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Newfound Mozart Works Written in Sister's Book

By Drew Nelles, Newser Staff

Posted Aug 2, 2009 1:27 PM CDT

(Newser) – Two pieces by a 7- or 8-year-old Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart went undiscovered for more than a century because they were written in his father Leopold’s hand, the New York Times reports. Austrian researchers have disclosed new details about the works after announcing the finding in July: The music consists of parts of a piano prelude and a concerto, and was hastily scrawled in the back of Mozart’s sister’s practice book.

“This is nothing you would use to teach your children,” a researcher says, noting the complexity of the music. That was the giveaway: The pieces are demanding and sometimes convoluted, a marked difference from Leopold’s compositions. The many corrections also indicate that Leopold was transcribing from Mozart’s instructions, rather than copying the music out.

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This is an undated portrait of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. (AP Photo)

Sheet music, recently identified as part of a childhood creation by Mozart, is seen during a press conference held by the International Mozarteum Foundation in Salzburg, Austria, Sunday, Aug. 2, 2009. (AP Photo/ Kerstin Joensson)

Mozart's momentous legacy grew today as researchers unveiled two piano pieces recently identified as childhood creations by the legendary composer. (AP Photo/ Kerstin Joensson)

Sheet music, recently identified as part of a childhood creation by Mozart, is seen. (AP Photo/ Kerstin Joensson)

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'It is so very difficult that no one could play it,’ Leopold said. And Wolfgang replied: ‘That’s why it’s a concerto. You must practice it till you can get it right.' - anecdote from Mozart family friend
Johann Andreas Schachtner

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