Mozart: The Reign of Love
(Harper, $45)
You probably already know a pat version of Mozart’s life story, said Tim Page in The Washington Post. After all, “audiences have been captivated for centuries by the sentimental tragedy of a doomed wunderkind betrayed by life, misunderstood by his contemporaries, and laid in what is invariably described as a ‘pauper’s grave.’” Jan Swafford’s excellent new biography offers a slightly different picture. Though history’s most celebrated child prodigy died when he was only 35, his time on earth was mostly rewarding: He was a hard worker who fulfilled his early promise, made many friends, and reveled in naughty humor. Swafford, a composer himself, has written biographies of Beethoven, Brahms, and Charles Ives, and he reports that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart stands apart in that cohort as “the sanest, most gregarious, least self-flagellating.”
Though it runs 800 pages, Swafford’s Mozart “has a wholly thrilling ‘you are there’ impact,” said Carl Rollyson in the San Francisco Chronicle. The book opens with 4-year-old Wolfgang surprising his family by playing a lively harpsichord piece by ear. Soon his father, also a musician, had him performing for royalty, and before Wolfgang reached 20, he had written several operas. Instead of crashing like so many other prodigies, he steadily grew in prowess. And though he fought with his father over money, he was a self-directed master of his art who was, in every sense, “playing all the time.” In his letters, many newly available, he’s jovial, bawdy, and often hilarious.
Mozart did suffer some heartbreak, said Jessica Duchen in The Sunday Times (U.K.). And there’s no avoiding his early death, which Swafford attributes not to poisoning, as has been speculated since Mozart’s time. “No, the killer was his life’s purpose: his music.” He took on so much work that he was simply too worn down to fight off whatever ailment struck him in late 1791. This book restores the man and his artistry to vivid life. “For many, his works are dear old friends. You can come away from this book feeling that he is, too.”