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Found in Budapest lost the original of a famous Mozart sonata
Considered lost for over two centuries, the original manuscript of one of the most famous works of Mozart, the "Sonata in most" lay mingled among other old papers in a storage room of a library of Budapest.
This unexpected discovery caused great joy among lovers of classical music in the Hungarian capital.
"It's very rare that a manuscript of Mozart resurface this way. Moreover in the case of the Sonata in A major, for which no complete manuscript version was not known, so it really is a major breakthrough," says excited Adam Bosze, historian of Hungarian music.
Duly authenticated by experts, the four yellowed pages of the score, found recently completed the only original booklet known to the present, the third movement, preserved at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria, the birthplace of the composer.
The Piano Sonata No. 11 in A major (K. 331), composed around 1783 and whose score has been published in millions of copies, is one of the most famous works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756-1791), in particular their final fragment, the Turkish March.
"Next to A little night music or the first movement of the Symphony in G minor, the Turkish March is, without doubt, the best known of Mozart melody" says Bosze. "Any child can whistle it," he adds.
The original, however, could have gone a long time in the shade if it were not for the painstaking work of Balazs Mikusi, 42 years old, its 'discoverer'.
Appointed head of the music department of the National Szechenyi Library in Budapest in 2009, this specialist took in the last five years the difficult task of "digging into the most remote places" of the venerable institution, in order to methodically dissect the innumerable booklets uninventoried only gathered dust.
- Mysterious Origin -
"When I found this manuscript, once the script seemed very 'Mozart'" confides AFP. "Reading the notes, my pulse quickened brutally when I realized that it was the famous Sonata in most" he explains, while displaying the document with absolute caution.
"I was not looking for things to Mozart, but it was not by chance that I found it," says excited.
The way it ended in the famous manuscript collection of the library, created in 1802 by the rich Ferenc Szechenyi Hungarian aristocrat, is a mystery. Especially since, as far as we know, Mozart never traveled to Hungary.
"It is known that Szechenyi had good contacts in Vienna as well as in the world of music, but the manuscript may have arrived here at another time during the last 200 years," says Mikusi.
It is also not known why the fifth page of the manuscript of the score, which is located in Salzburg, was separated from the rest. According to the expert, it could have been ripped to offer it to a wealthy buyer.
The original manuscript, which will be played for the first time in public on Friday in Budapest by the great Hungarian pianist Zoltan Kocsis, save gold nuggets to the most seasoned music lovers: the score contains small variations of notes and rhythm from the version that passed posterity as well as corrections made by the composer himself.
"This will revolutionize our approach to Mozart, nor change the character of the work, but allows us to better understand what Mozart wanted to do," notes Mikusi.
Source: AFP 09/26/2014
