‘Cite’ Delight To E, Ears

Of all the great works built in Paris over the last decade, none has earned more admiration than the Cite de la Musique, the triangular-shaped music complex designed by the French architect Christian de Portzamparc.

The Cite was unfinished when its 1,200-seat concert hall was inaugurated by President Francois Mitterrand in 1995, but the $120 million stone and glass building has drawn architecture buffs from around the world since then.

Now there is another good reason to take the metro to the Porte de Pantin stop on the northeastern perimeter of Paris. After 15 years’ planning, a stunning Museum of Music opened in the complex, now finally complete, at the beginning of this year. The museum is a delight to the eyes, but also to the ears, ingeniously combining old instruments and new technology.

Its collection, from the National Conservatory of Music just 100 yards down the Avenue Jean-Jaures, comprises some 4,500 musical instruments, although only some 900 will be on display at any one time. There are nods to earlier times and other regions.