New Mozart Dropping Soon After Lost Manuscript Discovery

Mozart has been dead for over 230 years, but that’s not stopping the man from releasing new music. Well, “releasing” isn’t totally correct. It’s more accurate to say that new Mozart tunes have been discovered, as a previously unknown Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composition that he crafted in his teenage years has been found in a library in Leipzig, Germany.

The piece runs for about 12 minutes and consists of seven miniature movements to be played by a string trio. The piece dates back to the mid to late 1760s, back when Mozart was just starting to show off his child-prodigy chops.

The manuscript was found as researchers were compiling documents to contribute to something called the Köchel catalog, a comprehensive and chronological collection of everything Mozart ever composed. It was created by a guy named Ludwig Ritter von Köchel back in 1862. It’s been updated and revised several times since.

The piece has been referred to as “Ganz kleine Nachtmusik.” Google Translate says that means “Very little night music” in English. That’s a significant discovery not just because it’s a rediscovered work from one of the greatest musicians who ever lived but because it’s one of the many pieces of chamber music Mozart composed that was thought to have been lost. The manuscript is not an original, but rather a copy made sometime around 1780.

Ulrich Leisinger of the International Mozarteum Foundation (yes, they portmanteau’d Mozart and Museum) said the discovery showcases how much of a genius Mozart was from such a young age. If the guy were alive today, he would be racking up tons of views on TikTok and Instagram Reels, and we would all hate-watch every second of it as we were filled with a jealous rage that would rival only Salieri’s.

The piece was performed for the first time in around 260 years this past Thursday, September 19th, at an unveiling ceremony held in Salzburg, Austria, that coincided with the launch of the new Köchel catalog. It will make its German premiere at the Leipzig Opera sometime soon.