Description: The Mozart Myths A Critical Reassessment by William Stafford Stanford University Press, 1991, 0804722226, Trade Paperback, Fine condition, no marks, no underlining, no highlighting, no creases, like new condition. 285 pages. This ambitious work separates what is actually known (and can be known) about Mozart from the many myths and legends that have grown up about his life and character, notably the narratives about the circumstances of his death and his alleged immaturity, drinking, extravagance, womanizing, and unreliability. "A work of minute and impeccable scholarship. It is also tremendous fun to read. That is a very rare combination. . . . What is particularly enjoyable about the book is the obvious enthusiasm with which William Stafford recounts these narratives. They are, by turn, fantastic to the point of risibility, compelling, revealing, and, alas, even repulsive, where the German 'conspiracy' theories become, inevitably, anti-Semitic. But before the intellectual historian—for that is Stafford's calling—turns his hand to dismantling them, he gives each a real run for the money. It is, at times, like a trip through fairyland; and yet these narratives were not, after all, the product merely of books and ecstatics but of the likes of Jahn and Einstein. "Nor does the fun stop with the reading of the narratives. For their deconstruction, although executed with scrupulous attention to the historical documents, never becomes dry or pedantic. . .. Gentle reader, whatever you do, read this book if you have interest in the divine—or is it the bestial, dissipated, autistic, or obnoxious—Mozart. For you will learn a lot about him, whatever he is, and a lot, too about the practice and pitfalls of historical narrative. Above all, you will have a helluva good read." —Music and Letters "When it comes to Mozart the fantasists and storytellers get all mixed up. For two centuries now there has been a thriving industry of Mozart stories . . . beast and angel, animal and god, genius and misfit. . . . Stafford first of all reviews the tactic of subjecting the stories to such rigorous criteria that only a skeletal Mozart survives. He rejects this tactic and presents a cleaned-up portrait of plausible truths." —The Times Higher Education Supplement William Stafford is Principal Lecturer in Philosophy and the History of Ideas at Huddersfield Polytechnic, in England. CONTENTS Acknowledgments INTRODUCTION 1 Melodrama and evidence THE DEATH 2 Was there foul play? 3 The medical history THE DEATH IN THE CONTEXT OF THE LIFE 4 Beast and angel 5 Eve's part in his downfall 6 Genius and misfit 7 The rebel 8 A theodicy 9 Existentialist scepticism CONCLUSION Conclusion Select Bibliography Index nthdegree books
Price: 9.95 USD
Location: Norton, Massachusetts
End Time: 2024-12-31T15:37:12.000Z
Shipping Cost: 6.38 USD
Product Images
Item Specifics
All returns accepted: ReturnsNotAccepted
