Extracts from reviews of Mozart’s Women
Only a practising musician could have written this book, and only one as deeply immersed as Glover … who knows these pieces from long and loving contact with them in the pits of opera houses. … What comes as such a bonus is the human touch, the wonderful eye for detail, the imaginative insight into the lives of these women, revolving for the most part around their very own genius, Wolfgang, beloved of God. … The story unfolded by Glover … is distinctly Mozartian: sublime, funny, bizarre, beautiful. She shares his sense of the theatrical and the dramatic, bringing the saga of the various families to a brilliant conclusion. … Mozart’s Woman immeasurably enhances our sense of who Mozart was, opening window after window into a whole series of remarkable lives. No one who cares about him or his music should be without it.
(Simon Callow: The Guardian)
Readable, informative and moving book. … Glover uses her own experience as a conductor of Mozart’s operas to give lucid and pertinent insights into the music. … Her passion for the music shines through this touching, vividly told story.
(Hugh Canning: Sunday Times)
Glover has compiled a heartfelt portrait [of Mozart] while conducting his music. … She is one of the world’s finest musical interpreters of Mozart, with a natural writing style.
(Anthony Holden: The Observer)
Jane Glover has pulled off a coup des livres with her fresh take on Mozart’s lifestyle. … A compelling read that wears its scholarship lightly. … Many conductors are good at talking about music, yet Glover belongs to that select band of conductor-scholars who have practical experience of the music they are writing about. As such, she offers insights into Mozart’s work that ought to be required reading for practitioners - directors would do especially well to read her observations on these great operatic characters - and will equally enlighten the most casual listener.
(John Allison: Sunday Telegraph)
It is impossible to read Mozart’s Women without being deeply touched by what it reveals of the people closest to the composer. … Glover’s book is part-biography, part-masterclass. She is an authoritative guide to the operas in particular, having conducted them at Glyndebourne. She has been obsessed with Mozart since childhood, but she doesn’t let her obsession lead her into romanticising him.
(Paul Bailey: The Independent)
The most welcome and compellingly serious music publication in a long time. … It is a book that benefits from a woman’s touch – and Glover has given us the most convincing Mozart so far.
(Kenneth Walton: The Scotsman) |
