Two new works by a very young Mozart

Music books used by Mozart’s sister to study keyboard are believed to also contain music written by the famous composer. No composer’s name are attached to the pieces and they are by the hand of their father.

The two pieces were probably composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart himself, as a young boy, says The International Mozarteum Foundation in Salzburg.

The first musical piece consists of 35 measures of a piano prelude. The second is a solo part, 75 measures long andof a complete movement of a keyboard concerto, said the director of the Mozarteum’s research department, Ulrich Leisinger.
Florian Birsak, an Austrian keyboard player, performed the two pieces at a Mozart residence during a news conference, during which the discovery was announced, on Sunday in Salzburg.

According to Mr. Leisinger, the pieces were probably composed in 1763 or 1764, when Mozart was 7 or 8. If proven real, they would serve as an important link between his simpler early compositions and his first major works, added Mr. Leisinger.

Cornell University music professor and Mozart expert Neal Zaslaw, said the attribution to the budding musical genius was “highly plausible,” although it was not likely that it could be proved “beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Sitting in the Mozarteum since 1864, the manuscripts has long been known and studied. Mr. Leisinger, who is claiming the discovery, said that he was compelled to study the sheets closer when asked to prepare a facsimile edition by the Mozarteum.

The complete facsimile is planned for a fall release, but facsimiles of the actual two piano pieces are available immediately for a price of 12 euros.

 
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