Mozart Gets Credit for Two “New” Musical Pieces
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart continues to make us wonder when his next long-lost composition will emerge from an attic somewhere in Central Europe. In January 2009, the then newly-discovered composition was performed for the first time after being found in a library in Southern France. Now, two new works have popped up in a likely place – inside a music book used during his sister’s clavier lessons.
The two musical fragments – formerly considered anonymous scribblings – are now believed to make up a full movement of a keyboard concerto written by Amadeus himself. The music remained among many pieces that were hand-written inside the practice book, 18 of which had already credited a precocious Wolfgang. Now, it seems that the two new works were indeed written by a young Mozart.
In a New York Times interview, Ulrich Leisinger – the Mozarteum research director responsible for the find – estimates that the pieces were written around 1763, when our beloved Wolfgang was just 7. He believes the concerto “was composed by someone with high ambitions but lacking the expertise to write out the music.”
Mozart Music Heard for the First Time
On August 2nd, 2009, Austrian pianist Florian Birsak débuted the works on Mozart’s own piano, which remains in his former Salzburg residence, the Tanzmeisterhaus. An official début of the music is scheduled for Mozart Week 2010, and will include an orchestral accompaniment provided by pianist Robert D. Levin.
Hear Mozart’s “New” Music
The Mozarteum has been kind enough to make Mozart’s music available to the world. By visiting the Mozarteum website, you can hear the music played by Birsak on harpsichord; view the original hand-written music, or download a modern transcription.
What New Discoveries Are to Come?
After Mozart’s death, his sister, Maria Anna, distributed pages of her music book to fans and loved ones alike. So could it be, if these two works are but one movement, that the full concerto might also come out of the woodwork?
