Books: Mozart By Jan Swafford

 (Drivebycuriosity) - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is an icon of Western culture, his music is immortal. But according to the movie "Amadeus" the genius died in poverty  (imdb ). How went his life really? The monumental biography "Mozart "by Jan Swafford gives detailed & convincing answers (amazon ).

Over about 800 pages the author not only describes painstakingly Amadeus´ life & his struggles with employers, competitors and his fragile health, he also dives into the history of Austria and neighboring Germany, which was then a patchwork of independent countries. Swafford explains the political, economical & sociological environment and the powers which influenced Mozart and his music. Swafford, who himself is a composer, elaborates and explains the genius` operas, symphonies, chamber works, concertos & other pieces of music (a bit too long for my taste so I just skimmed these parts).  

In Mozart`s time the market for compositions was very thin. The only way to distribute a composition were prints, which were costly & time consuming. Composers needed to cooperate with a small group of printers (publishers). Unfortunately many Mozart pieces did not get printed until his early death. So Mozart - and his competitors - depended on the caprice of employers & sponsors, usually powerful aristocrats. Born in Salzburg (Austria) he sought for employments in Paris, Italy, London and on the courts of German elector princes in Salzburg, Munich, Mannheim, with no success. He settled finally in Vienna, Austria´s capital and seat of Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor. Even though Mozart worked mostly as a free lancer, he depended mostly on the grace of the Emperor, who as a control freak and decided about operas and other musical events in Austria. Unfortunately the monarch preferred others despite their quality.

Today it sounds almost unbelievable but Mozart´s operas - with the exception of the "Magic Flute", a co-production with the impresario (producer) Emanuel Schikaneder - were only performed over a very short time.  

Swafford tried to explain why Mozart earned much less than his competitors, who´s names are mostly forgotten. Apparently the genius had a difficult personality and his diplomatic & social qualities did not come up to his musical talents. His letters - many of them are recited - show that he communicated weirdly, often with insults and obscenities. Some claim that Mozart suffered from a kind of Tourette Syndrome, which makes people behaving spontaneously and strange. But this wasn´t mentioned in this book.

It seems also that Mozart´s operas and other compositions were too complex for his time and too challenging for the tastes of the powerful and the masses (opera audiences). Many critiques claimed that Mozart`s compositions have "too many notes" (in "Amadeus" movie we hear this from Emperor Joseph). Competitors like Antonio Salieri, a favorite of the Emperor and the audience in Vienna, and others had more talent to please their superiors and the taste of the 18th century. But the genius compensated the meager royalties by being extremely productiv which  provided him a solid income.

Mozart enjoyed his life instead of his fragile health & professional adversities. He had a joyful nature and loved fashion, parties, card games, billiard and other social activities. He was obsessed with all what he deed. Unfortunately he spend a lot for clothing, accommodations & pleasure and struggled all his life with a chronic indebtedness.

PS The image on top of this post shows Tom Hulce as Mozart in the Movie "Amadeus". I believe it fits much better to the person described in this book than any contemporary paintings.

The full title of book is "Mozart: The Reign of Love" Maybe it`s the fault of the publisher. Amadeus had certainly his share of flirts, romances & amorous encounters and he was married many years. But love was not his engine, it was music.