Unpublished early piece by Mozart discovered in Germany

A previously unknown short piece, probably composed by Mozart in his youth, has been discovered in Leipzig, eastern Germany, researchers announced on Thursday. 19 september 2024. This is a set of seven movements for string trio lasting about twelve minutes, probably dating from the mid or late 1970s 1760, according to a press release from the Leipzig municipal libraries. The musician would therefore have been between 9 and 15 years old. years.

A child prodigy, Mozart, born in 1756, began composing at an early age under the watchful eye of his father, Leopold Mozart. The researchers found the work in the city’s music archives while working on the latest edition of the Köchel catalogue, which lists all of Mozart’s works. The statement said: “The manuscript is a copy or transcription made around 1780. It is therefore not Mozart’s autograph. Dark brown ink and white rag paper were used, and the manuscript is unsigned.”.

In the new catalog Kochelthe unpublished piece is called Whole little night music ((A little night music)in reference to one of Mozart’s most famous works. It was performed for the first time on Thursday 19 September in public by a string trio in Salzburg, Austria, Mozart’s birthplace. A German premiere will take place at the Leipzig Opera on Saturday. The new Köchel catalogue states that “the work was written before Mozart’s first trip to Italy”.

For Ulrich Leisinger, scientific director of the Mozarteum Foundation in Salzburg, quoted in a press release, this piece sheds new light : “Until now, we knew the young Mozart mainly as a composer of piano music, arias and symphonies. A list by Leopold Mozart, however, has informed us of the existence of many other chamber music compositions from his youth, all of which have unfortunately been lost. It seems that a complete string trio was preserved in Leipzig thanks to a combination of favourable circumstances. As the model seems to have been written by Mozart’s sister, it is tempting to imagine that she kept the work as a memorial to her brother.”