Musical Discoveries At The Seminary
In July 2005 an 80-page Beethoven manuscript of a piano four hands version of the Grosse Fugue was discovered in the library archives by one of the librarians. The manuscript was authenticated by Dr. Jeffrey Kallberg at the University of Pennsylvania and by Dr. Stephen Roe, head of Sotheby's Manuscript Department. Lost from view for well over 100 years, it is thought by some to be one of the most important musicological finds in recent years. The event strangely paralleled the earlier find on July 31, 1990 of a Mozart manuscript, which had been donated to the seminary in 1951 by Marguerite Treat Doane. It was rediscovered along with some lesser manuscripts of the same period. The Beethoven manuscript was auctioned by Sotheby's in London on December 1, 2005 for US$1.72 million to an anonymous bidder later revealed to be Bruce Kovner.
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