“The New York Times” reports on the discovery of an unknown waltz by Fryderyk Chopin in one of the museums in New York. You can listen to the song's performance on the journal's website.
An unknown work by Fryderyk Chopin was discovered in a New York museum, an American daily reported. According to the article, the find was made by curator of the Morgan Library & Museum in Manhattan, Robinson McClellan, when he was searching through memorabilia of famous artists, such as postcards signed by Pablo Picasso and letters of Johannes Brahms and Pyotr Tchaikovsky.
“When McClellan came across item No. 147, he froze. It was a worn sheet of music the size of a catalog card with a small note and the name clearly visible,” the newspaper reported. The annotation read “Valse” and at the top there was Chopin's name.
The curator, himself a composer, played the piece at home but had doubts because it was “unusually hectic.” So he sent a photo of the sheet music to Jeffrey Kallberg, a leading Chopin expert at the University of Pennsylvania. “My jaw dropped,” Kallberg said. “I was sure I had never seen it,” he added.
The piece in the key of A minor constitutes a complete whole
After analyzing the paper and ink, as well as the handwriting and musical style of the manuscript, and after consulting external experts, the Morgan Library & Museum concluded that it was probably an unknown waltz by Chopin.
Coming across unknown works by Chopin is rare because he was less prolific than other composers – emphasized “NYT”. Although the found piece in A minor constitutes a complete whole, it is shorter than Chopin's other waltzes – it lasts only about 80 seconds.
However, the Morgan Library & Museum is certain that it is an authentic Chopin piece. The paper and ink correspond to those used by Chopin, and the way of writing the bass clef is also typical of him.
“We are absolutely confident in our conclusions,” McClellan said. – Now it's time to show it to the world so that it can form its own opinion – he added.
The outstanding pianist Lang Lang, whose performance of the waltz can be heard on the “NYT” website, said that to him it sounded like a Chopin piece. – It is not the most complex of Chopin's music, but in terms of style it seems as authentic as one can imagine – he said.
Main photo source: J. Mozolewski / NIFC