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The Letters of Mozart and His Family

If you have read any English-language biography of Mozart, then you already have encountered Emily Anderson's wonderful translations of his letters.

When it was first published in 1938, Anderson's work constituted the most complete collection in any language of the Mozart family correspondence. Every extant letter written by the composer is here, from his first, written in 1769 to a girlfriend in Salzburg, to his last, written in October 1791 to his wife, who was taking the waters at Baden. In between you will find every word of the notorious "Bäsle" letters, his correspondence with his father concerning the composition of Idomeneo (K. 366) and his oft-quoted pleas to creditor Michael Puchberg. And, of course, much else.

Others have written at greater length (and with more authority) about the content of Mozart's letters. Here suffice it to say that if you want to experience more than the brief excerpts offered by most books about Mozart, then you should go straight to the source. The Letters of Mozart and His Family is by far the best that we have, and worth repeated study.