248-Year-Old Mozart Composition Accidentally Discovered in Paris

A musical composition by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, created 248 years ago, will be heard for the first time in Paris this Sunday afternoon. The discovery marks a significant find for classical music enthusiasts and scholars.

François-Pierre Goy, a curator in the music department at the French National Library, stumbled upon the anonymous music booklet in February 2026 while examining a stack of documents. Goy noticed that the handwriting resembled Mozart's. A colleague, familiar with the composer's script, confirmed the attribution. The authenticity of the booklet was further verified in April by an expert from Austria's Mozarteum Foundation.

Mozart was in Paris in 1778, where the then 22-year-old composer was giving composition lessons to a noblewoman named Marie-Louise-Philippine de Bonnières de Guînes. Her father, the Duke of Guînes, was impressed by his daughter's musical talent and hoped she would learn to compose sonatas for the flute and harp, instruments he and his daughter played respectively. Mozart was tasked with creating a 44-page booklet containing teaching material for Miss de Guînes, along with seven compositions for flute and harp.

The manuscript reveals both Mozart's handwriting and that of Miss de Guînes, suggesting a collaborative process where Mozart provided initial ideas that his student developed. Gilles Pécout, director of the French National Library, called the booklet one of the most significant discoveries of recent decades, offering new insights into Mozart's time in Paris. The seven newly discovered pieces will be premiered at the library's Richelieu campus in the Salle Ovale.