Mozart was not only an extraordinary musical genius but a man who lived through the great change from the old society to the modern one in which we still live. He was one of the "new men" of the age--his music gives voice to anxieties and consolations that are still ours. This biography sets Mozart"s life within the history of an age plunging into revolution and European war. Avoiding guesswork, it probes his crucial relationships with his father, his wife and his employer. It studies--in depth though in nontechnical language--characteristic examples of his music and asks what they can tell us about their author and ourselves.