DCCXX. MOZART, Wolfgang Amadeus (1756-1791)
In April 1778, Mozart wrote his father about the sinfonia concertante he was composing for performance at the Concert Spirituel. At the last minute, Mozart's work was removed from the program in favor of a similar work by Giuseppe Cambini. The Mozart was never played and the score was lost.
This work didn't come to light until 1869 as an anonymous copy manuscript in the collection of Otto Jahn, who wrote the first scholarly biography of Mozart. The debate about its authenticity grew out of concerns of different orchestration, and errors in copying and composition.
Is this new version really Mozart?
Alfred Einstein: "Genuine."
Robert Levin: "While the orchestral part and the first movement cadenza were spurious, the soloists' roles were based on the Mozart originals, but had been modified by an unknown hand to substitute a clarinet for the oboe, and to change the flute to an oboe. This unknown arranger probably had the four original Mozart solo parts for reference so had composed the orchestral parts and cadenzas afresh."
General opinions: There are some striking similarities to some wind writing in Idomeno, Così fan tutte, and the Oboe Quartet.
Tovey: "Blundering and inept."
Sadie: "Not Mozart. The solo clarinet cannot be directly back-transcribed to a supposed oboe part."
Staehelin: "Inconceivable that Mozart wrote a homotonal concerto (although several symphonies and divertimenti are)."
First movement
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