Cover Constanze, Mozart's Beloved

Agnes Selby: Constanze, Mozart's Beloved, Wien: revised edition, Hollitzer Verlag, 2013, 272 pages, 17 x 24 cm, softcover

ISBN 978-3-99012-115-3 (pbk) € 39,90
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Agnes Selby

Constanze, Mozart's Beloved

Constanze, the wife of Wolfgang Amadé Mozart, was not the foolish and self-interested individual of popular opinion, much of which is based on the views of Mozart’s father, who believed that his son had chosen an inappropriate partner. This strong-minded woman was, however, to be of critical support to her beloved husband. From a family of accomplished musicians, she was possessed of a fine voice and sang in public performances of a number of Mozart’s works, both before and after his death. She bore him six children, of whom two survived childhood. Her business acumen was such that after his death she was largely responsible for keeping his music before the public, organising concerts, securing the accurate publication of many of his works, including the Requiem, and acquiring patronage from the aristocracy. Her second marriage to the Dane, Georg Nikolaus Nissen, continued a life story which is a rich example of self-sufficiency and competence in an era when a woman in business was a rarity. Importantly, this book restores the reputation of a woman much maligned by history.

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

 

Part I: Constanze, Wife of Mozart

Weber/ Mozart Family Tree

Ancestry and Youth

On the Move—Munich and Vienna

Courtship and Marriage

Life with Mozart

The Salzburg Journey

Prosperity and Freedom

Leopold Mozart’s Visit

The Marriage of Figaro

Don Giovanni and the Descent to Hell

The Death of Emperor Joseph II and an End of an Era

A Requiem for Mozart

Mozart’s Death

 

Part II : Constanze, Widow of Mozart and Madam Nissen

Constanze—A Woman Alone

Keeping Mozart’s Music Alive

Nissen

Constanze’s Second Marriage

Goodbye to Vienna Forever

An Interlude in Copenhagen

Nissen’s Mozart Biography

Constanze’s Second Widowhood

A Pleasant Interlude

Problems with Doctor Feuerstein

Fulfilment of a Dream

Epilogue

Appendix—Mozart’s Sons: The Legacy of a Genius

Bibliography

Index