false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173914982m/344475.jpg 344475 3 Readers who think of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) as the shrieking vulgarian depicted in Peter Shaffer's hit play (and movie) <I>Amadeus</I> will be astonished by the man they meet in this biography by music historian Robert Gutman: "affectionate and generous ... an austere moralist of vital force, incisiveness, and strength of purpose." Without scanting Mozart's often maladroit handling of his patrons or his earthy way with words ("Let the whole company of patricians lick my ass," he declared in a 1777 letter), Gutman portrays a musical genius who slowly and painfully achieved personal maturity as he emerged from the shadow of his domineering father. The rich cultural life of 18th-century Europe forms a vivid background for Mozart's professional and artistic evolution. And Gutman's descriptions of Mozart's work are models of music writing for the lay reader: they capture the brilliance and beauty of the great composer's art in easily accessible language, as in the analysis of <I>The Marriage of Figaro</I>'s place in "a new aesthetic of surging movement ... the vocal and orchestral lines twine, separate, and reunite in confrontation, opposition, and accommodation, an ever-changing, effortless interlacing." The prose delineating Mozart's complex personality is just as full-bodied and perceptive. <I>--Wendy Smith</I> 334806 1999 Mozart: A Cultural Biography total:13|5:3|4:7|3:3| 13 52 34 3 5 1 false false Wed Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Mon Sep 15 23:11:56 -0700 2008 Wed Oct 01 04:28:39 -0700 2008 on the road...more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Apr 24 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 24 07:31:34 -0700 2009 Fri Apr 24 07:31:34 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Thu Nov 19 14:17:29 -0800 2009 Thu Nov 19 14:17:42 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Fri Oct 09 13:59:33 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 09 13:59:33 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Mon Oct 05 14:14:52 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 05 14:14:52 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Mon Sep 21 16:23:50 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 21 16:23:50 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sun Jul 19 11:31:41 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 19 11:31:41 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sat Jul 04 17:30:25 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 04 17:30:25 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Tue Jun 02 18:18:51 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 02 18:18:51 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sat May 16 01:33:47 -0700 2009 Sat May 16 01:33:47 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Wed May 06 07:04:57 -0700 2009 Wed May 06 07:04:57 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Sun Apr 12 06:54:51 -0700 2009 Sun Apr 12 06:54:51 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Tue Feb 10 06:54:42 -0800 2009 Tue Feb 10 06:54:42 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Sun Jan 18 17:20:34 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 18 17:20:36 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Sat Oct 04 07:13:03 -0700 2008 Sat Oct 04 07:13:03 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Wed Oct 01 13:11:31 -0700 2008 Wed Oct 01 13:11:31 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Fri Sep 26 06:32:09 -0700 2008 Fri Sep 26 06:32:09 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Wed Aug 20 06:25:17 -0700 2008 Wed Aug 20 06:25:17 -0700 2008 0 0 false false Mon Jul 07 19:03:14 -0700 2008 Tue Jul 08 15:32:21 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Wed Apr 30 21:27:21 -0700 2008 Wed Apr 30 21:27:23 -0700 2008 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=344475