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    Mozart's Last Aria: A Novel
    Unavailable
    Mozart's Last Aria: A Novel
    Unavailable
    Mozart's Last Aria: A Novel
    Ebook311 pages5 hours

    Mozart's Last Aria: A Novel

    By Matt Rees

    3/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    Award-winning author Matt Rees takes readers to 18th centuryAustria, where Mozart’s estranged sister Nannerl stumblesinto a world of ambition, conspiracy, and immortal music while attempting touncover the truth about her brother’s suspicious death. Did Mozart’s life endin murder? Nannerl must brave dire circumstances tofind out, running afoul of the secret police, the freemasons, and even theAustrian Emperor himself as she delves into a scandal greater than she had everimagined. With captivating historical details, compelling characters, and areal-life mystery upon which everything hinges, Rees—the award-winning authorof the  internationally acclaimed Omar Yussefcrime series—writes in the tradition of Irvin Yalom’sWhen Nietzsche Wept, Louis Bayard’s The Pale Blue Eye, andPhillip Sington’s The Einstein Girl to achievethe very best in historical fiction with Mozart’s Last Aria.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateNov 1, 2011
    ISBN9780062099372
    Unavailable
    Mozart's Last Aria: A Novel

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    Reviews for Mozart's Last Aria

    3/5

    58 ratings11 reviews

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    • 3/5
      I liked this book very much, but I didn't love it. The premise was fascinating. What truly happened to Mozart? His sister is determined to find out what happened to her estranged brother. His sister seemed like a very flat character who at times seemed very dumb. The action is happening around her, then she sits back and goes, oh, that's what it was." This really annoyed me for some reason. There was a lot of action in the story to keep it moving and the ending resolution was interesting, if a little predictable."
    • 2/5
      Very slow moving tale of Mozart's sister traveling to Vienna to discover how he had died. Well researched descriptions of his life and friends, but the sister was hard to identify with as the key figure in solving the mystery. Stuck with it, but never really warmed up to the style of writing.
    • 4/5
      Was Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart poisoned? If so by whom and for what reason? I had never really thought about this until I decided to listen to this book. It is obvious that Matt Rees has done a lot of research and his story seems plausible.Lennerl Mozart was almost as gifted as her brother but she had to remain in Salzburg to look after her father while her brother went off to make his mark as one of the most gifted musicians of the 18th century (and beyond). The two had been close as children but they had not been in touch since their father's death when the terms of his will left everything to Lennerl. Married to a minor aristocrat Lennerl was stuck in the mountains. Her only consolation was playing her brother's compositions. Then she received a letter from Wolfgang's wife, Constanze, who told her that her brother was dead and that he believed he had been poisoned. Lennerl immediately went to Vienna to investigate her brother's death. As she probed deeper into his life and death she rediscovered her love for him. His involvement with the Masonic lodges and secret agents for Prussia also came to light. Perhaps he was murdered so that he would not reveal some secret?One of the things I learned from this book is that Mozart was very involved with the Masons. In fact, his opera The Magic Flute incorporated many Masonic symbols and beliefs. This is the second book I have read recently that involved Masons; the other was Foucault's Pendulum. If I run across a third I will suspect a trend.
    • 4/5
      If you are a Mozart fan, I think you would enjoy this book. I highly recommend looking at the list of music referenced in the novel (and which chapters) and use that list to follow along if you can. I will definitely do that at some point in the future. (It will help if you have a thing for Freemasons and mild conspiracies, too.)
    • 2/5
      I wanted to like this book, I really did, but it just fell so flat of my expectations. This is basically a 'cozy' mystery with an amateur sleuth coming in to solve a crime. In this case, it's the murder of Amadeus Wolfgang Mozart; and it is his sister who comes in to solve the murder.Matt Rees had done his homework and seemed to know a great deal about Mozart's life and works. More importantly, he was able to convey the powerful emotions elicited from Mozart's music through descriptive and lyrical prose. However, although the language was sophisticated and illuminating, the protagonists did not share the same exuberance in their characterizations.The character of Nannerl, Mozart's sister, did not convince me of being at all capable of handling a murder investigation. I perceived her as a resigned, country housewife with no backbone. Interactions with other characters seemed rushed and lacking in substance. The romance between Nannerl and the Baron was not credible. I wondered to myself when did they have time to fall in love? Yes I think it was an important aspect to the ending of the story and the overall plot however it could have been handled better. As for the plot, I still am mulling that one over. Even Nannerl had a difficult time thinking of her brother as anything other than easy going and full of life, so the overall plot to the story took a little more than a few liberties with credibility.An okay read if picked up at a library, but, no need to go out and buy a copy.
    • 5/5
      I have long been a fan of Matt Rees's books and eagerly anticipated reading Mozart's Last Aria, his latest one. I was not disappointed.At the end of the book he includes the story behind it (which is very interesting reading on its own). He wrote that the novel is written in the form of a sonata (the A minor or K310). He identifies three movements: the opening Allegro maestoso, disturbing and almost discordant; the thoughtful Andante contabile con espressione; and the Presto, which refers back to the Allegro maestoso as the story is resolved. (All that informtion is in the book.) That idea may work for many crime novels and provides a very different way of looking at the text."The Magic Flute" plays a very important role and has a lot of secrets hidden within its score.The protagonist is Mozart's sister, Nannerl. She received a letter from Mozart's wife a week after his death. The letter arouses her suspicions about the cause of his death because it says he claimed to have been poisoned. Even though they had not been in contact for three years, she leaves her husband, against his wishes, their two children, and his five boisterous children from previous marriages to go to Vienna.While there, she reconnects with her sister-in-law, with whom she has not had a good relationship, and meets many of Mozart's friends and associates. While she tries to find out what happened to her brother, her life is threatened and another friend of his is killed. She tries to determine a motive for killing him. Jealously, politics, and equality all are possible.By the end of the book, the reader will learn that there is not one villain.Mozart's Last Aria is an excellent read.
    • 3/5
      Was Mozart murdered?After a falling out three years earlier, Nannerl heard nothing from her brother or his family until news of his death arrived. Curious after her sister-in-law writes that it may have been murder, Nannerl makes the five day journey to Vienna to pay her respects and determine the truth behind her brother death. What awaits her in the city of enlightenment and espionage? Will her sleuthing put her life at risk?Knowing little about Mozart’s life and music I found it interesting—the ‘Da Vinci Code of music’ may be a stretch as I did not find it that riveting. I wish there had been a better reason as to why two siblings—who claimed to love each other so much—would have gone without writing for three years. I was not buying it and therefore could not connect with Mozart and Nannerl. The book was interesting nonetheless and overall it was not an unpleasant—great for a light, undemanding read!
    • 4/5
      Nannerl, the sister of the great composer, hears about the death of her brother after he is already buried but nevertheless she feels the urge to look into his death as false play seems to be part of it. So she travels to Vienna to meet his friends, but also his enemies. She becomes part of the struggle between freemasons and their enemies. This is of course kind of boring as there so many suspense novels about freemasons.... But still, this is a very entertaining read that makes you wanna listen to Mozart´s wonderful music right away.
    • 3/5
      Loved the idea of the book but felt it was bogged down at times. Didn't really love any of the characters - except the dead Mozart. A disappointing read.
    • 2/5
      A little mindless read, enjoyable, but nothing to recommend. It was an easy read that felt like missing something. The historical facts that are the base of the story are certainly interesting, but the plotline was weak. The general feeling is that with the shubject matter chosen (Mozart's murder, surrounded by masonic conspiracies, imperial intrigues, and love lost) the story could have been much more substancial. The protagonist is likewise weak, she appears as a whiner (my dad condemned me to the unsatisfactory way of life I have, my brother abandoned me, my husband treats me more like a nanny, blah, blah, blah). Her motivations are obvious, but not specially strong, at least as depicted by the narrator.Overall, I don't regret having read it, but I would not recommend it to anybody.
    • 3/5
      Does the world need another book about Mozart? Only if it is unique. Mozart’s Last Aria, a historical crime thriller about the mystery surrounding the great composer’s life, fits the bill. Enter the opera hall as Matt Rees brings 18th century Vienna to life in his clever and entertaining expedition through the opera halls and streets Mozart frequented. Deception, passion and fear roam in the city where Freemasons furtively meet to usurp power from those who abuse it.The book’s heroine and narrator is Mozart’s sister, Nannerl, who, upon hearing of her brother’s death, leaves her oppressive husband to attend the funeral. Once in Vienna, she unravels clues that point Mozart’s suspicious death by poisoning. Nannerl, an accomplished harpsichordist and pianist, had given up her performing career years ago in favor of her precocious brother. Estranged and bitter, she says, ”I had to acknowledge that… I had been merely a Mozart. Only he had ever been ‘Mozart’.” Fueled by guilt over their lack of communication, she becomes a persistent and effective detective. Historians believe that rheumatic fever caused Mozart’s death. Mozart’s Last Aria tells us that Mozart believed he was poisoned weeks before he died. Whatever Freemason directive he tried to promote may have been the cause of his death. Nannerl stops at nothing to find his killer. She may have lived in the 18th century, but she functions like a contemporary CSI investigator.Mozart’s Last Aria will certainly capture the attention of music lovers, but its real draw will be enthusiasts of historical mystery. It is reminiscent of Mistress of the Art of Death moved forward several centuries and minus the gore. The ending is a bit far-fetched and the book seems a platform for the author to parade his musical knowledge, but all-in-all Mozart’s Last Aria is a fun romp.Reviewed by Holly Weiss, author of Crestmont