In 1791 Wolfgang Mozart was one the verge of a comeback. After being the toast of Vienna for half a decade, his music was starting to be considered passé by the late 1780’s. A turbulent war between Austria and Turkey and an economic depression only made matters worse. But in 1791 Mozart scored a huge hit with his opera The Magic Flute. Sadly the composer barely got a chance to savor his renewed acclaim, as only three months after the opera’s premiere Mozart died in his Vienna apartment. Was Mozart the victim of foul play? Was there something in the Magic Flute that had angered the wrong people? Tune-in and find out how Margaret Thatcher, a bird who could sing concertos, and letters about poop all play a role in the story.

Works Cited

Davies, Peter J. Mozart in Person : His Character and Health. Greenwood Press, 1989.

Greenberg, Robert. Great Masters: Mozart — His Life and Music. Chantilly, VA: The Teaching Company, 2013. Audible.com

Melograni, Piero., and Lydia G. Cochrane. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart : A Biography. University of Chicago Press, 2007.

Sollers, Philippe, and Armine Kotin Mortimer. Mysterious Mozart. University of Illinois Press, 2010.

Solomon, Maynard. Mozart: A Life. Harper Perennial, 2005.

Stafford, William. Mozart’s Death : A Corrective Survey of the Legends. Macmillan, 1991.

Wates, Roye E. Mozart : An Introduction to the Music, the Man, and the Myths. Amadeus Press, 2010.