Unknown Work of Mozart Discovered in French Library

Nantes, France

A priceless bit of musical history was discovered in a French museum this week: a sheet of previously unknown music, handwritten by none other than Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

The sheet was donated to the museum in the 19th century by an autograph collector, and was apparently cataloged as part of the library's collection without being recognized for what it is. The International Mozarteum Foundation's head researcher Ulrich Leisinger says there can be no doubt of the document's authenticity. "This is absolutely new," Leisinger said. "We have new music here. . . His handwriting is absolutely clearly identifiable. . . There's no doubt that this is an original piece handwritten by Mozart."

The music itself is described as an early draft, or the start of a piece that was never finished. Leisinger explains "It's a melody sketch, so what's missing is the harmony and the instrumentation, but you can make sense out of it. The tune is complete. It's only one part and not the whole score with eight or twelve parts." Despite its incompleteness, the discovery is considered an important find. And rare, among fewer than a dozen such documents brought to light in the past 50 years.

The document appears to have been written sometime during the last 5 years of Mozart's life.

To read more, visit http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/Music/09/18/eu.mozart.discovery.ap/index.html