A 44-page music notebook held at the Bibliothèque nationale de France (BnF) in Paris captures a collaborative learning process between Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his student. Researchers suggest it preserves lessons Mozart gave to Marie-Louise-Philippine de Bonnières de Guînes, daughter of Adrien-Louis de Bonnières de Souastre, Duc de Guînes, a celebrated flautist who was convinced his daughter possessed exceptional musical talent. While a handful of exercises appear entirely in Mademoiselle de Guînes' handwriting, much of the manuscript contains contributions from both teacher and student, often intertwined on the same pages.
The notebook contains composition exercises and lesson materials dating to the composer's stay in the French capital in 1778, offering a rare glimpse into how he taught music. Intriguingly, the final exercise was left unfinished, leaving the notebook's last six pages blank. Apparently, the lessons ended when Mademoiselle de Guînes married on July 26, 1778, followed by Mozart's departure from Paris in September the same year. That timing could mean the unfinished exercise marks the last lesson he gave during his stay in the city.
Several clues point to this conclusion. The manuscript is written on French paper and contains composition exercises alongside seven pieces for flute and harp. The flute parts are particularly revealing, as they were written for a flute that Duc de Guînes had acquired in London, one that could reach a low C — a rare feature in Paris at the time, where most flutes could only descend to a low D.
Until early this year, the notebook sat in the BnF's collections as an anonymous, untitled manuscript from the late 18th century. The identification came on Feb. 2, 2026, when François-Pierre Goy, curator of the BnF's pre-1800 music collections, was inspecting it and recognized what appeared to be Mozart's handwriting. To verify the identification, Goy consulted musicologist Laurence Decobert, a specialist familiar with Mozart's manuscripts, who confirmed the attribution. The document was later authenticated by Armin Brinzing, director of the Bibliotheca Mozartiana at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, who also underscored its importance.
Mozart is one of the most influential composers in history, leaving behind beloved works such as A Little Night Music and The Magic Flute. His music has been studied and performed around the world for centuries. Scholars view the notebook as an invaluable record of his teaching methods, and as the earliest known evidence of how the composer approached instruction and composition training.
"In the view of specialists, this is one of the most important discoveries in recent decades," said Gilles Pécout, president of the BnF. "It sheds light on Mozart's final stay in Paris," he added. "It reveals the day-to-day activities of Mozart as a young teacher in dialogue with his pupil."
Excerpts from the notebook, written for flute and harp, were performed publicly for the first time on June 21, 2026, in the Salle Ovale at the BnF's Richelieu site by musicians from the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France. "It is an exceptional honor for any musical ensemble to bring a forgotten work by Mozart back to life," said Sibyle Veil, president and chief executive of Radio France.