A curator at a museum in New York City has discovered a previously unknown waltz written by Fr茅d茅ric Chopin, the first time that a new piece of work by the Polish composer has been found in nearly 100 years.
The waltz, written on a small manuscript measuring about four inches by five inches, was first discovered by curator Robinson McClellan in 2019, who then sought outside expert help, according to a statement from the on Monday.
鈥淗e found it peculiar that he could not think of any waltzes by Chopin that matched the measures on the page,鈥 reads the statement.
鈥淐hopin famously wrote in 鈥榮mall forms,鈥 but this work, lasting about one minute, is shorter than any other waltz by him,鈥 adds the statement.
鈥淚t is nevertheless a complete piece, showing the kind of 鈥榯ightness鈥 that we expect from a finished work by the composer.鈥
McClellan asked Chopin expert Jeffrey Kallberg, associate dean for arts and letters at the University of Pennsylvania, to help authenticate the waltz. 鈥淓xtensive research points to the strong likelihood that the piece is by Chopin,鈥 according to the statement.
This research included analysis by paper conservators who found that the paper and ink match those that Chopin normally used.
The Morgan Library & Museum believes that the fact that the manuscript is so small could mean that it was meant to be a gift that the recipient would have kept in an autograph album.
Chopin was known to sign manuscripts that were gifts, but this one is unsigned, which the museum says suggests that he ultimately decided against giving it away.
鈥淭his newly discovered waltz expands our understanding of Chopin as a composer and opens new questions for scholars to consider regarding when he wrote it and for whom it was intended,鈥 said McClellan in the statement.
鈥淭o hear this work for the first time will be an exciting moment for everyone in the world of classical piano.鈥
鈥淥ur extensive music collection is defined by handwritten examples of the creative process and it is thrilling to have uncovered a new and unknown work by such a renowned composer,鈥 said Colin B. Bailey, museum director, in the statement.
The discovery of an unknown piece of work by Chopin has not happened since the late 1930s, according to the museum.
The Polish composer was born in 1810 and was best known for solo piano pieces.
Chopin died in Paris, France, at the age of just 39. He鈥檚 one of Poland鈥檚 most famous sons, and his name adorns the airport serving the capital Warsaw, as well as parks, streets, benches and buildings.
His works and image are ubiquitous across the central European country, and his residences bear unmissable plaques. Busts and statues of his likeness are dotted across several major cities.
Even his heart, preserved in alcohol after his death in 1849 is sealed into a wall of Warsaw鈥檚 Holy Cross Church.
But recent suggestions about Chopin鈥檚 private life collided awkwardly with Poland鈥檚 staunchly conservative traditions 鈥 and caused some to question whether the story of Chopin that Poles are told from a young age is true.
According to a Swiss radio documentary released in 2020, the composer had relationships with men, and those relationships were left out of history by successive historians and biographers; a potentially thorny charge in one of Europe鈥檚 worst countries for LGBTQ rights.