May 2001

Book review

1791, Mozart’s Last Year

by H. C. Robbins Landon

Thames and Hudson, 1999

1791, Mozart’s Last Year is a fairly short (199 pages plus appendices, notes, and index) book about the last year of the life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the famous composer.Among the things discussed are the possibility of Mozart’s receiving a good paying position in the Vienna cathedral, his involvement with the Masons, and the circumstances surrounding the composition of La Clemenza di Tito, Die Zauberfloete (The Magic Flute), and the Requiem.  Chapters also provide more general background about life in Vienna at the time.  One chapter is devoted to the facts about Mozart’s last illness, and other explores various myths and theories about it.  A final chapter refutes some criticisms of Mozart’s wife Constanze.  The book is very well written, and appears to be the product of considerable knowledge and research.  Included are some photographs and illustrations.

Other recent book noted

La Scala West: The Dallas Opera under Kelly and Rescigno by Ronald L. Davis.  Southern Methodist Univ. Press, 224 pp., $49.95.  Reviewed in Opera News of June 2001.  A book about the Dallas Opera under impresario Lawrence Kelly and conductor Nicola Rescigno.  Maria Callas sang Lucia, Traviata, and Medea in Dallas during the period in question.  Among other singers appearing with Dallas Opera were Sutherland, Vickers, Caballé, Olivero, Berganza, and Domingo.  According to Opera News, many pictures of Maria Callas ae published in this book for the first time.

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