- Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante in E-flat Major, K. 297b is an exciting example of unverified authorship. The composer’s letters show that he wrote a “Sinfonia concertante” for flute, oboe, horn, bassoon, and orchestra while staying in Paris in 1778. However, this original referenced piece was left behind in Paris and subsequently believed to be lost to history.
- Nearly 100 years later, in 1870, a manuscript copy appeared in Berlin, with one of the solo instruments scored for clarinet instead of flute. While the manuscript claims Mozart as the composer, some musicologists still question its authenticity. There are also questions about who was responsible for the new arrangement and how much was changed in the process. Pianist and musicologist Robert Levin even wrote a book on this topic: Who Wrote the Mozart Four-Wind Concertante? This piece has become one of music history’s great mysteries.1
- *During the Classical period, a sinfonia concertante was essentially a concerto but with two or more soloists rather than one.
Sources
- “Sinfonia concertante, K. 297b,” L. A. Phil, accessed April 4, 2024, https://www.laphil.com/musicdb/pieces/3308/sinfonia-concertante-k-297b.
Cut IDs
45433 41349 19646