Mozart : a Biographical Romance. From the German of Heribert
Ran. (Leopoldt and felt: New York.)—In this tale, which has been translated into fairly good English by Mr. E. H. Sill, we find introduced the main incidents of the great composer's life. It is not free from a certain tediousness and sentimentality, and is sometimes disfigured by inflated language which, to those at least who are not affected by a musical furore, is not attractive, or even intelligible ; yet, on the whole, it is a very pleasant and readable story. The first part especially, which treats of Mozart's childhood, we found particularly charming. It gives us the stories, all, we believe, perfectly authentic, of his marvel- lous precocity of musical genius,—as, for instance, how at four years old he composed a difficult sonata for the piano ; but yet contrives with considerable skill to represent not a phenomenon, but a genuine child, a a merry, simple, loving, and loveable little thing. There were, as is well known, darker shadows on Mozart's after life, but the author has handled his subject with tenderness and delicacy.
Previous page
