The greatest mind in Western music, by a National Book Award-winning writer on culture and psychology.

Mozart's unshakable hold on the public's fascination can only be strengthened by the historian and biographer Peter Gay's bold, new perspective. His passionate and painstaking research reveals truths more fascinating than the myths that have long shrouded the maestro's life. Here is the archetypal child prodigy whose genius triumphed over early precociousness, and who later broke away from a loving but tyrannical father to pursue his vision unhampered.

Peter Gay's Mozart traces the legendary development of the man whose life was a whirlwind of achievement, and the composer who pushed every instrument to its limit and every genre--especially opera--into new realms. More than an engrossing biography, this is a meditation on the nature of genius and, for any music lover, a trove of new critical insights.

Penguin Lives pairs celebrated writers with famous individuals who have shaped our thinking.

彼得·盖伊（Peter Gay），美国历史学家，1923年生于柏林，先后执教于哥伦比亚大学、耶鲁大学，前纽约公共图书馆学者与作家中心主任，现为耶鲁大学斯特林荣休教授。著作逾二十五部，其中《启蒙运动》第一卷获美国国家图书奖。其畅销著作《魏玛文化》（Weimar Culture）与《历史中的风格》（Style in History）均入围美国国家图书奖。2004年获美国历史协会杰出学术贡献奖。