What if one of Mozart’s most famous catalogues wasn’t by Mozart at all?
Our new study, “Mozart’s So-Called Thematic Catalogue: Forensic Evidence of a Posthumous Forgery”, sets fire to one of the sacred cows of classical musicology: the authenticity of the so-called Verzeichnüss aller meiner Werke.
The case of K.298 – The Quartet that Time Forgot
For over a century, it was assumed that Mozart composed his Quartet K.298 in Paris, 1778. But forensic and musicological evidence reveals that at least one melody was lifted from Paisiello’s opera Le gare generose, premiered in 1786. This means K.298 cannot predate 1786. And yet, this work is curiously absent from Mozart’s own catalogue—a document that should, by any logic, have included it.
This “oversight” is just one crack in a document riddled with anomalies: missing pieces, impossible dates, and suspiciously neat handwriting. Our systematic analysis—handwriting, ink, watermark, you name it—shows that the so-called catalogue is a sophisticated posthumous fake. It simply doesn’t add up: historical context, material evidence, and even Mozart’s famously chaotic working style all say no, grazie.
So what?
If the catalogue isn’t authentic, neither are many of the received “facts” about Mozart’s life and works. Time for a new chapter: less myth, more method, and no more free passes for fake documents—however “canonical” they may seem.
Read the full article and see the forensic evidence for yourself:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15676595
