Mozart and the Keyboard Culture of His Time

The Mozart Myth: Tales of a Forgery
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An extraordinarily persistent myth about how Mozart composed delayed true estimates of his methods. That myth is based in large part upon a spurious letter which "Mozart" is said to have written to a "Baron von X." The letter—published in German in 1815 and then in French, Italian and English—has been widely quoted, paraphrased and alluded to ever since. Even though Otto Jahn had already identified the letter as a forgery in his groundbreaking Mozart biography of 1856-59, its influence lives on.

continue to Mozart's Images

Introduction
From Sketch to Completed Work
From Print to CD
How did Mozart Compose?
The Mozart Myth: Tales of a Forgery
Mozart's Images
Mozart's Images Imagined
What the Score Doesn't Tell Us
The Piano Lesson
The Cult of Mozart
Commodification & Kitsch
Credits
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