A Mystery for Mozart Mavens
A Mystery for Mozart Mavens
Book cover for 'The Mozart Forgeries.' hide caption
In this day and age of Web blogs and CSI spin-offs, the idea of attempting to create a counterfeit Mozart manuscript seems truly outrageous. But to attempt the forging of two such compositions for the purpose of a technical/musical swindle is almost unimaginable.
Yet that is exactly what Forger, a counterfeiting genius, and Librarian, an eighteenth century document specialist, decide to do. Their concoction could be worth $20 million, so this is a pair of motivated mischief-makers. They've chosen to "discover" the lost manuscripts of a Mozart clarinet concerto and a quintet for clarinet and strings.
The two criminals are characters in author Daniel Leeson's book The Mozart Forgeries. Leeson is a leading Mozart authority and award-winning technical writer.