Mozart &
Material Culture

Between 1784 and 1791 Mozart kept a thematic catalogue of his compositions (Verzeichnüss / aller meiner Werke / vom Monath febrario 1784 bis Monath   1): facing pages include, on the left hand side, written information (a title and often the exact date and scoring, sometimes the performer(s) for whom it was intended) and, on the right hand side, the opening bars of the composition. As the title page with its blank end date shows, Mozart probably expected to make entries in his catalogue at least into the nineteenth century. The catalogue is not entirely a complete record of Mozart’s compositional activity between 1784 and 1791 although no known major pieces are omitted from it. The original is in the British Library (shelfmark Zweig, MS 63).

Mozart's thematic catalogue, cover

Mozart's thematic catalogue, cover (detail)

Mozart's thematic catalogue, 15v-16r