Amusing read of letters sent between Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his father, Leopold Mozart. It is a short series of letters which encompasses half a year (from winter to summer) and is about the travels of Amadeus form Manheimm to Paris.

Although not the most exciting, it gives a nice insight about the life of (the young) Amadeus and the problems of traveling in that age in general and about some of the more personal problems of Amadeus. It heavily relies on the knowledge of the topography of Germany/Belgium and both father and son name a lot of people who apparently were of importance to them, but all these names are rather confusing when you don't have the context. It is also rather short and leaves quite a lot unexplained, leaving the reader with a lot of questions.

It is a very short book which you can read in 1 to 2 hours, so if you have that time to spare some day it is well worth the read, especially if you like the music. ( )

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I was looking for a book with a music theme for a monthly challenge and this was the first that came to mind so I skipped a couple of books ahead in the Little Black Classics series to this entry by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, although I think his father wrote at least half of it.

Some letters are more musical than others, but this aside this edition was a bit of a mixed bag. On the one end there are the quite boring passages where Mozart and his father quarrel over the expenses of a trip, which is nothing more or less than that and which doesn't make the most thrilling of reads. On the other hand I was quite moved, when his mother falls sick when travelling with Mozart to Paris, and he can only communicate with his father and sisters through letters which take more than a week to arrive. It makes you realise just how spoiled we are nowadays to have instant communication to any place on the globe.

Little Black Classic #51 ( )

A short insight into the letters between Mozart and his father who also was his mentor. Amongst others it’s interesting to see that a genius known today by everyone had serious financial problems and can live through the tragedy of his mother’s sudden death. ( )

These letters, written by Mozart and his father, Leopold Mozart, between October 1777 and July 1778, are surprisingly engrossing. At the time, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was about twenty-one or twenty-two and he, accompanied by his mother, was traveling to various cities in western Europe looking for employment while his father and sister held down the fort in Salzburg. The letters begin prosaically enough, with shop talk and frivolous banter from Wolfgang and anxious nagging about money from his father. Their affection for each other is clear, but so is the frustration inherent in the situation of a father/husband juggling tight finances and trying to micromanage the spending of his young adult son and his wife in distant cities. You can clearly picture the parties at both ends of the correspondence slapping their foreheads in annoyance as they try to convey the fact that they are doing their level best to manage things well and why can't their son/father understand this? But then tragedy strikes and the anguish and difficulties of communicating illness and loss through a slow mail system are clear. Even in the midst of sorrow and loss, though, the mundane intrudes, the way it does. The final letters are a touching mix of spiritual concerns and consolations, employment updates, and practical advice. This is number 51 in Penguin's Little Black Classics series, and I enjoyed it very much. ( )

A series of letters between W.A. Mozart and his father / mentor. A glimpse into the work-a-day life of a musician. It is strange to think of someone who is so well known today just trying to get enough work to make ends meet (his father constantly worries about money) especially compared to today's musicians! Also the very personal tragedy of Mozart's mother (who accompanied him on this particular trip) getting suddenly ill and dying in Paris. I only have a passing interest in classical music I'm sure someone who was a classic music buff would really get a kick out of this book. ( )