MozartAusgabe

MozartAusgabe refers to the complete scholarly edition of the works of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. It is intended to provide authoritative urtexts for study and performance, drawing on original manuscripts, early prints, and other contemporary sources. The editions are typically organized by the Köchel catalogue numbers, which are the standard references for Mozart’s works.

Historically, the term encompasses more than one large edition. In the 19th century, Breitkopf & Härtel produced the Allgemeine Deutsche Mozart-Ausgabe (ADM), an ambitious attempt to present Mozart’s works in a uniform, reliable form. In the mid-20th century, the project was superseded by the Neue Mozart-Ausgabe (NMA), a modern critical edition published in collaboration by Bärenreiter and Breitkopf & Härtel. The NMA is designed as a comprehensive, individually sourced revision of Mozart’s oeuvre, with extensive critical reports that document variant readings and editorial decisions.

Content and structure of the Mozart-Ausgabe typically include orchestral works, operas, chamber music, keyboard works, and sacred music. Each volume aims to reflect Mozart’s intent as closely as possible while providing the scholarly apparatus needed by performers and researchers. Editors and scholars examine autograph manuscripts, facsimsimile reproductions, and early editions to establish urtext readings and annotate differences.

Today, the Neue Mozart-Ausgabe remains the standard urtext reference for many libraries, performers, and scholars, influencing performance practice and academic study. Other editions and facsimile reprints complement the corpus, but the Mozart-Ausgabe as a whole denotes the tradition of presenting Mozart’s works in carefully sourced, critical text form.