This is what a Chopin waltz looks like, rediscovered after almost 200 years

In a museum of new York an unknown and unpublished was hidden waltz by the famous Polish pianist and composer, Frederic Chopin .

The composition, more than 200 years old, was found by curator Robinson McClellan in a security vault at the Morgan Library and Museum, according to reports. The New York Times .

One day last spring, McClellan was sorting through a collection of cultural memorabilia from the museum that included letters, postcards and photos. At that moment he took a piece of paper marked with the number 147 and saw two striking notes: “Waltz” And “Chopin” . The curator was petrified.

“I was like, ‘What’s going on here?’ What could it be?’ McClellan told the American newspaper.

As he is also a composer, he decided to play the score on a piano at home. I wasn’t entirely sure if it was a Chopin piece, but there were signs that it might be. He also sent a photo to Jeffrey Kallberg, an academic at the University of Pennsylvania and an expert on the Polish musician.

Kallberg was also surprised by this discovery. After several tests analyzing the paper, ink, writing and musical style, the museum came to the conclusion that the composition was created by Chopin. This is the first discovery of this type in half a century.

“We are completely confident in our conclusion »McClellan noted. “Now is the time to put it out there for the world to examine and form their own opinions.” .

As the Times describes it, Chopin’s rediscovered works are very unusual. Although he is one of the great exponents of classical music, he did not create as many pieces as other composers: he wrote around 250.

According to the museum, the work found in New York was developed between 1830 and 1835 , when Chopin was in his twenties.

Unlike the other waltzes created by the composer, this one is much shorter. It has 48 bars with one repeat, which equals 80 seconds. Added to this are unusual dynamic marks, such as a triple forte at the start.

Several elements make experts believe that this work is authentic: the paper and ink are the same as those that Chopin used at that time. The handwriting also appears to be the same, including how he wrote the F note. Interestingly, the diary also contained some drawings something the pianist loved to do.

Chopin preferred to perform his works in small venues, where there was more intimacy with the audience. In these places, in fact, he gave waltzes to his admirers.

It is believed that the newly discovered work may have been created in this context, especially since it was written on a small sheet of paper, which was previously used for gifts. However, there is some evidence that he was not entirely sure of his creation. This, since He did not sign the score as was his custom (the caption “Chopin” was written by someone else) and there were some errors that he did not correct.

Lang Lang, a renowned Chinese pianist, performed the piece at Steinway Hall in Manhattan at the request of the New York Times.

You can listen to it below.

Chopin, considered one of the greatest masters of musical romanticism, was born in a small town near Warsaw in 1810. His father was French, while his father was Polish.

From a young age, he showed that he had an innate talent for music. He could play the piano, improvise and compose as if he had been doing it for decades, even though he was just a child. In 1830, when he was 20, he decided to leave Poland and moved to Paris, where he began performing in influential circles and was able to build a successful career thanks to his talent on the keyboard.

Chopin’s works have the particularity of being performed only on the piano, generally solo piano. He created not only waltzes, but also mazurkas, Polishes, instrumental ballads, preludes and sonatas.