What's Mozart's best biography (book)?

[Cristina Encinar San Martin]

Hello,
congratulations for this place, sorry for my english.
I'd like to know what's in your opinion the best and most complete biography of Mozart that can be find in the bookstores (if it's possible, well written). I have taken a look at the list that this page offers, but I am a bit lost. I ask this because I am now trying to buy one in Spain.
Thank you

[Anne-Louise Luccarini]

Have a look at the books by Robert W Gutman and the huge Abert recently reissued in a new English translation with notes by Cliff Eisen. The following discussions on this forum also offer various very useful opinions and advice, particularly concerning the Sadie biography (N.B. two separate links - in the abbreviated form you can't see that they are different):

http://www.mozartforum.com/VB_forum/...ight=biography
http://www.mozartforum.com/VB_forum/...ight=biography

[Cristina Encinar San Martin]

Thank you Anne-Louise for the answer, the links you wrote will be very useful. I think you mention this book: Gutman, Robert W. , Mozart: A Cultural Biography , Harcourt Brace & Co., New York , 1999 ISBN 0-15-100482-X 839 pgs.
Sorry, i can't find in the list the other one you mention.

[Astrifiammante]

Please, find below a link for the second book:
http://www.amazon.fr/W-Mozart-Herman...7476109&sr=1-1

Greetings from Athens - Greece
Penelope Pappas

[Anne-Louise Luccarini]

Because Wolfgang is not its central focus I didn't at first mention the book I consider to be the best of all, but I can't resist it. For impeccable scholarship, intelligent analysis and genuine, detailed, relevant information based on the verifiable facts, Ruth Halliwell's book The Mozart Family: Four Lives in a Social Context is without equal. Gutman, for all his air of authority, makes factual errors and often draws questionable conclusions. The Halliwell book is also incredibly readable - not at all pompous, but as keen as a scalpel.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mozart-Famil.../dp/0198163711

[dnleeson]

I agree with Anne-Louise that the Halliwell volume surpasses all previous books on Mozart. In addition to restating many things that are present in previous biographies, she adds an enormous amount of history surrounding the family and deals in subject that have never appeared in any earlier biography.

While Mozart's music never grows old, biographies of him do, and new research about Mozart, his family, and their lives turns up important information practically on a daily basis.

Dan Leeson

[Cristina Encinar San Martin]

Thank you so much for the advices and the links wich carry so much information.
Then I suppose that the most complete and well written biographies of Mozart are in english, it’s a pity that I can’t find them written in spanish.

And I agree with Anne-Louise, I think that folllowing the dicussions on the forum provides lot of extra help in reading those books. But anyway, I think by the things you say here that there is not yet a really complete, detailed and well written unique book, I mean, just one. That’s why it would be nice and useful to make a collage with all of them and compose the most complete and detailed biography of Mozart. Do you know why dont’ publishers make this? Or let's us do a list of the best books (3-4 maximum, if possible) for all the people that like to know Mozart's life, work and thoughts in a complet and well written way.

Apart from that question, I have three questions, too, here comes the first:
Anne-Louise, you said this: “Gutman, for all his air of authority, makes factual errors and often draws questionable conclusions.”. Because my knowledge of Mozart is not as good or deep as yours, I would like to know what errors and questions are those you mention.
Here’s the second: I have recently got/gotten Landon’s “1791. Mozart’s last year” in spanish, what’s your opinion about it? If you want, we can make a new post and invite to talk about this book in particular.
And the third: I have lately seen in internet this book, but I am allways afraid and I usually get upset of the novels based on real history, because sometimes one doesn’t know what is invented and what not. Do you know it? It’s Rita Charbonnier’s “Nannerl, Mozart’s sister”, here goes the link :
http://www.amazon.com/Mozarts-Sister...7564874&sr=1-1

And agreeing with Dan, of course Mozart’s music doesn’t get old.

[ryanlock2u]

I would suggest Peter Gay's biography of Mozart (Penguin Publications). It's a fairly short read, but it's a good one.

[Anne-Louise Luccarini]

Originally Posted by Pan y Mantequilloide

Apart from that question, I have three questions, too, here comes the first:
Anne-Louise, you said this: “Gutman, for all his air of authority, makes factual errors and often draws questionable conclusions.”. Because my knowledge of Mozart is not as good or deep as yours, I would like to know what errors and questions are those you mention.
Here’s the second: I have recently got/gotten Landon’s “1791. Mozart’s last year” in spanish, what’s your opinion about it? If you want, we can make a new post and invite to talk about this book in particular.
And the third: I have lately seen in internet this book, but I am allways afraid and I usually get upset of the novels based on real history, because sometimes one doesn’t know what is invented and what not. Do you know it? It’s Rita Charbonnier’s “Nannerl, Mozart’s sister”
.

1) Having made that statement I should be ready to back it up with examples, but without spending hours on it I can't, as I abandoned Gutman as a source as soon as I began picking up excerpts from his book on the internet. However, I keep coming across things, and will post them when I get a few together. Meanwhile, here's something which partly shows what I'm talking about, as regards the writing style. As for the historical detail, I've discovered from my own research that it's not always as accurate as voluminous.

http://www.epinions.com/content_81365798532

2) I haven't read "Mozart's Last Year", but it's universally admired.
3) Rita Charbonnier's book is an extremely highly-coloured romantic novel, with very little historical or biographical accuracy, I'd be tempted to say none.

[linceed87]

i havent read the novel you said, but, if you want a wonderful novel pick up the assasination of mozart , is great, aside from that, yes, mozarts last year is one of the best out there i think, but you got to have previous experiences with biografies of mozart or mozarts life and his music, but you should definetly should read it
my best
mau

[Cristina Encinar San Martin]

Thank you Anne-Louise for the link, and I understand what you mean about Gutman's and Charbonnier's books. Haven't read Gay's one.

So I suppose that we have at least two books that could be added to the list of the most complete and well written biographies of Mozart:

1- Ruth Halliwell: The Mozart Family: Four Lives in a Social Context
2- H.C.Robbins Landon: 1791. Mozart's last year.

So who can add a third one to complete the vision this two others offer?

[Cristina Encinar San Martin]

So, following the post about the relevance of Mozart's music, we can then add Gay's book at the list:

1- Ruth Halliwell: The Mozart Family: Four Lives in a Social Context
2- H.C.Robbins Landon: 1791. Mozart's last year.
3- Peter Gay: Mozart.

[Cristina Encinar San Martin]

Has anyone read this book?

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Massin, Jean & Massin, Brigitte, Turner editions, 2003[1990], 1294 pages.

http://www.amazon.com/Wolfgang-Amade...8168041&sr=1-1

[Anne-Louise Luccarini]

Originally Posted by Pan y Mantequilloide

Has anyone read this book?

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Massin, Jean & Massin, Brigitte, Turner editions, 2003[1990], 1294 pages.

http://www.amazon.com/Wolfgang-Amade...8168041&sr=1-1

Yes, I have it in French, in that 1990 edition, which was the last updating before Madame Massin's death (her husband died in 1986). It's a magnificent work, which was the standard, until fresh research inevitably overtook it in recent years. The first part (half the book) is biography, the second part musicology, also giving the historical background to each of the compositions. It's exhaustively cross-referenced, and there are copiously detailed timelines and genealogical tables. Very pleased to see it's been translated; would that someone would do likewise in the other direction for Ruth Halliwell's book!

The Massins were very distinguished musicologists, who collaborated on a book on Beethoven and edited a History of Western Music. Brigitte Massin was also the author of Schubert, and an essay on Olivier Messiaen's music.

[jhs545]

I’ve been meaning to ask about the first book about Mozart that I bought. It’s not mentioned in the Library section and no one has ever mentioned it. Not being very knowledgeable about music (or Mozart) I am curious what our more learned members think of Eric Blom’s “Mozart”. (I have the second edition – a well-worn pocketbook size book that even a poor student could afford back in the mid-60s.)

I find that some writers are somewhat critical of particular pieces that I happen to enjoy but Blom thinks and writes well of them. It’s always nice to know that someone shares my good taste!

So has anyone out there read it? How accurate are the history and musical analysis?

John

[Cristina Encinar San Martin]

I haven't read it, but I'll note the reference, it seems interesting.

[Gary Smith]

Hi all,

Eric Blom’s book Mozart was part of The Master Musicians series, originally published in 1935, reprinted without changes three further times, and then reprinted with revisions again in 1962. Eric Blom writes very well and the book is easy to read. Though having been written some 74 years ago, a lot of new biographical and musical forensics information has surfaced, making this book obsolescent in those areas.

Having said that, Mr. Blom’s discussion of the music as music is still a worthwhile read, and his thoughts and insights are still worthy of consideration. So, should one see a copy floating around at a good price, I’d advise you to acquire it.

Just as a taste, I’ll quote these lines from his book concerning Süssmayr‘s efforts with Mozart’s Requiem:

:…it is not always easy to decide merely from what the ear receives where Mozart leaves off and Süssmayr begins, and without the room to go deeply into the matter here, I may as well draw attention to the fact that nobody will ever be able to decide with the aid of the autograph score either, even if Süssmayr’s handwriting were less disconcertingly like Mozart’s own. For it must be born in mind that we cannot possibly know how many sketches on loose sheets of music paper may have been made by Mozart and destroyed by his pupil….we have no right to declare roundly that the master himself did not invent the ‘Sanctus’ and ‘Benedicus’ simply because nothing of them is preserved in his hand. We might as well say that it cannot be true that Bach wrote a Passion according to St. Mark.”

“…If the ‘Sanctus’ with the suspiciously short ‘Osanna’ fugue are really wholly by Süssmayr, they are at least successfully in the vein of Mozart’s worldly-ecclesiastical manner of the Salzburg period. On the other hand, it is hard to believe that the ‘Benedicus’ was not at least extensively sketched by Mozart. Surely only he could have devised so simple and yet so thrilling a cadential climax as that at the end of this number. At any rate it takes a greater master than Süssmayr to do this, one would think. And a greater one -- just one -- did do it much later in another Requiem. His name was Giuseppe Verdi.”

Food for thought, if nothing else.

Regards,

Gary Smith