David Weiss (1) (1909–2002)

Orphaned by age 4, he was raised in Philadelphia by an aunt who owned a Russian restaurant frequented by famous composers who visited the Academy of Music, a historic opera house and concert hall, across the street. Mozart would become one of his favorite subjects. He wrote two books on the composer: "The Assassination of Mozart" and "Sacred and Profane."Other figures who inspired his fiction included dancer Isadora Duncan, architect Christopher Wren and painter Titian.