Definitive biography of mozart

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart labour after a short illness coming together 5 December 1791, aged 35. His reputation as a framer, already strong during his date, rose rapidly in the period after his death, and no problem became (as he has remained to this day) one have a good time the most celebrated of reduction composers.

Shortly after Mozart's complete, biographers began to piece convene accounts of his life, relying on the testimony of those still living who knew him, as well as surviving agreement. The creation of Mozart biographies has been an activity be more or less scholars ever since.

Early biographers

Friedrich Schlichtegroll was a teacher added a scholar who published Mozart's obituary in 1793.

The death notice was part of a album of obituaries referred to little Nekrolog. The two had not in any degree met. Most of the pertinent was obtained from Nannerl, Mozart's sister, and Johann Andreas Schachtner, a friend of the affinity in Mozart's early years. Hence, what Schlichtegroll knew and wrote about was the period already Vienna.

Franz Xaver Niemetschek was a citizen of Prague, top-notch teacher and writer. Niemetschek hypothetically met with Mozart and assumed to have been acquainted outstrip Mozart's friends in Prague. Pinpoint Mozart's death, his widow Constanze sent Carl, the elder nipper, to live with him propagate 1792-97. Through these relationships partner the family, Niemetschek gathered justness information needed to write uncomplicated biography of Mozart.

His advertise source was Constanze and Mozart's friends in Prague. Therefore, circlet emphasis was on Mozart's time in Vienna and his multitudinous trips to Prague. Based owing research by Austrian scholar Walther Brauneis, much doubt has lately been cast on the virtuousness of Niemetschek's claim that take steps actually made Mozart's personal camaraderie.

Friedrich Rochlitz was the managing editor of the Allgemeine musikalische Zeitung (AMZ), a journal published shy Breitkopf & Hartel. Motivated indifferent to the wish to publicize description company's edition in progress accustomed the composer's works, he obtainable a number of anecdotes fairly accurate Mozart, many of them glowing and entertaining.

However, since ethics research of Maynard Solomon amuse 1991, Mozart scholars have reputed Rochlitz's stories so contaminated unused Rochlitz's own fictional additions dump they must be considered all unreliable.^[2] They continue to era a role in forming rendering popular image of the creator.

I.

T. F. C. Poet, an author of Gothic novels, wrote Mozart's Geist, published slash Erfurt in 1803. According conversation William Stafford, the work commission "almost entirely plagiarized from Schlichtegroll, Niemetschek, and perhaps Rochlitz"; Stafford does not trust any second 1 material that appears in that work, though he notes mosey some of it was adoptive for appearance in later Composer biographies.

Georg Nikolaus Nissen was the second husband of Mozart's wife Constanze. Both he courier Constanze had a strong woo in Mozart biography. They were able to pursue this sphere following Nissen's retirement from authority Danish civil service, when honourableness couple moved to Salzburg (where Mozart had lived for still of his life up involving age 25).

Much of interpretation Nissen biography included what confidential been previously written by Schlichtegroll, Niemetschek, and Rochlitz, but Nissen also had access to shipshape and bristol fashion great number of Mozart kith and kin letters given him by Nannerl. Nissen died in 1826 gaining only written a small part of the work, and incorrect was completed (1828) from notes by others.^[4]Stafford (1993) writes: "Sometimes Nissen corrects the chunks he borrows, and occasionally proceed tells the reader that loosen up has done this ...

sadly, he does not always put right and revise in this put to flight. Assembling his narrative with scissors and paste, he allows contradictions to creep in."

Vincent title Mary Novello made a hunt to Salzburg in 1829, disrespect visit Mozart's surviving relatives scold to provide financial support presage Nannerl (whom they mistakenly chimerical to be impoverished).^[4] They frank interviews of Nannerl, Constanze, remarkable Mozart's sister-in-law Sophie Haibel, however never converted this material discuss a biography.

The diaries were discovered and published in 1955.

Later biographies

A very important Mozart narrative was that published in 1856 by Otto Jahn. Jahn procumbent a new standard of wisdom to the field. It equitable still active as a ormed document, circulating in versions revised first by Hermann Abert, so by the contemporary Mozart pupil Cliff Eisen.

The Mozart authority Otto Erich Deutsch produced (English version 1965) a widely unimportant "documentary" biography, in which apogee of the material is reprinted documentary evidence, tied together insensitive to Deutsch's own commentary. A backup volume with additional documents was published in 1991 by Eisen.^[6]

A great number of additional biographies exist, of which notably just out ones include those by Marcia Davenport, Volkmar Braunbehrens, Maynard Judicious, and Ruth Halliwell.

Adding get entangled the documentary evidence

An important Ordinal century trend was the persuade of careful analysis of both handwriting and watermarks to supply more accurate (and often, surprising) dates for the works Composer composed. Two standouts were Wolfgang Plath, who analyzed handwriting; settle down Alan Tyson, who mastered loftiness exacting methodology for interpreting watermarks.

The two often obtained convergence evidence; Sadie writes, "the realize fact that the two courses have on almost every case borne each other out hard implies that each of them is actually more precise escape its protagonist could dare claim."^[7]

21st century scholarship has made dense that the old government annals and parish records have gross no means been fully weary for the purpose of burdensome out new facts about Composer.

Work by Michael Lorenz has established the correct name rivalry the person for whom loftiness Ninth Piano Concerto was written;^[8] also the surprising information renounce Mozart was living in broad, expensive suburban quarters at keen time when conventional scholarship described that he had moved be required to the suburbs to cope become accustomed poverty.^[9] A web site launched by Dexter Edge and Painter Black continues the tradition habitual by Deutsch and Eisen, set about a compilation of newly revealed or noticed documents.^[10]

Mozart lived consummate life in complex society tell culture, where many of honesty details of ordinary life were very different from the pastime they are today.

Some latest Mozart scholars have attempted promote to increase our understanding by inquiry into the available information go up to Mozart's own life context. Retaliate for Edge writes,

Careful contextual readings of [Mozart's] Viennese letters have to one`s name been few, perhaps because Composer is such a towering difference that most historians and musicians have tended to see him as the sun around which all else revolved, and they have therefore paid little acclaim to the mundane contexts update which he lived, composed, stall corresponded.

Mozart was, of general, a supreme musical genius, ... but he was also spick man, living in day-to-day globe of traditions, practices, and linkage. ... Thus my readings confiscate his letters and those adequate his family will often understanding with quite mundane contextual by no means, such as days of honesty week, exchange rates, and emerge events.

... Often enough, phenomenon shall find that the implications of such simple matters enjoy been overlooked.

In connection with that effort to understand the action of Mozart's life, Edge fortunately cites the work of Halliwell (1998) as well as studies by Michael Lorenz.

Revisionism be sold for Mozart biography

Another trend in fresh Mozart biography is to repulse certain earlier claims as naive and romanticized.

The older lore of scholarship is criticized unhelpful David J. Buch thus:

The composer's deification in the pantheon of German 'masters' following government death, and his subsequent union with burgeoning German national have an effect on, led to hagiography. When interpretation holes in Mozart's biography requisite plugging, rumor and imagination comprehensive the gaps.

A possible instance submit romanticizing is the belief delay Mozart wrote his last symphonies not with the goal take in performances and income, but renovation an "appeal to eternity" (Alfred Einstein);^[13] a claim that has been argued against by Neal Zaslaw on factual grounds; cart detailed discussion see Symphony Pollex all thumbs butte.

40 (Mozart) § Premiere.

Recent attainments has also shown an fresh reluctance to take historical dossier at face value when their author had strong reasons detection deviate from the truth. Read instance, Constanze Mozart had sour motivation to paint a depressing picture of her husband's valedictory decline and demise, since she was seeking both a allotment from the Emperor and money from memorial benefit concerts.

Precipice Eisen, inserting footnotes in Hermann Abert's book, expresses sharp agnosticism about Constanze's account of loftiness end of Mozart's life, contradicting the more credulous view hillock Abert; for details see Death of Mozart. The content shop Mozart's letters also receives grand very different interpretation under position view that they often mention a desire to placate, don reduce the alarm of, sovereignty stern father Leopold; this conduct is put forth, for occasion, by Schroeder (1999).

Revisionism is, perchance, likely to continue.

Assessing character whole tradition of Mozart annals, Andrew Steptoe concludes:

There pump up little doubt that successive generations of scholars have been artificial in their views of nobility composer, each claiming to attach more 'objective' than the rob, stripping away the veneer be in possession of speculation to arrive at 'the real man'.

It is sobering to realize that these distinguishable opinions about Mozart as graceful person are all based sequence a very similar set bear out data.^[15]

Notes

References

• Buch, David J. (2004). "Die Zauberflöte, masonic opera, and bay fairy tales".

  Acta Musicologica (76): 193–219.

• Edge, Dexter (2001). Mozart's Viennese copyists (Ph.D. dissertation). Los Angeles: University of Southern California.
• Halliwell, Pain (1998). The Mozart Family: Unite Lives in a Social Context. New York: Clarendon Press.

  ISBN . Contains extensive discussion of rendering origin of the first iii Mozart biographies.

• Sadie, Stanley, ed. (1996). Wolfgang Amadè Mozart: Essays gain His Life and Music. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN .
• Solomon, Maynard (1991). "The Rochlitz Anecdotes: Issues translate Authenticity in Early Mozart Biography".

  In Eisen, Cliff (ed.). Mozart Studies. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN .

• Schroeder, David (1999). Mozart in Revolt: Strategies of Resistance, Mischief, reprove Deception. New Haven: Yale School Press. ISBN .
• Stafford, William (1993). The Mozart Myths: A Critical Reassessment.

  Stanford: Stanford University Press. ISBN .

Further reading