Undiscovered Mozart Score Found in Paris to Premiere Sunday

A previously unknown musical manuscript by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart has been discovered in Paris, offering a rare glimpse into the composer's work from 1778. The 44-page handwritten score was found in the music department of the National Library of France (BnF).

The manuscript contains seven short pieces for flute and harp, a combination of instruments for which Mozart composed very little. The discovery was made in February by François-Pierre Goy, a conservator at the BnF specializing in pre-contemporary collections, who recognized Mozart's distinctive handwriting.

Goy noted specific characteristics of Mozart's notation, including the way he drew brackets and the shape of his clefs. The authenticity of the pieces was further verified by Laurence Decobert, a colleague at the BnF, and Armin Brinzing, director of the Mozart Museum in Salzburg.

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I recognize Mozart's handwriting: the way he draws brackets; the treble clefs rounded and curved forward; and the double final bars with fermatas below and above.

Experts believe the pieces were composed for lessons Mozart gave to Marie-Louise-Philippine de Bonnières de Guines, the daughter of a duke close to Queen Marie Antoinette. The manuscript likely entered the BnF's collections through confiscations during the French Revolution, as several items belonging to the Guines family were seized before they fled to England in 1794.

Gilles Pécout, president of the BnF, described the finding as one of the most significant in recent decades. He stated that the manuscript documents Mozart's final stay in Paris and reveals aspects of his daily life as a young professor. The composition was recorded earlier this week and will be performed publicly for the first time on Sunday at the BnF's Oval Hall, coinciding with the annual 'Fête de la Musique'.

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According to specialists, this finding is undoubtedly one of the most important in recent decades. It allows us to document Mozart's last stay in Paris and reveals to us, through his daily life, what the activity of the young professor Mozart was like in his relationship with his student.