This vivid life of Beethoven for young readers follows the making of a genius from a troubled childhood to the edge of triumph and tragedy. Set against the Rhine valley, Bonn, and Vienna, it shows how hardship, discipline, courage, and devotion shaped the boy who would become one of the world's greatest composers. The story opens with Beethoven's hunger for greatness stirred by church bells, birdsong, and the companionship of his friend Wegeler, but it also reveals the poverty, family inst...

The life-story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart contained in this volume closes with his admission to membership in the Accademia Filarmonica at Bologna, Italy. Mozart was then in his fifteenth year. Up to that time his life had been a happy one, free from care, untouched by adversity, and crowned with continuous successes. He was admired by the people, considered a prodigy by the greatest composers, and was received with extraordinary honors at the Courts of Austria, France, Holland, and Englan...

The life-story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart contained in this volume closes with his admission to membership in the Accademia Filarmonica at Bologna, Italy. Mozart was then in his fifteenth year. Up to that time his life had been a happy one, free from care, untouched by adversity, and crowned with continuous successes. He was admired by the people, considered a prodigy by the greatest composers, and was received with extraordinary honors at the Courts of Austria, France, Holland, and Englan...

Mozart's Youth, by Franz Hoffmann. Translated by George P. Upton. Originally published in 1904.

PREFACEThe life-story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart contained in this volume closes with his admission to membership in the Accademia Filarmonica at Bologna, Italy. Mozart was then in his fifteenth year. Up to that time his life had been a happy one, free from care, untouched by adversity, and crowned with continuous successes. He was admired by the people, considered a prodigy by the greatest composers, and was received with extraordinary honors at the Court...

The German composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) was not only a musical genius, but was also one of the pre-eminent geniuses of the Western world. He defined in his music a system of musical thought and an entire state of mind that were unlike any previously experienced. A true child prodigy, he began composing at age 5 and rapidly developed his unmistakable style; by 18 he was composing works capable of altering the mind-states of entire civilizations

Mozart's remarkable life was well and richly documented in letters: his own and those concerning him written by others. This volume brings together a fascinating selection, giving us a detailed portrait of the composer's life and times.Here are letters to and from Mozart's domineering father, Leopold, the earliest of which, addressed to a friend, describes the six-year-old Mozart's accomplishments. There is also a letter sent to the Royal Society in London from one of its members d...

The Austrian composer Franz Liszt (1811-1886) was a pianistic miracle. He could play anything on site and composed over 400 works centered around "his" instrument. Among his key works are his Hungarian Rhapsodies, his Transcendental Etudes, his Concert Etudes, his Etudes based on variations of Paganinini's Violin Caprices and his Sonata, one of the most important of the nineteenth century. He also wrote thousands of letters, of which 260 are translated into English in this first of a 2-vol...

This classic work will be a revelation for fans of Mozart and classicical music in general. The story of the great composer is revealed here from the words of the man himself."The German composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791) was not only a musical genius, but was also one of the pre-eminent geniuses of the Western world. He defined in his music a system of musical thought and an entire state of mind that were unlike any previously experienced."

Biography, first published in1905. According to Wikipedia: "Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 5 December 1791), was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music. He is among the most enduringly popular of classical composers. Mozart showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood in Salzburg. Already competent on keyboard and violin, he ...

Clarity of outline, conciseness, and formal beauty are excellent things in musical works, but an exquisite fancy, a noble imagination, and a lofty poetic spirit are of infinitely greater account; and no one ever possessed these inestimable gifts in richer profusion than Franz Schubert. This new edition of Henry Frost’s 1892 biography of Franz Schubert has been edited and revised. The original references to pieces by Opus number have been replaced with the more commonly used D numbers. Many...

Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.