MOZARTIANA

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23691, 24 December 1938, Page 4

MOZARTIANA

AN EXPERIMENT IN BIOGRAPHY "My Brother Was Mozart.” By Benson Wheeler and Claire Lee Purdy. Illustrated. London: Murray, 10s 6d. The co-authors or “ My Brother Was Mozart” have had the charming idea of setting forth the story of Mozarts life as it may have been related by his sister, Nannerl, Baroness of Sonnenberg. The story opens about thirty years after the composer's death, when the ageing baroness makes friends with a youth living next door, and, •sitting in her Salzburg garden, relates to him her memories of Mozart s life and times, Despite its picturesque angle of approach, however, the boon tells us nothing that most of us do not already know, and when all is considered, it is merely a very simple though interesting version of the grea. composers life story There are one or two significant passages. I* l ® baroness reproves her youthful student for playing a Mozart sonata too impetuously, declaring that he has been unduly influenced by having heard Beethoven play in Viehna Elsewhere she remarks: “ - sometimes think that as time goes on people will come to value nfy brother’s quartets and quintets as highly as pis symphonies and operas.” One is interested, also, when the old lady declares that she always' liked the “ E Hat Symphony more than the celebrated “ Symphony in G minor/* From this it will be observed that the authors have contrived to make the Baroness a living and absorbing character, and, indeed, she is the mainstay of the book A word of commendation should be added for the way in which the book has been set up, and it can be cordially recommended to all those who want a clear picture of Mozart’s sad career. We are living in times when his music is being more honoured than ever, both in books and in performance, and there is always room for simple and skilfully-written studies such as this. The book is provided with a pleasing number of musical quotations, and there is even an appendix giving scholarly notes on various people, places, musical terms and so on that are mentioned in the narrative. J- G. Biographical Medicine Commending his wife, Elsa Lanchester’s “ Charles Laughton and I," the famous actor declares that her method alternates between naivete and observations like a kick from a giraffe. “As I read through this. I said to myself: Dear Elsa; bless her heart; the little pel'; and suddenly 1 came across a line which made my bones rattle inside their covering of fat Mind you, in her relationship to me these blows would always be salutary and invariably thought out for my own good—like castor oil in childhood But the little brute does enjoy summing up relationships and situations in one shattering line. To keep her friendship you certainly have to be able to ‘ take it,’ but it must be worth it. for she has never lost a friend.”