Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, one of the most prodigious minds to have graced the world of music, wrote hundreds of musical pieces throughout his lifetime — and unfortunate as it may be, some of his works remain lost to time — or do they? Discovered at a library in Leipzig is one of his string compositions, “Ganz Kleine Nachtmusik”, which previously remained unknown to the world!
Assigned the K number K.648, the piece, which dates to the mid-to late-1760s, consists of seven miniature movements for a string trio. It lasts around 12 minutes. The piece is referred to as “Ganz kleine Nachtmusik” in the new Koechel catalog, according to the Leipzig libraries, and was performed recently at what may have been a premiere, 260 years from the date of composition.
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“Ganz Kleine Nachtmusik” is especially valuable to Mozart scholars as until now this period of his life was characterised by keyboard music, arias and sinfonias – not chamber works. This latest discovery is one of just a dozen new Mozart pieces discovered in modern times, each revealing new facets of this prolific composer’s remarkable talent.
Researchers have said that the newly discovered manuscript was not penned by Mozart himself but is believed to be a copy made in around 1780 — earlier, a list by Mozart’s father had alerted academics to the existence of “many other chamber music compositions” by the young artist, which were all thought to have been lost until the emergence of the string trio, Ulrich Leisinger of the International Mozarteum Foundation said.
Listen to it below:
