Mozart's Publishing Plans With Artaria in 1787: New Archival Evidence

A previously unknown document witnessing a transaction between Mozart and his principal Viennese publisher, Artaria, appears in an inventory ledger compiled by the firm in 1787. The documentary, financial, and bibliographical contexts suggest that Mozart was paid in advance for six piano trios and twelve songs, but failed to complete the commissions in full. This conclusion casts light on the decline in Mozart's publishing output and the legends that surround his creativity and reception in Vienna between 1787 and 1791. Rather than neglecting the composer, Artaria may simply have been unwilling to offer him more commissions until the existing projects had been finished.