Mozart in Motion

The music and life of one of modernity's most prevalent figures through the compositions that shaped him, from a dazzling new writer of non-fiction.

Mozart holds a central, unwavering place in our culture, and his works are widely loved and listened to, often as much-loved favourites, or as background music. But how much do we really hear and understand the music that is played, and what can it reveal to us of the great composer?

Mozart in Motion is a unique biography of Mozart's music, a journey through the pieces of his canon which leads us to the pleasures of the works and an understanding of why they move us so intensely, as well as into the major and lesser known moments of Mozart's life. One reason Mozart's works have remained so ubiquitous, Mackie argues, is that he was composing at precisely the moment when our modern world was forming, and his priorities, explorations and emphases speak to our contemporary world.

In exhilarating, fresh and transformative prose, Patrick Mackie takes us inside the vital experience of listening to Mozart's music to uncover new perspectives on Mozart's world and the ways that we live now.

About the Author

Patrick Mackie is a published poet with Carcarnet and CB Editions and was a visiting fellow at Harvard.