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Mozart: The Golden Years

In this attractive volume, author H.C. Robbins Landon does not simply describe Mozart's career in Vienna. He provides context -- information on Vienna's ruling class and the city's cultural and social environment -- to help us understand that career.

Throughout, Landon provides the broad historical perspective that is often lacking in other books on Mozart. He discusses the politics of Vienna, the reforms of Joseph II and the enervating effect that years of war and recession had on the cultural and social life of the city.

Indeed, at times Landon provides too much information. His interest in two particular subjects -- the Freemasons and the Esterházy family -- leads him into long digressions. And there is a presumption that the reader is familiar with the details of Mozart's life; many things are glossed over or omitted. Consider his treatment of the composer's death: Mozart is dispatched in two sentences in the book's final chapter, which otherwise is devoted to a detailed account of the alleged Freemasons' Conspiracy of 1791. Finally, Landon's use of letters written by Mozart and his contemporaries is perhaps too generous. His book (and the reader's patience) may have been better served by some judicious trimming.

On the other hand, you probably won't find a better description of the musical scene in Vienna -- the evolution of the wind band, the history of opera in the city, and the impact of that exciting new musical instrument, the fortepiano. And the many contemporary illustrations, which are wonderfully reproduced, make the book's pages fertile ground for the casual browser.