Reviews (1)

Excellent
After reading all the books about Mozart, finally a book about Constanze Mozart and her life after Moz's death. The affair with the Requiem is frustrating and strange, but the author tries as much as he can with historical accuracy to solve the mystery. Of course, there is no solution. Mozart's Requiem and who really wrote it and why still remains unknown. Gartner persuades that perhaps Constanze had a secret reason for keeping a cover on the real reason behind the Requiem's origin and purpose. Her odd behavior after Mozart's death, and dealings with Sussmayer and others involved at the end, as well as the story behind the "Gray Messenger" are revealed in fascinating detail in this book. The story is rich in detail, at times a little confusing because of all the people involved, such as Moz's publisher,and Count Stuppach (who commissioned the Requiem in secret) and other interesting personalities with whom Constanze Mozart interacted in a secret mission involving the Requiem. If you think that you've read all the books about Mozart that are available, read this one. It adds a new dimension to the fact that Mozart's death may have been untimely and unnatural. ... Read more

Book Description

The "Easy Biographies" series focuses on the childhood and young-adult years of famous men and women who overcame obstacles to achieve greatness.Inspirational and informative reading for students with big dreams. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

It hit the right note for me
I found this book useful as a homeschooling mother attempting to expose my children to classical music and make sense, for myself, of a wide world for which I haven't (up till now) been able to find a decent map. I had eight years (years ago) of piano lessons, very little listening experience during the time I took them, and definitely nobody ever sat down and said things like "listen how the piano comes in here, plays for a few bars, and then you expect it to break into the second major theme of this piece--but Mozart plays a little joke here, he starts out playing it in such-and-such a minor key which isn't really substantial enough to go on for too long, so then he gets down to business and changes it back into a major key."  (I'm paraphrasing Harris here.)  Could I say I've been listening-challenged most of my life and I really do need someone to spoon-feed me with some of those details?  Mozart, for me, was nice to listen to and got me through eight hours of labour, but I've never seen one of his concertos written out blow-by-blow.

I also like this book as an introduction to listening to classical music in general.  What to listen for, as the title says.  Why on earth this concerto is supposed to be better than that one.  Why Mozart decided to do this for twenty bars instead of something completely different.  I liked Harris's comment that the Piano Concerto #21 would give you--if you listen carefully enough--enough listening for a whole lifetime.  (The same idea as being able to read Jane Austen repeatedly and enjoy her books more each time even though you already know what happens.)

Maybe some *would* find Harris's descriptions either overly technical (I didn't think so, though I do know some terminology from music theory, like "dominant" and "tonic" which does help with what he's saying) or patronizing (if you naturally know how to listen to what he's doing) as the review says.  However, for me (as the mom and rather ignorant "teacher" here), he seemed to hit the right note.

P.S.  I think the Kirkus Review should have said Harris worked for the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation), not for CBS. ... Read more

Book Description

Beloved NPR commentator and popular author Andrei Codrescu makes a stunning return to historical fiction, detailing the adventurous life and erotic times of the famed illuminist Giacomo Casanova.

In his national bestseller The Blood Countess, Andrei Codrescu brought to life the bloodthirsty royal Elizabeth Bathory, who embodied nearly all the contradictions of the seventeenth century. Now he depicts the astonishing life of the legendary Casanova, as the old adventurer relives his life while writing his memoirs in a provincial Bohemian castle at the end of the eighteenth century. Far from being defeated by age, Casanova delights in the maidservants, reacts with intellectual vigor to the unfolding of the French Revolution, and collaborates with Mozart on Don Giovanni. Long considered the rhapsodist of an age of aristocratic mirth, scandal, and innumerable affairs, Casanova was also a first-rate intellect who corresponded and argued with Voltaire and Rousseau. His published work, besides the celebrated History of My Life, includes a multivolume fantasy fiction novel that predates and anticipates Jules Verne; translations of Italian classics into French; and a number of plays that were produced on the great stages of Europe.

Casanova's romantic legend overshadowed his literary work, which was, for the most part, not published until 1960. The fate of his writings was nearly as fabulous and intriguing as that of their author. Still, even in abridged, bowdlerized, and fragmentary form, Casanova's memoirs have inspired writers as diverse as Flaubert, Stendhal, Hermann Hesse, and now, Andrei Codrescu. Codrescu's vivid fictional account illuminates the interest we still have in this uncompromising and magical libertine, while it imagines how his life would have continued if Casanova's immortality had extended beyond the literary.

In Codrescu's retelling of the Casanova legend, readers are introduced to an age far less inhibited than our own, and far more interesting in its vices. At once a libertine, a defender of women, a reactionary, a revolutionary, a brilliant observer, and a visionary, Casanova was a man ahead of his time both in thought and in action. Finally, in this inventive and absorbing work, Casanova is given due credit for his writings, his philosophies, and, of course, for the amorous magic that has been made known to so many. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Depressingly, Dolefully Decadent
Giacomo Casanova, 1725-1798, was a real person, an adventurer, a man-about-Europe, a celebrity, a sociopath, rarely worked, attached himself to famous people and institutions, spent time in prison, and had a number of notorious romantic affairs. If he had lived today he would undoubtedly be a frequent guest on talk shows. Now after many years of obscurity, Casanova has had a revival of sorts, and a following of scholars known as "casanovists."

Andrei Codrescu's book, based loosely on the facts of Casanova's life, details the declining years of Casanova, against the backdrop of European history. It is a time of spectacular decadence, the last days of a crumbling feudal aristocracy, the shock waves of the French revolution, and the personal decline of the once notorious Casanova, a man who has had many romantic escapades but has never formed a lasting relationship with a woman. Now he is lonely, disillusioned, desperately trying to achieve immortality through his writings. And in a way, as the author shows, he does.

I love listening to Andrei Codrescu on National Public Radio, but Casanova in Bohemia was something of a letdown. This book will be of interest to casanovists and also to codrescuites, but it is not for everyone. If you enjoy reading about the sexual preoccupations and embarrassing orgies of a lonely old man you might enjoy it.

Codrescu's Best
Having followed Codrescu's career with abnormal attention over the last twenty five years I have wondered when he would get busy and write his classic. This book finally tips into the mythos. I liked his first two novels -- Blood Countess and Messiah, but here Codrescu opens a panorama of a zeitgeist that somehow still survives from the faded glamor of Venice. "I lived as a philosopher. I die a Christian!" Codrescu is the last of the Draculas -- but his confession that he believes in a Creator makes me ask whether his Dracula mask hides a deeper engagement with the one true God. It is this civil righteousness whose warmth permeates this book and implicitly creates an urban ecotheology based on vials of beautiful blood straight from the nubility of Lutheran Prague.

-- Kirby Olson

sublime music
The reviewer who couldn't hear the sublime music in Codrescu's "Casanova in Bohemia" must have a tin ear. This is a generous, rich and bitter-funny novel written in some of the best English prose-rhythms I have ever known. Re-read the first sentence, and then read the rest of it out loud. I predict a long literary life for this book.

Sophomoric Fumbling
Codrescu's work in this book is like a 13-year-old's self-conscious attempt at writing a romance diary. The first sentence alone is as unacceptably ill-wrought as the rest of the writing is embarrassingly over-wrought. Codrescu is a great writer and he should be ashamed. Yikes and yuck.

Offended
I did not appreciate this book very much. I felt that the sexual content was inappropriate and overdone. More could have been given to the plot and the historical content and less could have been given to an 80 year old man's perverted exploits.

I was dissappointed in this book completely. ... Read more

Book Description

What better way to introduce young children to the world of Mozart than by reading them this stunning picture book? Caldecott Honor-winner Rachel Isadora recounts the life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart— with special emphasis on his childhood— in clear, straight forward language perfect for little listeners. Each spread features an exquisite watercolor painting depicting Mozart at a different point in his life."Isadora's soft-edged watercolors are a perfect fit for this story of the boy prodigy." — School Library Journal ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A 5 Star plus book
We, my students and I, love this book. It is a main take-out in our school library. I teach 3rd grade and I love to introduce my students to the arts. I find that Rachel Isadora's books often deal with artistic themes and I love all of them. I especially like this book because of the illustrations and the history that she writes about. I thank you for this super addition to our collection.

Play On
This is a most wonderful book. I am a music teacher and just went online to order a 10 for my students. I love this book and find it very helpful when teaching about classical music, especially to young children. I hope Ms. Isadora is planning on creating more books about composers and music in general.

The Pictures are the Thing!
YOUNG MOZART by Rachel Isadora is an acceptable way to introduce young children to the child prodigy Mozart. The very basic facts of his life story are outlined clearly and precisely. There are a few interesting anecdotes to liven the text: his father's nightly duets with the very young Mozart, Mozart's introduction to Marie Antoinette, his own children's pet starling, and his friends gathering around his death bed to sing the unfinished requiem. But Mozart's life seems quite conventional and tranquil, which is far from the story we know to be true. The pictures in the book, however, are charming and beautiful. It was the illustrations, in fact, that turned my own seven year old son from an audience who insisted he was not going to pay any attention if we didn't read a book about animals into a little boy who wanted to know why Mozart could write music before he could write sentences, why he had to wear a wig, and why he died when he was so young. The basic facts are there, and combined with the pictures make the book more memorable for children. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

The story of Beethoven's music in the context of his world
One of the inherent problems with juvenile biographies of famous composers like Ludwig van Beethoven is that you only get to read about great music, you do not get to listen to it unless you happen to have a CD handy of the composer's greatest hits (although I am sure there are some books out there that come with their own CD that is cued to the text, which, it goes without saying, is a great idea). Wendy Thompson finds a way of dealing with this problem by including extracts from some of Beethoven's most famous works--the Third, Fifth, and Ninth symphonies, the "Emperor" piano concerto, and the "Moonlight" sonata--in simple keyboard arrangements. Of course, you need to have a piano nearby instead of a CD player, but you still have to appreciate the effort.

Thompson not only tells the biographical details of Beethoven's life, but she puts his music in historical context as well, presenting it as reflecting the Age of Revolution with its violence, passion, struggle, and upheaval, as well as the quest for personal and spiritual fulfillment, of those times. This explains why the inside front cover has a map of the Napoleonic Wars. The book is also illustrated with lots of historic etching and paintings. But the more important part is that Thompson takes pains to talk about the uniqueness and importance of Beethoven's key musical pieces. This is important to me because beyond the biographical details of where he lived, and what he wrote, and who he ticked off, I am most interested in being able to better appreciation Beethoven's music. Therefore I like an above average dose of music appreciation in such books. This Thompson provides, all within the context of Beethoven's world. This book is for students age 12 and up and is certainly one of the more analytical juvenile biographies of Beethoven out there. ... Read more

Book Description

Mozart's family has never received the kind of attention that does justice to the complexity of its relationships or its interactions with colleagues, friends, and neighbors in Mozart's native Salzburg. And most biographies of the great composer have neglected the many passages in the rich Mozart family correspondence that do not bear directly on him. This book turns a bright light on this neglected material, most of which has never before been translated into English, to provide a fascinating look at Mozart's parents, Leopold and Maria Anna, and sister, Nannerl.

Challenging most previous views of the individuals in Mozart's family and the relationships within it, Halliwell introduces a wealth of characters from the family's circle in Salzburg, from chambermaids to princes, and relates the gossip stories the family told to their larger outlook on the world. She also draws on the neglected papers of the Berchtold family (into which Nannerl married) and other rare archival material to provide a sympathetic account of the hopes, fears, and expectations of the family within their social context. An important final section traces the role of Nannerl and Mozart's wife Constanze in using, controlling, and handing on the biographical source material after Mozart's death, addressing the question of how myths surrounding his life and death became so prevalant so early. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Better than most think
Halliwell's scholarship is impeccable, and her written style firmly holds the reader for hours at a stretch (I was even thumbing through it at redlights while driving home from work). Much attention is given to the family as a unit as well as historical and biographical background on individuals. The ongoing debate of Mozart and Leopold's respective personalities and their relationship is something that no one book can accurately put to rest, Halliwell's input explores another side of the contemporary idea of Mozart, that can be at odds with traditional views. The reader should be prepared to balance her writing with the works of other Mozart scholars (particularly Knepler, Kuster, and Landons). Incidentally, cjarrard@mindspring.com's online review at Amazon.com is unjustly critical: from the very beginning Halliwell states that her purpose is to explore Mozart's family, and not the genius himself; this is clearly emphasized in the book's preface. And, while Solomon's "A Life" is a masterful read, there is no reason to grasp it as the Bible of Mozart scholarship (consider W. Stafford and N. Till as well as the previously mentioned authors).

Family context adds depth to the study of Mozart's life
I found this volume to be well-researched, very well written, and extraordinarily interesting. The strength of this volume is not that it replaces other works concerning Mozart's life but that it richly supplements them. The author has chosen to focus on letters of members (primarily Mozart's father Leopold and his sister Nannerl) of Mozart's family, not just on the letters of Mozart. The author's hypothesis is that much can be learned about Mozart by learning about his family. This book strongly supports this hypothesis. Whereas Solomon (Mozart A Life) presents a rather grim, abusive, and almost criminal picture of Leopold Mozart, I believe that Halliwell's work more likely captures a truer flavor of his character: a very intelligent man concerned for his family, loving but autocratic, less creative than Mozart but still very arrogant, and very much concerned with finances - so much so that Leopold's actions likely adversely affected Mozart's ability to achieve court appointments. In many respects, Halliwell's interpretation of Leopold is similar to Solomon's, except that she suggests a less "criminal" motivation on Leopold's part. One thread that is woven throughout this book, moreso than in others, is the large role that the constant threat of illness and death played in the lives of the Mozart family. The authors hypothesis that this fear of leaving family unprovided for at death provided signficant motivtion for Leopold's actions is certainly plausible. I found, in particular, the chapters on Leopld and Nannerl to be very interesting. I also enjoyed the last several chapters of this book which dealt with the manner in which information was provided by Nannerl and Constanze to the various biographers of Mozart. All in all, I rate this work very highly. This work strengthens and adds family context to the works of Solomon (Mozart: A Life), Einstein (Mozrt: His character, his work), and Braunbehrens (Mozart in Vienna: 1781-1791).

Myth perpetuating
Biased toward the myth of the spoiled brat who *really" didn't deserve to accomplish what he did. Good for a giggle.

Was Wolfgang Really As Bad As All That?
Having just read the book "The Mozart Family: Four Lives in a Social Context", I think the subtitle should be changed to "Two Lives in a Social Context". The author lavishes a lot of attention and affection on the famous composer's father (Leopold) and his sister (Nannerl). Wolfgang Mozart is merely a shadowy presence in the background. The author has quite a different take on Leopold than that presented by Maynard Solomon in his book "Mozart: A Life". While Solomon was highly critical of the elder Mozart (Leopold had an extremely controlling nature, he was lying when he claimed to be in financial straits, he was overly critical of his son and he seemd to view Wolfgang as a "cash cow"), Halliwell is full of praise for Leopold (he was self-sacrificing, devoted, and justly worried about his son's irresponsible behavior). On the other hand, Halliwell hardly has one kind word for Wolfgang. He was thoughtless, deceitful, self-centered, and oblivious and uncaring about the problems of his father and sister. He thought the world revolved around him, and the expressions in his letters of love and tender concern for his father and sister were completely hollow.

Solomon makes you want to cry for Wolfgang Mozart, while Halliwell makes you want to cry for his father. Who is right ???? ... Read more

Amazon.com

When the publishers of Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians set out to revise their monumental reference work in the 1970s, they commissioned new biographies of many composers. They then extracted some of those biographies from the finished product, added some details to make them a more interesting sit-down read, and issued them as separate volumes. Unlike the complete Grove, this biography of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is both portable and affordable.Nearly one third of its length is devoted to a listing of his works, arranged by type (opera, sacred) and date. There are many biographies of Mozart on the market; this one makes a good starting place and handy reference. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Very useful overview of Mozart's life and work
This is the first book I reach for when I want basic information on Mozart.It is compact enough to read straight through in a few hours; it is also well-organized for reference by subject.There is succinctcoverage of everything you'd want in a composer's biography: dates, events,family, colleagues, works; there is a good amount of musical analysis, afew pages of autograph manuscript, portraits of the composer, a lengthybibliography, and a work list.This includes dates, key, forces required,title where applicable, and Koechel number(s).

There is no mentalanalysis or minute examination of the Baesle letters or anything of thesort here, just the "hard facts" on Mozart--and plentifulguidance on where to look next if you need more information on a greatcomposer. ... Read more

Connecting Link, July, 1995

It may be a while before hypnotic regression achieves mainstream acceptance, but Montano's own work in that area and the resultant Loving Mozart will certainly assist in its doing so.Loving Mozart adds an important dimension to the musical genius we know as Mozart and his devoted friend Franz Sussmayr.Captivating reading. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A Book of Haunting Beauty
When I read this book four years ago it haunted me for a long time. The beauty of its prose and the lucidity of the author's memories lingered in the back of mind and in the recesses of my heart, adding a dimension to the character of a young man few people can say they understand. There are no portraits of Franz Süssmayr, no eye-witness accounts of what kind of person he was, or what his relationship with Mozart was really like. This book fills in those spaces to reveal a gifted, generous, tender-hearted man, who was a loyal friend to the end-and beyond.

Books that claim to have their basis in past-life recall are always met with ridicule because people who don't believe in reincarnation are not educated in the field and thus cannot comprehend all the profound implications of it, or the myriad beautiful possibilities that go along with it. Immature souls see life as black and white. Mature souls see life as an ocean of limitless color, light and shadow, tone and texture. This book is a creation of all these qualities.

I recently re-read Loving Mozart and I received more from it than I did after my first reading. Only when something contains the truth can it affect us this way-it touches our hearts again and again, regardless of how many times we pick it up, dust it off and allow it to take us into its private world. When truth is that palpable, we know it deep in our subconscious whether we recognize it or not, and assumed historical details lose their grasp. Ask any police detective if any ten people will remember an event the same way and the answer will be no. Mozart knew a great many people, some of whom were never allowed into his private life. Many of those people went on to write about him, and even they do not always agree on just what happened at the end of Mozart's life. We remember events from our own experience and inner reality, and history is written by the winners anyway. Franz Süssmayr was not one of the winners. The winners went on to create a Mozart that would appeal to charitable organizations and individuals-an eternal manchild, a composer who never struggled over a piece of music, but composed as easily as writing out a grocery list, an apollonian god.

Some critics of this book don't recognize that Loving Mozart is not a book about Mozart, but a book about the spiritual path of someone who simply loved, and acted out that love in a beautiful, selfless way. If that's not Truth I don't know what is.

We hear only from the most courageous
There are two kinds of people who claim famous past lives: total phonies, who are simply out to make themselves seem more important, and the rare genuine articles, who really do have some connection, direct or archetypical, with a historical figure.

How to tell which is which? Just ask the person this: "When you found out you were or knew so-and-so... how did you deal with the shock and the fear?" If they don't know what you're talking about, you have a genuine, garden-variety phony.

Real ones do what most of us would do in their situation: look in the mirror, think 'how could I have been THAT?', feel surreal and worry that maybe they are just crazy. When considering telling anyone, they worry about their reputations, their jobs, their relationships. They know about the phonies, the weekend Cleopatras, and they know what they will be called. They sometimes wish their memories would just go away.

We hear only from the most courageous of them.

_Loving Mozart_ was ten years in the making; ten years for the author to gather the information and the courage to publish. Wishful thinking simply doesn't take that long, and lusts after perfect experiences, not the painful, ambiguous, messy ones portrayed. Besides, if the author had the total freedom of fantasy, why not go the whole hog and claim to have been Mozart himself?

This book isn't about fame and glory anyway; it is about music, and about love. It is about loyalty, joy and a passion for creating beauty that transcend poverty, rejection and death. It is about the nature of souls and their multi-life connections and missions, and about how inspiration is drawn from the Divine.

If you firmly disbelieve in reincarnation you don't want to read it; it will just seem like airy-fairy nonsense, and the details that differ from history (as is inevitable, since people often remember the same events differently) will peck at you. If you can accept reincarnation as fantasy, you will be both moved and uplifted. If you accept reincarnation as reality, you will find much that is confirmatory -- and still be moved and uplifted. If you are undecided but open-minded, there is a lot to learn, and this deeply beautiful book will stay in your mind and heart for a long time after reading.

A "must read"
for anyone who has ever stopped to wonder WHY one has these memories that just do not fit in one's current life. Also, this book gives some insight into Mozart as a person with talent, not the "man touched by God" as a recent A&E commentator claimed. ... Read more

Book Description

Mozartiana is a surprising, eccentric, and enchanting testament to the genius of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.Artist Joseph Solman has gathered opinions, remembrances, letters, and more-from Albert Einstein, Virginia Woolf, Friedrich Nietzsche, Leonard Bernstein, Maurice Sendak, and some 200 others-and blended them with his own sketches and drawings of the great composer.The result is a glorious celebration of Mozart's life and art, and a unique gift to music lovers everywhere. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Very nice little book.
Very nice to read about some famous people's opinions of Mozart. Especially interesting are the opinions of people closer to his time. Some of the reading was full of hot air and a little boring. "Too many words" to describe how they felt about Mozart. A nice book to have in your Mozart collection, if you can get it for just a few bucks. Four stars for the older recollections in the book.

If you like Mozart, you'll love this.
Short, pithy, collected quotes from a wide variety of writers, thinkers, and even musicians on Mozart. Easy to read, useful for collecting impressions from a wide range of authors. As an amatuer musician, I know it is true--Mozart is too easy for beginners, too hard for professionals. Should inspire casual readers to seek out other works on his life.

Words about one of the greatest composers
this short collection of quotes helped me learn a lot about mozart and opinion of him, but there weren't too many memorable lines. still, if you are a fan of mozart's this is an interesting collection. ... Read more

Book Description

This biography continues the series with a fresh look at Mozart from his early days as a child prodigy, and clears up some commonly held misunderstandings about his life. It is an energetic story about the young musical genius and his fascinating life, uncomplicated and yet rich in detail.A glossary, map and historical perspective are included. ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Disjointed Story
The illustrations are the best part of this book. Beautifully detailed, in rich colors, they do a better job of telling the story than the text itself. The text is disjointed at times, and when I have read this book aloud to children they often get confused with the story. ... Read more