... admirable.

Mr. Swafford delights in repeating these stories—it’s one of the pleasures of this comprehensive and engaging biography. He is thoroughly up-to-date on the latest information and controversies, debunking the still commonly held mythology about the composer, and he continually reminds us of what astounding music Mozart wrote.

... outstanding.

[Swafford] presents not only a lively, accessible, and richly detailed account of his subject’s life and times, but also takes a crack at debunking the 'hoary corpus of myths about Mozart'.

Without resorting to technical terminology or offering musical illustrations, Swafford traces Mozart’s development from prodigy to mature composer, weaving together the events of Mozart’s life and the cultural milieu in which he worked.

It is a great pleasure to read about Mozart as a working composer in a narrative written by a working composer.

... amazing.

... is after something far more audacious than merely taking its place on the shelf alongside many hundreds of other books on the mercurial composer.

Swafford proves in his biography that nothing in the composer’s life needs to be uber dramatized, the simple facts are compelling enough.

This book is not just Amadeus for aficionados. It is, as Mozart characterized two of his midcareer piano concertos, 'a happy medium between what's too difficult and too easy … there are passages here and there that only connoisseurs can fully appreciate—yet the common listener will find them satisfying as well'.

In this gigantic book devoted to a man who died at 35, the American composer and academic Jan Swafford has met that challenge head on and traces its source, with some conviction, to love.

If tackling an 832-page biography of anybody seems daunting for the general reader, Swafford makes it almost effortless with Mozart, animating his genius, detailing the interpersonal dynamics with family, lovers, friends, rivals, and patrons that would drain him even as he pushed on to create more than 600 indelible works in his 35 years; drawing a visceral portrait of the cities where Mozart composed and performed.

Composer and biographer Swafford brings expertise and insight to bear on a comprehensive, animated life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.