Mozart, Peter Gay
Mozart, Peter Gay
List: $12.50 | Sale: $8.75
Club: $6.25

Mozart

Author: Peter Gay

Narrator: Alexander Adams

Unabridged: 4 hr 37 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 12/21/1999


Synopsis

The greatest mind in Western music is examined by a National Book Award–winning writer on culture and psychology in this concise account of the life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The composer’s unshakable hold on the public’s fascination can only be strengthened by the historian and biographer Peter Gay’s bold new perspective.  

His passionate and painstaking research reveals truths more fascinating than the myths that have long shrouded the maestro’s life. Here is the archetypal child prodigy whose genius triumphed over early precociousness and who later broke away from a loving but tyrannical father to pursue his vision unhampered. This is the perfect biography for anyone who has ever wanted to know about Mozart but does not want to dig through massive tomes.

“[A] stunning portrait of the disparate sides of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.”—New York Times Book Review

About The Author

Peter Gay was a Sterling Professor of History, emeritus, at Yale University, the author of more than 30 widely respected books, and the winner of the National Book Award for The Rise of Modern Paganism, the first volume of his definitive work on the Enlightenment. Gay is also the author of Why the Romantics Matter, Modernism: The Lure of Heresy: from Baudelaire to Beckett and Beyond, Schnitzler's Century and many other titles. Alexander Adams is a pseudonym for narrator Grover Gardner. His most high-profile book to date is the unabridged novelization of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, recorded in a joint effort by BOT and Random House under the Adams moniker. He lives in Maryland.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Ilse

From his childhood on, ardent admirers turned Mozart into a celebrity whose life was obscured by legends. Nor have the scholarly efforts of modern biographers dislodged the images that fond music lovers like to summon up when they hear his name: Mozart the wilful child unable to outgrow his infantil......more

Summary of the Review: This review is unnecessarily long for such a short book. You can read this short summary and skip the rest if you wish: I don't think this book serves as a beginner's guide to the life of Mozart, nor as a comprehensive analysis for those who are already knowledgable on the subj......more

Goodreads review by Marc

Nice biography of Mozart, confronting the popular myths. (rating 2.5 stars)......more

I really enjoyed this book. It was very accessible and a great introduction to Mozart as well as the composers around his time (Bach and Haydn). I like the commentary his symphonies, operas, etc because they give me a great reference for what I should start listening to. My only complaint is there w......more