Mozart’s Sister is the story of a little girl born in Austria in 1751 who was a musical genius. Music came as naturally to this little girl as breathing and nothing gave her greater enjoyment than making music: her little hands would fly effortlessly over the keys of her harpsichord, and she was able to write down any tune she heard from memory. She also had an uncanny ability to transform everyday sounds into music, and such was her sensitivity to harmony that a lack of it was enough to give her an upset stomach.
“What a pity she is a girl”, thought her father, aware that her sex would preclude her from aspiring to a career as a composer. He decided against allowing her to study the violin, composition and improvisation—it would be a waste of time and money.
Then one happy day the couple’s dreams came true and a son was born. It didn’t take the proud parents long to realise that, against all odds, he too was a musical infant prodigy. The children’s names were Maria Anna Walburga Ignatia (affectionately nicknamed Nannerl) and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Nannerl’s existence has been largely ignored by Mozart’s numerous biographers; the only times she is mentioned is to emphasise her brother’s genius when comparing it to her presumed slowness of mind. All the same, ample documentation exists of her extraordinary musical talent. We know that she wrote music, even though none of her compositions has survived to the present day. We know that Wolfgang greatly appreciated Nannerl’s virtuosity and always set great store by her opinion.
We also know that Wolfgang and Nannerl loved each other very much.
The siblings’ intense and mutually exclusive support found its true expression in the years of their childhood, during which they performed together for the royal courts of Europe. Love and music were one and the same for “The Mozart Children”. They would see musical forms and daring harmonies in their heads that only they could understand; that only they could share. Wildly enthusiastic about each other’s genius, they never became competitive.
Nevertheless, in the background there was always their father—a man dedicated to promoting only Wolfgang, at the expense of Nannerl. As the siblings matured, Nannerl’s prodigious talent was brushed aside. She was forced to stop performing and become a provincial piano teacher to support Wolfgang’s career.
Nannerl might have accepted this life in her brother’s shadow but for the appearance of a potential suitor who reawakened her passion for life, for love, for music—and who threatened to upset the delicate balance that kept the Mozart family in harmony.
Mozart’s Sister draws you into the lush palaces and salons of eighteenth-century Europe and into the fascinating life of a woman who ultimately found a way to express her own genius.
Paperback
Three Rivers Press
# ISBN-10: 0307346978
# ISBN-13: 978-0307346971
336 pages
Order from:
Hardcover
Random House, Crown Publishers
# ISBN-10: 0307346781
# ISBN-13: 978-0307346780
336 pages
Order from:
eBook
Order from:
For information about the pictures on this page, click here.
