Mozart symphonies from one of the most important periods of his composing life have been wrongly dated, a British scholar has discovered.
John Arthur believes he has made what is arguably the most important Mozart discovery of the last 30 years: that the accepted composition dates are wrong for five symphonies written by a 17- and 18-year-old Mozart in 1773 and 1774.
“I was absolutely stunned, gobsmacked really,” Arthur said. “It completely changes our understanding of the works he composed in that period.”