From Mozart’s letters to his father we know that in 1778, during his stay in Paris, he wrote a Sinfonia concertante for flute, oboe, horn, bassoon and orchestra, for a quartet of wind instrumentalists likewise staying in that city. Mozart’s autograph manuscript however has disappeared, and with it any trace of the work.
In the nineteenth century there appeared, in manuscript copy, a Sinfonia concertante in E-flat major for oboe, clarinet, horn, bassoon and orchestra, for which Mozart was claimed to be the author. Despite the difference in scoring, this piece was identified with the Paris Sinfonia concertante, then believed to be lost.
Here we are, hundreds of years later. While the history of this music is a bit cloudy, the sounds are heavenly:
