Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2006.Ĭontributors include some forty-nine scholars (chiefly British and American, several of whom are from Cornell University, which has produced Mozart specialists under the guidance of Neal Zaslaw, who also contributed to this volume). Keefe 2003 is a collection of essays, Eisen and Keefe 2006 is a true lexicon, and Landon 1990 is a broad survey that attempts to be comprehensive.Įisen, Cliff, and Simon P. The following sources include updated and complete coverage of a broad overview of Mozart and his music. The studies included here concentrate on original research with a strong evidentiary basis, in addition to essential sources found in other publications.

It should come as no surprise that many studies referenced in this article challenge received wisdom about Mozart’s life and works. Pronouncements by scholars should not be taken at face value, but rather be examined critically in the light of primary sources. Some accounts of his compositional practice, the conditions of his life, his finances, and even his death and burial are either demonstrably false or lack convincing documentary evidence. Despite a vast secondary literature on Mozart and his music, some of the widely accepted “facts” of his life are based on posthumous anecdotes, conjecture, and even outright invention.

The son of Leopold Mozart, a professional musician, Wolfgang was a celebrated child prodigy and developed into a composer who mastered almost every musical genre of his era, composing over 600 works. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (baptized Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, b. 27 January 1756–d. 5 December 1791) is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers in European music history.

Mozarts biography