“The Life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is a small gem. The audiobook consists of an excellent narrative with more than 70 excerpts of music. The narrator, Nigel Anthony, [and] four other actors make up the multi-voice cast. It is easy listening to perfection. The use of extant letters makes the voices of Mozart and his father, Leopold, come alive as nothing else could. Even with so many musical excerpts, the production remains first an intriguing story.”

 

“Here is the Spirit of Mozart. Naxos has given us a thoughtful, well-written portrait of the actual, historical and contradictory Wolfgang. The Life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is an absolute dream of a production, which you, like me, may have overlooked. It deftly weaves personal correspondence (read in character by four different British actors), narration and appropriately contemporaneous excerpts from Mozart's music into a dramatic evocation far greater even than the sum of its considerable parts, which serves as both ideal introduction for the novice and welcome refresher for the moldy fig. Keenlyside's uses appropriate musical illustrations from the Naxos catalogue to build a moving audio-documentary, with dramatic scenes. An absorbing listen. A veritable Meditation on Mozart.”