Mozart: A Cultural Biography

I am 260 pages into this 839 page book and my impression is that this has to be the definitive Mozart biography. It is heavily leaden with pertinent footnotes, asides and culturally important context; what is more important is that Mozart is given the respect due to a grown man, to a blessed genius, to a cultural icon second to no one. When the movie "Amadeus" came out those many years ago, I watched it and was horrified at how Wolfie was depicted. Worse than a comic book character, he was reduced to a sexually perverse adolescent who just so happened to have music poring through his dim-wit brains. Gutman has burned away all the disappointment and distortion that the admitedly bogus Shaffer play/movie created and what remains is a fantastic story that grips from beginning to end. One of the most impressive bits of trivia, by the way, is just how often Wolfie (and his entire family) was deathly sick and how he lived as long as he did. I simply could not fathom how he survived those many illnesses as a child; perhaps (what we term his immune system) was so demolished as a child that as an adult, facing more sickness, his body simply could not take any more? A really great book that I am savouring every day. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Have finally finished the book. Totally worth the effort to read such a huge book (note: the footnotes although so many are worth reading). This is a book that has the depth that Mozart deserved. What I found outstanding was the richness of knowledge, of the labor of research the author put into arriving at clarity, at dispelling of myths. This later issue for me was the antidote I had always been craving since watching "Amadeus" for the first time. There have been many silly and inaccurate things said about him; this book just about covers each and every myth. The wisdom we absorb in the process makes Woolfy so much more human. How much more can we love this man who was at the peak of his creative energies, his public success, his power as a husband and father. A word must be said about his father. Although it is tempting to judge Leopold in a harsh way, he was a product in many ways of his times; his character was wracked with insecurities and paranoia. That he took advantage of Mozart and in the end by disinheriting him made him look like a nasty and bitter man, we still have to admit that he encouraged and taught Mozart as best he could. That he could stoop to very low levels (accusing Mozart of being the cause of his mothers death, is but one of many examples) must be seen in contrast to how far Mozart evolved away from those clutching and grasping hands. Sad too is the polluting mindset his sister absorbed from their father. However, we might not have done any better given the tumultuous times they all lived in. His final sickness came out of nowhere and took him very rapidly. With his wife at his side he slipped into a coma and died. We ar

This is a superb biography: dense, profound, vast, and multi-faceted. As its subtitle promises, it provides a fascinating cultural framework to the most complete (and myth-shattering) portrait of Mozart's character I've read so far. Without the use of a single cheap device, it put me so close to the events that I felt I was in the houses and theaters witnessing them. The poisoning plot is relegated to where it belongs: a dismissive footnote. I agree with another reviewer about the revelations concerning Leopold. Far from the one-dimensional Mother of All Stage Fathers he's been so often depicted as, at some moments he comes off as admirable, an authentic figure of the Enlightenment. His eventual self-destruction - the pettiness and jealousy that poisoned his relations with Wolfgang and the role he played in estranging Nannerl from her brother - is nothing short of tragic. For my one quibble I'll paraphrase Emperor Joseph's apocrypha: Too few notes, Mr. Gutman. The book has not a single musical quotation, which the author explains in the preface by citing the abundance of scores and recordings available. This made for somewhat choppy reading (along with the too many footnotes, Mr. Gutman). Still, the inducement to go beyond the text led to a few discoveries, both by the Apollo incarnate himself and by some of his contemporaries - all of which added immensely to the enjoyment of this book.

Though I'm not much of a Mozart buff, and his music generally does little for me, it's impossible to deny his genius or to escape its fascination. So, after again having watched the entertaining nonsense of the movie Amadeus a while ago, I felt compelled to find out a bit more about the REAL story (I knew the gist of it only from Peter Gay's tiny book). What luck then, to find this beautifully produced, comprehensive tome lying around in the remainders corner of a book store. It was worth every cent of the modest price I paid for it. This is biography as it should be. It covers all details of Mozart's personal life, his family, and the troubled relation with his father; it covers many details of his works besides. It also shows his constant wavering on the brink between the dictates of protocol on the one hand and his sense of superiority through creative genius on the other. This delicate balance defined his dealings with Colloredo in Salzburg, with Joseph II in Vienna, and with the hosts of princes, dukes and bishops who governed the mind-boggling patchwork of states that constituted the Holy Roman Empire at that time. In dealing with these issues, Gutman never loses himself in speculation and is eminently sober. Where information is spread thin because of a lack of correspondence or interrupted work on a diary, he just tells us so and moves on. If you are looking for scurrilous anecdotes of the Amadeus kind, you will look in vain here. Mozart, no matter how convinced of his own qualities, would never have dreamt to bow low with his back turned to the ruler of Salzburg, showing him his behind. You will only find his insolence tucked away in a few defiant sentences in a letter, thickly covered by all the servile formulae that were expected of a courtier who ranked no higher than a footman. Neither will you find sycophantic ravings about Mozart's precocious talent. Though the works he produced at a young age were certainly exceptional, their flaws stand out clearly, and many of them also betray the hand of Leopold, as Gutman patiently points out. In fact, I noticed, the flow of great masterpieces only starts once your two-thirds through the book; before that lie the years of the child prodigy dragged all over Europe by his ambitious father, and those of the young composer struggling to find his voice and an audience. By the way, the description of Mozart's work strongly focuses on the opera's, and the sometimes over-extensive (psycho)analysis of the libretti struck me as the only weak aspect of this book. On the whole, however, this book is far more about the man and his world than about the music.You will also look in vain for uncanny overtones in the visit of the masked messenger who ordered the Requiem, and neither is there the tragic end of the neglected genius dumped in a pauper's grave. Mozart had a standard third class funeral, Gutman tells us, as did most Viennese citizens, and the proceedings surrounding it were quite in keeping with tho

This twelve-year effort by Mr. Robert W. Gutman to create a cultural biography around the core that was Mozart, should meet the needs of those educated in music, or those like myself who are fascinated with this genius of History. This work is massive by any measure and even the Author suggested certain passages could be passed over by less sophisticated students of Mozart's work, and music in general.I read this work over a lengthy period of time as the material is very dense, and the book is more like a collection than a single volume. This is a Biography of Mozart, and also biographies of those who were Family, his peers, and The Monarchs who ruled during his short life. It is a work of History as well. For Mozart the person, throughout the book is always placed within the context of the events surrounding him. Politics would influence where he could play, as would religion, all forms of civil disobedience, and war. In this sense the work has as an element Political Science as well. The Author includes detailed economic facts from the smallest of costs that were included for a concert tour, to the largesse that was or was not handed to Mozart by a variety of Royal Courts. These latter two issues were obsessions with his Father. Mozart Sr. not only micro-managed the lives of his children, but also was constantly vying for the good graces of the wealthy, The Nobility, as well as The Royalty, and dealing with all manner of court intrigue in hopes of his personal advancement.For any who became interested in Mozart after seeing, "Amadeus", this book, as others do, portrays the composer as at times a colorful individual, but not the debauched character that was seen in the film. His writings at times are colorful in the extreme; his ego and his expressions of his self-importance do not always commend him. However his genius cannot be denied, and while not as raucous as the movie version, Mozart would never be accused of being a bore at gatherings.I am glad that I read this book, and it will certainly serve as a reference source. I would not recommend this as the first book to read on Mozart unless Music is your field of study. To truly appreciate what the Author has created, and to gain all the knowledge the book contains, an individual must have much more than a passing interest in Mozart. Mr. Gutman has created a scholarly work that would seem to set a standard that will be hard to surpass.

"Mozart: A Cultural Biography" is a wonderfullywritten account of the life of perhaps the greatest composer who everlived. It is rich and detailed, and obviously very well researched. Bytracing all the major influences on the life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - among them his father Leopold and sister Nannerl; his wife Constanze; Count Hieronymous Colloredo, the Archbishop of Salzburg (his infamous bete noir,) and Austrian Emperor Joseph II - author Robert Gutman presents Mozart in a far different light than the loud, immature and vulgar individual depicted in earlier biographies, and in the film "Amadeus." Gutman's graceful and eloquent pen instead presents Mozart as always confident in his own limitless abilities. Although late to maturity due to his father's domineering ways, he was completely competent to manage his own affairs once he achieved independence from the court of the Archbishop of Salzburg. (Contrary to the popular belief he died a pauper, Mozart actually had achieved a limited measure of financial security at the time of his death.) Imbued with a strong sense of high morality and a wonderfully self-deprecating sense of humor, he could be at times cheerful, witty, optimistic, and wise beyond his years; at other times, petulant, immature, tactless and crude. As good a biography as this is, "Mozart: A Cultural Biography" is also outstanding history. Adhering to the belief of fellow biographer William Manchester that "there can be no enlightening life which does not include an account of the man's times," Gutman skillfully interweaves a short course on European political and social history with the events of Mozart's life. Several chapters near the beginning of the book explore the ongoing political and cultural ferment during Mozart's formative years, and how these environmental factors influenced Mozart's musical style. Gutman's commentary on the many musical forms in which Mozart excelled - especially opera - were especially helpful to me in more fully understanding Mozart's life, times and great genius. "Mozart: A Cultural Biography" is written with grace, clarity and obviously great scholarship. Its one drawback is that the author seems to assume in readers a reasonably good knowledge of 18th century European history, and of classical music. Despite this minor shortcoming, "Mozart: A Cultural Biography, " is certainly the best of the three biographies of Mozart I've read. Highly recommended!