A new waltz by Chopin discovered in New York, almost 200 years after its creation

Frédéric Chopin continues to make people dance, more than 175 years after his death. A previously unpublished waltz by the Polish composer was discovered in a vault at the Morgan Library-Museum in New York, the New York Times has just reported. The score, which included the words “Valse” in French in the text at the head, was discovered on a file by a curator at the establishment during the spring.

“I said to myself: What is this? What could it possibly be? », Conservative Robinson McClellan explained to the American daily, adding that he “did not recognize the music”. He said he was initially unsure whether the waltz was really composed by Frédéric Chopin after taking a photo of the score and playing it at home on a piano.

But Robinson McClellan later consulted an expert on the composer at the University of Pennsylvania, and the Morgan Library ultimately concluded that the waltz was authentic after an examination of the ink and paper. The calligraphy also corresponded to that of Frédéric Chopin, including a bass clef as well as scribbles characteristic of the Polish genius who died in France, in Paris, in 1849.

“A dramatic darkness”

The waltz has minor errors in rhythm and notation, but Robinson McClellan said he was sure Chopin was the author. “What we are certain of is that it is written in Chopin’s handwriting,” he told the BBC’s Newshour. “What is not entirely sure is that it is music that he composed. I’m 98% sure of it, and a lot of people who have already heard it feel deep down that it sounds like Chopin,” he assures.

“There are atypical aspects of the music, the sort of stormy opening is a bit surprising but not totally out of character. And then, for me, it’s in the melody that you really feel this Chopinian quality,” he added.