Mozart: The Early Years 1756-1781Few people these days would question Mozart's rating as the most popular of all classical composers. Yet there exists no substantial, up-to-date English-language study of the man and his works. In this new study of Mozart's early years, Stanley Sadie aims to fill this gap in the form of a traditional biography on a straightforward chronological basis. The volume covers the period up to 1781, the year of Idomeneo and Mozart's settling in Vienna. Individual works are discussed in sequence and related to the events of his life. Stanley Sadie draws substantially on the family correspondence, quoting the letters and discussing what they tell us about Mozart and his world and his relationships with his family and his professional colleagues. Also included is a discussion of all aspects of Mozart's life and his music, relating them to the environment in which he worked, social, economic and cultural as well as musical. Much new material connected with Mozart has come to light in recent years. There have been discoveries of musical sources and new ways of studying known ones. Such finds and methods have changed our view of the chronology of many works and they often have significant biographical ramifications. Understanding of the context for Mozart's music, and indeed his life, has broadened immensely. Stanley Sadie's biography digests and interprets this corpus of new information. |
What people are saying - Write a review
Mozart: the early years, 1756-1781
User Review - Not Available - Book VerdictKnown principally as the editor of The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Sadie was one of the preeminent Mozart scholars of our time. He envisioned as his culminating achievement a ... Read full review
User Review - Flag as inappropriate
I would have loved to read the second part of his life, because that involves his death---but unfortunately the author of the book had died and could not finish the second book! However, you can only really appreciate this book if you absolutely love Mozart or are a true fan to the movie "Amadeus"!
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
accompaniment Adagio Allegro Aloysia Andante archbishop aria Augsburg autograph bars bass bassoon beginning castrato cathedral chorus church Cliff Eisen composed composition concerto court December divertimentos duet father finale flat flute fugue gulden Hagenauer harpsichord Haydn heard horns Idomeneo instruments Italian Italy Johann journey Kapellmeister keyboard later Leopold Mozart Leopold wrote libretto London Lucio Silla Mannheim March Maria Anna mass melodic ment Michael Haydn Milan minuet Mitridate Mozart wrote Munich musicians Nannerl notes oboes opening opera opera buffa orchestral Paris performance phrase piano piece played probably quartet recapitulation recitative ritornello rondo Salzburg score secondary material secondary theme seems serenade singers singing slow movement solo soloists sonata-form sonatas soprano strings style symphonies tenor texture theatre tion trio trumpets usual Vienna Viennese viola violin violinist voice Wolfgang writing written Zaslaw