The Life of Mozart

First published in 1845, this English biography follows Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart from the childhood tours with Leopold and Nannerl through service at Salzburg, the break with the archbishop, and the freelance Vienna years of the operas, piano concertos, and last symphonies. Holmes translates and embeds many of Mozart's letters so that commissions, debts, Constanze, and the quarrel with his father are told in the composer's words. The narrative ends with the Requiem and the burial. The book is a life built from correspondence and early testimony, not a thematic catalogue of every work.

Quarter bound in dark red cloth, blue cloth boards with a cover silhouette of Mozart in red and gold. Light brown endleaves printed with a musical score in dark brown. Dark red slipcase.