Cambridge Companion To Mozart, The

Description:
The Cambridge Companion to Mozart paints a rounded yet focussed picture of one of the most revered artists of all time. Bringing the most recent scholarship into the public arena, this volume bridges the gap between scholarly and popular images of the composer, enhancing the readers' appreciation of Mozart and his extraordinary output, regardless of their prior knowledge of the music. Part I situates Mozart in the context of late eighteenth-century musical environments and aesthetic trends that played a pivotal role in his artistic development and examines his methods of composition. Part II surveys Mozart's works in all of the genres in which he excelled and Part III looks at the reception of the composer and his music since his death. Part IV offers insight into Mozart's career as a performer as well as theoretical and practical perspectives on historically informed performances of his music.

Review:
'For anyone interested in the composer's sublime music this collection must become essential reading.' Contemporary Review '... material here to appeal to people approaching Mozart from a wide variety of angles ...'. Gramophone 'Keeping abreast of the burgeoning Mozart literature is an impossible task at the best of times, and this volume serves both as a timely reminder of the problem and as a reliable and up-to-date guide that navigates debates old and new with clarity and authority.' Eighteenth-Century Music

Table of Contents:
Introduction Simon P. Keefe; Chronology of Mozart's Life and Works Simon P. Keefe; Part I. Mozart in Context: 1. Mozart and Salzburg Cliff Eisen; 2. Mozart in Vienna Dorothea Link; 3. Mozart's compositional methods: writing for his singers Ian Woodfield; 4. Mozart and late eighteenth-century aesthetics David Schroeder; Part II. The Works: 5. The keyboard music W. Dean Sutcliffe; 6. The concertos in aesthetic and stylistic context Simon P. Keefe; 7. The orchestral music Simon P. Keefe; 8. Mozart's chamber music Cliff Eisen; 9. Mozart as a vocal composer Paul Corneilson; 10. The opere buffe Edmund J. Goehring; 11. Mozart and opera seria Julian Rushton; 12. Mozart's German operas David J. Buch; Part III. Reception: 13. Mozart in the nineteenth century John Daverio; 14. Mozart and the twentieth century Jan Smaczny; 15. The Evolution of Mozartian biography William Stafford; Part IV. Performance: 16. Mozart the performer Katalin Komlos; 17. Performance practice in the music of Mozart Robert D. Levin.

Author Biography:
Simon P. Keefe is Lecturer in Music at Queen's University, Belfast. He is the author of Mozart's Piano Concertos: Dramatic Dialogue in the Age of Enlightenment (2001).