Exemplary.

Erudite, ambitious and elegantly written.

He demonstrates persuasively—and passionately—how the nuances of a Mozart score don’t merely reflect but embody the central concerns of biography and history.

In addition to relying on letters and extant accounts for Mozart in Motion: His Work and His World in Pieces, Mackie also incorporates academic theory and philosophical reflections on how we collectively experience music today into his thematically organized biography. The result is still a familiar portrait of Mozart, but one that is painted in new colors.

Patrick Mackie’s book places us firmly in this new world, and that’s the best part of it – a feeling of looking over Mozart’s shoulder as he jounces in a carriage, plays for an inattentive salon, negotiates with patrons.

An engaging biography.

An illuminating book that aims to ground the music of a composer too often idolized as a mere instrument of the divine in the context of his time.

An intriguing blend of biography and deft musical analysis.

A unique, wide-ranging study.