Mozart

By: Peter Gay

Narrated by: Alexander Adams

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

Not A Light Weight but Interesting

I suspect those with a casual interest in Mozart or classical music may find this a bit long and boring but for the serious classical music listener this this a tour de force and well worth listening to. Author provides a greater, in depth look at Mozart's life through his letters and other historical material. Fans of the movie "Amadeus" may well be disappointed at that piece of Hollywood fiction. Well narrated.

very entertaining overview of Mozart's life

This is a short, well-organized review of Mozart's life, well-read & with good audio momentum. It touches on Mozart's childhood, key relationships with his father & sister, the "business" of being a child prodigy & later, an aspiring composer of symphony, incidental music & opera, marriage, & financial machinations. If you don't know a lot about Mozart, this is an excellent introduction. It treads lightly on music theory & analysis, which is a good thing. It could not be so short & do that. And Audible has a couple of other titles that attempt to do that, more broadly than just Mozart of course, if you want to go down that road.