Last Friday the BBC reported on  a newly uncovered composition by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, which had been ‘found in a notebook in an attic’ by the music historian, Hildegard Herrmann-Schneider, from the institute for Tyrolean music research at Innsbruck University.

The attic apparently belonged to a band leader who lived ‘in the Lech Valley of the Austrian Tyrol’, and the notebook, dated 1780, had belonged to an Austrian born in 1765 named Johannes Reiserer. Reiserer sang in the Salzburg Cathedral’s Choir, which had famous musicians on the staff – including Mozart’s father leopold.

The work, Allegro Molto in C Major, is thought to have been written when the composer was about 11. The pianist who had the honour of premiering it was Florian Birsak, a specialist in historical performance practice, and the first performance took place on March 23rd 2012 at Mozart’s childhood home in Salzburg on the composer’s original piano. The Mozartian hallmarks are apparent from the very first phrase! Enjoy.

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Publications

Melanie Spanswick has written and published a wide range of courses, anthologies, examination syllabuses, and text books, including Play it again: PIANO (published by Schott Music). This best-selling graded, progressive piano course contains a large selection of repertoire featuring a huge array of styles and genres, with copious practice tips and suggestions for every piece.

For more information, please visit the publications page, here.

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