The Mozart Myths: A Critical Reassessment

Rating:
Summary: Beware Acqua Toffana!
Review: This book is really a piece of work. The author clearly relishes retelling the many ludicrous myths surrounding W.A. Mozart, and the retelling, more so than the delightful debunking of the stories, is the really wonderful part of this book. That said, the debunking is pretty cool too, and will give you a pretty good overview of the biographical literature on Mozart to boot. My favorite tale is the one spun by the wife of General VonLudendorff (yes, one of the Heroes of Tannenburg), a Naziess, about how the freemasons (not Salieri!) poisoned Mozart because, as a nascent german nationalist, he had decided to turn his back on their international brotherhood.