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Title: A Mozart Primer
Review: Peter Gay's MOZART is a no-nonsense, straight to the point brief biography of Mozart. Organized by themes--the Prodigy, the Son, the Servant, the Freelance, the Beggar, the Master, the Dramatist, the Classic--Gay seeks to dispel certain myths created by the Oscar winning movie, Amadeus--such as Mozart's rare use of that form of his middle name in the Latinate--while reaffirming Mozart's undeniable musical genius. The major drawback of the book is one that Gay could not avoid, you can only imagine Mozart's compositions in your mind as you read. Gay tries to paint the picture of how magnificient, truly unmatched Mozart's gift was, but words only go so far. The positive thing along the same lines, however, is that I can't wait to play "Jupiter" and piano concertos like no. 20 and 21 and soak in their richness, which ultimately is Gay's goal. Reading about Mozart must serve hearing what endures in his music.
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