NEW YORK (AP) — A fascinating musical discovery has been made at the Morgan Library & Museum in Manhattan: a previously unknown composition that may have been authored by the legendary European composer Frederic Chopin. The piece, which is untitled and unsigned, is currently displayed at this exquisite institution that once functioned as the private library of the financier J. P. Morgan.
The manuscript, about the size of an index card, features a brooding and moody waltz that opens with a “very stormy” section before transitioning into a nostalgic melody characteristic of Chopin’s renowned style. Curator Robinson McClellan, who discovered the sheet music, stated, “This is his style. This is his essence. It really feels like him.”
McClellan stumbled upon the piece in May while sifting through a collection belonging to the late Arthur Satz, a former president of the New York School of Interior Design. Satz obtained the manuscript from A. Sherrill Whiton Jr., an avid collector of autographs and former director of the same school.
Experts have examined the manuscript to assess its authenticity. The paper aligns with the types Chopin preferred for his works, and the ink is consistent with that used in the early 1800s, the era when Chopin lived. However, an analysis of the handwriting revealed that the cursive name “Chopin,” written at the top, was not in the composer’s own hand.
Chopin, born in Poland, gained recognition as a musical prodigy early in life. He lived in Warsaw and Vienna before eventually settling in Paris, where he passed away in 1849 at the age of 39, likely from tuberculosis. His heart, following his deathbed wish, is preserved in a jar of alcohol at a church in Warsaw, while his remains rest alongside other artists at Paris’s famous Père Lachaise Cemetery.
Artur Szklener, director of the Fryderyk Chopin Institute in Warsaw, agrees that the piece’s materials are consistent with those Chopin typically used during his early Paris years. Musically, it possesses traits that reflect Chopin’s “brilliant style,” but it also exhibits some unconventional characteristics for his works. Szklener suggests that the piece might represent an incomplete work, a musical idea with simple piano techniques, or even a collaborative effort with a student.
Jeffrey Kallberg, a music professor at the University of Pennsylvania and an expert on Chopin, referred to the manuscript as a “little gem.” He postulates that Chopin might have intended it as a gift for a friend or a wealthy patron. Kallberg noted that many of Chopin’s gift pieces were brief, serving as “appetizers” for more extensive works, and that it’s uncertain whether he intended this specific piece to be publicly shared.
David Ludwig, the dean of music at The Juilliard School, expressed that the piece indeed reflects many of Chopin’s stylistic hallmarks. “It has the Chopin character of something very lyrical, and it includes a touch of darkness,” he remarked, although he was not involved in the authentication process. If confirmed as authentic, this tightly crafted waltz would stand as one of Chopin’s shortest known pieces, lasting under a minute when performed on the piano.
Ludwig added that the significance of this manuscript lies not only in its possible authenticity but in its ability to ignite curiosity and imagination regarding classical music as a dynamic art form. “This discovery highlights the fact that classical music is very much a living art form,” he explained.
This revelation comes on the heels of another musical discovery announced in September by the Leipzig Municipal Libraries in Germany, which unearthed a previously unknown composition likely attributed to a young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
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