PH O I 0 BY DAN IEL L IPPI TT Homegrown musicologist uncovers music by Mozart. JULIE WIENER STAFF WRITER D avid Buch describes him- self as an "obscure histo- rian working out in the cornfields." But after accidentally uncovering new work by legendary composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Buch — a musicologist at the University of Northern Iowa and native Detroiter — has suddenly found himself bask- ing in Mozart's glow. While in a German archive con- ducting research for a book on 18th- century fairy-tale and supernatural operas, Buch, 46, stumbled upon a section of an opera, The Philosopher's Stone (Der Stein der Weisen), bear- ing Mozart's signature. He also un- covered pieces of another opera, The Beneficent Dervish (Der Wohltatige Derwisch), which Mozart also may have composed. The details of his discoveries are discussed in a paper to be published this fall in the Cambridge Opera Journal. But Buch's paper has al- ready garnered a storm of media at- tention, both in the United States and abroad. The New York Times re- ported the discovery on its front page, and record companies are call- ing Buch, asking if the music can be performed and recorded. The pieces in question are not par- ticularly lengthy (about 20 minutes' worth in all), and although Buch says they are "good pieces of music," he thinks that Mozart himself did not find them important. "[The Philosopher's Stone] is one opera that Mozart wrote a few small parts for," he said. 'The second opera is a possibility, but not as sure as the first." The pieces do not ap- pear in Mozart's own handwritten catalogue of work, and Buch specu- lates that the legendary composer omitted them because he was only ca- sually involved in the op- eras. "Five composers in all are attributed to [The Philosopher's Stone]. The others were well below [Mozart's] professional status. I see it as Mozart helping his friends." . Buch has been inter- ested in music since his childhood in Oak Park, when he studied piano and was taken to concerts by his mother, Mildred Ja- cobs. But Buch's interest was not limited to the classical realm: as a stu- dent at Oak Park High School, he played in a cock band. After graduating from Wayne State, Buch went to Chicago and worked as a musician. In Chicago, he became more interested in the historical aspect of music, and went on to earn a Ph.D. in musicology from Northwestern University. His pub- lications include a book on 17th-cen- tury lute music, a book on early ballet music and numerous articles. Although it has been more than 25 years since Buch left Detroit, he says he still comes back several times a year to visit his brother Lar- ry and other relatives. "I always en- joy my time when I come here," he said. And Iowa's "weak Jewish com- munity" pales in comparison to De- troit's, said Buch, who grew up attending Beth Aaron (now Beth Achim). Living in Iowa City, Buch occasionally travels down to the larger city of Des Moines to attend synagogue. The professor is looking forward to the hubbub dying down so he can get back to working on his book. "This story has gotten so much at- tention because of Mozart, and I was just the guy that came across the score, put the information togeth- er and showed how the scenario was so likely that [Mozart] was involved. I'm not a superstar," he said, "I'm just a guy who got lucky." El David Buch:"Just a guy who got lucky."