An annotated edition of a letter from Daines Barrington to the Royal Society (first published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, Vol. 60, 1771) including:

• A new introduction with historical context
• New notes to make the meaning accessible to modern audiences and non-musicians
• Images (in an included PDF) to clarify the text
• A new afterword briefly discussing Mozart's career and the legends around his death

Barrington saw the eight-year-old Mozart perform in London. He then met with Mozart and his family, and he recounts that meeting, describing Mozart's skill at sight-reading and improvisatory composition demonstrated at the meeting, as well as describing elements of the young composer's personality. He also conveys the results of his research into Mozart's other early activities and compares Mozart's precocious talents to other well-known child prodigies of his era.

The new introduction by Matthew Nace includes a discussion of the other composers Barrington mentions, Johann Christian Bach (son of Johann Sebastian Bach) and Georg Friedrich Händel, and describes the various keyboard instruments that Barrington mentions.

The afterword briefly discusses Mozart's career and addressed the myths surrounding Mozart's death, including:

• The anonymous commissioning of the Requiem
• The supposed death by poisoning
• The apparently ignominious burial

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.