The Mozart Myths - by William Stafford (Paperback)

About the Book

This is an ambitious attempt to separate what is actually known (and can be known) about Mozart from the many myths and legends that have grown up about his life and character, notably the circumstances of his death and his alleged immaturity, drinking, extravagance, womanizing, unreliability, and professional failure.

Book Synopsis

This book is an ambitious attempt to separate what is actually known (and can be known) about Mozart from the many myths and legends that have grown up about his life, character, and death. It subjects individual myths to critical and scholarly scrutiny--weighing the evidence on which it is based, and critically assessing the reliability of that evidence.

The author first considers the question of Mozart's death in 1791 at the age of 35, a subject that intrigued his contemporaries and has continued to fascinate posterity. No other aspect of Mozart's life has engendered so many dramatic and colorful myths. The stage play and movie Amadeus incorporated virtually all these myths and, indeed, most of the other myths associated with Mozart.

In the remainder of this book, the author treats in similar fashion other legends relating to Mozart's alleged maturity, drinking, extravagance, unreliability, womanizing, and professional failure. There is also much material on the nature of Mozart's genius, the influence of Freemasonry on his work, and the value of his last compositions. The book is illustrated with 8 pages of halftones and line drawings.

Review Quotes

"A most enjoyable book. Stafford withstands all temptations to be either cranky or gloating as debunkers too often are. He has written a skillfully researched and civilized book that seems a model of its kind. Mozart badly needs this type of research, especially in his role as culture hero. As a debunking book it remains refreshingly concrete, and I learned immense amounts from it. I believe that Stafford's method would be useful for rethinking the reputations of other figures--not simply musicians, but writers and artists as well."
--Herbert Lindenberger
, Stanford University

About the Author

William Stafford is Principal Lecturer in Philosophy and the History of Ideas at Huddersfield Polytechnic, in England.