His creative life falls into two clearly defined periods. Until 1857 he composed a succession of sacred, symphonic and chamber works in the late Viennese Classical style. In 1859 his musical technique underwent a sudden transformation and he became the pioneer of a new national style in Hungarian music, using only national idioms.

His music has been neglected for far too long, probably as a result of his untimely death and changing audience tastes. Research by 20th-century musicologists, coupled with a resurgence of interest by performers, has resulted in renewed interest in Mosonyi.

This monograph - the author’s second on the composer - is a response to that interest, and has the added advantage of incorporating the results of the most recent researches.