Fugue in F for Piano (fragment), K. 626b/14 (= K. Anh.H 12,18)
par Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Mozart’s Fugue in F for keyboard survives only as a short autograph fragment, usually cited as K. 626b/14 and catalogued as K. Anh.H 12,18. Written in Vienna around 1782–83, it offers a glimpse of the 26-year-old composer testing learned contrapuntal technique at the keyboard rather than polishing a finished concert piece.[1]
What Is Known
The work is transmitted in Mozart’s own hand on a single leaf (two written pages), and the Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum lists it as an extant autograph.[1] Although often dated to Vienna in 1782, the same catalogue also gives a general dating of 1783; in either case it belongs to Mozart’s early Viennese period, shortly after his permanent move to the city.[1] It is a keyboard fugue in F major (for clavier), and it circulates under several parallel catalogue designations, including K. 375h and K. 626b/14.[1]
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Musical Content
Only the opening portion of a fugue is preserved. The surviving notation suggests a compact, workmanlike contrapuntal study: a single subject is presented and then worked into imitative entries, with the texture tightening as additional voices join. What survives reads more like a compositional exercise or sketch—an exploration of fugal procedure at the keyboard—than a fully rounded Fuge intended for publication or public performance, and the break-off leaves its larger tonal plan and eventual conclusion unknown.[1]
[1] Internationale Stiftung Mozarteum, Köchel Catalogue entry for KV Anh. H 12,18: key, dating, other work numbers, and autograph transmission details.