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Mozart
Realistic, moving, engrossing and positively brilliant, this first American biography of the 18th century composer re-created Mozart--the man and his music--against the back ground of the he lived in
400 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1932
14 people are currently reading
678 people want to read
About the author
Marcia Davenport
59 books25 followersAmerican author and music critic. She was born Marcia Glick, daughter of Bernard Glick and opera singer Alma Gluck, later stepdaughter of violinist Efrem Zimbalist when Alma Gluck remarried.
Davenport traveled extensively with her parents and was educated intermittently at the Friends School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the Shipley School at Bryn Mawr. She began at Wellesley College but eloped to Pittsburgh in 1923 to marry Fred D. Clarke. Eventually she earned her B.A. at the University of Grenoble. Her first child was born in 1924, but in 1925 she divorced Clarke.
She took an advertising copywriting job to support herself and her daughter. In 1928 she began at the editorial staff of The New Yorker, where she worked until 1931. In 1929, she married Russell Davenport, who soon after became editor of Fortune. Davenport's second daughter was born in 1934. That same year she began as the music critic of Stage magazine.
Davenport had close ties through her mother and stepfather to the classical music world and particularly to the heady opera world of Europe and America in the first half of the 20th century. She was first celebrated as a writer for her first book, Mozart, the first published American biography of composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Her marriage to Russell Davenport ended in 1944.
She also wrote several popular novels, notably The Valley of Decision, a 1940s bestseller made into a successful movie with Greer Garson and Gregory Peck.
Davenport traveled extensively with her parents and was educated intermittently at the Friends School in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and the Shipley School at Bryn Mawr. She began at Wellesley College but eloped to Pittsburgh in 1923 to marry Fred D. Clarke. Eventually she earned her B.A. at the University of Grenoble. Her first child was born in 1924, but in 1925 she divorced Clarke.
She took an advertising copywriting job to support herself and her daughter. In 1928 she began at the editorial staff of The New Yorker, where she worked until 1931. In 1929, she married Russell Davenport, who soon after became editor of Fortune. Davenport's second daughter was born in 1934. That same year she began as the music critic of Stage magazine.
Davenport had close ties through her mother and stepfather to the classical music world and particularly to the heady opera world of Europe and America in the first half of the 20th century. She was first celebrated as a writer for her first book, Mozart, the first published American biography of composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Her marriage to Russell Davenport ended in 1944.
She also wrote several popular novels, notably The Valley of Decision, a 1940s bestseller made into a successful movie with Greer Garson and Gregory Peck.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 44 reviews
January 27, 2025
THE WORLD IS FULL OF A NUMBER OF THINGS -
I’M SURE WE SHOULD ALL BE AS HAPPY AS KINGS.
A.A. Milne, Now we are Six
I just had to give this little book four stars, it is so delightfully charming. Was the Maestro's life REALLY like this? Well, we’ll never know, but Davenport's book is captivating. Like biting into a French mille feuilles pastry!
Yummy.
This is the way they used to write stories back in the 1930’s. Stylistically contemporaneous with those great thirties and forties Frank Capra films... Good-hearted souls and wonderful families and friends all, keeping a smile in their hearts - when life in America was tough as nails!
And the Mozart Marcia Davenport portrays also lives continually ‘in a shaft of sunlight’ - as in Four Quartets, and like all the folks in those fabulous films. The mood is never as diabolically ominous as in the film Amadeus, thank Heaven, and Mozart comes across as a good kid who genuinely LIKED people.
Not like the moronic scatterbrain he is in the movie!
No, he is an ingenuous kid who THRIVES on his incredibly fortunate fame - and the capacious heights and depths of his enormous musical intuition and intellect are UP to the challenge of incessantly outdoing ALL of his previous efforts with each new work - and to him it’s just too utterly natural.
But to his listeners it’s MIRACULOUS. And the gilded gates of the palaces of la crème de la crème of wealthy Europe opened WIDE to him.
All his young life he never knew banal dissonance - or repression - no, that was something Fate held as a shocking surprise to him, once he had trod on one too many well-shod noble toes.
Cause, for now, he was SUPREMELY Happy...
In the 1970´s, I inculcated my harried and trop-sérieux parents in his sybaritic musical adventurism.
How? Well, after landing a secure job, and being invited to find my life bearings by living off the fat of the land with them for a spell, I bought some top-line stereo equipment.
No kidding. With the large Advent Speakers! I could have afforded an apartment, right?
Boomers my age will easily recall their colossal sonic power... And once home from work, I bombarded them both with Mozart, easily squelching the sounds of their vapid easy listening station.
My brother will tell you to this day with horror of my playing Papageno’s “Magic Bells” Serenade to Sarastro’s charmed thugs - for our parents’ cleaning lady - at top volume, because the lyrics were in German, the language of her childhood!
But - guess what? - my serious librarian Mom became a convert, playing his music LOUD on HER stereo.
And she hauled my still-unconverted Dad downtown to many a glittering Mozart opening-night opera...
Later turning him into a Rosenkavalier groupie of Strauss-like fluff.
But, seriously, Davenport writes in such a refreshingly slice-of-life manner about the events in his life. It’s as if you are right there among the Mozarts, a privileged participant in their fun.
Books these days can be so NOIR.
But Marcia Davenport lived when good, basic HEARTFELT values were what got you through to your rainbow’s end. And that’s what you WROTE about.
Have we lost something important, Kids?
You BET!
But there’s always a quick fix -
Just listen to a little MOZART!
I’M SURE WE SHOULD ALL BE AS HAPPY AS KINGS.
A.A. Milne, Now we are Six
I just had to give this little book four stars, it is so delightfully charming. Was the Maestro's life REALLY like this? Well, we’ll never know, but Davenport's book is captivating. Like biting into a French mille feuilles pastry!
Yummy.
This is the way they used to write stories back in the 1930’s. Stylistically contemporaneous with those great thirties and forties Frank Capra films... Good-hearted souls and wonderful families and friends all, keeping a smile in their hearts - when life in America was tough as nails!
And the Mozart Marcia Davenport portrays also lives continually ‘in a shaft of sunlight’ - as in Four Quartets, and like all the folks in those fabulous films. The mood is never as diabolically ominous as in the film Amadeus, thank Heaven, and Mozart comes across as a good kid who genuinely LIKED people.
Not like the moronic scatterbrain he is in the movie!
No, he is an ingenuous kid who THRIVES on his incredibly fortunate fame - and the capacious heights and depths of his enormous musical intuition and intellect are UP to the challenge of incessantly outdoing ALL of his previous efforts with each new work - and to him it’s just too utterly natural.
But to his listeners it’s MIRACULOUS. And the gilded gates of the palaces of la crème de la crème of wealthy Europe opened WIDE to him.
All his young life he never knew banal dissonance - or repression - no, that was something Fate held as a shocking surprise to him, once he had trod on one too many well-shod noble toes.
Cause, for now, he was SUPREMELY Happy...
In the 1970´s, I inculcated my harried and trop-sérieux parents in his sybaritic musical adventurism.
How? Well, after landing a secure job, and being invited to find my life bearings by living off the fat of the land with them for a spell, I bought some top-line stereo equipment.
No kidding. With the large Advent Speakers! I could have afforded an apartment, right?
Boomers my age will easily recall their colossal sonic power... And once home from work, I bombarded them both with Mozart, easily squelching the sounds of their vapid easy listening station.
My brother will tell you to this day with horror of my playing Papageno’s “Magic Bells” Serenade to Sarastro’s charmed thugs - for our parents’ cleaning lady - at top volume, because the lyrics were in German, the language of her childhood!
But - guess what? - my serious librarian Mom became a convert, playing his music LOUD on HER stereo.
And she hauled my still-unconverted Dad downtown to many a glittering Mozart opening-night opera...
Later turning him into a Rosenkavalier groupie of Strauss-like fluff.
But, seriously, Davenport writes in such a refreshingly slice-of-life manner about the events in his life. It’s as if you are right there among the Mozarts, a privileged participant in their fun.
Books these days can be so NOIR.
But Marcia Davenport lived when good, basic HEARTFELT values were what got you through to your rainbow’s end. And that’s what you WROTE about.
Have we lost something important, Kids?
You BET!
But there’s always a quick fix -
Just listen to a little MOZART!
August 3, 2021
This book took me the better part of 40 years to read because I knew enough about Mozart to know he died in poverty at the age of 35. And while I also knew that he was performing before kings, queens, and emperors by the age of 6, knowing that he was buried in a pauper's grave led me to believe his life was etched in sorrow and frustration. Thank goodness, Ms. Davenport's book dispelled much of the tragic and replaced it with a balanced and generally uplifting narrative.
She has gone through his voluminous correspondence and based upon Mozart's (and his contemporaries) own words, you have the portrait of a sweet natured and cheerful man. (Very poor money manager, however.)
I have no doubt that Tim Hulce read this book prior to his performance in Amadeus. Mozart liked fart jokes! That's great! Salieri actually existed although there is zero evidence he poisoned Mozart. In fact, Davenport posits that Salieri actually felt terrible for his earlier snubs of Mozart and tried to make amends before his death. There is no Freudian analysis claptrap to be found here, although Leopold Mozart comes off as something of a grifter and busybody.
My biggest criticism is the often cursory treatment of his music. Davenport assumes you are already very familiar with his body of work, so one does not get a lot of detail regarding the actual composition of the music. I suppose this is not the book for that. She notes that Mozart was able to slap something together of immense beauty sometimes only hours before it was due to be performed. For me, the most critical bit of information is on p. 283 and comes from Mozart himself in a letter from 1787 where he describes the composing process:
" All this fires my soul, and provided I am not disturbed, my subject enlarges itself, becomes methodical and defined, and the whole, though it be long, stands almost complete and finished in my mind, so that I can survey it, like a fine picture, or a beautiful statue, at a glance. Nor do I hear in my imagination the parts successively, but I hear them as it were, gleich alles zusammen, all at once. What a delight this is, I cannot tell. All this inventing, this producing, takes place in a pleasing, lively dream. Still the actual hearing of the tout ensemble is after all the best. What has thus been produced, I do not easily forget, and this is perhaps the best 'gift I have my Divine Maker to thank for.'"
Whether or not one frowns upon Leopold, at least he was able to see the genius in his son. And thank goodness he was smart enough to let his genius flower and endure for the rest of us more than 200 years later.
This is not a perfect book, but it does a remarkable job of letting us see a glimpse of the past. A person like Mozart, or Ghandi, or Einstein does NOT come around very often, and I'm happy Davenport's book provides a generous narrative of this man's life. There may be other books on Mozart that address his music in greater detail, but this is a fine, if dated, biography of a genius.
If you are recently learning about Mozart's music, I would recommend hearing the "Queen of the Night" aria from "Die Zauberflote" and listen what this little man heard in his head and only needed to set upon paper. He was near death and broke, but was able to create amazing music nonetheless. The world is a better place having his music with us. A positive biography. Nice to finally get through it.
She has gone through his voluminous correspondence and based upon Mozart's (and his contemporaries) own words, you have the portrait of a sweet natured and cheerful man. (Very poor money manager, however.)
I have no doubt that Tim Hulce read this book prior to his performance in Amadeus. Mozart liked fart jokes! That's great! Salieri actually existed although there is zero evidence he poisoned Mozart. In fact, Davenport posits that Salieri actually felt terrible for his earlier snubs of Mozart and tried to make amends before his death. There is no Freudian analysis claptrap to be found here, although Leopold Mozart comes off as something of a grifter and busybody.
My biggest criticism is the often cursory treatment of his music. Davenport assumes you are already very familiar with his body of work, so one does not get a lot of detail regarding the actual composition of the music. I suppose this is not the book for that. She notes that Mozart was able to slap something together of immense beauty sometimes only hours before it was due to be performed. For me, the most critical bit of information is on p. 283 and comes from Mozart himself in a letter from 1787 where he describes the composing process:
" All this fires my soul, and provided I am not disturbed, my subject enlarges itself, becomes methodical and defined, and the whole, though it be long, stands almost complete and finished in my mind, so that I can survey it, like a fine picture, or a beautiful statue, at a glance. Nor do I hear in my imagination the parts successively, but I hear them as it were, gleich alles zusammen, all at once. What a delight this is, I cannot tell. All this inventing, this producing, takes place in a pleasing, lively dream. Still the actual hearing of the tout ensemble is after all the best. What has thus been produced, I do not easily forget, and this is perhaps the best 'gift I have my Divine Maker to thank for.'"
Whether or not one frowns upon Leopold, at least he was able to see the genius in his son. And thank goodness he was smart enough to let his genius flower and endure for the rest of us more than 200 years later.
This is not a perfect book, but it does a remarkable job of letting us see a glimpse of the past. A person like Mozart, or Ghandi, or Einstein does NOT come around very often, and I'm happy Davenport's book provides a generous narrative of this man's life. There may be other books on Mozart that address his music in greater detail, but this is a fine, if dated, biography of a genius.
If you are recently learning about Mozart's music, I would recommend hearing the "Queen of the Night" aria from "Die Zauberflote" and listen what this little man heard in his head and only needed to set upon paper. He was near death and broke, but was able to create amazing music nonetheless. The world is a better place having his music with us. A positive biography. Nice to finally get through it.
August 8, 2014
While I really enjoyed this book, I have a sneaking suspicion that it played fast and loose with Mozart's life. The writer, in an effort, I suppose, to make it more true-to-life and perhaps more enjoyable reading, wrote this in kind of a novel-ish way, embellishing all kinds of situations with characters' grimaces, groans, exclamations, pacing back and forth, etc. These could hardly have been part of the historical record, so I spent too much time wondering, "Where did she get that? Can that be true?" and similar questions. I think this isn't really my kind of history, maybe. I like to know that my histories are reliable.
That said, Davenport does certainly create a fully realized Mozart, and as this is my first biography of the master, I did learn quite a bit about the life and works of one of my favorite composers. Right after I finished the book I listened again to his Requiem and was exalted. Maybe that alone made it worth reading.
That said, Davenport does certainly create a fully realized Mozart, and as this is my first biography of the master, I did learn quite a bit about the life and works of one of my favorite composers. Right after I finished the book I listened again to his Requiem and was exalted. Maybe that alone made it worth reading.
January 14, 2015
Wow. What an incredible book. I could begin rereading immediately! that she wrote this in 1932 and was a person familiar with Europe, the languages, the places of Mozart's life, makes it even better. This book should be required reading for every student of Music. It is all-encompassing and leaves the reader with such a picture of this genius' life, and his music, even if there are certainly minor liberties taken with dialogue. The "painting" of real life, that of nobility and peasant, in 18th c Austria/Germany is exquisite. The depth with which she describes the development of Mozart's musical talent and production is incredible. The background on the operas is beyond enlightening. I try not to "like" or "dislike" characters, especially when they were alive at one time, as in human...but take them as they were. There are so many lessons to glean from his life story...it will take awhile to process it all. I listened to his music while reading...magical.
September 21, 2015
In her foreword, Marcia Davenport tells us: "I can only say that I offer neither a romance nor a text-book. I have tried to tell the truth." Did Mozart actually think, when meeting the infamous Casanova, "...was it possible? Could...those blazing eyes belong to anyone else? Never, impossible!" Well, why not? It's hard to believe that within his own lifetime, Mozart found little fame and even less fortune. He took a beating from the world, and it seems that ultimately, sadly, he just gave up. But this is a beautiful read and one of my favorite biographies.
October 22, 2018
I recently re-watched the film "Amadeus," one of my favorites which I hadn't seen in over a decade, and immediately wanted to read an "authentic" biography of Wolfgang Amade Mozart (as he signed himself). Davenport's book, c. 1932, is consequently written in an older style than modern readers are accustomed to, for instance, assuming a familiarity with colloquial French and German languages that are lost on many American readers (myself, regrettably, included!). And, as she states in her forward, she "makes no apology for my abandonment of formal documentary technique . . . Footnotes would throw each of them [readers] back into the source-material from which I extracted them for the purpose of letting the characters tell the story themselves. Readers for pleasure will not be troubled by this, and readers for duty will know, like all Mozart students, whence each quotation comes. Furthermore, the bibliography covers all sources from which quotations have been made."
It is very obvious that Davenport, from a professional, musical family background, knows her subject thoroughly from in-depth study of Mozart's letters and extant documents, but also that she's spent significant time in the places where Mozart lived and produced his greatest works. Her detailed accounts & descriptions of 18th century Europe are nicely balanced with details of Mozart's professional and personal life. She humanizes the prodigy/genius that was Mozart.
It is very obvious that Davenport, from a professional, musical family background, knows her subject thoroughly from in-depth study of Mozart's letters and extant documents, but also that she's spent significant time in the places where Mozart lived and produced his greatest works. Her detailed accounts & descriptions of 18th century Europe are nicely balanced with details of Mozart's professional and personal life. She humanizes the prodigy/genius that was Mozart.
October 22, 2012
Like others, I enjoyed this biography, though I see that she perpetuated, perhaps codified, many of the myths of Mozart that are now disputed. Nevertheless, Marcia Davenport gives a clear and lively portrait of Mozart's comings and goings-- it's a good place to start to understand the life of such a remarkable genius.
Rather than the blow by blow of where he went and what he did, however,I wish Marcia Davenport had used the many letters Mozart and his family wrote to try to analyze Mozart's creative process. Perhaps that wasn't the book she wanted to write, but the book she has written is quite readable. Now I'll go try another version, to see what more I can glean.
Rather than the blow by blow of where he went and what he did, however,I wish Marcia Davenport had used the many letters Mozart and his family wrote to try to analyze Mozart's creative process. Perhaps that wasn't the book she wanted to write, but the book she has written is quite readable. Now I'll go try another version, to see what more I can glean.
January 19, 2016
This book is a very good biography. I like it because it does not romanticize the rumors or imagined stories told about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Instead, it reports facts about his life and tells a more "black and white" story about how he grew and lived his life. I do not mean to say it ignores facts about infidelity or problems with his sanity, it just reports his life and actions.
This is a great biography.
This is a great biography.
August 30, 2011
I'm not sure that this is actually the specific biography that I read, but the description of the book leads me to believe that it could be. I no longer have the book. I read a biography of Mozart after being infatuated with the movie Amadeus, curious how much of the movie was true to his real life.
July 22, 2015
Excellent, alive, vibrant, informative. She extrapolates on Mozart's characters and reactions and situations a bit. Very engaging.
May 3, 2008
this book is in my top ten of all time.
however it was NOT published in 1995 - but in 1932. don't know where that other info comes from.
it's challenging at times- marcia davenport often deviates into a foreign tongue without explanation, for instance. but never before have i felt like i was walking, if not in the shoes of, right behind the character in question. at least, not this vividly. i could see the buildings and sights ms. davenport describes as mozart and his father walk down the road - in part because she had been to every site and seen for herself firsthand what mozart had seen.
this book is the only thing that has had me question whether there is a higher authority - although, admittedly, never for very long. but mozart's gift is certainly something to ponder.
however it was NOT published in 1995 - but in 1932. don't know where that other info comes from.
it's challenging at times- marcia davenport often deviates into a foreign tongue without explanation, for instance. but never before have i felt like i was walking, if not in the shoes of, right behind the character in question. at least, not this vividly. i could see the buildings and sights ms. davenport describes as mozart and his father walk down the road - in part because she had been to every site and seen for herself firsthand what mozart had seen.
this book is the only thing that has had me question whether there is a higher authority - although, admittedly, never for very long. but mozart's gift is certainly something to ponder.
December 30, 2015
Highly entertaining and informative. I always enjoy a good historical read to put composers lives in perspective.
Good enough that I listened to it a second time through! I would not have enjoyed living in that time period! He left his mother by herself in a strange city all alone...no thank you. Dark, dank, dirty. bleh Travel arrangements and communication are so slow! I would hate having to rely on the generosity of someone else to determine how much I would get paid for a job after its done. That's terrible! How can you support a family like that?
Good enough that I listened to it a second time through! I would not have enjoyed living in that time period! He left his mother by herself in a strange city all alone...no thank you. Dark, dank, dirty. bleh Travel arrangements and communication are so slow! I would hate having to rely on the generosity of someone else to determine how much I would get paid for a job after its done. That's terrible! How can you support a family like that?
January 13, 2019
This book falls somewhere between history and historical fiction. It contains too much quoted dialog to be considered entirely factual. Still, it does breath life into the Wolfgang and his family and friends.
Reading about his enthusiasm, and slow spiral into the acceptance that he would never achieve the position and financial reward anywhere near equal to his abilities, one has to recognize that talent, enthusiasm, and a good work ethic are not enough to guarantee financial reward.
Reading about his enthusiasm, and slow spiral into the acceptance that he would never achieve the position and financial reward anywhere near equal to his abilities, one has to recognize that talent, enthusiasm, and a good work ethic are not enough to guarantee financial reward.
June 9, 2009
This is the definitive book on his life to read. His genius is so rare that even the best musicians and composers can't compare themselves to him. His life was truly gifted and unusual and some of the music he himself wrote he looked down on because it kept him from writing what he dreamed of . . . opera.
He died at 35 but left lots of the world's best music.
He died at 35 but left lots of the world's best music.
October 26, 2017
I used this original hardcover edition flea market acquisition as my research for my own book, Mozart/A Variation on a Life. It's an amazingly well researched book, with Ms. Davenport having access to actual correspondence between Mozart and the members of his family. It is a truly heartbreaking story as well with many horrible details about his life that I was unaware of.
July 11, 2016
I both enjoyed this book and found it hard to get through at the same time. The writing style is a bit odd to me, because at times it reads like it wants to be historical fiction and then others it reads like a biography.
February 6, 2019
very difficult during that era for the truly great like Mozart to profit very much from their talent. Lots of opportunities to make some money. By the time of his death he was famous but deaply in debt.
April 19, 2019
Great detail about Mozart's life taken from letters and historical accounts of the events.
January 29, 2020
This review will contain spoilers if you don't know anything about Mozart's life already.
I would like to preface this review by stating that Amadeus is my favorite movie of all time and has been for over half my life. Anyone familiar with this film will know that it is not strictly historically accurate, and from what I've gathered from other sources, this book might not be either. That being said, if you are willing to forgive potential inaccuracies in order to enjoy a good, dramatic retelling of one of the most influential and important lives lived in the last thousand years, you will enjoy this biography, especially for all the actual correspondence included. It became quickly obvious to me while reading that Peter Shaffer might have cracked this one open while writing his play on the same subject, and for that I am eternally grateful to the author.
It is told chronologically, beginning with Leopold Mozart's tireless attempts to turn his child prodigy into a celebrity by touring through Europe. From there, we are drawn along emotionally with Wolfgang's first heartbreak, his ambition to become a great opera composer, and his struggles to find an appointment among poisonous courts whilst surrounding by professional enemies hell bent on extinguishing his brilliance. While these attempts certainly prevented poor Mozart from enjoying financial success during his lifetime, suffice to say, his music endures.
This book broke my heart at times. Mozart's legacy, the music that had given so many generations pleasure, widely considered some of the best ever written, is all that is left after this poor man was ignored, used up, and abused throughout his lifetime. The fact that he died at the age of thirty five, drained, sickly, buried in massive debt, without even a grave to mark where his tired body was lain, is an incredible injustice. Still, we are left with jewels like Figaro, Don Giovanni, and Die Zauberflöte, reminders that perfection is possible for us poor mortals.
I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys biographies or who is interested in the life of Mozart, especially those fans of Amadeus who would like to go a little deeper into the details of such an important life and get a little closer to the reality of Mozart's actual personality, values, and contribution to the world of music.
May 21, 2024
This biography of Mozart’s life was highly enjoyable. It reads more like a novel, and does not have the dry quality that is typical of historical books. This would be accessible to non-musicians.
As a lover of Mozart and someone who has played and studied much of his music throughout my life, I found this book fascinating, exciting, and emotional. It really gave the sense of stepping into the eighteenth century world of Mozart’s life.
As a lover of Mozart and someone who has played and studied much of his music throughout my life, I found this book fascinating, exciting, and emotional. It really gave the sense of stepping into the eighteenth century world of Mozart’s life.
February 15, 2021
Well deserved reputation for the definitive work on the life and music of Mozart. Davenport's insights to Mozart's music have increased my appreciation and I will continue to use this book as a reference whenever I listen to his work.
March 16, 2025
An atmospheric and infuriating book
Sitwell repeatedly describes Mozart’s music as “indescribable”, “beyond words” etc, which seems to me a failure on the part of the writer. But he gets a good sense of Mozart’s complicated personality. A short and effective introduction to Mozart’s biography
Sitwell repeatedly describes Mozart’s music as “indescribable”, “beyond words” etc, which seems to me a failure on the part of the writer. But he gets a good sense of Mozart’s complicated personality. A short and effective introduction to Mozart’s biography
November 29, 2017
More a docudrama than true biography, but enjoyable... for a tragedy!
September 6, 2016
Davenport wrote this biography in 1931 when the style was to dramatize rather than simply supply information. I understand the thinking behind this method of biography. It is an attempt to make the subject real to the reader. So we have descriptions of Mozart smirking here, stamping his foot impatiently there, as well as several imagined conversations that might have taken place with his friends and family.
Like the movie, Amadeus, which I enjoyed, it creates a life like image of a historical figure so we can see him for ourselves. The problem is, is that the image is largely a figment of the writer's imagination and consequently a false one. I'd much rather the biographer write what actually happened. I have read Mozart's letters so I have already experienced his "voice."
That aversion aside, Davenport does supply us with information that gives us a greater familiarity with arguably the greatest composer whoever lived. Her book gave me insight into his life and surroundings that I did not previously possess.
For the rest of the review cut and paste the link to my blog post:
http://sharonhenning.blogspot.com/201...
Like the movie, Amadeus, which I enjoyed, it creates a life like image of a historical figure so we can see him for ourselves. The problem is, is that the image is largely a figment of the writer's imagination and consequently a false one. I'd much rather the biographer write what actually happened. I have read Mozart's letters so I have already experienced his "voice."
That aversion aside, Davenport does supply us with information that gives us a greater familiarity with arguably the greatest composer whoever lived. Her book gave me insight into his life and surroundings that I did not previously possess.
For the rest of the review cut and paste the link to my blog post:
http://sharonhenning.blogspot.com/201...
March 7, 2008
I thought it would be interesting to learn about good ole Mozart. This is a well written biography-- Mozart had an interesting life. I really did not like his father when all was said and done. If he were to live in today's world, his father would be a classic "Hollywood" parent. Mozart had a brilliant mind but was exploited in every way by those who wanted to gain from his talent. His father was so controlling and very manipulative. Davenport uses letters sent between the two to illustrate this. Mozart was eccentric to the core-- but he had a sad life. It just makes me think that sometimes, maybe the trade-off between having a "normal" life and lots of talent is just not worth it!!
September 28, 2014
I haven't read this for decades, but recall it as lively with a Mozartian wit. She wrote something like "in the meantime it had been discovered that Wolfgang could play the violin." Surely there are bigger and more scholarly books, but this is more than good enough for openers.
January 7, 2015
This book was a good look at the life of Mozart. The dialog bothered me a little. The author seems to make up some of it. I went away thinking what a pity it was that such an amazing composer struggled so hard to make a living.
March 8, 2016
I like music and listen to classic music.
The book is written more detail about his life.
I changed his image through the book.
I recommend people who like classic music. You will like more Mozart.
The book is written more detail about his life.
I changed his image through the book.
I recommend people who like classic music. You will like more Mozart.
August 31, 2007
Davenport's clear and honest portrait of Mozart debunks many of the myths surrounding the composer's life and death, many of them hyped in the film 'Amadeus'.
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