Mozart's Starling

By: Lyanda Lynn Haupt

Narrated by: Linda Henning

On May 27th, 1784, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart met a flirtatious little starling in a Viennese shop who sang an improvised version of the theme from his Piano Concerto no. 17 in G major. Sensing a kindred spirit in the plucky young bird, Mozart bought him and took him home to be a family pet. For three years, the starling lived with Mozart, influencing his work and serving as his companion, distraction, consolation, and muse.

Two centuries later, starlings are reviled by even the most compassionate conservationists. A nonnative, invasive species, they invade sensitive habitats, outcompete local birds for nest sites and food, and decimate crops. A seasoned birder and naturalist, Lyanda Lynn Haupt is well versed in the difficult and often strained relationships these birds have with other species and the environment. But after rescuing a baby starling of her own, Haupt found herself enchanted by the same intelligence and playful spirit that had so charmed her favorite composer.

In Mozart's Starling, Haupt explores the unlikely and remarkable bond between one of history's most cherished composers and one of earth's most common birds. The intertwined stories of Mozart's beloved pet and Haupt's own starling provide an unexpected window into human-animal friendships, music, the secret world of starlings, and the nature of creative inspiration. A blend of natural history, biography, and memoir, Mozart's Starling is a tour de force that awakens a surprising new awareness of our place in the world.

Critic reviews

"This hard-to-put-down, charming blend of science, biography, and memoir illuminating the little-known story of the composer and his beloved bird is enlivened by the immediacy of Haupt's tales of Carmen, and brimming with starling information, travelogues, and historical details about Mozart's Vienna."—Booklist (Starred Review)

"Weaving together cheerful memoir, natural history, and biography, the author celebrates her 'insatiably social' pet starling, Carmen; investigates Mozart's experience with his avian companion... and offers intriguing details about starling behavior."—Kirkus Reviews

"Stories of [Carmen's] upbringing interspersed with details about Mozart, his family and career are both delightful and interesting."—Seattle Times

"Charming and highly readable."—St. Louis Post-Dispatch

"Mozart's Starling is a delightful, enlightening, breathless flight through the worlds of Carmen and Star, two European starlings who join their human counterparts in exploring life and music and nature, helping to shed light on the connection between humans and birds -- those of us bound to terra firma, and those who are free to soar."—Garth Stein, author of The Art of Racing in the Rain and A Sudden Light

"Mozart's Starling sparkles with imagination, emotion, and insight. Common birds, who too many consider vermin, have great gifts to share. Thank you, Lyanda Lynn Haupt, for showing us the delight and magic of a starling."—Sy Montgomery, author of Birdology and The Soul of an Octopus

"Lyanda Lynn Haupt raised a starling of her own to see if the tale of Mozart and his starling could be true. Her experience brings the legend of musician and bird into our present world where science rules. Yet even today, the song of the starling, but a minute in length, lies at the very limits of human comprehension. Read the book and you will learn why."—David Rothenberg, author of Why Birds Sing and Survival of the Beautiful

Fascinating and very well written

The publisher’s summary intrigued me… I love Mozart, but knew nothing about starlings. Now, after reading this book, I have a much greater appreciation of both — and of the author. Unique and very enjoyable book.

Multi-Dimensional

A very encompassing read which I enjoyed on a number of levels. This book gets a BIG yes from me.

Great book, disappointing reader

This is a terrific story. If only Ms Henning had done her homework. So many mispronounced words: recitative (she pronounced it re-SIT-ta-tiv. it’s Italian, the “c” is pronounced “ch”, final syllable “teeve” gets the accent), pedal pianoforte (she pronounced it pe-DAHL piano-for-TAH - what???), Papageno (she pronounced it Papa-jeeno - it’s Papa-Gay-no), same problem with Papagena, Köchel (she pronounced it Koh-kul - it’s German), accelerando (she pronounced it like the English accelerate, it’s Italian). Where was the editor/producer who should have caught these errors? Any student of music would know the correct pronunciations. I finally stopped listening and read the printed book - a much better experience.

Wonderful!

Gives a whole new perspective on Mozart and on Starlings. I so enjoyed this book. Now, I want a Starling.

Delightful

I’m not sure what I was expecting when I selected this book. Im not a huge fan of Mozart, but I do love history and we recently put some bird feeders out in our yard. I was drawn in immediately. The mixture of personal with historical was delightful and fascinating to me.