The Other Mozart: Poems

A vital, delightful, engaging sketch of the life of Maria Anna Mozart, a child prodigy herself before she was eclipsed by the genius of her younger brother. "...dearest Sister...please trust me absolutely and never think that I shall forget you; but remember that things do not always turn out, or at least not always exactly, as one wishes."Mozart (17) to Maria Anna (22), 1778 Charming, intelligent, witty, beautiful, irreverent, Maria Anna (Nannerl) was the older sister of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. A musical genius in her own right, she toured the courts of Europe as a wunderkind from 1762 to 1767. But her career was cut short when her father, Leopold Mozart, decided to focus his resources on her brother Wolfgang. Sharon Chmielarz dramatizes important moments throughout Nannerl's life, creating a vital, engaging, and ultimately tragic heroine. The poems range from childhood scenes to Nannerl's early retirement and years of virtual exclusion, her marriage of convenience to a wealthy older man, the births of her children, the loss of her parents, brother, and husband, and finally her return as a widow to Salzburg. A fascinating, richly detailed glimpse into the private life of a cultured woman of her era, The Other Mozart, is engaging both as biography and poetry.