Every genius is a product of his or her times, and this elegantly written book places Mozart within eighteenth-century Europe and all of its turbulence and beauty. As a boy in Salzburg, Mozart was encouraged?—even controlled—by his father's ambitions as the young prodigy played for royalty and celebrities. Mackie delves into Mozart's major operas and lesser-known works, placing this genius among the times, culture, and people who influenced his greatest works and the talent that at times threatened to overwhelm him.