Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus.

the autograph of the only part of the work, which lacks a conclusion, known to survive, bearing the boldly written autograph title "Il Trionfo dell Donne" at the head of the manuscript, scored for two violins, flute oboe, bassoon, two horns in E flat, violoncello and double bass ("Bassi"), written in brown ink on one seven-stave system per page (staves 1, 2, 10, 11 and 12 are empty throughout), with autograph superscriptions marking the different sections of the work ("1:^{ma parte. [bb.1-16]...2:da parte: [bb.17-31]...3:za parte: [bb.33-48]...4:ta parte. [bb.49-53]"), containing a number of minor corrections and alterations}    



4 pages, oblong 4to (c.24 x 31cm), 12-stave machine-ruled paper, retaining the original deckle edge, autograph foliation in ink "1"-"2", several later manuscript annotations in pencil and ink, including (on page 1): attestation of authenticity in upper right corner by Heinrich Henkel ("Diese vier Seiten sind von Mozart's Handschrift H. Henkel"), "N.22." (top left corner) in the hand of Georg Nikolaus von Nissen, and the remark in another hand "ist alles im Mozardts eigenhändigen Catalog enthalten"; the pencil number "130" in a box in the upper right margin refers to the position of the work in Mozart's own thematic catalogue; pinholes, unbound, no place or date, [Vienna, by 28 February 1791], a little splitting at upper edges, spine strengthened 

Neue Mozart-Ausgabe IV/13/Abteilung 1, Band 2, ed. M.Flothuis (Kassel, 1988); and Kritischer Bericht (1995); Dexter Edge, 'Mozart's Reception in Vienna, 1787-1791', Wolfgang Amadè Mozart: Essays on his Life and Music, ed. S. Sadie (Oxford, 1996), pp.92-3.

Condition is described in the main body of the cataloguing, where appropriate.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

An orchestral dance from mozart's final year - 1791.

Entered by the composer in his own thematic catalogue, the famous Verzeichnüss, under the date of 28 February 1791, K.607 is one of Mozart's most mysterious works, about whose genesis nothing is known. The fact that it is not known to survive in any contemporary manuscript copy and that it is not referred to by Mozart in the Verzeichnüss as having been written for the Redoutensäle in the Viennese Hofburg has led to the suggestion that the work might have been composed for a private court ball, possibly one held in connection with the visit to Vienna during the winter of 1790/91 of King Ferdinand IV of Naples. The enigmatic title "Il Trionfo delle Donne" is generally held (c.f. Köchel and NMA IV/13/1/2) to derive from the work's use of themes from an opera by Anfossi, La Forza delle donne (Venice, 1778), performed in Vienna in 1786 and 1787 under the title of Il trionfo delle donne - although it appears that this has never actualy been demonstrated. (For what it is worth, none of the themes in the 'Finale nel dramma intitolato La Forza delle donne' (Venice, 1778) [RISM A 1163] resembles any in K.607.)

The manuscript breaks off after 53 exquisitely orchestrated bars; the concluding music, i.e. the remainder of the fourth section of the dance, which may well have been followed by a more-or-less elaborate coda, has never been known and must unfortunately be counted as lost. Around a third of the work, therefore, is lacking: as a point of comparison, the contredanse "La Bataille", K.535 (the autograph of which was sold in these rooms on 21 May 2004, lot 116), for example, was eighty-six bars long. 

The fragmentary autograph of K.607, which has been in private hands since its listing in the legendary Liepmannssohn sale of Mozart's manuscripts in Berlin in 1929 (Auction 55, 12 October 1929, lot 31), diverges significantly with regard to phrasing and dynamic markings from the Neue Mozart-Ausgabe edition, which is based on the only other known source for the work, a copy from Köchel's estate in the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde, Vienna. In bar 9, for example, the autograph supplies the dynamic marking 'p', lacking in the NMA edition.