On 14 May 2025, marking the 30th anniversary of the Cité de la musique, the Musée de la musique unveiled a new presentation of its permanent collection, which redeploys instruments from Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas throughout the entire exhibition.

A national museum with a collection of nearly 9,000 instruments and artworks, the Musée de la musique is a cornerstone of the Philharmonie de Paris, supporting its mission to preserve and celebrate musical heritage. The instruments gathered within its walls constitute one of the finest collections in the world, distinguished by the rarity as well as the diversity of its pieces.

The Museum’s new permanent exhibition takes visitors through a broad and multifaceted history of music from the late 16th century to the present day. The collection illustrates the musical ‘modernism’ explored in Europe—from the Renaissance to contemporary and electronic experiences—alongside which it showcases the richness and vitality of the musical cultures of Asia, Africa, Oceania and the Americas. With this new, more inclusive museography, the exhibition fosters a reconnection of musical heritages from around the world, while illustrating their historical evolutions and contemporary dynamics.

Visits to the Museum can be prolonged or enhanced by guided tours, conferences or concerts presented on the instruments in the collection. Live performances are put on every day in the Museum, providing constant opportunities for dialogue between musicians and the public. Promenade Concerts take place in all the rooms of the Museum on certain Sundays.

Polyphony

The exhibition opens with a vast cabinet of curiosities, celebrating the rich diversity of the Museum’s collection. Musical instruments from a wide range of eras and cultures are displayed alongside paintings, sculptures, and luthiers’ tools. These objects are remarkable for their craftsmanship, striking forms or ornamentation, their connection to notable musicians, or their historical significance.

Music and power

In the 17th century, from Mantua to Versailles, as in North India and the Ottoman Empire, refined court music flourished at the behest of monarchs. A model of the Mantua palace hall evokes the 1607 performance of L’Orfeo by Claudio Monteverdi, widely considered the first opera in history. A unique collection of instruments reflects the musical practices of the era: keyboards, cornets, citterns and lutes.

At the Château de Versailles, Louis XIV championed the flourishing of Baroque music. Meanwhile, the expansion of global trade routes connecting the continents enriched the arts—particularly the craft of instrument-making. Motifs and materials circulated as freely as instruments themselves: ivory, ebony, mother-of-pearl and tortoiseshell began to adorn European viols and guitars, just as they did the prestigious instruments of the Mughal courts.

Imagination in the Enlightenment

In 18th-century France, music gradually moved beyond the confines of the royal court. The salons of cultivated aristocrats and bourgeois patrons became vibrant spaces for the development of instrumental music, featuring the harpsichord, harp, and other favoured instruments. This period also embraced an idealised vision of nature, giving rise to a vogue for pastoral music within refined circles. 

Decorative styles such as africanerie and chinoiserie and the alla turca musical fashion emerged in a context shaped by exploration and trade—but also by colonialism and slavery. The evolution of musical taste towards greater expression opened the way to the appearance of a new instrument, the piano, while the practice of giving public concerts spread, including those of the Concert Spirituel, welcoming renowned musicians from abroad, such as Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

The empire of music

The violin, central to the European classical repertoire and orchestra, journeyed and seeded itself across continents. A double display case highlights its transcultural history and pays tribute to the violins of Antonio Stradivari preserved in the Museum’s collection.

The role of the soloist and the emergence of the symphonic orchestra constitute the two principal developments of music of the 19th century. Driven by the growing needs for orchestral timbre and power, notably those of Berlioz and Wagner, new instruments came into the world, the octobass, the saxophone and the Wagnerian horn among others.

Virtuoso composers and pianists Franz Liszt and Frédéric Chopin, closely associated with the piano makers Érard and Pleyel, embodied the figure of the Romantic musician. Orientalism made its appearance, particularly in opera, where Eastern-inspired sounds were heightened by spectacular sets and costumes.

Exploring new horizons

Edgard Varese Ionisation (1931) illustrates how much percussion opened an unprecedented musical field in the 20th century. But the appearance of electricity also revolutionized music with the invention of new instruments, notably by Theremin, Martenot or Hammond.

The technological explosion of analogue and then digital tools is represented in the museum by the console of Studio 116 C of the Groupe de Recherche Musicale, Xenakis’ Upic machine or the 4X computer developed by Ircam. Popular music took full advantage of these technological revolutions. Meanwhile, the rise of recording and globalisation expanded access to music from other parts of the world—from Russian folklore to Javanese gamelan.

The electric guitar gallery contains legendary models of guitars and bass guitars by Fender, Gibson and Rickenbecker.

Music across worlds

The final section of the Museum’s redevelopment marks a high point, offering a renewed exhibition and narrative on the instrumental heritage of Asia, Africa, Oceania and the Americas. Moving beyond a strictly geographical or ethnographic lens, the display shifts the focus to the singular histories of the objects—steeped in the stories of musician-individuals, social and cultural practices, and diverse imaginaries that have spread around the globe.

From the banjo’s journey linking Africa and the Americas, to the worldwide reach of the Hawaiian guitar; from the diasporic paths of Morocco’s Gnawa musicians to those of West Africa’s griots—this constellation of stories reveals not only the deep historical roots of instrumental traditions across the world, but also their contemporary vitality, shaped by cultural exchange and ongoing processes of hybridisation.

Video guide

The Musée de la musique offers all visitors a free video guide to accompany them through their visit. Available in French, English, Spanish and French Sign Language (LSF), it immerses visitors in the world of music, allowing them to see and hear the instruments in the collection being played. It also features specialised tours, an enriched post-tour guide and various accessibility functions. Children ages 7 and up can follow the tour just for them, designed to go along with the activity book.

The video guide application is also accessible via visitors’ smartphones, without prior downloading. Visitors can connect directly at the Musée de la musique reception.

Video guide

The Musée de la musique offers all visitors a free video guide to accompany them through their visit. Available in French, English, Spanish and French Sign Language (LSF), it immerses visitors in the world of music, allowing them to see and hear the instruments in the collection being played. It also features specialised tours, an enriched post-tour guide and various accessibility functions. Children ages 7 and up can follow the tour just for them, designed to go along with the activity book.

The video guide application is also accessible via visitors’ smartphones, without prior downloading. Visitors can connect directly at the Musée de la musique reception.