Customer Reviews

The Mozart Myths: A Critical Reassessment

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This book is really a piece of work. The author clearly relishes retelling the many ludicrous myths surrounding W.A. Mozart, and the retelling, more so than the delightful debunking of the stories, is the really wonderful part of this book. That said, the debunking is pretty cool too, and will give you a pretty good overview of the biographical literature on Mozart to boot. My favorite tale is the one spun by the wife of General VonLudendorff (yes, one of the Heroes of Tannenburg), a Naziess, about how the freemasons (not Salieri!) poisoned Mozart because, as a nascent german nationalist, he had decided to turn his back on their international brotherhood.

From first page to last, Mr Stafford delivers as promised, a thorough review of primary as well as secondary sources. I couldn't help but be amazed at the omnipresence of the idiotic gossip that has masqueraded for centuries as "revelations" of Mozart's life and work, now unmasked by Mr Stafford. Essential in any library of Mozart biography!

I acquired this book over a year ago and I'm still reading a lot of detail that seems to be more accurate. It allows one to have an open mind, especially when comparing Mozart's life to some of the more popular movies such as Amadeus.