Book Concierge — "Amadeus"

Skylight is thrilled to be producing Amadeus, a play with music, from January 23 through February 8, 2026. The play centers on a fictionalized rivalry between two 18th-century composers in Vienna, Austria – Antonio Salieri and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Here are some books about Mozart and those around him that you might enjoy.

Marrying Mozart by Stephanie Cowell

This work of historical fiction focuses on the four Weber sisters, and their relationship to the family’s border, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. He was twenty-one years old when he came to live in the Weber household, and he captured the attention of the girls, as they captured his.  Cowell’s story brings 18^th century Europe to life, including brutal winters, bored princes, scheming parents and the enduring passions of young talent. 

Allegro by Ariel Dorfman

This historical mystery starring Mozart tells of friendship and betrayal.  In 1789 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart visits the grave of Johann Sebastian Bach in Leipzig, looking for a sign, an answer to an enigma that has haunted him since childhood: Was Bach murdered by a famous oculist? And years later, was Handel a victim of the same doctor?  Dorfman’s novel follows Mozart’s investigation, from the salons of London to the streets of Paris. Running parallel to this search is the rise of Mozart, his knowledge and fame, his trials and losses.

In Mozart’s Shadow by Carolyn Meyer

Carolyn Meyer turns her attention to Mozart’s older sister, Maria Anna, known as Nannerl, in this novel.  Nannerl was herself a musical prodigy whose promise was not realized, for once their father’s attention was focused on her younger brother Wolfgang, Nannerl’s talents and career were completely eclipsed.    

Mozart’s Wife by Juliet Waldron

Pretty Konstanze Weber aroused strong feelings among her contemporaries. Her in-law's loathed her. Mozart's friends, more than forty years after his death, remained eager to gossip about her "failures" as wife to the world's first superstar. Maturing from child, to wife, to hard-headed widow, Konstanze would pay Mozart's debts, provide for their children, and relentlessly market and mythologize her brilliant husband.

And if you prefer nonfiction, this biography gets high marks.

Mozart: The Reign of Love  by Jan Swafford

Swafford is himself a composer, as well as a biographer, and he gives us a definitive biography of one of the most lauded musical geniuses in history: Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. At an early age, it was apparent that Mozart’s imagination was at work in every direction. He was an inexplicable force of nature, who went at every piece of his life, and perhaps most notably his social life, with tremendous gusto. 

Happy reading!

Tessa Bartels

a/k/a Book Concierge