Mozart the Performer

"Mozart today is known as one of the foremost composers in Western music; yet, during his lifetime, his compositional mastery seemed to pale in comparison with his achievements on the concert platform. Mozart knew that his fame was due to his piano playing and improvisations; and, as a result, much of the music he wrote was intended to serve a single aim: to set the stage, quite literally, for compelling and captivating performances. In his piano works, symphonies, and operas he sought to amuse, stir, and ravish an awe-struck public. Mozart the Performer brings to life this elusive side of Mozart's musicianship. Over the course of five "variations," Dorian Bandy traces the influence of showmanship on Mozart's style, imbuing his output with a theatricality and evanescence easily lost behind the scrim of familiarity. This insightful and imaginative book reveals the countless ways performance influenced Mozart's compositional habits, ultimately offering a genuinely novel understanding of why, centuries later, Mozart's music still captivates us and inspiring new ways of listening to it"--