Mozart in Vienna: The Final Decade

Mozart's greatest works were written in Vienna in the decade before his death (1781–1791). This biography focuses on Mozart's dual roles as a performer and composer and reveals how his compositional processes are affected by performance-related concerns. It traces consistencies and changes in Mozart's professional persona and his modus operandi and sheds light on other prominent musicians, audience expectations, publishing, and concert and dramatic practices and traditions. Giving particular prominence to primary sources, Simon P. Keefe offers new biographical and critical perspectives on the man and his music, highlighting his extraordinary ability to engage with the competing demands of singers and instrumentalists, publishing and public performance, and concerts and dramatic productions in the course of a hectic, diverse and financially uncertain freelance career. This comprehensive and accessible volume is essential for Mozart lovers and scholars alike, exploring his Viennese masterpieces and the people and environments that shaped them.

Table of Contents:
Part I. Beginnings, 1781–1782: 1. Settling in Vienna: exploiting opportunities for instrumental performance and composition; 2. Singers and effects: seeking operatic success in Die Entführung aus dem Serail; Part II. Instrumental and Vocal Music, 1782–1786: 3. Consolidating experiences and expanding horizons: the instrumental music, 1782–83; 4. 'You can easily imagine that I must inevitably play some new things': Mozart's piano concertos and other instrumental works for concerts, 1784–1786; 5. Composing, performing and publishing: the 'Haydn' string quartets and other chamber music for publication, 1784–86; 6. Operas, arias, ensembles, songs and a mass: vocal and dramatic music, 1782–86; Part III. The Da Ponte Operas, 1786–1790: 7. Le nozze di Figaro; 8. In Prague and Vienna: Don Giovanni, 1787–88; 9. The Figaro revival and Così fan tutte; Part IV. Instrumental Music, 1786–90: 10. For publication and performance: solo and chamber music; 11. Orchestral music and concert activities; Part V. Mozart in 1791: 12. New beginnings, continuations and endings: Mozart's last year.

About the Author :
Simon P. Keefe is James Rossiter Hoyle Chair of Music at the University of Sheffield. He is the author of three books on Mozart, including Mozart's Requiem: Reception, Work, Completion (Cambridge, 2012), which won the 2013 Marjorie Weston Emerson Award. He is also the editor of six volumes for Cambridge University Press, including Mozart Studies (2006) and Mozart Studies 2 (2015), and is general editor of the Royal Musical Association monographs series. In 2005 he was elected a life member of the Academy for Mozart Research at the International Mozart Foundation in Salzburg.

Review :
'Simon P. Keefe is one of our greatest experts on Mozart's life and on his music. In Keefe's new book he weaves the two together into an extended narrative showing the many connections between the two. His graceful prose makes this admirable book accessible to anyone – whether beginner, experienced amateur, or professional – who is interested in gaining a fuller understanding of Mozart the man and the conditions under which he produced his extraordinary music.' Neal Zaslaw, Cornell University, New York 'An authoritative, richly annotated volume by a leading Mozart scholar that offers a comprehensive survey of the composer's life and music in the last ten years of his life. The integration of these two aspects is a signal achievement: a life in music, rather than a life alongside the music. The volume will be an accessible point of reference for years to come.' David Wyn Jones, Cardiff University 'Simon P Keefe's mammoth study of Mozart's creative achievements during the last ten years of his life is an engrossing read … The book has impeccable scholarly credentials, boasting a huge number of footnotes and a generous selection of printed music examples, yet its written style is lively and accessible with Keefe's abundant enthusiasm for Mozart shining through every page.' Erik Levi, BBC Music Magazine '… Mozart in Vienna is a handsome addition to Keefe's output as well as to the rich Mozartian literature, representing a welcome, if undeniably challenging, new look at some of the finest music ever created.' David Threasher, Gramophone 'Mozart in Vienna will take you intimately close to the internal workings of Mozart's creative genius.' Larry Wolff, The New York Review of Books