A Long-lost Work: Mozart’s ‘Serenade in C’

A detail from the portrait of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at the age of 13 in Verona, circa 1770, by an unknown 18th century artist. Oil on canvas. Private collection. Public Domain

A forgotten composition penned by one of the 18th century’s most important classical musicians, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, was rediscovered and released to the public for the first time.

Researchers came across a previously unknown piece of music by the late, great composer while gathering information for the Köchel catalog, a definitive collection of Mozart’s music and life. Referred to as “Serenade in C,” the short number has been included in the catalog’s latest edition. It was performed before an enthusiastic crowd at a ceremony in Mozart’s hometown of Salzburg, Austria.

“Serenade in C” is one of Mozart’s early works, and its discovery sheds light on his formative preadolescent years. The finding also shows that despite decades of research, there’s still much to discover about one of classical music’s formidable artists.

A portrait of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart playing in Paris with his father Johann Georg Leopold and his sister Maria Anna, 1763, by Louis Carrogis Carmontelle. Griffel, sanguine, gouache paint, and watercolor paint on paper. Condé Museum, Chantilly, France. Public Domain

A ‘Mysterious Bound Manuscript’

“Serenade in C” is a short work compared to other Mozart compositions. It’s a 12-minute piece containing seven miniature movements. It’s meant to be played by a string trio of two violins and a bass.

According to Smithsonian Magazine, while researchers at Germany’s Leipzig Municipal Libraries were browsing a music collection, they found what has been called “a mysterious bound manuscript containing a handwritten composition in brown ink.” While inspecting the old manuscript, much to their surprise, they realized it was the work of young Mozart. The long-lost work was found in one of the libraries’ music collections, the Carl Ferdinand Becker Collection.

A portrait of the young, prodigious Mozart, 18th century, by Jean-Baptiste Greuze. Oil on canvas. Yale University Art Gallery. Public Domain

Researchers believe “Serenade in C” was written when Mozart was between 10 and 13 years old. By this age, the young prodigy had already been performing for several years, getting his start at the tender age of 5 due to his unprecedented abilities. According to scholars, Mozart likely composed the music in the mid-to-late 1760s due to the work’s attribution, which states it was written by “Wo[l]fgang Mozart.” Scholars note that in 1769, Mozart began adding his middle name, Amadeus (“Amadeo”) when signing his compositions. The classical composer wrote several pieces similar to “Serenade in C” during his youngest years while honing his skills.

Though young Mozart wrote the music, the manuscript appears to be a copy because the handwriting is different than Mozart’s typical penmanship. Those at the International Mozarteum Foundation believe the new finding is a copy of Mozart’s original “Serenade in C.” The organization believes the copy was written down by his sister, Maria Anna Mozart. Maria was also a pianist, and along with their father Leopold, she worked to document original music the prodigious Mozart composed.

A Mozart family portrait (L–R): Maria Anna ("Nannerl"), Wolfgang, a medallian of the recently deceased Anna Maria (Mother), and Leopold Mozart, circa 1780, by Johann Nepomuk della Croce. Oil on canvas. International Mozarteum Foundation, Salzburg. Public Domain

The editor of the latest Köchel catalog edition, Ulrich Leisinger, is also the head of research at the International Mozarteum Foundation. He said, “The source was evidently Mozart’s sister, and so it is tempting to think that she preserved the work as a memento of her brother. Perhaps he wrote the Trio specially for her.”

The foundation stated that “Serenade in C” is “a significant piece in the mosaic of Mozart’s music.” Leisinger also stressed the importance of their findings in an official statement, saying:

“Until now the young Mozart has been familiar to us chiefly as a composer of keyboard music and of arias and sinfonias but we know from a list drawn up by Leopold Mozart that he wrote many other chamber works in his youth, all of them unfortunately lost. It looks as if – thanks to a series of favourable circumstances – a complete string trio has survived in Leipzig.”

‘A Pioneering Achievement’

A portrait of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at the age of 13 in Verona, circa 1770, by unknown 18th century artist. Oil on canvas. Researchers believe “Serenade in C” was written when Mozart was between 10 and 13 years old. Public Domain

Since it was originally published in 1862, the Köchel catalog has become known as the world’s authoritative text on Mozart’s musical repertoire and artistic life. Until an updated version was released this year, the most recent Köchel catalog  was published in 1964. Now, 60 years later, the latest edition spans nearly 1,400 pages. The latest edition includes historical documents pertaining to Mozart’s life, family letters, all of his known compositions, teaching materials, and the International Mozarteum Foundation’s latest findings regarding his monumental contributions to classical music.

The Köchel catalog was made possible by the visionary Ludwig Ritter von Köchel, who strove to create a central, definitive resource for Mozart’s work. Von Köchel was the private tutor for the Archduke of Austria’s four sons from 1827 to 1842. After his work was done with the Archduke’s family, he combined his many interests, such as art, music, and teaching, into his Köchel catalog project. While working on the project, he gathered documents written by those closest to Mozart, including his father Leopold, and documents by Mozart himself. He also used information gathered by Mozart’s official biographer, Otto Jahn, as resources for the text.

According to the International Mozarteum Foundation, the publishing of von Köchel’s catalog “was a pioneering achievement and a milestone in the history of writings on music.” The foundation also stated, “For more than 160 years the Köchel catalogue has been the go-to resource for the music of Wolfgang Amadé Mozart.”

When the newly discovered “Serenade in C” was published in the catalog, the song was renamed “Ganz kleine Nachtmusik,” which translates from German to English as “A Little Night Music.”

Mozart was born in 1756 in Salzburg, Austria. The inspired musician went on to contribute more than 600 works to the historical canon of classical music before his passing at 55 in 1791 in Vienna.

On Sept. 19, 2024, a trio performed his long-lost “Serenade in C” at an unveiling ceremony for the latest Köchel release in Salzburg, Austria. Days later, on Sept. 21, the song was performed at the Leipzig Opera in Germany for an enthusiastic outdoor audience.

From his most popular symphonies like “Jupiter” to his long-lost works like “Serenade in C,” Mozart remains one of classical music’s most influential, genre-defining composers.

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