Mozart was not only an extraordinary musical genius but a man who lived through the great change from the old society to the modern one in which we still live, when people began to move from accepting the Christian scheme of things to standing alone, from letting themselves be ruled by parents and superiors to rebelling against them. He was himself one of the 'new men' of the age; his music gives voice to anxieties and consolations that are still ours. This book sets Mozart's life within the history of an age plunging into revolution and European war. It probes his crucial relationships with his father and his wife but avoids guesswork. It studies - in depth though in non-technical language - characteristic examples of his music and asks what they can tell us about their author and ourselves.

Translated by: Sascha Pablo Koch