Haydn, Mozart and Metastasio, - Hardcover

1972 Grossman hardcover, Stendhal (The Red and the Black). The 'Lives of Haydn, Mozart and Metastasio'- Stendhal's first published work - owes its inspiration to the audacious pragmatism of its author. After the collapse of the Napoleonic empire, Henri Beyle was jobless, soon destined to become a refugee and in desperate need of money. His most abiding passion in life was music, so why not write about it? Unfortunately, however, he knew next to nothing about it. So, calmly and without the slightest pang of conscience, he resolved to plunder the works of other writers - in particular those of the musicologist Giuseppe Carpani, who was annoyed and said so vociferously. - Google books