Mozart: A Tale of Two Keys

— —

Tim Carter (Distinguished Professor of Music Emeritus, Distinguished Professor of Music Emeritus, University of North Carolina, DDS Chapel Hill)

Mozart

Name: Mozart
Price: 183.95 AUD
Availability: OutOfStock
ISBN: 9780197806333

A Tale of Two Keys

Tim Carter (Distinguished Professor of Music Emeritus, Distinguished Professor of Music Emeritus, University of North Carolina, DDS Chapel Hill)

$183.95

Hardback

Not in-store but you can order this
How long will it take?

Availability Information

We source books from suppliers in Australia and overseas. For books we don't currently have in stock, the time it takes to get them from our suppliers can vary widely - from a few days to a few months - so we check each book with each supplier to determine the expected time it will take to be supplied to us.

We then advise you accordingly. If the time taken to get any book is too long for you, you can let us know and we will cancel or adjust your order, and refund as required.

To find out the anticipated arrival time for specific items prior to ordering, please contact us by phone or email:

Phone +61 2 9264 3111, or 1800 4 BOOKS (1800 4 26657) if outside Sydney:
option 1 Abbey's Bookshop (Crime, History, Science, Kids & more) • info@abbeys.com.au
option 2 Language Book Centre (ESL & Foreign Languages) • language@abbeys.com.au
option 3 Galaxy Bookshop (Sci-fi, Fantasy, Romance, Graphic Novels) • sf@galaxybooks.com.au

QTY:

English

Oxford University Press Inc
18 February 2026

Music; Western "classical" music; Individual composers & musicians, bands & groups; Musical scores, lyrics & libretti; History: specific events & topics

How can we best understand the rules of Mozart's musical games? His first symphony, written in E flat major when he was just nine years old, sits at the opposite end of the tonal spectrum of his final concerto in A major. Through his diligent attention to -- and the creative reconsideration of -- tuning and temperament, instrumentation, musical intertextualities, and key-specific idioms, Mozart demonstrated the breadth of his musical ingenuity. By incorporating distinctive musical techniques within and across keys, the composer pushed the boundaries of meaning in late eighteenth-century music in ways that still resonate today.

In Mozart: A Tale of Two Keys, Tim Carter explores this unique approach to musical creativity, uncovering new insights that reveal the inventiveness and humor inherent in Mozart's works. With particular emphasis on the intention behind his technique, Carter argues that the composer used sound in unexpected, playful, and striking ways, revealing the intense joy and limitless possibility inherent in the art and craft of making music.

By: Tim Carter (Distinguished Professor of Music Emeritus Distinguished Professor of Music Emeritus University of North Carolina DDS Chapel Hill)
Imprint: Oxford University Press Inc
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 256mm, Width: 188mm, Spine: 18mm
Weight: 531g
ISBN: 9780197806333
ISBN 10: 0197806333
Pages: 192
Publication Date: 18 February 2026
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

List of Music Examples, Figures, and Tables Acknowledgments Editorial (etc.) Principles 1: Theme and Variations 2: The ""Meaning"" of Keys: Eighteenth-Century Views 3: E-flat Major: The Flat Seventh and Other Space-Opening Motions 4: A Major: 5 or 3 and Other Problems 5: Rosina and Her Sisters 6: ""A Major"" Seduction 7: Farewell to Nancy Storace (in Three Flats) 8: Instrumental Complications Works Cited Index of Mozart's Works General Index

Tim Carter is a musicologist who has taught at the Universities of Leicester and Lancaster, Royal Holloway and Bedford New College, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has been awarded numerous fellowships, including at the Harvard Center for Italian Renaissance Studies, Villa I Tatti, the Newberry Library, and the National Humanities Center. Carter is an honorary member of the American Musicological Society, the Royal Musical Association, and the Society for Seventeenth-Century Music.

Reviews for Mozart: A Tale of Two Keys

Tim Carter's witty and insightful book sheds light on how thecomposer pushed the boundaries of musical meaning, stillrelevant today. * Mary Nemet, AUSTA National Reviews *