Unearthing long-buried pieces of history have fuelled the plot of many summer-read novels.
But how many of these discoveries happen in real life?
In 2024, two library archives announced the unearthing of previously unknown music by famous classical composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Frédéric Chopin.
Mozart lived and worked in Austria and Germany in the 1700s, and was the subject of the popular film Amadeus in the 1980s. The film is about to get a makeover as a TV series starring Will Sharpe.
Chopin was Polish, but worked primarily in Paris during the 1800s. He was played by Hugh Grant in the 90s film Impromptu.
They both died quite young, but their music is still incredibly popular today. Even if you're not a classical music aficionado, you probably know some of their music.
In September, Germany's Leipzig municipal libraries announced a previously unknown set of serenades by Mozart was discovered among the archives of his works.
Then almost a month later, the New York Times broke the story that a lost waltz by Chopin had been found in the vault of New York's Morgan Library and Museum.
ABC Classic's Morning presenter Russell Torrance compares the discoveries to The Beatle's new song: Now And Then, which dropped in music lovers' feeds early in 2024.
The song featured the vocals of the late John Lennon which was reconstructed from tapes with the assistance of AI.
Discoveries in the archives
During his lifetime, Mozart composed over 600 pieces of music.
After his death, a catalogue of his musical scores was compiled and kept at Leipzig's municipal libraries in Germany.
Researchers discovered Mozart's new music while compiling the latest edition of the Köchel catalogue, the definitive archive of Mozart's musical works.
The musical manuscript consists of seven short serenades written for a trio of string players and is believed to date back to Mozart's teenage years.
Contemporary audiences first heard the unearthed music in Salzburg and Leipzig in September.
German recording label Deutsche Grammophon has also recorded the piece.
The serenades have been dubbed "A Very Little Night Music" (Ganz kleine Nachtmusik) in the catalogue, in reference to Mozart's iconic A Little Night Music.
Barely a month after classical music lovers heard Mozart's unearthed serenades, they were treated to a new waltz by Chopin.
Earlier in 2024, curator Robinson McClellan came across a musical page signed by Chopin in the collection at New York's Morgan Library and Museum.
McClellan was excited, but he wasn't jumping to conclusions.
He worked with leading Chopin expert Jeffrey Kallberg to identify and authenticate the music score.
The Morgan Museum carried out a thorough analysis of the paper, ink, handwriting and musical style to confirm that the music is indeed a waltz by Chopin.
The rare manuscript, which is no bigger than an index card, is thought to have been a gift from Chopin to a friend. It featured the composer's distinct hand-writing including his unique bass clef.
Superstar pianist Lang Lang recorded the new waltz, which was released as part of the announcement.
How often do musical discoveries happen?
Torrance says that there is always a possibility that new music by beloved composers might turn up now and again.
"There's so much music out there by Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Chopin, and others which we haven't discovered yet," he says.
He cites the discovery of 20th century composer Florence Price in the home she lived in for most of her life.
There are also other stories, such as how in the 1870s, the musical score for a mass by Austrian composer Heinrich Biber narrowly escaped the fate of being used as wrapping paper for vegetables.
Torrance thinks that some of those lost manuscripts might even have found their way to Australia.
"It's possible that someone's got a pile of papers somewhere in a box that belonged to a grandparent which might be some long-lost musical treasure," Torrance says.
But he cautions that we all should take the news about musical discoveries by famous composers with a grain of salt.
"In the music world, there is some history of forgeries," Torrance says.
He adds that we don't need to wait around for unearthed music from popular long-dead composers to enjoy something new.
Torrance believes we should value music by composers who haven't been celebrated as much, such as women and living composers.
"There's this whole treasure trove of music that we didn't know about and we're just discovering," Torrance says.
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