Who was Leopold Mozart really? Leopold Mozart (1719–1787) was undoubtedly one of the most interesting and versatile personalities of his time. He was the author of a Violin Tutor, renowned and used throughout Europe, and also a productive composer, long-serving court musician and violinist, deputy kapellmeister, a skilled engraver and copyist of music notation. Moreover, he was a successful teacher, wise educator and promoter of his gifted children, a highly regarded scholar, attentive observer and an excellent letter writer. He was a loving husband and a caring, occasionally authoritarian father, a convivial host, an educated reader, art collector, as well as an enthusiastic theatre- and opera--goer. He created a wide circle of contacts and was an ambitious and prudent organizer of journeys and concerts. He was a devout Catholic, Freemason, provocative citizen, free thinker and man of the Enlightenment who supported colleagues as well as widows and orphans of musicians. This book makes the first comprehensive study of all these aspects, in part still little known, of the eventful life of Leopold Mozart.
