In Experiencing Mozart: A Listener's Companion, music historian David Schroeder illustrates through the great composer's music how the issues he cared about so deeply in his time remain as pressing to modern listeners.
David Schroeder contends that Mozart's father, Leopold, intended to write a biography of his son and designed his correspondence to be published as a type of moral biography. Mozart's letters, in contrast to the moral German-styled letters he received, came closer to the more wily French letters of the philosophes, Voltaire especially, whose style he would have discovered while living in Paris.
Haydn is portrayed as a culturally and politically aware figure of the Age of Enlightenment, rather than an isolated instrumental musician. The author argues that Haydn's evolving compositional style reflects his engagement with contemporary aesthetic opinions and Enlightenment ideals. The book delves into Haydn's connection with his audience and highlights his understanding of art's moral purpose, particularly in his late symphonies, where he effectively pursues this objective.