There is no doubt that
“Meetings with Mozart” will mainly appeal to a niche audience, one that has an
interest in and some knowledge of the music of Mozart. But it is also a warm
portrait of a group of friends who get together to share a common interest –
and it is also a fascinating re-telling of the life of a musical genius. (Review
by Margaret von Klemperer, courtesy of The Witness)
William Charlton-Perkins is well-known in theatre and media
circles in KZN. Once head of publicity at the Playhouse in Durban, he moved on
to run his own publicity agency, Copy Dog. But his first love was classical
music, particularly opera, and this love is central to his debut novel, Meetings with Mozart, which is
illustrated with line drawings of the main characters by former
Pietermaritzburg resident, Christine Stilwell.
The central character is Horace, a former opera director who has retired to KZN and who gathers around him a disparate group of people who all share a love of Mozart’s music. Their plan is to meet once a month to listen to and discuss the composer’s music and life. Each member of the group presents a talk on some aspect of the life and music, and as they do so, the bond together to become a tight-knit band of friends, supportive of each other and involved in each other’s lives – and as the book progresses, the reader slowly begins to discover something of their backgrounds, though the main focus remains on Mozart.
The ideal way to read Meetings with Mozart would be with an extensive playlist of Mozart’s works to hand so that as each work, whether an opera or an instrumental piece, is discussed, the reader could pause and listen, increasing their own understanding and enjoyment of the work by absorbing some of Charlton-Perkins’ knowledge.
After many of the meetings, when Horace is alone, he relaxes by imagining how Mozart’s life story could be told on stage, from his days as a child prodigy, through his tensions with his controlling father, Leopold, and on through his creative years, his marriage and his many friendships. Friendship and love are themes that run through the book – love of life and love of people.
While the group meetings take the readers through Mozart’s work, Horace’s mental images of Mozart’s life story flesh out the story of the composer until his death at a tragically young age.
There is no doubt that Meetings with Mozart will mainly appeal to a niche audience, one that has an interest in and some knowledge of the music of Mozart. But it is also a warm portrait of a group of friends who get together to share a common interest – and it is also a fascinating re-telling of the life of a musical genius. - Margaret von Klemperer
*At this time, the paperback edition of Meetings with Mozart is available from the publisher at www.bookguild.co.uk/bookshop or www.whsmith.co.uk/Product or as an ebook from www.amazon.co.uk or https://books.google.co.za/books.
ISBN978-1-83574-122-1
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