These charming keyboard pieces were composed by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in 1761, when he was just five years old. They are his earliest known works. Since he was too young to write out the music for himself, the notation is in the handwriting of his father, Leopold. Along the left margin of the first page, Leopold wrote: “Wolfgangerl’s compositions in the first three months after his fifth birthday.” These two leaves, along with several others, were removed from the book in the case below during the last two years of Mozart’s sister, Maria Anna’s (“Nannerl”) life, after she had become blind.
WA Mozart (1756–1791)
Andante in C, K. 1a
Mozart’s earliest known compositions, K. 1a–1d.
Manuscript in the hand of Leopold Mozart, 1761
The Morgan Library & Museum, Cary 201
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s earliest known compositions, 1761: Andante in C (K. 1a), Allegro in C (K. 1b), Allegro in F (K. 1c).
Ton Koopman, harpsichord. The Complete Mozart Edition: Piano Music, Vol. 5 Shorter Solo Piano Works. Philips, ℗ 2005 Decca Music Group Limited.