The Letters of Mozart and His Family

No composer has shown deeper insight into human character than Mozart, as his operas abundantly illustrate. That same insight distinguishes his letters. When, as he often does, Mozart comments to his father or to his wife on the behaviour of some fellow-musician, or the demeanour of some nobleman, his remarks are streaked with perceptions that spring from an acute sensitivity and intelligence. The letters range from Mozart's childhood, when his father took him on extensive tours covering half of Europe, through the travels of his youth to Italy (from where he gives a telling picture of the operatic and social scene), through his abortive and tragic journey to Paris (here his letters , fascinatingly, conceal almost as much as they tell) to his Vieenese days - the traumatic early months, when he was literally kicked out of the Salzburg Archbishop's service, to his last years, with the pathetic begging letters to his brother mason Michael Puchberg and the affectionate, intimate letters to his wife Constanze.