Requiem

What it is

The Requiem in D minor, K. 626, is a Requiem Mass that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart began composing in Vienna in late 1791 for Count Franz von Walsegg, who had commissioned it to commemorate his late wife. Mozart died on 5 December 1791 before finishing it; Joseph Eybler and then Franz Xaver Süssmayr completed the work, imitating Mozart's handwriting.

Why it matters

The surviving manuscript shows exactly where Mozart's own writing stops and Süssmayr's completion begins, making it a rare window into an unfinished masterpiece. Mozart's widow Constanze spread stories about its mysterious commission and about Mozart believing he wrote it for his own funeral, stories that helped build the myths surrounding his death.

Look closer

• What can you tell from the manuscript about where Mozart's own writing ends?
• Why might Constanze Mozart have encouraged dramatic stories about this piece?
• What does it mean for a work to be finished by someone other than its original composer?