NEW hardcover

Mozart: The Golden Years 17811791 [Hardcover] Landon, HC Robbins and Wellillustrated

Telling the story with wit, verve, and a fine eye for the byways of Viennese societywill draw readers into Mozarts personality and attract them to the eternally ambiguous musicThe ObserverThe last decade of Mozarts short but amazingly prolific career counts as one of the most remarkable periodstruly golden yearsin the history of Western music Richly illustrated with contemporary paintings and engravings and authoritatively written, this book provides a vivid account of the composers life in the European music capital, Vienna, from 1781 to 1791 This creative yet turbulent decade witnessed a crescendo of activity Mozart married Constanze Weber in 1782, and in the ensuing years produced an astonishing wealth of new music, rich in quality as well as quantityA host of immortal works belong to this period, among them the great trilogy of symphonies numbers 39, 40, and 41, operatic masterpiecesThe Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni, Cosi fan tutte, and The Magic Fluteand the Clarinet Concerto of 1791Through a close examination of Mozarts public successes and failures; his relationship with his father, Leopold; his devotion to his wife, Constanze; his Masonic associations; and his friendship with Franz Joseph Haydn, H C Robbins Landon provides an intimate and eminently readable portrait of an extraordinary musical genius 242 illustrations, 32 in color