On Friday, the BBC reported on a newly uncovered composition by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, “found in a notebook in an attic.” As the History Blog explains, that attic 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 composers and musicians on staff”—including Mozart’s father, Leopold.
Today, Open Culture flagged the YouTube video of the composition’s world premiere—conducted on a piano that belonged to Mozart and still resides in his childhood home. The piece is called “Allegro Molto in C Major”; Mozart probably wrote it when he was 10 or 11. The pianist who had the honor or premiering it is Florian Birsak. Enjoy.
