Abstract
In this article, I will discuss Norbert Elias’ analysis of Mozart. The historian, by mobiliz- ing the concept of the civilizing process, offers a precise and captivating analysis of the reception of Mozart’s music. In this essay, he discusses the ways in which the composer’s body works, so to speak, “against” the reception of his music within the configurations of the court. I will use the correspon- dence that Mozart maintained with his relatives, which I sometimes supplement in order to support or moderate the theses defended in Sociology of a genius.