Listen as Musicians in Leipzig Perform Newly Discovered Mozart Piece

Photo Credit: Andreas

A composition by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was re-discovered in Germany this week—long after it was believed lost. Musicians in Leipzig brought the piece to life, which you can hear below.The ‘gently-used’ composition was discovered at the library in Leipzig, hidden in the Carl Ferdinand Becker collection in the music library. Researchers believe it was written in the 1760s, when Mozart was an early teen. They describe the manuscript as being in “Dark brown ink on medium-white handmade paper” with individually bound parts.

The 12-minute composition was performed on September 19 in Salzburg—more than 260 years after it was written. The found manuscript is believed to be a copy of the original, made sometime in the 1780s.

Researchers discovered the piece while compiling the latest Köchel catalog of Mozart’s works, which refers to the piece as ‘Ganz kleine Nachtmusik’—or ‘Quite Little Night Music’ in English. It is one of several undiscovered chamber-music compositions written by Mozart referenced in a list of music compiled by the composer’s father.The piece of music itself is a string trio written before Mozart’s first trip to Italy is is composed of “Seven miniature movements for a string trio lasting about 12 minutes.” Germany musicologist Ulrich Leisinger, speaking for the International Mozarteum Foundation in Salzburg, stated that the composition is unique compared to other pieces produced by Mozart at the time. Mozart primarily wrote arias, symphonies, and piano music during this period.

The piece premiered in Germany on September 21 by Vincent Geer (violin), David Geer (violin), and Elisabeth Zimmermann (violoncello) at the Leipzig Opera (video above). The first published edition of this new piece, based on a facsimile of the manuscript parts, was released on online sheet music sites like Score Exchange. This latest discovery is one of a dozen new Mozart pieces discovered in modern times. In 2008, an unknown Mozart score was discovered in  French library.