Probing Mozart's enduring popularity

Mozart’s Ghosts Haunting the Halls of Musical Culture examines two hundred years’ worth of interpretation and reception of Mozart’s music, both in his native Austria and further afield.

“It’s interesting to consider why Mozart is very much a household name today when other composers such as Gluck, who were as well-known at the time, have almost been forgotten,” he says. “I have sought to discover why his music has ‘stood the test of time’ as critics claim.”

Mark discusses how Mozart’s sacred and secular music has been viewed over the centuries and considers why the autograph score of his famous opera Don Giovanni is now venerated almost as a reliquary. The book also covers how biographies and films of the composer have influenced perceptions of the composer and the development of a tourist industry in his memory, especially in Vienna and Salzburg; it will appeal to knowledgeable music lovers as well as scholars and students.

The author is particularly well-known for his research on French 19th century stage music between the Restoration and the Commune and his 2002 book Music Drama at the Paris Odéon, 1824-1828.