Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is one of the great icons of Western music‎.‎ An amazing prodigy who toured the capitals of Europe as a child‎,‎ astonishing royalty and professional musicians with his precocious skills‎,‎ in his adulthood he wrote some of the finest music in the European tradition‎.‎ Julian Rushton offers a concise and up‎-to‎-date biography of this musical genius‎,‎ combining a well‎-researched life of the composer with an introduction to the works‎-symphonic‎,‎ chamber‎,‎ sacred‎,‎ and theatrical‎-of one of the few who have composed undisputed masterpieces in every genre of his time‎.‎ Rushton presents a vivid portrait‎,‎ ranging from Mozart the Wunderkind‎-travelling with his family from Salzburg to Vienna‎,‎ Paris‎,‎ London‎,‎ Rome‎,‎ and Milan‎-to the mature composer of perennially fascinating operas such as ‎"‎The Marriage of Figaro‎,‎‎"‎ ‎"‎Don Giovanni‎,‎‎"‎ and ‎"‎The Magic Flute‎.‎‎"‎ During the past half‎-century‎,‎ scholars have thoroughly explored Mozart‎'‎s life and music‎,‎ offering new interpretations based on their historical context‎,‎ and providing a factual basis‎.‎‎.‎‎.‎