Paris (AFP)
An original score of minuets written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart at the age of 16 and part of Stefan Zweig's collection will be auctioned by Sotheby's in Paris on November 18th.
The manuscript, which represents two complete minuets for orchestra composed in Salzburg in 1772 and which bears the mention "Finis" in the hand of Mozart, is estimated between 150,000 and 200,000 euros.
"This is the unique version of the score," says Simon Maguire, specialist in musical manuscripts at Sotheby's in London.
"Mozart always wrote first versions" without reworking them later, "unlike Beethoven who constantly revisited" his scores, he adds.
The manuscript, which has never been published, contains some minor corrections and modifications, one or two of which would be in the hands of Mozart's father, Leopold.
It had been preserved by the sister of the composer Maria Anna, called "Nannerl", before joining the huge collection of Stefan Zweig. The writer was known for being "a great collector of music fragments, especially those of Mozart," says Maguire.
The manuscript, the only one of the "Six Menuets K.164" still in private hands, is part of the sale of the library of a prominent Swiss bibliophile, Jean-François Chaponnière.
The prodigy had begun to compose his first works as a child with the help of his father.
According to Sotheby's, this score is a reminder of Mozart's love for dance. "Constance Mozart (wife of the composer) pointed out (...) that + as big as the genius of Mozart was, he was a passionate dancer, and often said that his taste was in this art, rather than in music + ", note the house.
On November 27 and 28, at rival Christie's in Paris, a 13-year-old portrait of Mozart, one of the few paintings painted during his lifetime and still part of a private collection, will be auctioned for an estimate between 800,000 and 1,2 million euros.
© 2019 AFP