A group of classical music researchers rediscovered a new Mozart song while compiling music for the ninth edition of the Köchel catalog. [The catalog is the most complete list of works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in chronological order]. The discovery was made in Leipzig’s music library in Leipzig, Germany mid September in an old manuscript.
Originally written while Mozart was a teenager, the piece was titled “Serenate ex C”, but later renamed “Ganz Kleine Nachtmusik” which translates to “Quite Little Night Music”. It was written for a string trio consisting of two violins and one cello. The piece has 7 movements and a run time of roughly 12 minutes. The piece was first performed for modern audiences on September 19, 2024 at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria and was first commercially recorded on October 18, 2024 by Deutsche Grammophon, where it was performed by the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra.
“It is an unexpected gift that at the age of 97 was able to take on the first recording of an early work by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart,” composer Herbert Blomstedt said to Grammophon.
The performers of the piece were not the only ones interested in the discovery.
“Any time there is a new discovery is exciting,” Del Whitman, music teacher and orchestra director, said. “Especially when it’s something that’s attached to an icon like Mozart so that’s incredible.” To think that it was discovered hundreds of years after he was active that was not public before, that’s monumental.”
It may come as no surprise that “Ganz Kleine Nachtmusik” isn’t Mozart’s magnum opus. It’s incomparable to some of his greatest works such as “Requiem” in D minor or “Piano Sonata” no. 16 but it still holds value. The song has a very good flow to it; you can tell where the movements are but they complement each other very nicely. A movement is an individual part of a song that could be played by itself. These movements in order are: Marche, Allegro, Menuett, Baloncesto, Adagio, Menuett, and Finale. The instruments flush together quite nicely as well; the low tones of the cello help give base and are elevated by the swift yet effective melodies by the violins. The song, however, gets to be a little long as it is 12 minutes of instrumental but that is to be expected with a classical piece, though it is not boring. It is a common misconception that classical music is to be enjoyed by stuffy old people and the higher ups but that is simply not the case.
“There is a lot of classical music that a lot of people like, even any common man or woman on the street would enjoy, say Beethoven’s “5th Symphony” because it’s so popular and it’s been heard so much,” Whitman said. “William Tell overture” by Rossini is used in a lot of movies. Pachelbel “Canon in D” is used in weddings. So there are a lot of classics that people know, they just wouldn’t name the title, it’s just out there.”
Mozart’s new single might not be everyone’s jam but it is definitely something to check out. It’s only been about 260 years in the making after all!
