Amadeus Mozart Arrives in Jersey

Nov. 11, 2011 - PRLog -- Prestige stamp and collectible dealer, Stanley Gibbons, has announced that it will be displaying one of its finest treasures at its Hill Street office in Jersey this month.

A handwritten leaf featuring bars 40-53 from the ‘andante grazioso’ (second movement) of Mozart’s ‘Serenade in D major, K. 185’ (‘Antretter’) will be on public display and for sale at Stanley Gibbons from Friday 11 November.

The Serenade, set in the key of D as with his famed ‘Prague Symphony’ of 1786, was originally bound into one volume with the ‘March in D Major, K. 189 (167b)’ by his father Leopold Mozart and referred to as ‘The Cranz Volume 1’.

However, since its sale in 1975- the two manuscripts having been separated in 1966 with the sale of K.189 at auction in Germany– the exact whereabouts of much of ‘Antretter’ remains unknown; this leaf is one of only two known survivors from the second movement and is extremely prized.

The seven movement work is believed to have been intended as ‘Finalmusik’ for the graduation of family friend, Judas Thaddäus von Antretter and was most likely written by Mozart between July and August 1773 whilst visiting Vienna with his father; As if to stress to his friend that graduation is not an ending, the movement seems to end twice, only to resume unexpectedly.

Due to his early and untimely death, original, handwritten manuscripts by Mozart are extremely scarce outside the confines of museums, which makes the availability of this item on the open market that bit more extraordinary.  “This must be one of the ultimate prizes for the privileged and cultured collector, with likely price appreciation also a key factor,” said Keith Heddle, Stanley Gibbons’ Investment Director.

The manuscript is available to purchase from Stanley Gibbons, 18 Hill Street, St Helier and is available to view Monday to Friday, from 9am until 5pm

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Stanley Gibbons is the world’s leading name in philately and collectibles, trading since 1856 and holder of the Royal Warrant for stamp dealing since 1914.