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The New Grove Mozart

When it comes to presenting authoritative information, this book speaks with a loud voice: It is based on Sanley Sadie's highly praised biography of Mozart that was included in his classic The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.

Because it originated as a "dictionary" (more like an encyclopedia) entry, The New Grove Mozart presents the facts, and only the facts, of Mozart's life. Sadie leaves little room for opinion or conjecture. This makes his book an excellent reference work, an aspect that is greatly enhanced by the annotated list of compositions that he includes. In the list, Mozart's works are organized by category; page numbers refer the reader to where the works are mentioned in the main text. He includes fragments and spurious compositions as well as authentic works. (Sadie's list is considered the final word on the Köchel catalog by this Web site.)

The text itself is divided along chronological lines, with chapters on "Paris and London, 1763-6," "Vienna and Italy, 1766-71," "Italian journeys, 1771-73," etc. There are occasional detours, in which Sadie takes closer looks at Mozart's music: "The early works," "Key associations" and "The Da Ponte operas," for example. On the whole, Sadie treats each composition more succinctly and with less reverence than, say, Alfred Einstein. And he seems more aware of the musical culture in which Mozart worked. Throughout the book he emphasizes the relationship of Mozart's music to that of other composers: J.C. Bach, Gluck, Paisiello and others.

The New Grove Mozart should be considered-- along with Zaslaw and Cowdery's The Compleat Mozart -- as an essential reference work for anyone more than casually interested in the composer's life and music.