The best Mozart Biography?

[immortalbeloved]

Hey all, I am stuck. To buy the infamous Solomon Mozart biography, which, though universally applauded, has been accused of far too much pyscho-babble, or the other one by Robert Gutman, which has been described as wonderful but slightly sanitized.

I read an italina translation of a Mozart bio which, though good, never satisfied me. What do you all think. And don't say buy both, because, well, I am busy and thinking of also buying volume 2 and 3 of the liszt bios (too much $ on books).

[huaidongxi]

according to Charles Rosen (disclaimer, have not read any mozart bios myself) of the nytimes review of books, the best in English is the new Eisen edition that revised and corrected with information learned since its original 1919 publication, Abert's 'W.A. Mozart', new translation by Stewart Spencer, published by Yale Univ press.  1500 pages.  the newer information comes in the form of copious notes written by Eisen, a formidable mozart authority/musicologist.  the Maynard Solomon bio should be readily available in public libraries or in cheap used copies, and cost should be minor if that is your main concern.  the new edition of the Abert is available in used hardcover for around seventy bucks.

my own experience, with a subject of serious interest to me, good biographies provide a very illuminating form of education.

[huaidongxi]

if you care to read a consumer summary from a mozart-phile about the Eisen revision of Abert, you'd probably benefit from looking at the review on amazon.com written by 'Roo Bookaroo' in 2010, more than a thousand words in length.