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After careful research, adding a touch of creativity, Elizabeth Rusch has written a brilliant picture book biography about Maria Anna Mozart, elder sister of Wolfgang A. Mozart.
Little is known about Maria, as most her letters were destroyed. Rusch has successfully pieced together her life based on family letters, news reports and diary entries. She has organized the book as a classical sonata; each page is titled and defined (for example “the first movement (where musical themes are introduced)”) such that it corresponds with an important period in Maria’s life.
Maria was the daughter of a court musician; she learned to play piano at a very early age and was her brother’s first inspiration to learn to play piano himself. Both children were heralded as child geniuses, playing to royalty throughout Europe. The siblings grew close during their long carriage rides between cities.
When they returned home, their father was ill, and they had to be quiet. Together, they imagined a symphony; Wolfgang composing and Maria writing it down. On the next tour, Wolfgang traveled alone, while Maria was left at home. She continued to love music, performed in private concerts and even composed her own music.
Eventually she married and moved to a small town far from her childhood home of Salzburg. Here she raised her five stepchildren and eventually her own children, playing piano every day simply “for the love of music.” When her husband died, she returned to Salzburg and supported herself teaching piano.
Maria’s story is an inspiration to all who love music and history. Complementing the narrative, Johnson and Fancher’s illustrations are a remarkable blend of tapestry collage and painting with levels of depth and texture not found in most books.
Adding striking detail, the artists integrate musical notation and family letters throughout the setting – the wood on the piano, the door to the local church, etc. These works of art capture light and shadow creating an authentic sense of time and place, and revealing a remarkable sense of warmth and humanity in the people. Highly recommended.
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For the Love of Music: The Remarkable Story of Maria Anna Mozart