obviously don't. I did get an idea however to start going through Mozart's stuff because of how much I love this guy without even thinking about his music. Solomon also tends to be at his worst when talking about Mozart's music in terms of jumping through logical hoops to apply his Freudian philosophy to Mozart.
My understanding of Mozart and his life is a lot clearer now for sure. It's easier to see now why he was not very successful financially in his lifetime, and why he was more popularly admired after his death.
September 9, 2025
Reading this book was a labor of love, at first. I bought it as a teenager and kept it on the shelves for years, intent on reading this massive volume about one of my idols. It was at first exactly as I thought it might be - excessively detailed, overly researched, an academic and scholarly tone, and a literary flow similar to a college textbook. I can't fault Solomon at all. The amount of research he did for this biography? Beyond impressive. He wanted to show the world everything he had learned about Mozart. And why not? He approached this work like a detective, and showed his work off for the first 400 pages like he was crime mapping. And he might have figured the only ones to read the book would be his fellow colleagues in the musical and academic world. I consider myself an amateur musician, and I had difficulty following some of his detailed musical breakdowns of some of Mozart's work.
So be it. I kept on. And of course, Solomon saved the impactful writing for the last 100 pages or so. His account of the final years of Mozart's life was honestly some of the best biographical writing I've ever encountered. I came seeking more than information about Mozart, I wanted inspiration and depth. I found that in the "Endings" section of the book. Beautifully done. And I knew it had shifted to beautiful, because I started underlining passages and marking up the final pages, including this line: "Mozart is one of those rare creative beings who comes to disturb the sleep of the world."
I'm grateful I finally made the effort to finish this book after it gathered dust for so many years. Not for the faint of heart, and not for everyone, but for a big Mozart/classical music/Vienna fan like me? Required reading.
So be it. I kept on. And of course, Solomon saved the impactful writing for the last 100 pages or so. His account of the final years of Mozart's life was honestly some of the best biographical writing I've ever encountered. I came seeking more than information about Mozart, I wanted inspiration and depth. I found that in the "Endings" section of the book. Beautifully done. And I knew it had shifted to beautiful, because I started underlining passages and marking up the final pages, including this line: "Mozart is one of those rare creative beings who comes to disturb the sleep of the world."
I'm grateful I finally made the effort to finish this book after it gathered dust for so many years. Not for the faint of heart, and not for everyone, but for a big Mozart/classical music/Vienna fan like me? Required reading.
May 13, 2018
I was initially intimidated by the sheer size of this book, but I got through it rather quickly because it is entirely readable. Mind you, I don’t read music, nor am I fluent in musical rhetoric, so I skimmed the chapters that addressed the structures of Mozart’s compositions. This is definitely a Freudian biography, as Mozart’s father influenced his entire life in both positive and negative ways. I certainly felt that Leopold Mozart was a brute and the book could have been subtitled, “Your most obedient son.” “The stakes were never reasonable in Mozart family contests: the slightest deviation from the father’s will was taken as an act of treachery.” Not to mention, “…the pathological domination, the mercenary exploitation, the endless recriminations, the piling up of guilt, and the insistence that Mozart was an eternal debtor…”
Regardless of how Leopold’s shadow loomed over Mozart, even when he married and started his own family, there is no denying he raised a prodigy. As Mozart’s compositional skills matured and his musical sophistication surpassed the public’s discernment, he became unappreciated in his own lifetime. There is a sadness that pervades the final chapters as his gifts were only esteemed by a scant few who could truly grasp the complexity of Mozart’s music. Overall, this is a comprehensive portrait of a rare, if troubled genius who was taken from this world too soon.
Regardless of how Leopold’s shadow loomed over Mozart, even when he married and started his own family, there is no denying he raised a prodigy. As Mozart’s compositional skills matured and his musical sophistication surpassed the public’s discernment, he became unappreciated in his own lifetime. There is a sadness that pervades the final chapters as his gifts were only esteemed by a scant few who could truly grasp the complexity of Mozart’s music. Overall, this is a comprehensive portrait of a rare, if troubled genius who was taken from this world too soon.
November 10, 2018
This is a 650 pages brick, dense and better read at a leisurely pace. I really enjoyed it because it put a lot of stuff I already knew in context and with a sense of continuity.
Some example of things that surprised me :
After Mozart left Salzburg, the town kind of ignored him, for example when he died the local newspaper barely mentioned the fact. Think of how much Mozart is now used as a tourist attraction there now..
Marianne (Mozart slightly older sister) lived to 78 years old. But she barely had any contact with Mozart after he left for Vienna. This was sad to learn after they had been so close in their younger years.
Mozart had leaner years but in 1791 he was in a burst of creativity, I am sure like many people before me I can only wonder what extraordinary music we would have had he lived a few more years.
On the less good side:
I understand that biographer/historian need to use the available material (Mozart letters, contemporary newspaper, etc. but the book does not have much about the musicians around Mozart. I will seek if such a book exists. The book also contains some ‘analysis’ chapter and although one I really liked (why Mozart music is so beautiful and sad) several of them interrupt the flow of the story and are bit too ‘psycho babble’ for my taste. It is normal to speculate about Mozart relationship to his father but it went overboard (in my humble opinion)
Some example of things that surprised me :
After Mozart left Salzburg, the town kind of ignored him, for example when he died the local newspaper barely mentioned the fact. Think of how much Mozart is now used as a tourist attraction there now..
Marianne (Mozart slightly older sister) lived to 78 years old. But she barely had any contact with Mozart after he left for Vienna. This was sad to learn after they had been so close in their younger years.
Mozart had leaner years but in 1791 he was in a burst of creativity, I am sure like many people before me I can only wonder what extraordinary music we would have had he lived a few more years.
On the less good side:
I understand that biographer/historian need to use the available material (Mozart letters, contemporary newspaper, etc. but the book does not have much about the musicians around Mozart. I will seek if such a book exists. The book also contains some ‘analysis’ chapter and although one I really liked (why Mozart music is so beautiful and sad) several of them interrupt the flow of the story and are bit too ‘psycho babble’ for my taste. It is normal to speculate about Mozart relationship to his father but it went overboard (in my humble opinion)
May 25, 2021
Short summary:
- arrogant
- pompous
- well-researched
Other reviewers (e.g. Barnaby Thieme) have already articulately described how badly the author careens toward psychoanalysis. At the outset, it didn't seem so bad, but it became a deepening aggravation with every chapter, as Solomon explained the emotions and subconscious desires animating Mozart and his father. I spent half the book shaking my head and exasperatedly grunting, "As if he knows". Because, there are skyscraper towers of conjecture built on suppositions that are simply impossible to verify. Which gets at my choice of 'arrogant' -- it was the word that kept popping into my mind as I read the book. Arrogant to pretend to know another man's mind and heart. Arrogant to present it in this fashion. It spoils a non-fiction book when so much of its content is reliant upon the author's psychoanalytic suppositions.
Not that it matters, but I want to complain about the last chapter, while I'm writing a review. The final chapter is a stand-alone essay on themes in Mozart's operas. Absolute appendix material. It was disappointing, because at the end of a biography, I am looking for a summation of the person's legacy -- personally, on family, on music, etc. I want some effort to tie themes together and explain why we care enough to write and read about this person... Or, apparently, you can end a biography with a term paper on themes in Mozart's operas.
- arrogant
- pompous
- well-researched
Other reviewers (e.g. Barnaby Thieme) have already articulately described how badly the author careens toward psychoanalysis. At the outset, it didn't seem so bad, but it became a deepening aggravation with every chapter, as Solomon explained the emotions and subconscious desires animating Mozart and his father. I spent half the book shaking my head and exasperatedly grunting, "As if he knows". Because, there are skyscraper towers of conjecture built on suppositions that are simply impossible to verify. Which gets at my choice of 'arrogant' -- it was the word that kept popping into my mind as I read the book. Arrogant to pretend to know another man's mind and heart. Arrogant to present it in this fashion. It spoils a non-fiction book when so much of its content is reliant upon the author's psychoanalytic suppositions.
Not that it matters, but I want to complain about the last chapter, while I'm writing a review. The final chapter is a stand-alone essay on themes in Mozart's operas. Absolute appendix material. It was disappointing, because at the end of a biography, I am looking for a summation of the person's legacy -- personally, on family, on music, etc. I want some effort to tie themes together and explain why we care enough to write and read about this person... Or, apparently, you can end a biography with a term paper on themes in Mozart's operas.
March 17, 2025
. . . And what a life! Other than the 1984 film “Amadeus” and various documentaries on TV I’ve watched about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, I never would have imagined to learn so much more about this great musical genius who’s life was cut too short. Maynard Solomon truly takes you back in time and shows us not only on how this man lived, but he truly gives us a chance to get to know Mozart on an almost personal level. We journey with him as a child prodigy; we sympathize with him during the struggles he endures with his career and the complexities he has with his family; we celebrate with him on times of happiness; and finally we mourn for him through his times of sadness and eventual death.
Sure, there are times throughout this biography which seem that Solomon is overthinking the interpretations on the personalities of Mozart and the people he interacted with, but the truth is we can only speculate. And I think with the magnificent extensive research that was put in to this book, and with the letters written by Mozart and others, it can be fairly justified.
This biography is truly a journey. A time machine. If you love Mozart, you’ll love him even more! It’s a great biography that I feel everyone should read especially for those who love the arts and classical music. Do yourself a favor and read this. Also, I suggest you read this while listening to Mozart’s music. Believe me, it helps enhance the imagination and connects you to the man even more. You won’t regret it.
Sure, there are times throughout this biography which seem that Solomon is overthinking the interpretations on the personalities of Mozart and the people he interacted with, but the truth is we can only speculate. And I think with the magnificent extensive research that was put in to this book, and with the letters written by Mozart and others, it can be fairly justified.
This biography is truly a journey. A time machine. If you love Mozart, you’ll love him even more! It’s a great biography that I feel everyone should read especially for those who love the arts and classical music. Do yourself a favor and read this. Also, I suggest you read this while listening to Mozart’s music. Believe me, it helps enhance the imagination and connects you to the man even more. You won’t regret it.
August 18, 2017
For me, as a musician, this book was moving, inspiring, and filled my mind with amazement of all of the numerous amount of music compositions that he, Mozart,the young composer, was capable of producing within tireless amount of hours of writing what his brain created. I was able to see the intricacies of his thoughts in action when once I read how he composed and what actually motivated him to create his works of art. I actually listened to each of his music compositions once I read how he composed and presented his works through his genius using YouTube videos to appreciate all his beautiful and great works of art. Though his life ended up tragically he left to all humanity his passion, his love, the sounds that move each and every one of us emotionally. Mozart a true master for all time through the power of music.
October 20, 2021
Enlightening; a joy to read.
This book does not feel near as long as it actually is, thanks to a smart, yet accessible tone by the author. Solomon's occasional humorous moments are well earned and support the book.
My only criticism of this book is Solomon's overreliance on psychoanalytic musings to convey his points. The strengths of this book are in Solomon's skillful weaving together the narrative from many letters and documents and testimonies, and the book falters when Solomon drones on about the Freudian elements of Mozart's story. But these moments don't come often enough to ruin the book.\
Overall this book is a great entry in Mozart scholarship, and I'm glad I read it.
This book does not feel near as long as it actually is, thanks to a smart, yet accessible tone by the author. Solomon's occasional humorous moments are well earned and support the book.
My only criticism of this book is Solomon's overreliance on psychoanalytic musings to convey his points. The strengths of this book are in Solomon's skillful weaving together the narrative from many letters and documents and testimonies, and the book falters when Solomon drones on about the Freudian elements of Mozart's story. But these moments don't come often enough to ruin the book.\
Overall this book is a great entry in Mozart scholarship, and I'm glad I read it.
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