Use: An extensive bibliography of scholarly writings about the three operas collaborated on by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Lorenzo Da Ponte.
Coverage: Citations include books, book sections, journal articles, and dissertations that discuss Le nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, and/or Cosi fan tutte (the three operas for which Mozart was the composer and Da Ponte was the librettist). Selections are almost exclusively in English, French, German, or Italian. The bibliography includes most of the relevant items found in the major indexes of musical literature from their beginnings through 1998.
Organization: Consists of a brief introduction, a bibliographical section, a discography, and indexes. The bibliographical citations are organized in the following chapters: General citations (works which cover all three operas), citations for Le nozze di Figaro, citations for Don Giovanni, and citations for Cosi fan tutte. Citations which are relevant to two of the three operas are given in both relevant chapters; however, the full citation is only given the first time a work is cited. The indexes include an author index, a title index, and a subject index.
Pros: The bibliography is fairly comprehensive over the twentieth century and is also fairly current.
Cons: Excludes many pertinent articles from the nineteenth century.
Hastings, Baird. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: A Guide to Research. Garland Composer Resource Manuals, vol. 16. Garland Reference Library of the Humanities, vol. 910. New York and London: Garland Publishing, Inc., 1989. Mus Ref ML 134 .M9 H34 1989
Use: A survey of published research about Mozart. Provides the scholar with an introduction to various topics relating to Mozart and his world.
Coverage: Includes citations for books, essays, and articles published from the nineteenth century through 1983. Topics range from general to specific, and cover areas such as Mozart’s life, music, associates, contemporaries, pupils, and patrons.
Organization: The body of the work is organized in five main sections: 1) a profile which gives an overview of historical, chronological, geographical and pictorial information, 2) a list of Mozart’s works, including information on editions and publishers, 3) an evaluation of various editions of Mozart’s letters and other documents, 4) a bibliography covering general publications, specialized references, background, biography, music, and films and videos, and 5) a dictionary of Mozart’s contemporaries. Appendixes list Mozart’s pupils, patrons, characters and locales found in his works, and organizations and publications concerned with Mozart and his music. There are three indexes. The first covers authors, editors, and translators of cited works, the second indexes names and the third indexes works.
Pros: Covers a broad spectrum of topics.
Cons: Limited number of bibliographical citations for some specific topics.
Hill, George Robert and Murray Gould. A Thematic Locator for Mozart’s Works, as Listed in Koechel’s Chronologisch-thematishes Verseichnis-- 6th edition. Music Indexes and Bibliographies, ed. George R. Hill, no. 1. Hackensack, New Jersey: J. Boonin, 1970. Mus Ref ML 113 .M875x no.1
Use: A guide for locating the Koechel number (and movement if applicable) of any piece by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Coverage: Contains themes from all authentic works by Mozart that are listed in Koechel’s catalog. Also contains themes from works attributed to Mozart in Koechel’s catalog whose authenticity is in question.
Organization: Comprised of a brief preface with two main sections following. The preface discusses the notation used to represent the themes. The first main section arranges musical themes by the sizes of the opening intervals of the theme. The second section arranges the themes alphabetically by pitch names (all themes in this section are transposed to start on the pitch “C”).
Pros: Systematic and compact listing of themes.
Cons: System of notation very difficult to understand. The use of standard musical notation would have resulted in a much larger work, but would have made the resource much more valuable to the average musician. Helpful only if the reader is already familiar with the themes of the work he is looking for.
Köchel, Ludwig Ritter von. Chronologisch-thematisches Verzeichnis sämtlicher Tonwerke Wolfgang Amadé Mozarts, 8th ed. by Franz Giegling, Alexander Weinmann and Gerd Sievers. Wiesbaden: Breitkopf & Härtel, 1983. Mus Ref ML 134 .M9 K55 1983
Uses: The most historically significant catalog of Mozart’s work, the “verzeichnis” stands as a major landmark in composer cataloguing. Köchel organized and expanded the earlier Mozart catalogs (most notably ones by Mozart, and Aloys Fuchs) into a systematic and usable order. Especially useful for identification of a work by its incipit.
Coverage: Covers entire known repertory of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Organization: Works are organized in two ways, thematically and chronologically. The thematic listing includes both Köchel and catalog numbers, an incipit and a brief title. The chronological listing is more comprehensive including all above information as well as the following: date of publication or composition (if unpublished), information about the autograph, facsimile copies, editions, annotations (if any), and secondary research references (if any). Also includes appendices listing lost works, fragments, sketches, as well as spurious and misattributed works.
Pros: Most notable for its information on the origins of the works and descriptions of the composer’s autographs, in addition to the other information included, such as incipits and information on early editions.
Cons: The major drawback is the numbering system which has necessitated revision as new research regarding dating and authenticity of Mozart’s works is established.
Use: A compilation of scholarly essays on a wide variety of topics relating to Mozart’s life, environment, and music. Useful for the student or scholar studying external factors relating to Mozart’s music.
Coverage: The editor’s stated goal is to provide information on “every significant aspect of Mozart and his music.” Topics include historical and musical background, insights to Mozart’s personality and philosophy, sources for his music, musical style, and performance practice.
Organized into 15 sections. Each section contains one or more chapters and/or
a list relating to a general topic. The topics are:
1) Calendar of Mozart’s life, works, and related events
2) A Mozart-Weber family tree
3) Who’s who
4) Historical background
5) Musical background
6) Mozart as an individual
7) Mozart’s opinions and outlook
8) Sources for Mozart’s life and works
9) A conspectus of Mozart’s music
10) The music
11) Mozart and the theater of his time
12) Performance practice
13) Reception of the music
14) Mozart literature
15) Collected editions
There is also a thorough index.
Pros: A diverse and thorough coverage of topics relating to Mozart’s life and music.
Use: A facsimile reproduction of the catalog Mozart kept of his compositions from 1784 until three weeks before his death in 1791. Useful for the scholar or musicologist studying Mozart’s musical output during that time period.
Coverage: A reproduction of every page (including blank ones) in Mozart’s thematic catalog. The introduction and transcription discuss details pertaining directly to the catalog.
Organization: There are four main sections in the work: a history of the catalog, a description of the manuscript (which discusses the size, structure and layout of the manuscript, additional marks on the manuscript not made by Mozart, entries in the catalog that are not currently extant, omissions from the catalog, and inaccuracies in the entries), a transcription of Mozart’s written notes accompanying the musical incipits, and the actual facsimile. There is no index.
Pros: The introduction provides interesting and helpful commentary about the catalog.
Cons: An index would help the reader locate information quickly, but is not absolutely necessary as the work is fairly brief.
Uses: Provides information on authenticity, date, identification of specific works and Köchel numbers of the complete works of W.A. Mozart.
Coverage: Lists works by Mozart that are unquestionably genuine and complete. Also lists incomplete works by Mozart that have complete movements, and fragmentary works by Mozart that were completed by his pupils soon after his death. Works whose authenticity is debated are included if the arguments are equally strong both for and against Mozart as the composer.
Organization: Main body consists of listing by Köchel number, then by both brief and full categories: chamber music, house music, keyboard music, orchestral music, and sacred and dramatic music. Provides instrumentation, number of movements, duration of work, and special notes pertaining to performance. Appendix includes works of other composers arranged by Mozart. Also includes publisher information, a concordance of series nos. in 1877-1905 edition of Mozart’s works with reprint bound volume nos. commonly found in libraries. Gives series, genre, volume, part, and page number.
Pros: Provides accurate information on the complete works of Mozart, including latest research. Clear, concise, and easy to use.
Cons: Doesn’t include fragmentary works. Listings don’t differentiate between authentic and questionable works.