Praise for NightMusic by Harrison Gradwell Slater

“Fusing the magic of Mozart with the literary suspense genre, first novelist Slater, a concert pianist and author of In Mozart’s Footsteps, delves deeply into Mozartiana to deliver a picaresque tale … resounding with light echoes of Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey and even Goethe’s The Sorrows of Young Werther…. In a spectacular near-death scene, Slater mirrors the satisfying climax of a great evening of opera. Any reader who can hum a few bars of Mozart will relish this oratorio of crime and commerce.” -Library Journal

“The best parts of “NightMusic,” a Mozartean mystery, are a delicious confection … like a Mozartkugel – pistachio marzipan, nougat, chocolate. … remarkable…. Slater knows the minutiae of Mozart’s life in intimate detail and reproduces his prose style … with considerable panache. The reader feels he’s peering over Mozart’s shoulder…. Slater is also a considerable stylist himself – parts of “NightMusic,” particularly the descriptions of food and of cities and buildings that Mozart visited, are gorgeously done….wherever you stick in your thumb, you pull out a plum …. And Slater gets as close as anyone can to reproducing in prose the sound and effect of some of Mozart’s music, which provides a soundtrack to the action.” –Richard Dyer, The Boston Globe

“Mozart meets mystery … compelling …. A sophisticated music lover’s fantasy, with lush descriptions and knowledgeable viewpoint…. Lovers of Mozart and mysteries will find their interests intersect here in the key of “E” for entertainment.” -Rocky Mountain News

“…a maelstrom of international intrigue, deception and murder…. The novel proceeds on a grand scale from France to Italy to Austria, with nothing ever quite what it seems to be…. The descriptions of the music, architecture, and art of the European cities Pierce visits are sublime.” -Denver Post

“Slater’s attention to historical detail is exquisite; his descriptive passages are poetic, even musical…. Readers will find plenty to please: steamy sex, sleazy crooks, international money laundering schemes, rapturous musical events and, best of all, a plausible re-creation of the diaries of the young genius.” -Publishers Weekly

”A veritable casserole mixing history, musicology, travel, biography and multiple murder.” -The News and Observer (Raleigh, NC)

“This is a gripping, deeply satisfying read, difficult to put down, impossible to forget – a novel to fascinate lovers of Mozart…. Letters and diaries of Mozart and his circle, both genuine and forged, appear and disappear. There is murder as well as mystery, a strong narrative line as well as a wealth of detail.” -Peter Branscombe, St. Andrews

“[A] liberal use of aristocratic venues and titillating vignettes … a picaresque fantasy.” -Kirkus Reviews

“The Mozart material is fascinating and provides a compelling background for a thriller.” -Booklist

[top]

---

Praise for NIGHTMUSIC: Mozart CD

“[Slater’s] Mozart Concerto in Bb, K. 456 [live performance] was fluent, tasteful, and spirited. It conveyed the sense of the music and [Slater’s] love for it.” -Richard Dyer, The Boston Globe

[top]

---

Praise for In Mozart's Footsteps

“An amazing feat of scholarship and a labor of love. It will delight the specialist no less than the Mozart lover in search of Mozart the man.” -Alfred Brendel

“There are hundreds of stories of Mozart’s short life in absorbing detail, but this account is unique for it presents a true geography of Mozart’s peregrinations, covering Austria, Germany, Italy, and France. The text is absorbing in its brilliance.” -Nicolas Slonimsky, author of Baker’s Biographical Dictionary of Musicians

“Beautifully written…. This remarkable and thorough book is an extraordinary way to better understand the most universal composer who ever lived. It is not only for the novice who loves Mozart’s music and is interested in his life, but also for the sophisticated student of Mozart.” -Gerard Schwarz, Music Director, Mostly Mozart Festival

“It is astonishing how much new and delightful material the author has brought to light traveling through Europe in Mozart’s footsteps.” -Robert Marshall, Chairman of the Department of Music, Brandeis University

“For the Mozart fan who has everything…. Of the variety of publications inspired by the Mozart bicentennial, this is certainly the most unusual. [Slater], a pianist and music instructor, has compiled a tour directory to every place Mozart visited…. Entries are short, fact filled, and footnoted as to the source.” -Library Journal

“…of great interest to many readers for both musical and historical reasons.” -Isaac Stern